Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
68 (A)“Blessed be the Lord (B)God of Israel,
for he has (C)visited and (D)redeemed his people
69 and (E)has raised up (F)a horn of salvation for us
(G)in the house of his servant David,
70 (H)as (I)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (J)that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (K)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and (L)to remember his holy (M)covenant,
73 (N)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him (O)without fear,
75 (P)in holiness and righteousness before him (Q)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (R)the prophet of (S)the Most High;
for (T)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
(U)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (V)tender mercy of our God,
whereby (W)the sunrise shall (X)visit us[a] (Y)from on high
79 to (Z)give light to (AA)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into (AB)the way of (AC)peace.”
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be (A)a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those (B)who oppress the hired worker in his wages, (C)the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Robbing God
6 “For (D)I the Lord do not change; (E)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 (F)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. (G)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. (H)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. (I)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ (J)In your tithes and contributions. 9 (K)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 (L)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby (M)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open (N)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke (O)the devourer[a] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then (P)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be (Q)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
The Advance of the Gospel
12 I want you to know, brothers,[a] that what has happened to me has really (A)served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard[b] and (B)to all the rest that (C)my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold (D)to speak the word[c] without fear.
15 (E)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, (F)knowing that I am put here for (G)the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ (H)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
To Live Is Christ
Yes, and I will rejoice,
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.