Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

65 ^1-2 O God in Zion, we wait before you in silent praise, and thus fulfill our vow. And because you answer prayer, all mankind will come to you with their requests. ³ Though sins fill our hearts, you forgive them all. ⁴ How greatly to be envied are those you have chosen to come and live with you within the holy tabernacle courts! What joys await us among all the good things there. ⁵ With dread deeds and awesome power you will defend us from our enemies,^[a] O God who saves us. You are the only hope of all mankind throughout the world and far away upon the sea.

⁶ He formed the mountains by his mighty strength. ⁷ He quiets the raging oceans and all the world’s clamor. ⁸ In the farthest corners of the earth the glorious acts of God shall startle everyone. The dawn and sunset shout for joy! ⁹ He waters the earth to make it fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry! He prepares the earth for his people and sends them rich harvests of grain. ¹⁰ He waters the furrows with abundant rain. Showers soften the earth, melting the clods and causing seeds to sprout across the land. ^11-12 Then he crowns it all with green, lush pastures in the wilderness; hillsides blossom with joy. ¹³ The pastures are filled with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. All the world shouts with joy and sings.

¹² That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me all your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, mourning. ¹³ Let your remorse tear at your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered; he is full of kindness and anxious not to punish you.

¹⁴ Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will decide to leave you alone and give you a blessing instead of his terrible curse. Perhaps he will give you so much that you can offer your grain and wine to the Lord as before!

¹⁵ Sound the trumpet in Zion! Call a fast and gather all the people together for a solemn meeting. ¹⁶ Bring everyone—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her privacy.

¹⁷ The priests, the ministers of God, will stand between the people and the altar, weeping; and they will pray, “Spare your people, O our God; don’t let the heathen rule them, for they belong to you. Don’t let them be disgraced by the taunts of the heathen who say, ‘Where is this God of theirs? How weak and helpless he must be!’”

¹⁸ Then the Lord will pity his people and be indignant for the honor of his land! ¹⁹ He will reply, “See, I am sending you much corn and wine and oil, to fully satisfy your need. No longer will I make you a laughingstock among the nations. ²⁰ I will remove these armies from the north and send them far away; I will turn them back into the parched wastelands where they will die; half shall be driven into the Dead Sea and the rest into the Mediterranean, and then their rotting stench will rise upon the land. The Lord has done a mighty miracle for you.”

²¹ Fear not, my people; be glad now and rejoice, for he has done amazing things for you. ²² Let the flocks and herds forget their hunger; the pastures will turn green again. The trees will bear their fruit; the fig trees and grapevines will flourish once more.

⁴⁶ Mary responded, “Oh, how I praise the Lord. ⁴⁷ How I rejoice in God my Savior! ⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation forever shall call me blest of God. ⁴⁹ For he, the mighty Holy One, has done great things to me. ⁵⁰ His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who reverence him.

⁵¹ “How powerful is his mighty arm! How he scatters the proud and haughty ones! ⁵² He has torn princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. ⁵³ He has satisfied the hungry hearts and sent the rich away with empty hands. ⁵⁴ And how he has helped his servant Israel! He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful. ⁵⁵ For he promised our fathers—Abraham and his children—to be merciful to them forever.”