Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “(A)Blessed be the [a]Lord God of Israel,
For He visited and accomplished (B)redemption for His people,
69 And 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 [b](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 [c]Lord to (P)make ready His ways,
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[d]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 direct 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 (F)sojourner and do not [b]fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts. 6 “For [c]I, Yahweh, (G)do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, [d]are not consumed.
You Have Robbed God
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 Yahweh of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 “Will a man [e]rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In (J)tithes and [f]contributions. 9 You are (K)cursed with a curse, for you are [g]robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 (L)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be [h]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not (M)open for you the windows of heaven and (N)empty out for you a blessing until [i](O)it is beyond enough. 11 Then I will rebuke the (P)devourer for you so that it will not corrupt the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field [j]fail to bear,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “(Q)So all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a (R)delightful land,” says Yahweh of hosts.
The Progress of the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances (A)have turned out for the greater progress of the (B)gospel, 13 so that my (C)chains in Christ have become well known throughout the whole [a]praetorian guard and to (D)everyone else, 14 and that most of the [b]brothers, having become confident in the Lord because of my (E)chains, have (F)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 (G)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even [c]from envy and strife, but some also [d]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 [e]rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me affliction in my (J)chains. 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,
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