Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
5 (A)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (B)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (C)made heaven and earth,
The (D)sea and everything that is in them;
Who (E)keeps [a]faith forever;
7 Who (F)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (G)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (H)frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord (I)opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord (J)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (K)loves the righteous.
9 The Lord (L)watches over strangers;
He [b](M)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [c]thwarts (N)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (O)reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving
2 Then Hannah (A)prayed and said,
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
(B)My [a]horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth [b]speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because (C)I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 (D)There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, (E)there is no one besides You,
(F)Nor is there any rock like our God.
3 Do not go on [c]boasting so very proudly,
(G)Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
(H)For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
(I)And [d]with Him actions are weighed.
4 (J)The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces,
(K)But those who have stumbled strap on strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to be hungry.
(L)Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven,
But (M)she who has many children languishes.
6 (N)The Lord puts to death and makes alive;
(O)He brings down to [e]Sheol and brings up.
7 (P)The Lord makes poor and rich;
(Q)He humbles, He also exalts.
8 (R)He raises the poor from the dust,
(S)He lifts the needy from the garbage heap
(T)To seat them with nobles,
And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance;
(U)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
John the Baptist Preaches
3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when (A)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and (B)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of (C)Annas and (D)Caiaphas, (E)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all (F)the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance [a]for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“(G)The voice of one calling [b]out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!
5 (H)Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be lowered;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
6 (I)And all [c]flesh will (J)see the salvation of God!’”
7 So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “(K)You [d]offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and (L)do not start saying [e]to yourselves, ‘(M)We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham. 9 But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so (N)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “(O)Then what are we to do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two [f]tunics is to (P)share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” 12 Now even (Q)tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he said to them, “[g]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor [h](R)harass anyone, and (S)be content with your wages.”
15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, (T)whether he himself perhaps was the [i]Christ, 16 (U)John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you [j]with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His (V)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with (W)unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.
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