Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

27 A psalm for David himself. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

² Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple.

³ Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts.

⁴ Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands give thou to them: render to them their reward.

⁵ Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the operations of his hands: thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build them up.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication.

⁷ The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed.

⁹ Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

¹⁰ Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why then doth every one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers?

¹¹ Juda hath transgressed, and abomination hath been committed in Israel, and in Jerusalem: for Juda hath profaned the holiness of the Lord, which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

¹² The Lord will cut off the man that hath done this, both the master, and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering to the Lord of hosts.

¹³ And this again have you done, you have covered the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and bellowing, so that I have no more a regard to sacrifice, neither do I accept any atonement at your hands.

¹⁴ And you have said: For what cause? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee, and the wife of thy youth, whom thou hast despised: yet she was thy partner, and the wife of thy covenant.

¹⁵ Did not one make her, and she is the residue of his spirit? And what doth one seek, but the seed of God? Keep then your spirit, and despise not the wife of thy youth.

¹⁶ When thou shalt hate her put her away, saith the Lord the God of Israel: but iniquity shall cover his garment, saith the Lord of hosts, keep your spirit, and despise not.

¹⁷ You have wearied the Lord with your words, and you said: Wherein have we wearied him? In that you say: Every one that doth evil, is good in the sight of the Lord, and such please him: or surely where is the God of judgment?

3 Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.

⁶ And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame.

⁷ And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.

⁸ And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God,

⁹ According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰ And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense.

¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the alter of incense.

¹² And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John:

¹⁴ And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity.

¹⁵ For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

¹⁶ And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

¹⁷ And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.