Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
68 “(A)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (B)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (C)horn of salvation for us
In the house of (D)His servant David—
70 (E)Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (F)from ancient times—
71 [a](G)Salvation (H)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (I)To show mercy to our fathers,
(J)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (K)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
75 (L)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, also will be called the (M)prophet of (N)the Most High;
For you will go on (O)before the Lord to (P)prepare His ways;
77 To give His people the knowledge of salvation
[b]By (Q)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (R)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (S)To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (T)way of peace.”
5 “Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the (A)sorcerers, the (B)adulterers, against those who (C)swear falsely, those who [a]oppress the (D)wage earner in his wages or the (E)widow or the [b]orphan, and those who turn away the (F)stranger from justice and do not [c]fear Me,” says the Lord of armies. 6 “For [d]I, the Lord, (G)do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
7 “From the (H)days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. (I)Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
You Have Robbed God
8 “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In (J)tithes and [e]offerings. 9 You are (K)cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! 10 (L)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not (M)open for you the windows of heaven and (N)pour out for you a blessing until [f](O)it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the (P)devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the Lord of armies. 12 “(Q)All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a (R)delightful land,” says the Lord of armies.
The Gospel Is Preached
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances (A)have turned out for the greater progress of the (B)gospel, 13 so that my [a](C)imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the [b]praetorian guard and to (D)everyone else, 14 and that most of the brothers and sisters, [c]trusting in the Lord because of my [d](E)imprisonment, have (F)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 (G)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even [e]from envy and strife, but some also [f]from goodwill; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the (H)gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ (I)out of selfish ambition [g]rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my [h](J)imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.
But not only that, I also will rejoice,
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.