Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “Praise the Lord God of Israel!
He has come to take care of his people
and to set them free.
69 He has raised up a mighty Savior for us
in the family of his servant David.
70 He made this promise through his holy prophets long ago.
71 He promised to save us from our enemies
and from the power of all who hate us.
72 He has shown his mercy to our ancestors
and remembered his holy promise,[a]
73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.
74 He promised to rescue us from our enemies’ power
so that we could serve him without fear
75 by being holy and honorable as long as we live.
76 “You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.
You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.
77 You will make his people know that they can be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
78 A new day will dawn on us from above
because our God is loving and merciful.
79 He will give light to those who live in the dark
and in death’s shadow.
He will guide us into the way of peace.”
Warnings to the Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this message there: 2 “Listen to the Lord’s word, you officials, you people who come into these gates, and you, king of Judah, the one sitting on David’s throne.
3 “This is what the Lord says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don’t mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don’t oppress them. Don’t kill innocent people in this place. 4 If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David’s throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people. 5 But if you don’t do what I say, I will take an oath on myself,” declares the Lord, “that this palace will become a pile of rubble.
6 “This is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
This palace is like Gilead to me,
like the top of Lebanon.
I will certainly turn it into a desert,
into cities that no one lives in.
7 I will send people to destroy you.
They will have their own weapons.
They will cut down your finest cedar trees
and throw them on a fire.
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this important city?’ 9 The answer will be: ‘They rejected the promise [a] of the Lord their God. They worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
10 Don’t cry for the dead.
Don’t shake your heads at them.
Cry bitterly for those who are taken away,
because they won’t come back to see their homeland.
11 This is what the Lord says about King Josiah’s son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again. 12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.
13 “How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly
and his upper rooms through injustice.
He makes his neighbors work for nothing
and doesn’t pay them for their work.
14 He says, ‘I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.’
He cuts out windows in it,
panels the rooms with cedar,
and paints them red.
15 Do you think you’re a better king than others
because you use more cedar?
Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right.
Everything went well for him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy.
Everything went well for him.
Isn’t this what it means to know me?” asks the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your mind are set on nothing but dishonest profits.
You kill innocent people and violently oppress your people.”
Faith in Christ Brings You Joy
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! God has given us a new birth because of his great mercy. We have been born into a new life that has a confidence which is alive because Jesus Christ has come back to life. 4 We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can’t be destroyed or corrupted and can’t fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 since you are guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.
6 You are extremely happy about these things, even though you have to suffer different kinds of trouble for a little while now. 7 The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God. This will happen when Jesus Christ appears again.
8 Although you have never seen Christ, you love him. You don’t see him now, but you believe in him. You are extremely happy with joy and praise that can hardly be expressed in words 9 as you obtain the salvation that is the goal of your faith.
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