Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
7 For thus says the Lord:
(A)“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will bring them (B)from the north country,
And (C)gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 (D)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk (E)by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My (F)firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the [a]isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel (G)will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For (H)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him (I)from the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in (J)the height of Zion,
Streaming to (K)the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a (L)well-watered garden,
(M)And they shall sorrow no more at all.
13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will [b]satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.
14 (A)He makes peace in your borders,
And (B)fills you with [a]the finest wheat.
15 (C)He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16 (D)He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts out His hail like [b]morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?
18 (E)He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 (F)He declares His word to Jacob,
(G)His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 (H)He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
[c]Praise the Lord!
Redemption in Christ
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as (B)He chose us in Him (C)before the foundation of the world, that we should (D)be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 (E)having predestined us to (F)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, (G)according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, (H)by which He [a]made us accepted in (I)the Beloved.
7 (J)In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to (K)the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and [b]prudence, 9 (L)having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure (M)which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of (N)the fullness of the times (O)He might gather together in one (P)all things in Christ, [c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 (Q)In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to (R)the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 (S)that we (T)who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard (U)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, (V)you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 (W)who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance (X)until the redemption of (Y)the purchased possession, (Z)to the praise of His glory.
The Eternal Word(A)
1 In the beginning (B)was the Word, and the (C)Word was (D)with God, and the Word was (E)God. 2 (F)He was in the beginning with God. 3 (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 (H)In Him was life, and (I)the life was the light of men. 5 And (J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a (K)man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a (L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might (M)believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that (N)Light. 9 (O)That[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and (A)the world did not know Him. 11 (B)He came to His [a]own, and His [b]own did not receive Him. 12 But (C)as many as received Him, to them He gave the [c]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 (D)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14 (E)And the Word (F)became (G)flesh and dwelt among us, and (H)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, (I)full of grace and truth.
15 (J)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, (K)‘He who comes after me [d]is preferred before me, (L)for He was before me.’ ”
16 [e]And of His (M)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For (N)the law was given through Moses, but (O)grace and (P)truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (Q)No one has seen God at any time. (R)The only begotten [f]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.