Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Chapter 11
A Reign of Justice and Peace[a]
1 A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch will grow from his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and power,
a Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord,
3 and his delight will be the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by outward appearances
or reach a verdict based on hearsay.
4 Rather, he will judge the poor with justice
and render fair decisions for the weak and the poor.
He will strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 Then the wolf will live alongside the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion will browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze side by side;
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat hay like the ox.
8 The infant will play by the cobra’s den,
and the young child will lay his hand
on the viper’s nest.
9 No injury or harm will occur
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be filled with knowledge of the Lord
just as water covers the sea.
Ephraim and Judah United
10 On that day the root of Jesse
will be established as a signal to the nations.
They will come forth to unite under him,
and his dwelling will be glorious.
Psalm 72[a]
The Kingdom of the Messiah
1 Of Solomon.
O God, endow the king with your judgment,
the son of kings with your righteousness.
2 [b]He will govern your people fairly
and deal justly with your poor ones.
3 The mountains will yield peace for the people,
and the hills, righteousness.
4 He will defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor,
and overwhelm the oppressor.
5 He will reign as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.
6 He will descend like rain on the meadow,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Justice will reign in his days,
and peace will abound
until the moon is no more.
18 [a]Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone can perform such wondrous deeds.
19 May his glorious name be blessed forever,
and may the whole world be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.
4 For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that by perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we may continue to have hope.
5 May the God of perseverance and encouragement grant that you may live in harmony with one another, following in the example of Jesus Christ, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Fidelity and Mercy.[a] 7 Therefore, accept one another for the glory of God, just as Christ has accepted you. 8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant of the circumcised to manifest God’s truthfulness by confirming the promises given to the patriarchs 9 and so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
“Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.”
10 And again it says:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”[b]
11 Further it adds:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him.”
12 And again Isaiah asserts:
“The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who will arise to rule the Gentiles;
the Gentiles will hope in him.”[c]
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may grow rich in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Inaugurates His Ministry as Savior
Chapter 3
John the Baptist Preaches and Baptizes.[a]1 In those days, John the Baptist[b] appeared in the desert of Judea, preaching: 2 “Repent,[c] for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” This was the man of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said:
3 “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ”[d]
4 John’s clothing was made of camel’s hair, with a leather loincloth around his waist, and his food consisted of locusts and wild honey.[e] 5 The people of Jerusalem and the whole of Judea and the entire region along the Jordan went out to him, 6 and as they confessed their sins they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 [f]But when he observed many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Produce good fruit as proof of your repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves: ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 [g]“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I am. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”[h]
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