Zephaniah 3:14-20

New International Version

¹⁴Sing, Daughter Zion;^(A)
    shout aloud,^(B) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice^(C) with all your heart,
    Daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵The Lord has taken away your punishment,
    he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;^(D)
    never again will you fear^(E) any harm.^(F)
¹⁶On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.^(G)
¹⁷The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.^(H)
He will take great delight^(I) in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,^(J)
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”^(K)

¹⁸“I will remove from you
    all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
    which is a burden and reproach for you.
¹⁹At that time I will deal
    with all who oppressed^(L) you.
I will rescue the lame;
    I will gather the exiles.^(M)
I will give them praise^(N) and honor
    in every land where they have suffered shame.
²⁰At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring^(O) you home.
I will give you honor^(P) and praise^(Q)
    among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes^[a]^(R)
    before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.

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Footnotes

Zephaniah 3:20 Or I bring back your captives

Isaiah 12:2-6

New International Version

²Surely God is my salvation;^(A)
    I will trust^(B) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,^(C) is my strength^(D) and my defense^[a];
    he has become my salvation.^(E)”
³With joy you will draw water^(F)
    from the wells^(G) of salvation.

⁴In that day^(H) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;^(I)
    make known among the nations^(J) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.^(K)
⁵Sing^(L) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;^(M)
    let this be known to all the world.
⁶Shout aloud and sing for joy,^(N) people of Zion,
    for great^(O) is the Holy One of Israel^(P) among you.^(Q)”

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Footnotes

Isaiah 12:2 Or song

Philippians 4:4-7

New International Version

Final Exhortations

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!^(A) ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.^(B) ⁶Do not be anxious about anything,^(C) but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.^(D) ⁷And the peace of God,^(E) which transcends all understanding,^(F) will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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Luke 3:7-18

New International Version

⁷John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!^(A) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^(B) ⁸Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’^(C) For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(D)

¹⁰“What should we do then?”^(E) the crowd asked.

¹¹John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”^(F)

¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized.^(G) “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

¹³“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,”^(H) he told them.

¹⁴Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely^(I)—be content with your pay.”

¹⁵The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John^(J) might possibly be the Messiah.^(K) ¹⁶John answered them all, “I baptize you with^[a] water.^(L) But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with^[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.^(M) ¹⁷His winnowing fork^(N) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”^(O) ¹⁸And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.