Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The King of Glory
A psalm of David.[a]
24 The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness,
the world and those who live in it,
2 because he has founded it on the seas,
and has established it on the rivers.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of Yahweh?
And who may stand in his holy place?
4 He who is innocent of hands and pure of heart,
who does not lift up his soul to falseness,
and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from Yahweh,
and justice[b] from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the sort of those who seek[c] him,
those who seek your face, even Jacob. Selah
7 Lift up your heads, O gates,
and rise up, O ancient doorways,
that the king of glory[d] may enter.
8 Who is the king of glory?[e]
Yahweh, strong and mighty;
Yahweh, mighty in war!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates,
and lift up, O ancient doorways,
that the king of glory[f] may enter.
10 Who is the king of glory?[g]
Yahweh of hosts,
He is the king of glory![h] Selah
The Israelites Depart from Sinai
11 And it happened, in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month the cloud was lifted from upon the tabernacle of the testimony.[a] 12 And the Israelites[b] set out for their journey[c] from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud dwelled in the desert of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time[d] on the command of Yahweh in the hand of Moses.[e] 14 The standard of the camp of the descendants[f] of Judah set out for the first time according to their divisions, with Nahshon son of Amminadab over its division. 15 And Nathanel son of Zuar was over the division of the descendants[g] of Issachar; 16 Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[h] of Zebulun.
17 The tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, the bearers of the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their divisions; Elizur son of Shedeur was over their division. 19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the sons of the tribe of Simeon. 20 Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[i] of Gad.
21 The Kohathites, the bearers of the sanctuary, set out, and they set up the tabernacle before they arrived. 22 And the stand of the camp of the descendants[j] of Ephraim set out according to their divisions; Elishama son of Ammihud was over its division. 23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[k] of Manasseh. 24 Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[l] of Benjamin.
25 Then the standard of the camp of the descendants[m] of Dan, who formed a rear guard for all the camps, set out according to their divisions; Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was over its division. 26 Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[n] of Asher. 27 Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of the descendants[o] of Naphtali. 28 These were the departures of the Israelites[p] according to their divisions; and so they set out.
29 Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, “We are setting out to the place that Yahweh said, ‘I will give it to you’; go with us, and we will treat you well[q] because Yahweh promised[r] good concerning Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will only go to my land and to my family.” 31 He[s] said, “Please, do not abandon us because you know our encampment in the desert, and you should be our guide.[t] 32 Moreover, if you go with us, the good that Yahweh will do to us we will do to you.”
33 And so they set out from the mountain of Yahweh a journey of three days, with the ark of the covenant of Yahweh setting out ahead of them[u] three days’ journey to search out a resting place for them; 34 and the cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 And whenever the ark was setting out Moses would say,
“Rise up, Yahweh!
May your enemies be scattered;
may the ones that hate you flee from your presence.”
36 And when it rested he would say,
“Return, Yahweh,
to the countless thousands of Israel.”
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth that she should give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her,[a] and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were wanting to name him after[b] his father Zechariah. 60 And his mother answered and[c] said, “No, but he will be named John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one of your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father asking what he wanted him to be named, 63 and he asked for a writing tablet and[d] wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they were all astonished. 64 And his mouth and his tongue were opened immediately, and he began to speak,[e] praising God. 65 And fear came on all those who lived near them, and in all the hill country of Judea all these events were discussed. 66 And all those who heard kept these things[f] in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be? For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him!”
The Praise and Prophecy of Zechariah
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited to help and has redeemed[g] his people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times—
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us,
72 to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
could serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
76 And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the merciful compassion[h] of our God
by which the dawn will visit to help us from on high,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to direct our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
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