Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Great King[a]
24 (A)The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord;
the earth and all who live on it are his.
2 He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth
and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.
3 Who has the right to go up the Lord's hill?[b]
Who may enter his holy Temple?
4 (B)Those who are pure in act and in thought,
who do not worship idols
or make false promises.
5 The Lord will bless them and save them;
God will declare them innocent.
6 Such are the people who come to God,
who come into the presence of the God of Jacob.
7 Fling wide the gates,
open the ancient doors,
and the great king will come in.
8 Who is this great king?
He is the Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, victorious in battle.
9 Fling wide the gates,
open the ancient doors,
and the great king will come in.
10 Who is this great king?
The triumphant Lord—he is the great king!
The Israelites Break Camp
11 On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year after the people left Egypt, the cloud over the Tent of the Lord's presence lifted, 12 and the Israelites started on their journey out of the Sinai Desert. The cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.
13 They began to march at the command of the Lord through Moses, 14 and each time they moved, they were in the same order. Those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Judah started out first, company by company, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command. 15 Nethanel son of Zuar was in command of the tribe of Issachar, 16 and Eliab son of Helon was in command of the tribe of Zebulun.
17 Then the Tent would be taken down, and the clans of Gershon and Merari, who carried it, would start out.
18 Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Reuben would start out, company by company, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command. 19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was in command of the tribe of Simeon, 20 and Eliasaph son of Deuel was in command of the tribe of Gad.
21 Then the Levite clan of Kohath would start out, carrying the sacred objects. By the time they arrived at the next camp, the Tent had been set up again.
22 Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Ephraim would start out, company by company, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command. 23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was in command of the tribe of Manasseh, 24 and Abidan son of Gideoni was in command of the tribe of Benjamin.
25 Finally, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Dan, serving as the rear guard of all the divisions, would start out, company by company, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command. 26 Pagiel son of Ochran was in command of the tribe of Asher, 27 and Ahira son of Enan was in command of the tribe of Naphtali. 28 This, then, was the order of march, company by company, whenever the Israelites broke camp and set out.
29 Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Jethro the Midianite, “We are about to start out for the place which the Lord said he would give us. He has promised to make Israel prosperous, so come with us, and we will share our prosperity with you.”
30 Hobab answered, “No, I am going back to my native land.”
31 “Please don't leave us,” Moses said. “You know where we can camp in the wilderness, and you can be our guide. 32 If you come with us, we will share with you all the blessings that the Lord gives us.”
The People Set Out
33 When the people left Sinai, the holy mountain, they traveled three days. The Lord's Covenant Box always went ahead of them to find a place for them to camp. 34 As they moved on from each camp, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day.
35 (A)Whenever the Covenant Box started out, Moses would say, “Arise, Lord; scatter your enemies and put to flight those who hate you!” 36 And whenever it stopped, he would say, “Return, Lord, to the thousands of families of Israel.”[a]
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her, and they all rejoiced with her.
59 (A)When the baby was a week old, they came to circumcise him, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No! His name is to be John.”
61 They said to her, “But you don't have any relative with that name!” 62 Then they made signs to his father, asking him what name he would like the boy to have.
63 Zechariah asked for a writing pad and wrote, “His name is John.” How surprised they all were! 64 At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God. 65 The neighbors were all filled with fear, and the news about these things spread through all the hill country of Judea. 66 Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, “What is this child going to be?” For it was plain that the Lord's power was upon him.
Zechariah's Prophecy
67 John's father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he spoke God's message:
68 “Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.
69 He has provided for us a mighty Savior,
a descendant of his servant David.
70 He promised through his holy prophets long ago
71 that he would save us from our enemies,
from the power of all those who hate us.
72 He said he would show mercy to our ancestors
and remember his sacred covenant.
73-74 With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham
he promised to rescue us from our enemies
and allow us to serve him without fear,
75 so that we might be holy and righteous before him
all the days of our life.
76 (B)“You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his road for him,
77 to tell his people that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
78 Our God is merciful and tender.
He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us
79 (C)and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death,
to guide our steps into the path of peace.”
80 The child grew and developed in body and spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the people of Israel.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.