Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “(A)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (B)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (C)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (D)His servant—
70 (E)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (F)from of old—
71 [a](G)Salvation (H)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (I)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(J)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (K)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 (L)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (M)prophet of (N)the Most High;
For you will go on (O)before the Lord to (P)prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[b]By (Q)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (R)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (S)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (T)way of peace.”
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the (A)sorcerers and against the (B)adulterers and against those who (C)swear falsely, and against those who oppress the (D)wage earner in his wages, the (E)widow and the [a]orphan, and those who turn aside the [b](F)alien and do not [c]fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts. 6 “For [d]I, the Lord, (G)do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, [e]are not consumed.
7 “From the (H)days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. (I)Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
You Have Robbed God
8 “Will a man [f]rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In (J)tithes and [g]offerings. 9 You are (K)cursed with a curse, for you are [h]robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 (L)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be [i]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not (M)open for you the windows of heaven and (N)pour out for you a blessing until [j](O)it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the (P)devourer for you, so that it will not [k]destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “(Q)All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a (R)delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.
The Gospel Is Preached
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances (A)have turned out for the greater progress of the (B)gospel, 13 so that my [a](C)imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole [b]praetorian guard and to (D)everyone else, 14 and that most of the [c]brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my [d](E)imprisonment, have (F)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 (G)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even [e]from envy and strife, but some also [f]from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the (H)gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ (I)out of selfish ambition [g]rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my [h](J)imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.