Walking in the Light

^5 (A)This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^(B)God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask ^(A)a sign of the Lord your^[a] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³ And he^[b] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you ^(B)weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the ^(C)Lord himself will give you a sign. ^(D)Behold, the ^(E)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^(F)Immanuel.^{[c] 15} He shall eat ^(G)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ^16 (H)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ^(I)deserted.

The Lord's Covenant with David

7 ^(A)Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord ^(B)had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, ² the king said to ^(C)Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell ^(D)in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells ^(E)in a tent.” ³ And Nathan said to the king, ^(F)“Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(G)Would you build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not lived in a house ^(H)since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about ^(I)in a tent for my dwelling. ⁷ In all places where ^(J)I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with ^(K)any of the judges^[a] of Israel, whom I commanded ^(L)to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ ⁸ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(M)I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince^[b] over my people Israel. ^9 (N)And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ¹⁰ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel ^(O)and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place ^(P)and be disturbed no more. ^(Q)And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, ^11 (R)from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And ^(S)I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that ^(T)the Lord will make you a house.

^16 (A)And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.^{[a] (B)}Your throne shall be established forever.’”

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord

A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)Ethan the Ezrahite.

Doxology

^25 (A)Now to him who is able to strengthen you ^(B)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^(C)according to the revelation of the mystery ^(D)that was kept secret for ^(E)long ages ²⁶ but ^(F)has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^(G)to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷ to ^(H)the only wise God ^(I)be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(B)Nazareth, ^27 (C)to a virgin betrothed^[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(E)O favored one, ^(F)the Lord is with you!”^{[b] 29} But ^(G)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(H)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(I)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(J)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(K)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(L)will give to him the throne of ^(M)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(N)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[c]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(O)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(P)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called ^(Q)holy—^(R)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(S)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(T)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(U)the angel departed from her.