Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “Blessed(A) is the Lord God of Israel,
For (B)He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 (C)And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 (D)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been (E)since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (F)To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (G)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might (H)serve Him without fear,
75 (I)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (J)prophet of the Highest;
For (K)you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give (L)knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the [a]Dayspring from on high [b]has visited us;
79 (M)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To (N)guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The People Complain Harshly
13 “Your(A) words have been [a]harsh against Me,”
Says the Lord,
“Yet you say,
‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 (B)You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before the Lord of hosts?
15 So now (C)we call the proud blessed,
For those who do wickedness are [b]raised up;
They even (D)tempt God and go free.’ ”
A Book of Remembrance
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
To Live Is Christ
19 For I know that (A)this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but (B)with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life (C)or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I [a]cannot tell. 23 [b]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a (D)desire to depart and be with Christ, which is (E)far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that (F)your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.