Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God's Covenant with David
7 (A)Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord (B)had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to (C)Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell (D)in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells (E)in a tent.” 3 And Nathan said to the king, (F)“Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: (G)Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house (H)since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about (I)in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where (J)I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with (K)any of the judges[a] of Israel, whom I commanded (L)to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, (M)I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 (N)And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel (O)and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place (P)and be disturbed no more. (Q)And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 (R)from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And (S)I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that (T)the Lord will make you a house.
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.”
I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord
A Maskil[a] of (A)Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 (B)I will sing of (C)the steadfast love of the Lord, for ever;
with my mouth I will make known your (D)faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, (E)“Steadfast love will be built up for ever;
in the heavens (F)you will establish your (G)faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made (H)a covenant with my (I)chosen one;
I have (J)sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your (K)offspring for ever,
and build your (L)throne for all generations.’” Selah
19 (A)Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,[a] and said:
“I have (B)granted help to one who is (C)mighty;
I have exalted one (D)chosen from the people.
20 (E)I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have (F)anointed him,
21 so that my (G)hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
(H)the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will (I)crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My (J)faithfulness and my (K)steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his (L)horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on (M)the sea
and his right hand on (N)the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my (O)Father,
my God, and (P)the Rock of my salvation.’
Doxology
25 (A)Now to him who is able to strengthen you (B)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (C)according to the revelation of the mystery (D)that was kept secret for (E)long ages 26 but (F)has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, (G)to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to (H)the only wise God (I)be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named (B)Nazareth, 27 (C)to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, (D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, (E)O favoured one, (F)the Lord is with you!”[b] 29 But (G)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for (H)you have found favour with God. 31 And behold, (I)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and (J)you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of (K)the Most High. And the Lord God (L)will give to him the throne of (M)his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob (N)for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”[c]
35 And the angel answered her, (O)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (P)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be called (Q)holy—(R)the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her (S)who was called barren. 37 For (T)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And (U)the angel departed from her.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.