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The King of Glory Is Served by a Holy People

Who may go up to the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
whose soul is not set on what is false,
who does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God who saves him.
Such are the people of Jacob who look for the Lord,
who seek your face.[a] Interlude

The King of Glory Comes

Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift yourselves up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 24:6 Literally this is the generation (or circle) of those who seek him, who seek your face Jacob. The syntax of the verse is difficult. It appears that in the Hebrew Jacob should be understood as an apposition to those who seek him. The Greek reads the generation of those who look for him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

10 The Lord spoke to Ahaz again. He said, 11 “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God. Ask for it either in the depths below or in the heights above.”

12 But Ahaz responded, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”

13 So Isaiah said:

Listen now, you house of David. Is it not enough for you to test the patience of men? Will you test the patience of my God as well? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign for all of you.[a] Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:14 The pronoun you is plural here, so it is translated in a way that makes this apparent.
  2. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage[a] to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately. 20 But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[b] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,”[c] which means, “God with us.”

24 When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife, 25 but he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son.[d] And he named him Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Or betrothed
  2. Matthew 1:21 Jesus means the Lord saves.
  3. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
  4. Matthew 1:25 Some witnesses to the text omit her firstborn and simply read she gave birth to a son. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)

Greeting

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised in advance through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. This gospel is about his Son—who in the flesh[a] was born a descendant of David, who in the spirit[b] of holiness was declared to be God’s powerful Son by his resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through him we received grace and the call to be an apostle on behalf of his name, to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, including you, who were called by Jesus Christ.

To all those loved by God who are in Rome, called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 1:3 Here flesh is a reference to Christ’s state of humiliation. See 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18.
  2. Romans 1:4 Here spirit is a reference to Christ’s state of exaltation. See 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18.