Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God and the gods[a]
82 God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven.
He sits on his throne to judge them.
2 He asks them, ‘How long will you continue to judge people
in a way that is not fair?
How long will you say that wicked people are right?
Selah.
3 You must help poor people and those with no family
to receive justice.
Help those who have pain and trouble
to receive the help that they need.
4 Rescue weak and helpless people,
so that evil people cannot hurt them.
5 The powerful leaders know nothing
and they understand nothing.
They walk about in a dark place.
At the same time the foundation of the earth shakes![b]
6 I said, “You are gods.
You are all sons of the Most High God.
7 But you will die, as all people die.
You will come to an end, like all other rulers.” ’[c]
8 God, now do something!
Judge all the nations of the earth.
For they all belong to you.
Who was Amos?
1 Amos was one of the shepherds who lived in the town of Tekoa.[a] God spoke to him. He showed Amos the things that would happen to the people of Israel. God did that two years before the earthquake came. It was during the time that Uzziah was the king of Judah, and Joash's son, Jeroboam, was the king of Israel. This book tells about the message that Amos received from God.
2 Amos said, ‘The Lord speaks loudly from Zion.[b] Yes, he shouts from Jerusalem. As a result, the green fields will become dry and the grass will die. There will be nothing for the sheep to eat. Even the grass on Mount Carmel mountain will die.’
God will punish the nations near Israel
3 The Lord says, ‘The people in Damascus have done more and more wrong things.[c] So I will certainly punish them!
They have been cruel to the people in Gilead. They used their iron weapons to tear them into pieces. 4 I will send a fire to destroy the palace that King Hazael built. It will destroy the strong buildings of King Ben-Hadad. 5 I will also break the strong gates of the city of Damascus. I will remove all the people who live in the Aven valley. I will remove the king of Beth-Eden. Their enemies will take the people of Syria far away to Kir as prisoners.’ That is what the Lord says.
6 The Lord says, ‘The people in Gaza have done more and more wrong things.[d] So I will certainly punish them.
They caught my people and they took them away from their homes. They sold them to the people in Edom. 7 So I will send a fire to burn the walls of Gaza. It will destroy the strong buildings in Gaza. 8 I will remove the king of Ashdod city. And I will remove the king who rules in Ashkelon city. I will punish the people who live in Ekron city. All the Philistines who remain will die.’ That is what the Lord God says.
9 The Lord says, ‘The people in Tyre have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
Before, they had been friends with the people in Israel. They had promised to those people, “We will be like brothers.” But the people from Tyre did not do what they had promised. They took my people away. They sold my people to the people in Edom and my people became slaves. 10 So I will start a fire on the walls of Tyre city. And the fire will burn all the strong buildings. It will destroy them completely.’
11 The Lord says, ‘The people in Edom have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
They took their swords and they chased after their cousins, the Israelites.[e] They were not kind. Instead, they continued to be angry all the time. They did not stop attacking them. 12 So I will start a fire. And the fire will destroy the big city of Teman. The fire will also burn the strong buildings of Bozrah city.’
13 The Lord says, ‘The people in Ammon have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
People from Ammon fought against the people in Gilead. Ammon's people wanted to get more land for themselves. While they were killing people there, they also cut pregnant women open. 14 So I will send fire. And the fire will destroy the walls of Rabbah city. It will destroy the strong buildings too. People will fight and they will shout. They will shout loudly, like the noise that a strong wind makes in a storm. 15 The enemies will take away their king and their leaders. They will take them to another country. The king and the leaders will not be free to return.’ That is what the Lord says.
2 The Lord says, ‘The people in Moab have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them.
They dug up the bones of Edom's king. They burned his bones until they became ashes. 2 So I will send fire to the country called Moab. The fire will destroy the strong buildings in Kerioth town. The people will hear their enemies shout. And they will hear the sounds that their enemies' trumpets make. And the people will die. 3 I will let the enemies kill the ruler of Moab. And I will let them kill all its leaders too.’ That is what the Lord says.
Believe God and do good things
14 My Christian brothers, you say that you believe in God. Then you must show this in the things that you do. If not, your faith will not help you. It will not save you. 15 For example, maybe a believer does not have enough clothes to wear or enough food to eat. 16 Then one of you may say to them, ‘Go with God's peace! I pray that you will be warm. I pray that you will eat well.’ But if you do not give to them what they need, that does not help them at all. 17 How we believe in God is also like that. If our faith does not lead us to do good things, then it is not worth anything. It is dead!
18 Someone may say, ‘You believe in God, but I do good things to help people.’ Then I would say, ‘You cannot show me that you believe in God if you do not do good things. I do good things, and that shows that I really believe in God.’ 19 You believe that there is only one God. That is good! But even the demons believe that! And it makes them very afraid.
20 You fool! If someone's faith does not lead them to do good things, it is not worth anything. You should know that! 21 Think about our ancestor Abraham. He offered his son Isaac on the altar as a gift to God.[a] Because he did that good thing, God accepted him as right with himself. 22 Abraham believed in God, and he did what God asked him to do. So you can see that both of these were necessary. When he did this good thing, he showed that he believed in God completely. 23 The Bible tells us what happened. It says, ‘Abraham believed God. As a result, God accepted Abraham as right with him.’[b] God also called Abraham his friend.
24 So you see how God accepts someone as right with himself. That person must not only believe in God. He must also do good things to show that he has faith.
25 It was the same with Rahab, long ago. She was a prostitute. She helped some of God's people who came to her house. She kept them safe from their enemies and she sent them away again by a different road.[c] Because she did those good things, God accepted her as right with himself. 26 If our bodies have no spirit, they are dead. In the same way, if our faith does not lead us to do good things, it is dead.
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