Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Entrance into the Temple
A Psalm of David.
24 The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein;
2 for he has founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false,
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.[a]Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up,[b] O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory!Selah
Departure from Sinai
11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the men of Judah set out first by their companies; and over their host was Nahshon the son of Ammin′adab. 15 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Is′sachar was Nethan′el the son of Zu′ar. 16 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Zeb′ulun was Eli′ab the son of Helon.
17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merar′i, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies; and over their host was Eli′zur the son of Shed′eur. 19 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Simeon was Shelu′mi-el the son of Zurishad′dai. 20 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Gad was Eli′asaph the son of Deu′el.
21 Then the Ko′hathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the men of E′phraim set out by their companies; and over their host was Elish′ama the son of Ammi′hud. 23 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Manas′seh was Gama′liel the son of Pedah′zur. 24 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Benjamin was Abi′dan the son of Gideo′ni.
25 Then the standard of the camp of the men of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies; and over their host was Ahi-e′zer the son of Ammishad′dai. 26 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Asher was Pa′giel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the host of the tribe of the men of Naph′tali was Ahi′ra the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel according to their hosts, when they set out.
29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reu′el the Mid′ianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us, and we will do you good; for the Lord has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go; I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Do not leave us, I pray you, for you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.”
33 So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.
35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechari′ah after his father, 60 but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zechari′ah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation[a] for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God,
when the day shall dawn upon[b] us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.