Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁹ Oh, people of Zion, citizens of Jerusalem, you will not cry anymore. God hears the sound of your weeping, and He will answer with grace. ²⁰ Even though the Lord has fed you the bitter food of adversity and offered you the water of oppression, your great Teacher will reveal Himself to you; your eyes will see Him. ²¹ Your ears will hear sweet words behind you: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go” whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or the left. ²² Then you’ll get rid of all your worthless idols clad in silver and your despicable images plated with gold. You will destroy these idols and discard them as you do filthy rags, saying, “Get out of here.”

²³ And then God will see to it that your efforts are fruitful—He’ll give you rain for your seedlings, bread from the earth, grain nourishing and plentiful. On that day your livestock will graze on acre after acre of green pastures. ²⁴ Also if the oxen and donkeys that work that ground for you are well fed with good grain that is carefully winnowed with shovel and fork, then they will be content. ²⁵ When the day arrives and your enemies are slaughtered and the towers come tumbling down, there will be rushing brooks of clear, sweet water running down every high mountain and steep hill. ²⁶ When the time comes and the Eternal One binds up the brokenness of His people and heals what He had bruised, then the light of the moon will shine as brightly as the midday sun, and the sun will shine seven times brighter than normal, as if one day had seven days of sunlight.

Paul: Israelites and other God-fearing people, please hear me. ¹⁷ The God of the Israelites chose our ancestors and helped them become a large population while they were living in Egypt many years ago. He displayed His great power by leading them out of that powerful nation. ¹⁸ For about 40 years, He endured their constant complaining in the wilderness. ¹⁹ He opened up some land for them in Canaan by destroying the seven nations living there, and that land became their inheritance for about 450 years. ²⁰ They had tribal leaders^[a] through the time of the prophet Samuel. ²¹ Then they asked for a king, and God gave them one—Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin—who reigned for 40 years. ²² After God moved Saul aside, He made David king in his place. God had this to say about David: “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after My own heart. He’s the kind of king who will rule in ways that please Me.”^{[b] 23} God has selected one of David’s descendants as the long-promised Liberator of Israel. I am speaking of Jesus.

²⁴ Before Jesus arrived on the scene, His cousin John was hard at work, proclaiming to all the people of Israel a ceremonial washing through baptism^[c] and pointing to a new direction in thought and life. ²⁵ John’s ministry climaxed when he said, “Who do you assume me to be? I am not the One you’re looking for. No, but One is coming after me, One whose sandal thong I am unworthy to untie.”^[d]