Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Mary Praises God
46 Then Mary said,
“My soul ·praises [exalts; glorifies; magnifies] the Lord [1 Sam. 2:1–10];
47 my ·heart [spirit] rejoices in God my Savior [Ps. 35:9],
48 because he has ·shown his concern for [noticed; looked favorably on] his ·humble [lowly] servant girl [1 Sam. 1:11].
[L For look/T behold] From now on, all ·people [L generations] will ·say that I am [call me] blessed [Ps. 138:6],
49 because the ·Powerful [Mighty] One has done great things for me.
His name is holy.
50 ·God will show his mercy [L His mercy is/continues] ·forever and ever [L to generations and generations]
to those who ·worship and serve [L fear; reverence] him [Ps. 103:17].
51 He has done mighty deeds ·by his power [L with his arm; C a metaphor for strength].
He has scattered the people who are proud
·and think great things about themselves [or in the schemes they devise; L in the thoughts/intentions of their hearts].
52 He has brought down ·rulers [the powerful] from their thrones
and ·raised up [exalted] the ·humble [lowly].
53 He has filled the hungry with good things [Ps. 107:9]
and sent the rich away ·with nothing [empty-handed].
54 He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,
·remembering to show them [mindful of his] mercy
55 as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his ·children [descendants; L seed] forever [Gen. 17:7, 19].”
The Mountain of the Lord
4 In the last days
the mountain ·on which the Lord’s Temple stands [L of the house of the Lord]
will become the ·most important [L head] of all mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
and people from other nations will come streaming to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the ·Temple [L house] of the God of Jacob,
so that he can teach us his ways,
and we can ·obey his teachings [L walk in his paths].”
His ·teachings [instruction; law; L Torah] will go out from ·Jerusalem [L Zion],
the word of the Lord from ·that city [L Jerusalem].
3 The Lord will ·judge [or arbitrate between] many nations;
he will ·make decisions about [settle disputes between] strong nations that are far away.
They will ·hammer [beat] their swords into ·plow blades [T plowshares]
and their spears into ·hooks for trimming trees [pruning hooks; Is. 2:4; Joel 3:10].
Nations will no longer raise swords against other nations;
they will not train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under his own grapevine and fig tree [C symbols of prosperity],
and no one will make him afraid,
because the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has said it.
5 All other nations ·may follow [L walk in the name of] their own gods,
but we will ·follow [L walk in the name of] the Lord our God forever and ever.
One in Christ
11 [L Therefore] Remember that you ·were born as Gentiles [are Gentiles in the flesh], the ones called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “circumcised.” (·Their circumcision is only something they themselves do on their bodies […L performed in the flesh by hands].) 12 Remember that ·in the past [at that time/season] you were without ·Christ [the Messiah]. You were ·not citizens [L excluded from the citizenship] of Israel, and you ·had no part in [L were aliens/strangers to] the ·agreements with the promise that God made to his people [L covenants of promise; C the Abrahamic (Gen. 12:1–3), Mosaic (Ex. 19—24), and Davidic (2 Sam. 7) covenants.] You had no hope, and you did not know God. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of ·Christ’s death [L Christ; C blood symbolizing his sacrificial death]. 14 Christ himself is our peace. He made ·both Jews and Gentiles one people [L both one], and broke down the wall of ·hate [hostility; enmity] that divided them [C the wall beyond which Gentiles could not pass in the Jerusalem temple, or the law of Moses that distinguished Jew from Gentile (see v. 15)] ·by giving his own body [L in his flesh; C this phrase may go with the following sentence]. 15 He did this by ·ending [setting aside; nullifying] the law of commands and rules ·by giving his own body [L in his flesh; C this phrase may go with the previous sentence]. His purpose was to make the two groups of people become one new ·people [humanity; person; man] in him and in this way make peace. 16 It was also Christ’s purpose to ·end [L put to death; kill] the ·hatred [hostility; enmity] between the two groups, to make them into one body, and to ·bring them back [reconcile them] to God. ·Christ did all this with his death on the cross [L …through the cross]. 17 Christ came and ·preached [proclaimed the Good News of] peace [Is. 52:7] to you who were ·far away from God [L far away/off], and to those who were ·near to God [L near; Is. 57:19]. 18 ·Yes, it is [For; or So that] through Christ we all have ·the right to come [free access] to the Father ·in [by] one Spirit.
19 Now you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer, but are citizens together with ·God’s holy people [T the saints]. You belong to God’s ·family [household]. 20 ·You are like a building that was built […having been built] on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the ·most important stone [cornerstone; or capstone; Is. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11] in that building, 21 and that whole building is joined together in Christ. He makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in Christ you, too, are being ·built together with the Jews [L built together] into a place where God lives through the Spirit.
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