Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

40 Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God.

² Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her, That her warfare hath been completed, That accepted hath been her punishment, That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.

³ A voice is crying -- in a wilderness -- Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, Make straight in a desert a highway to our God.

⁴ Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place hath become a plain, And the entangled places a valley.

⁵ And revealed hath been the honour of Jehovah, And seen [it] have all flesh together, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.

⁶ A voice is saying, `Call,' And he said, `What do I call?' All flesh [is] grass, and all its goodliness [is] As a flower of the field:

⁷ Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people [is] grass;

⁸ Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever.

⁹ On a high mountain get thee up, O Zion, Proclaiming tidings, Lift up with power thy voice, O Jerusalem, proclaiming tidings, Lift up, fear not, say to cities of Judah, `Lo, your God.'

¹⁰ Lo, the Lord Jehovah with strength cometh, And His arm is ruling for Him, Lo, His hire [is] with Him, and His wage before Him.

¹¹ As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth [them]: Suckling ones He leadeth.

85 To the Overseer. -- By sons of Korah. A Psalm. Thou hast accepted, O Jehovah, Thy land, Thou hast turned [to] the captivity of Jacob.

² Thou hast borne away the iniquity of Thy people, Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

⁸ I hear what God Jehovah speaketh, For He speaketh peace unto His people, And unto His saints, and they turn not back to folly.

⁹ Only, near to those fearing Him [is] His salvation, That honour may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Kindness and truth have met, Righteousness and peace have kissed,

¹¹ Truth from the earth springeth up, And righteousness from heaven looketh out,

¹² Jehovah also giveth that which is good, And our land doth give its increase.

¹³ Righteousness before Him goeth, And maketh His footsteps for a way!

⁸ And this one thing let not be unobserved by you, beloved, that one day with the Lord [is] as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day;

⁹ the Lord is not slow in regard to the promise, as certain count slowness, but is long-suffering to us, not counselling any to be lost but all to pass on to reformation,

¹⁰ and it will come -- the day of the Lord -- as a thief in the night, in which the heavens with a rushing noise will pass away, and the elements with burning heat be dissolved, and earth and the works in it shall be burnt up.

¹¹ All these, then, being dissolved, what kind of persons doth it behove you to be in holy behaviours and pious acts?

¹² waiting for and hasting to the presence of the day of God, by which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements with burning heat shall melt;

¹³ and for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise we do wait, in which righteousness doth dwell;

¹⁴ wherefore, beloved, these things waiting for, be diligent, spotless and unblameable, by Him to be found in peace,

¹⁵ and the long-suffering of our Lord count ye salvation, according as also our beloved brother Paul -- according to the wisdom given to him -- did write to you,

1 A beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God.

² As it hath been written in the prophets, `Lo, I send My messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee,' --

³ `A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye his paths,' --

⁴ John came baptizing in the wilderness, and proclaiming a baptism of reformation -- to remission of sins,

⁵ and there were going forth to him all the region of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and they were all baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁶ And John was clothed with camel's hair, and a girdle of skin around his loins, and eating locusts and honey of the field,

⁷ and he proclaimed, saying, `He doth come -- who is mightier than I -- after me, of whom I am not worthy -- having stooped down -- to loose the latchet of his sandals;

⁸ I indeed did baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'