Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(A)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(B)
He remains faithful forever,(C)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(D)
The Lord frees prisoners.(E)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(F)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[a](G)
The Lord loves the righteous.(H)
9 The Lord protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(I)
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.(J)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(K)
Hallelujah!
Hannah’s Triumphant Prayer
2 Hannah prayed:(A)
My heart rejoices in the Lord;(B)
my horn is lifted up by the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in Your salvation.(C)
2 There is no one holy like the Lord.(D)
There is no one besides You!(E)
And there is no rock like our God.(F)
3 Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by Him.(G)
4 The bows of the warriors are broken,(H)
but the feeble are clothed with strength.(I)
5 Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,(J)
but the woman with many sons pines away.(K)
6 The Lord brings death and gives life;(L)
He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up.(M)
7 The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;(N)
He humbles and He exalts.(O)
8 He raises the poor from the dust(P)
and lifts the needy from the garbage pile.(Q)
He seats them with noblemen(R)
and gives them a throne of honor.[a]
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;(S)
He has set the world on them.(T)
The Messiah’s Herald
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[a] while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,(A) Herod was tetrarch[b] of Galilee,(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea[c] and Trachonitis,[d] and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,[e] 2 during the high priesthood of Annas(C) and Caiaphas,(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.(E) 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,(F) preaching a baptism of repentance[f] for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make His paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;[g]
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,
6 and everyone[h] will see the salvation of God.(G)[i]
7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!(H) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’(I) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 Even now the ax is ready to strike[j] the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(J)
10 “What then should we do?”(K) the crowds were asking him.
11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts[k] must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”(L)
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”(M)
13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”
14 Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”
15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds[l] whether John might be the Messiah.(N) 16 John answered them all,(O) “I baptize you with[m] water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with[n] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel[o](P) is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”(Q) 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.
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