Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The King of Glory Entering Zion.
A Psalm of David.
24 The (A)earth is the Lord’s, and [a]all it contains,
The (B)world, and those who dwell in it.
2 For He has (C)founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
3 Who may (D)ascend into the (E)hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy (F)place?
4 He who has (G)clean hands and a (H)pure heart,
Who has not (I)lifted up his soul [b]to falsehood
And has not (J)sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a (K)blessing from the Lord
And [c](L)righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 [d]This is the generation of those who (M)seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob. [e]Selah.
7 (N)Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O [f]ancient doors,
That the King of (O)glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord (P)strong and mighty,
The Lord (Q)mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O [g]ancient doors,
That the King of (R)glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of (S)hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah.
The Tribes Leave Sinai
11 Now in (A)the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the [a]tabernacle of the testimony; 12 and the sons of Israel set out on (B)their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the (C)wilderness of Paran. 13 (D)So they moved out for the first time according to the [b]commandment of the Lord through Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, (E)set out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army, 15 and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; 16 and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.
17 (F)Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out. 18 Next (G)the standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army, 19 and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, 20 and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.
21 (H)Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and (I)the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 (J)Next the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, was set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army, 23 and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh; 24 and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.
25 (K)Then the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the (L)rear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army, 26 and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher; 27 and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. 28 [c]This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.
29 Then Moses said to (M)Hobab the son of (N)Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the Lord said, ‘(O)I will give it to you’; (P)come with us and we will do you good, for the Lord (Q)has [d]promised good concerning Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “(R)I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives.” 31 Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you (S)will be as eyes for us. 32 So it will be, if you go with us, that [e](T)whatever good the Lord [f]does for us, (U)we will [g]do for you.”
33 (V)Thus they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey, with (W)the ark of the covenant of the Lord journeying in front of them for the [h]three days, to seek out (X)a resting place for them. 34 (Y)The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said,
“(Z)Rise up, O Lord!
And let Your enemies be scattered,
And let those (AA)who hate You flee [i]before You.”
36 When it came to rest, he said,
John Is Born
57 Now the time [a]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had [b](A)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (B)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, [c]after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they (D)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(E)His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 (F)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all (G)the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For (H)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
Zacharias’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zacharias (I)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (J)prophesied, saying:
68 “(K)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (L)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (M)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (N)His servant—
70 (O)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (P)from of old—
71 [d](Q)Salvation (R)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (S)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(T)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (U)The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 (V)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (W)prophet of (X)the Most High;
For you will go on (Y)before the Lord to (Z)prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[e]By (AA)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (AB)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (AC)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (AD)way of peace.”
80 (AE)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.