Jeremiah 31:7-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
7 For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
“Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.”(A)
8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor together;
a great company, they shall return here.(B)
9 With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations[a] I will lead them back;
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path where they shall not stumble,
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.(C)
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
and will keep him as a shepherd does a flock.”(D)
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.(E)
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.(F)
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.[b]
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow.(G)
14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord.(H)
Psalm 84
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 84
The Joy of Worship in the Temple
To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!(A)
2 My soul longs, indeed it faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.(B)
3 Even the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.(C)
4 Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise. Selah(D)
5 Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[a](E)
6 As they go through the valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.(F)
7 They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.(G)
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.(H)
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.(I)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.(J)
12 O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.(K)
Footnotes
- 84.5 Heb lacks to Zion
Ephesians 1:3-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,[a](A) 4 just as he chose us in Christ[b] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.(B) 5 He destined us[c] for adoption as his children[d] through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,(C) 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace(D) 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,(E) 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.(F) 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,[e] having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,(G) 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;(H) 14 this[f] is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.(I)
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Luke 2:22-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord(A) 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),(B) 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.(C) 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[a](D) 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon[b] came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law,(E) 28 Simeon[c] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,(F)
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,(G)
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”(H)
33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed(I) 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,(J) 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.(K) 38 At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child[d] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.(L)
The Return to Nazareth
39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.(M) 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.(N)
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