Book of Common Prayer

Yahweh Is King Over All the Earth

Yahweh the King Comes in Judgment

Let All Creation Praise Yahweh

Let Everything Praise Yahweh

The Promise to Abraham and His Descendant

¹⁵ Brothers, I am speaking according to a human perspective. Nevertheless, when^[a] the covenant of a man has been ratified, no one declares it invalid or adds additional provisions to it. ¹⁶ Now to Abraham and to his descendant the promises were spoken. It does not say, “and to descendants,” as concerning many, but as concerning one, “and to your descendant,”^[b] who is Christ. ¹⁷ Now I am saying this: the law, that came after four hundred and thirty years, does not revoke a covenant previously ratified by God, in order to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is from the law, it is no longer from the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise.

The Addition of the Law

¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added on account of transgressions, until the descendant should come to whom it had been promised, having been ordered through angels by the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ Now the mediator is not for one, but God is one.

²¹ Therefore is the law opposed to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, certainly righteousness would have been from the law. ²² But the scripture imprisoned all under sin, in order that the promise could be given by faith^[c] in Jesus Christ to those who believe.

The Praise and Prophecy of Zechariah

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

⁸⁰ And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

² Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers, ³ and Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez became the father of Hezron, and Hezron became the father of Aram,^{[a] 4} and Aram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed became the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse became the father of David the king.

And David became the father of Solomon by the wife^[b] of Uriah, ⁷ and Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam became the father of Abijah, and Abijah became the father of Asa,^{[c] 8} and Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat,^[d] and Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram, and Joram became the father of Uzziah, ⁹ and Uzziah became the father of Jotham, and Jotham became the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ and Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh became the father of Amon,^[e] and Amon became the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹² And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,^[f] and Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud, and Abiud became the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim became the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Achim, and Achim became the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud became the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar became the father of Matthan, and Matthan became the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary by whom^[g] was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

¹⁷ Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ are fourteen generations.