Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Year of the Lord's Favour
61 (A)The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has (B)anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;[a]
he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and (C)the opening of the prison to those who are bound;[b]
2 (D)to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour,
(E)and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
(F)to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
(G)the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
(H)that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, (I)that he may be glorified.[c]
4 (J)They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
8 (A)For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;[a]
(B)I will faithfully give them their recompense,
(C)and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
10 (D)I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
(E)for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself (F)like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
(G)and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause (H)righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord
A Song of (A)Ascents.
126 When the Lord (B)restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who (C)dream.
2 Then our (D)mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
(E)“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 (F)Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
(A)“My (B)soul (C)magnifies the Lord,
47 (D)and my (E)spirit rejoices in (F)God my Saviour,
48 for (G)he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations (H)will call me blessed;
49 for (I)he who is mighty (J)has done great things for me,
and (K)holy is his name.
50 And (L)his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 (M)He has shown strength with his arm;
(N)he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 (O)he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
(P)and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled (Q)the hungry with good things,
and the rich (R)he has sent away empty.
54 He has (S)helped (T)his servant Israel,
(U)in remembrance of his mercy,
55 (V)as he spoke to our fathers,
(W)to Abraham and to his offspring for ever.”
16 (A)Rejoice always, 17 (B)pray without ceasing, 18 (C)give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 (D)Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise (E)prophecies, 21 but (F)test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may (G)the God of peace himself (H)sanctify you completely, and may your (I)whole (J)spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at (K)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 (L)He who calls you is faithful; (M)he will surely do it.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the (A)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, (B)“Who are you?” 20 (C)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? (D)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you (E)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (F)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[a] the way of the Lord’, as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, (G)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, (H)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even (I)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.