Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Joyful Return of the Exiles
31 At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.(A)
2 Thus says the Lord:
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,(B)
3 the Lord appeared to him[a] from far away.[b]
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.(C)
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with your tambourines
and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.(D)
5 Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.(E)
6 For there shall be a day when sentinels will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.”(F)
Dedication to Theophilus
1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,(A) 3 I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start,[a] to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus,(B) 4 so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.
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.