Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
68 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,(A)
because He has visited
and provided redemption for His people.(B)
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation[a] for us(C)
in the house of His servant David,(D)
70 just as He spoke by the mouth
of His holy prophets in ancient times;(E)
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the clutches[b] of those who hate us.
72 He has dealt mercifully with our fathers(F)
and remembered His holy covenant(G)—
73 the oath that He swore to our father Abraham.(H)
He has given us the privilege,
74 since we have been rescued
from our enemies’ clutches,[c]
to serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness
in His presence all our days.
76 And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,(I)
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,(J)
77 to give His people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.(K)
78 Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high(L) will visit us
79 to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,(M)
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
5 “I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner.(A) They do not fear Me,”(B) says the Lord of Hosts. 6 “Because I, Yahweh, have not changed,(C) you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.(D)
Robbing God
7 “Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them.(E) Return to Me,(F) and I will return to you,”(G) says the Lord of Hosts.
But you ask: “How can we return?”
8 “Will a man rob(H) God? Yet you are robbing Me!”
You ask: “How do we rob You?”
“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.(I) 9 You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. 10 Bring the full tenth into the storehouse(J) so that there may be food in My house.(K) Test Me in this way,”(L) says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven(M) and pour out a blessing for you without measure.(N) 11 I will rebuke the devourer[a](O) for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Hosts. 12 “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Hosts.
Advance of the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel,(A) 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard,[a] and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ. 14 Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message[b](B) fearlessly. 15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and strife,(C) but others out of good will.[c] 16 These do so out of love,(D) knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry,(E) not sincerely, seeking to cause me anxiety in my imprisonment.[d] 18 What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives(F) or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice
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