Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Shin
Tav
The (C)desire of the wicked will perish.
Who Is like Yahweh Our God?
113 [a]Praise Yah!
(D)Praise, O (E)slaves of Yahweh,
Praise the name of Yahweh.
2 (F)May the name of Yahweh be blessed
From now until forever.
3 (G)From the rising of the sun to its setting
The (H)name of Yahweh is to be praised.
4 Yahweh is (I)high above all nations;
His (J)glory is above the heavens.
5 (K)Who is like Yahweh our God,
The One who (L)sits on high,
6 The One who [b](M)brings Himself low to see
The things in heaven and on the earth?
7 Who (N)raises the poor from the dust
And lifts high the needy from the ash heap,
8 To make them (O)sit with [c]nobles,
With the [d]nobles of His people.
9 He (P)makes the barren woman of the house sit
As a glad mother of children.
[e]Praise Yah!
Israel’s Blindness and Deafness
14 “(A)I have kept silent for a long time;
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan;
I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will (B)lay waste the mountains and hills
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will (C)make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the pools of waters.
16 I will (D)lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will (E)make darkness into light before them
And (F)rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (G)not forsake them.”
17 They will be turned back and be (H)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in graven images,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18 (I)Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My (J)servant,
Or so deaf as My (K)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is [a](L)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of Yahweh?
20 (M)You have seen many things, but you do not keep them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21 Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
That He make the law (N)great and majestic.
John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold
5 (A)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the (B)division of [a]Abijah, and he had a wife [b]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both (C)righteous in the sight of God, walking (D)blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the [c]Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in [d]years.
8 Now it happened that while (E)he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot (F)to enter the [e]sanctuary of the [f]Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying (G)outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And (H)an angel of the [g]Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and (I)fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “(J)Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will [h]bear you a son, and (K)you will call his name [i]John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the [j]Lord; and (L)he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [k]while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will (M)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the [l]Lord their God. 17 And he will (N)go before Him in the spirit and power of (O)Elijah, (P)to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to (Q)make ready a people prepared for the [m]Lord.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For (R)I am an old man and my wife is advanced in [n]years.” 19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am (S)Gabriel, who (T)stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he (U)kept [o]making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she [p]kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to (V)take away my disgrace among men.”
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