Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my (B)salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the [a](C)defense of my life;
(D)Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to (E)devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they (F)stumbled and fell.
3 Though a (G)host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I [b]shall be (H)confident.
4 (I)One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may (J)dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold (K)the [c]beauty of the Lord
And to [d](L)meditate in His temple.
5 For in the (M)day of trouble He will (N)conceal me in His [e]tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will (O)hide me;
He will (P)lift me up on a rock.
6 And now (Q)my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent (R)sacrifices [f]with shouts of joy;
I will (S)sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 (T)Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and (U)answer me.
8 When You said, “(V)Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, (W)I shall seek.”
9 (X)Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in (Y)anger;
You have been (Z)my help;
(AA)Do not abandon me nor (AB)forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 [g]For my father and (AC)my mother have forsaken me,
But (AD)the Lord will take me up.
11 (AE)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a (AF)level path
Because of [h]my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the [i](AG)desire of my adversaries,
For (AH)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as (AI)breathe out violence.
13 [j]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the (AJ)goodness of the Lord
In the (AK)land of the living.
14 (AL)Wait for the Lord;
Be (AM)strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.
Sin in the Family
10 “Do we not all have (A)one father? (B)Has not one God created us? Why do we deal (C)treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the (D)covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt (E)treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has (F)profaned the sanctuary of the Lord [a]which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the (G)Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who (H)presents [b]an offering to the Lord of hosts.
13 “This is [c]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He (I)no longer regards the [d]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the (J)wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt (K)treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 [e]But not one has (L)done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And [f]what did that one do while he was seeking a (M)godly [g]offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal (N)treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 For [h]I hate [i](O)divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and [j]him who covers his garment with [k](P)wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
17 You have (Q)wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “(R)Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He (S)delights in them,” or, “(T)Where is the God of (U)justice?”
The Purifier
3 “(V)Behold, I am going to send (W)My [l]messenger, and he will [m](X)clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; [n]and the [o](Y)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 (A)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named [a]Zacharias, of the (B)division of [b]Abijah; and he had a wife [c]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both (C)righteous in the sight of God, walking (D)blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in [d]years.
8 Now it happened that while (E)he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot (F)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer (G)outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And (H)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and (I)fear [e]gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, “(J)Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and (K)you will [f]give him the name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will (L)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [g]while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will (M)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will (N)go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of (O)Elijah, (P)to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to (Q)make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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