Isaiah 40:1-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s People Are Comforted
40 Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.(A)
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.(B)
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.(C)
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.(D)
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said,[a] “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass;
their constancy is like the flower of the field.(E)
7 The grass withers; the flower fades,
[[when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.(F)
8 The grass withers; the flower fades,]][b]
but the word of our God will stand forever.(G)
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;[c]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[d]
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(H)
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him
and his recompense before him.(I)
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms
and carry them in his bosom
and gently lead the mother sheep.(J)
Luke 1:46-55
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[a] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(B)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(C)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(D)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(E)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(F)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(G)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(H)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(I)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(J)
Footnotes
- 1.46 Other ancient authorities read Elizabeth
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.