Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.
71 He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74 to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,
so that we are able to serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of God’s tender mercies,
by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The Lord Rejects King Zedekiah
21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah along with Zephaniah the priest, the son of Ma’aseiah,[a] to speak to Jeremiah. They said, 2 “Inquire of the Lord for us, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform some of his wonders on our behalf as he did in the past, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them:
Tell Zedekiah that 4 the Lord, the God of Israel, says this.
I will certainly turn the weapons of war in your hands against you, the ones you are using to fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans,[b] who are outside your wall besieging you. And I will bring them inside this city.
5 I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, with furious anger and great wrath. 6 I will strike those who live in this city, both man and animal. They will die of a terrible plague. 7 Afterward, says the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, those who serve him, and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword, and famine. I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies and into the hands of those who seek their lives. He will strike them with the sword. He will show them no compassion, no pity, and no mercy.
8 Tell this people this is what the Lord says. I will certainly set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but all those who go out and surrender to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will escape with their lives. 10 For I have set my face against this city to bring harm and not good, says the Lord. The city will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it up with fire.
11 Concerning the house of the king of Judah, this is the word of the Lord. 12 The Lord says that you, House of David, are to administer justice in the morning and deliver the victim of robbery from the hand of the oppressor, or my wrath will flare up like fire and burn so that no one can put it out, because of the evil you have done.
13 Look, I am against you, you who live in this valley in the rocky highlands, declares the Lord. I am against you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our homes?” 14 I will punish you according to what you have done, says the Lord. I will kindle a fire in the forest, and it will consume everything around you.
One Perfect Sacrifice
23 Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven be cleansed by these sacrifices, but it was necessary that the heavenly things themselves be cleansed with sacrifices better than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a handmade sanctuary, a representation of the true sanctuary. Instead, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise he would have needed to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once and for all, at the climax of the ages, in order to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered only once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.