⁵ And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:

A Heavenly Inheritance

^3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^(B)according to His abundant mercy ^(C)has begotten us again to a living hope ^(D)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁶ For it is the God ^(A)who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has ^(B)shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies

A Psalm of David.

Jesus Gives True Rest^(A)

^25 (B)At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(C)You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent ^(D)and have revealed them to babes.

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—^(A)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹ the ^(B)voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:

and of those who will bring ^(D)the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.

Let All Peoples Praise the Lord

^11 (A)And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord:

Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.