Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.[a](A)
9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.(B)
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.(C)
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.(D)
13 Righteousness will go before him
and will make a path for his steps.(E)
Israel Rejects Correction
6 I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities
and lack of bread in all your places;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(A)
7 And I also withheld the rain from you
when there were still three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city
and send no rain on another city;
one field would be rained upon,
and the field on which it did not rain withered;
8 so two or three towns wandered to one town
to drink water and were not satisfied;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(B)
9 I struck you with blight and mildew;
I laid waste[a] your gardens and your vineyards;
the locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(C)
10 I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword;
I carried away your horses;[b]
and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(D)
11 I overthrew some of you
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were like a brand snatched from the fire;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(E)
12 Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!(F)
13 For the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind,
reveals his thoughts to mortals,
makes the morning darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth—
the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!(G)
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.(A)
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.(B) 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.(C)
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:(D)
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on[a] his people and redeemed them.(E)
69 He has raised up a mighty savior[b] for us
in the house of his child David,(F)
70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,(G)
71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,(H)
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,(I) 75 in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.(J)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(K)
77 to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.(L)
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break[c] upon[d] us,
79 to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”(M)
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.(N)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.