Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is his! 2 He is the one who pushed the oceans back to let dry land appear.[a]
3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord and enter where he lives? Who may stand before the Lord? 4 Only those with pure hands and hearts, who do not practice dishonesty and lying. 5 They will receive God’s own goodness[b] as their blessing from him, planted in their lives by God himself, their Savior. 6 These are the ones who are allowed to stand before the Lord and worship the God of Jacob.
7 Open up, O ancient gates, and let the King of Glory in. 8 Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, invincible in battle. 9 Yes, open wide the gates and let the King of Glory in.
10 Who is this King of Glory? The Commander of all of heaven’s armies!
11 The Cloud lifted from the Tabernacle on the twentieth day of the second month[a] of the second year of Israel’s leaving Egypt; 12 so the Israelites left the wilderness of Sinai, and followed the Cloud until it stopped in the wilderness of Paran. 13 This was their first journey after having received the Lord’s travel instructions to Moses.
14 At the head of the march was the tribe of Judah grouped behind its flag and led by Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 15 Next came the tribe of Issachar, led by Nethanel, the son of Zuar, 16 and the tribe of Zebulun, led by Eliab, the son of Helon.
17 The Tabernacle was taken down and the men of the Gershon and Merari divisions of the tribe of Levi were next in the line of march, carrying the Tabernacle upon their shoulders. 18 Then came the flag of the camp of Reuben, with Elizur the son of Shedeur leading his people. 19 Next was the tribe of Simeon headed by Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai; 20 and the tribe of Gad led by Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.
21 Next came the Kohathites carrying the items from the inner sanctuary. (The Tabernacle was already erected in its new location by the time they arrived.) 22 Next in line was the tribe of Ephraim behind its flag, led by Elishama, the son of Ammihud; 23 and the tribe of Manasseh led by Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 24 and the tribe of Benjamin, led by Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Last of all were the tribes headed by the flag of the tribe of Dan under the leadership of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai; 26 the tribe of Asher, led by Pagiel, the son of Ochran; 27 and the tribe of Naphtali, led by Ahira, the son of Enan. 28 That was the order in which the tribes traveled.
29 One day Moses said to his brother-in-law, Hobab (son of Reuel, the Midianite), “At last we are on our way to the Promised Land. Come with us and we will do you good; for the Lord has given wonderful promises to Israel!”
30 But his brother-in-law replied, “No, I must return to my own land and kinfolk.”
31 “Stay with us,” Moses pleaded, “for you know the ways of the wilderness and will be a great help to us.[b] 32 If you come, you will share in all the good things the Lord does for us.”
33 They traveled for three days after leaving Mount Sinai,[c] with the Ark at the front of the column to choose a place for them to stop. 34 It was daytime when they left, with the Cloud moving along ahead of them as they began their march. 35 As the Ark was carried forward, Moses cried out, “Arise, O Lord, and scatter your enemies; let them flee before you.” 36 And when the Ark was set down he said, “Return, O Lord, to the millions of Israel.”
57 By now Elizabeth’s waiting was over, for the time had come for the baby to be born—and it was a boy. 58 The word spread quickly to her neighbors and relatives of how kind the Lord had been to her, and everyone rejoiced.
59 When the baby was eight days old, all the relatives and friends came for the circumcision ceremony. They all assumed the baby’s name would be Zacharias, after his father.
60 But Elizabeth said, “No! He must be named John!”
61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they asked the baby’s father, talking to him by gestures.[a]
63 He motioned for a piece of paper and to everyone’s surprise wrote, “His name is John!” 64 Instantly Zacharias could speak again, and he began praising God.
65 Wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread through the Judean hills. 66 And everyone who heard about it thought long thoughts and asked, “I wonder what this child will turn out to be? For the hand of the Lord is surely upon him in some special way.”
67 Then his father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to visit his people and has redeemed them. 69 He is sending us a Mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago— 71 someone to save us from our enemies, from all who hate us.
72-73 “He has been merciful to our ancestors, yes, to Abraham himself, by remembering his sacred promise to him, 74 and by granting us the privilege of serving God fearlessly, freed from our enemies, 75 and by making us holy and acceptable, ready to stand in his presence forever.
76 “And you, my little son, shall be called the prophet of the glorious God, for you will prepare the way for the Messiah. 77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78 All this will be because the mercy of our God is very tender, and heaven’s dawn is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
80 The little boy greatly loved God[b] and when he grew up he lived out in the lonely wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.