Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my (B)salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the [a](C)defense of my life;
(D)Whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to (E)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they (F)stumbled and fell.
3 If an (G)army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am (H)confident.
4 (I)One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may (J)dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold (K)the [b]beauty of the Lord
And to [c](L)meditate in His temple.
5 For on the (M)day of trouble He will (N)conceal me in His [d]tabernacle;
He will (O)hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will (P)lift me up on a rock.
6 And now (Q)my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer (R)sacrifices in His tent [e]with shouts of joy;
I will (S)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 (T)Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and (U)answer me.
8 When You said, “(V)Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“(W)I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
9 (X)Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in (Y)anger;
You have been (Z)my help;
(AA)Do not abandon me nor (AB)forsake me,
God of my salvation!
10 [f]For my father and (AC)my mother have forsaken me,
But (AD)the Lord will take me up.
11 (AE)Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a (AF)level path
Because of my enemies.
12 Do not turn me over to the [g](AG)desire of my enemies,
For (AH)false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent (AI)witness.
13 I certainly believed that I would see the (AJ)goodness of the Lord
In the (AK)land of the living.
14 (AL)Wait for the Lord;
Be (AM)strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.
Sin in the Family
10 Do we not all have (A)one Father? (B)Is it not one God who has created us? Why do we deal (C)treacherously, each against his brother so as to profane the (D)covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt (E)treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has (F)profaned the sanctuary of the Lord [a]which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the (G)Lord eliminate from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and answers, or who (H)presents [b]an offering to the Lord of armies.
13 And this is [c]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He (I)no longer gives attention to the [d]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the (J)wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt (K)treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15 [e]But not one has (L)done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And [f]why the one? He was seeking a (M)godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals (N)treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For [g]I hate [h](O)divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and [i]him who covers his garment with (P)violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
17 You have (Q)wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “(R)Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He (S)delights in them,” or, “(T)Where is the God of (U)justice?”
The Purifier
3 “(V)Behold, I am sending (W)My [j]messenger, and he will (X)clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; [k]and the [l](Y)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies.
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 They were both (C)righteous in the sight of God, walking (D)blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in [c]years.
8 Now it happened that while (E)he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot (F)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer (G)outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 Now (H)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and (I)fear [d]gripped 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 bear you a son, and (K)you shall [e]name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will (L)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [f]while still in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will (M)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 And it is he who will (N)go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of (O)Elijah, (P)to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to (Q)make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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