Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 I will hear what the True God—the Eternal—will say,
for He will speak peace over His people,
peace over those who faithfully follow Him, [but do not let them abuse His gift and return to foolish ways].[a]
9 Without a doubt, His salvation is near for those who revere Him
so that He will be with us again and all His glory will fill this land.
10 Unfailing love and truth have met on their way;
righteousness and peace have kissed one another.
11 Truth will spring from the earth like a plant,
and justice will look down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Eternal will plant goodness in the earth,
and our land will yield great abundance.
13 Justice will come before Him,
marking out a path, setting a way for His feet.
6 Eternal One: I kept your teeth clean and your stomachs empty
when famine struck all your cities and no food could be found in your towns,
But still you did not come back to Me.
7 I held back the rain from your fields
when there were still three months left until harvest.
I would send rain on one city
but not on another.
I would send rain on one field
but not on another, so the dry field withered.
8 So people from two or three towns stumbled to one
that had water to drink, but they were still thirsty.
And still you did not return to Me.
9 I struck your crops with disease and mildew.
Whatever survived in your gardens and vineyards,
Whatever remained of your fig and olive trees, the locusts devoured;
and still you did not return to Me.
10 I sent plagues on you like the plagues I unleashed upon Egypt.
I slaughtered your young men in battle,
Stole away your horses, and sent the stench
of those bodies rotting in your camps reeking into your nostrils;
And still you did not return to Me.
11 I destroyed some of you as I destroyed the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,
and those who survived were like a smoking branch plucked from the fire;
And still you did not return to Me.
12 So this is what I am going to do to you, Israel.
Because of what I am planning, prepare to meet your God, people of Israel!
13 Witness the One who shapes the mountains and fashions the wind,
who reveals His thoughts to human beings,
Who changes dawn to darkness
and treads upon the high places of the earth.
The Eternal God, Commander of heavenly armies, is His name.
57 When the time was right, Elizabeth gave birth to a son. 58 News about the Lord’s special kindness to her had spread through her extended family and the community. Everyone shared her joy, for after all these years of infertility, she had a son! 59 As was customary, eight days after the baby’s birth the time came for his circumcision and naming. Everyone assumed he would be named Zacharias, like his father.
Elizabeth (disagreeing): 60 No. We will name him John.
Her Relatives (protesting): 61 That name is found nowhere in your family.
62 They turned to Zacharias and asked him what he wanted the baby’s name to be.
63 He motioned for a tablet, and he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was shocked by this breach of family custom. 64 They were even more surprised when, at that moment, Zacharias was able to talk again, and he shouted out praises to God. 65 A sense of reverence spread through the whole community. In fact, this story was spread throughout the hilly countryside of Judea. 66 People were certain that God’s hand was on this child, and they wondered what sort of person John would turn out to be when he became a man.
67 When Zacharias’s voice was restored to him, he sang from the fullness of the Spirit a prophetic blessing.
68 Zacharias: May the Lord God of Israel be blessed indeed!
For God’s intervention has begun,
and He has moved to rescue us, the people of God.
69 And the Lord has raised up a powerful sign of liberation for us
from among the descendants of God’s servant, King David.
70 As was prophesied through the mouths of His holy prophets in ancient times:
71 God will liberate us from our enemies
and from the hand of our oppressors![a]
72-74 God will show mercy promised to our ancestors,
upholding the abiding covenant He made with them,
Remembering the original vow He swore to Abraham,
from whom we are all descended.
God will rescue us from the grasp of our enemies
so that we may serve Him without fear all our days
75 In holiness and justice, in the presence of the Lord.
76 And you, my son, will be called the prophet of the Most High.
For you will be the one to prepare the way for the Lord[b]
77 So that the Lord’s people will receive knowledge of their freedom
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 All this will flow from the kind and compassionate mercy of our God.
A new day is dawning:
the Sunrise from the heavens will break through in our darkness,
79 And those who huddle in night,
those who sit in the shadow of death,
Will be able to rise and walk in the light,[c]
guided in the pathway of peace.
80 And John grew up and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness, outside the cities, until the day came for him to step into the public eye in Israel.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.