Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 Bethlehem Ephrathah,(A)
you are small among the clans of Judah;
one will come from you(B)
to be ruler over Israel for me.(C)
His origin[a] is from antiquity,(D)
from ancient times.
3 Therefore, Israel will be abandoned(E) until the time
when she who is in labor(F) has given birth;
then the rest of the ruler’s brothers(G) will return
to the people of Israel.(H)
4 He will stand and shepherd them(I)
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majestic name of the Lord his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.(J)
5 He will be their peace.(K)
When Assyria invades our land,(L)
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
Mary’s Praise
46 And Mary said:
My soul magnifies the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit rejoices(B) in God my Savior,(C)
48 because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,(D)
49 because the Mighty One(E)
has done great things for me,(F)
and his name(G) is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation(H)
on those who fear him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm;(I)
he has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;(J)
52 he has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.(K)
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things(L)
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy
55 to Abraham and his descendants[a] forever,(M)
just as he spoke to our ancestors.
Psalm 80
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”(A) A testimony of Asaph.(B) A psalm.
1 Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;(C)
you who sit enthroned between the cherubim,(D)
shine(E) 2 on Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasseh.(F)
Rally your power and come to save us.(G)
3 Restore us, God;
make your face shine on us,(H)
so that we may be saved.(I)
4 Lord God of Armies,
how long will you be angry
with your people’s prayers?(J)
5 You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure[a]
of tears to drink.(K)
6 You put us at odds with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.(L)
7 Restore us, God of Armies;
make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.(M)
5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:
You did not desire sacrifice and offering,
but you prepared a body for me.
6 You did not delight
in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See—
it is written about me
in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, God.”[a](A)
8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law(B)), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will.[b] He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.(C)
Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40 where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.(A) 42 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed![a] 43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”
Mary’s Praise
46 And Mary said:
My soul magnifies the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit rejoices(B) in God my Savior,(C)
48 because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,(D)
49 because the Mighty One(E)
has done great things for me,(F)
and his name(G) is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation(H)
on those who fear him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm;(I)
he has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;(J)
52 he has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.(K)
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things(L)
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy
55 to Abraham and his descendants[a] forever,(M)
just as he spoke to our ancestors.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.