Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 (A)“Blessed be the Lord (B)God of Israel,
for he has (C)visited and (D)redeemed his people
69 and (E)has raised up (F)a horn of salvation for us
(G)in the house of his servant David,
70 (H)as (I)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (J)that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (K)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and (L)to remember his holy (M)covenant,
73 (N)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him (O)without fear,
75 (P)in holiness and righteousness before him (Q)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (R)the prophet of (S)the Most High;
for (T)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
(U)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (V)tender mercy of our God,
whereby (W)the sunrise shall (X)visit us[a] (Y)from on high
79 to (Z)give light to (AA)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into (AB)the way of (AC)peace.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
(A)“They shall not lament for him, saying,
(B)‘Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’
They shall not lament for him, saying,
(C)‘Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’
19 With the burial of a donkey (D)he shall be buried,
dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from (E)Abarim,
for all (F)your lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, ‘I will not listen.’
(G)This has been your way from (H)your youth,
that you have not obeyed my voice.
22 (I)The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and (J)your lovers shall go into captivity;
(K)then you will be ashamed and confounded
because of all your evil.
23 O inhabitant of (L)Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,
(M)pain as of a woman in labor!”
24 (N)“As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were (O)the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off 25 and (P)give you (Q)into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 (R)I will hurl you and (S)the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”
28 Is this man (T)Coniah a despised, broken pot,
a (U)vessel no one cares for?
Why are he and his children hurled and cast
into a (V)land that they do not know?
29 (W)O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
“Write this man down as (X)childless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
(Y)for none of his offspring shall succeed
(Z)in sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.”
Let the Children Come to Me
15 (A)Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they (B)rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, (C)“Let the children come to me, and (D)do not hinder them, (E)for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 (F)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not (G)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.