Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.
71 He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74 to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,
so that we are able to serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of God’s tender mercies,
by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
5 I will approach you to judge you. I will be quick to give testimony against those who practice occult arts, those who commit adultery, those who swear false oaths, those who cheat workers out of their wages, those who wrong a widow and a fatherless child, those who turn away a resident alien—all those who do not fear me, says the Lord of Armies.
6 Certainly I, the Lord, do not change. That is why you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end. 7 Since the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies.
You say, “In what way should we return?”
8 Will a man rob God? You are robbing me!
You say, “How have we robbed you?”
In regard to the tithe and the special offering.[a] 9 You are being cursed since all of you, the whole nation, are robbing me. 10 Bring the complete tithe to the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Just test me in this, says the Lord of Armies. See whether I do not open for you the windows[b] of heaven and pour down blessing on you, until there is more than enough. 11 I will restrain the devouring swarm so that it will not destroy your produce from your soil. Your vine in the field will not be without fruit, says the Lord of Armies. 12 All the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of Armies.
Christ Is Proclaimed
12 I want you to know, brothers,[a] that the things which happened to me actually took place to advance the gospel. 13 And so it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to all the rest, that I am in chains because of Christ.[b] 14 And, through my chains, the majority of the brothers in the Lord have become much more confident about daring to speak the word of God[c] fearlessly. 15 Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and others out of good will. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking they can cause trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 What does it matter? Only this, that in every way, whether for outward appearance or for the truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.
To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.