Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁶⁸ “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to visit his people and has redeemed them. ⁶⁹ He is sending us a Mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago— ⁷¹ someone to save us from our enemies, from all who hate us.

^72-73 “He has been merciful to our ancestors, yes, to Abraham himself, by remembering his sacred promise to him, ⁷⁴ and by granting us the privilege of serving God fearlessly, freed from our enemies, ⁷⁵ and by making us holy and acceptable, ready to stand in his presence forever.

⁷⁶ “And you, my little son, shall be called the prophet of the glorious God, for you will prepare the way for the Messiah. ⁷⁷ You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. ⁷⁸ All this will be because the mercy of our God is very tender, and heaven’s dawn is about to break upon us, ⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

22 Then the Lord said to me: Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah and say, ² Listen to this message from God, O king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne; and let your servants and your people listen too.

³ The Lord says: Be fair-minded. Do what is right! Help those in need of justice! Quit your evil deeds! Protect the rights of aliens and immigrants, orphans and widows; stop murdering the innocent! ⁴ If you put an end to all these terrible deeds you are doing, then I will deliver this nation and once more give kings to sit on David’s throne, and there shall be prosperity for all. ⁵ But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace shall become a shambles.

⁶ For this is the Lord’s message concerning the palace: You are as beloved to me as fruitful Gilead and the green forests of Lebanon; but I will destroy you and leave you deserted and uninhabited. ⁷ I will call for a wrecking crew to bring out its tools to dismantle you. They will tear out all of your fine cedar beams and throw them on the fire. ⁸ Men from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, “Why did the Lord do it? Why did he destroy such a great city?” ⁹ And the answer will be, “Because the people living here forgot the Lord their God and violated his agreement with them, for they worshiped idols.”

¹⁰ Don’t weep for the dead! Instead weep for the captives led away! For they will never return to see their native land again. ¹¹ For the Lord says this about Jehoahaz who succeeded his father^[a] King Josiah and was taken away as a captive: ¹² He shall die in a distant land^[b] and never again see his own country.

¹³ And woe to you, King Jehoiakim,^[c] for you are building your great palace with forced labor. By not paying wages you are building injustice into its walls and oppression into its doorframes and ceilings. ¹⁴ You say, “I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows, paneled throughout with fragrant cedar and painted a lovely red.” ¹⁵ But a beautiful palace does not make a great king! Why did your father Josiah reign so long? Because he was just and fair in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. ¹⁶ He saw to it that justice and help were given the poor and the needy and all went well for him. This is how a man lives close to God. ¹⁷ But you! You are full of selfish greed and all dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign with ruthlessness.

³ All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead. ⁴ And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. ⁵ And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. ⁶ So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here.

⁷ These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return.

⁸ You love him even though you have never seen him; though not seeing him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with the inexpressible joy that comes from heaven itself. ⁹ And your further reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.