Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
7 Somebody is coming across the mountains
to bring good news to us!
It is a beautiful thing to see him run towards us!
He has come to tell us that there will be peace,
because God will save our city.
He says to Zion,
‘Your God rules as king!’
8 Listen! The guards on the city's walls are shouting!
They all shout together with joy!
They can see for themselves
that the Lord is returning to Zion.
9 Jerusalem, your buildings have become heaps of stones,
but now you can all shout together with joy!
Sing aloud, because the Lord has comforted his people.
He has made Jerusalem safe again.
10 The Lord has shown all the nations how strong he is.
They can all see his holy power.
People all over the world will know
that our God has rescued his people.
God rules the world[a]
98 Sing a new song to praise the Lord.
He has done great things.
He has used his own power and his holy strength
to win against his enemies.
2 The Lord has shown everybody
that he has the power to save.
All the nations of the world
can see that he does what is right.
3 He has kept his promise
that he made to the people of Israel.
He has continued to take care of them
with his faithful love.
Everyone who lives everywhere on the earth can see
that God has the power to save people.
4 All people on the earth should shout aloud
to praise the Lord![b]
Sing happy songs to praise him!
5 Make music on your harps to praise him!
Make beautiful music!
6 Make a happy sound with trumpets and horns!
Shout aloud to praise the Lord, your king!
7 The sea and everything that is in it
should shout to praise the Lord!
The earth and all those who live in it
should shout as well!
8 The rivers should clap their hands,
and the mountains should all sing together,
9 to praise the Lord.
He is coming to judge the earth.[c]
He is a fair judge.
He will judge all the people of the world honestly.
In Jesus, God has shown us who he is
1 Many years ago, God spoke to our ancestors by his prophets.[a] He spoke many times and in many different ways. 2 But in these last days, he has spoken to us in his Son.[b] In the beginning, God worked through his Son to make the whole universe. He decided that everything should belong to his Son. 3 The Son shows us completely what God is like. He shines with God's great glory. His nature is the same as God's nature. The Son's powerful word causes everything to continue. He himself made it possible for us to be clean from our sins. After he had done that, he returned to heaven. He went and he sat at the right side of God, who rules with all authority.[c]
God's Son is greater than the angels
4 That shows us that God's Son is much greater than the angels. God has given him a name that shows he is more important than they are.
5 God never said this to any angel:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’[a]
In another place in the Bible, God says,
‘I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.’[b]
6 Also, when God was ready to bring his greatest Son into the world, he said:
‘All God's angels must worship him.’
7 God speaks about the angels like this:
‘God makes his angels like winds.
They serve him like fires that burn brightly.’
8 But this is what God says to his Son:
‘You are God and you will rule as King for ever!
You will rule your kingdom in a completely good way.
9 You love everything that is right.
And you hate everything that is wrong.
Because of that, you will be completely happy.
I am your God and I have blessed you.
I have chosen you to be greater than others who are with you.’
10 The Bible also says this:
‘Lord, in the beginning you made the earth.
With your own power, you also made everything above the earth.
11 All these things will come to an end.
But as for you, you will continue for ever.
Like clothes, those things will all become old.
12 Then you will put them away like an old coat.
You will change them, like people change clothes.
But you will always continue to be the same.
Your life will never come to an end.’
The Word became human
1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God. The Word was God.[a] 2 He was with God from the beginning. 3 God made all things through the Word. God did not make anything without him. 4 It is the Word who caused everything to live. Because of this, he has brought light to all people. 5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark cannot put out the light.[b]
6 God sent a man to bring his message. His name was John.[c] 7 He came to tell people about the light. God wanted everyone to believe in the one who is the light. 8 John himself was not that light. God sent him to tell people about the light. 9 The true light gives light to every person. That light was now coming into the world.
10 The Word was now in the world. God had made the world through him. But the people in the world did not know who he was. 11 He came to his own place, but his own people did not accept him. 12 Some people did accept him and they believed in him. He gave authority to those people to become God's children. 13 They did not become God's children in the usual human way. They were not born because some people wanted to have children. They were not born because of what any man decided. No! They were born from God.
14 The Word became a man. He lived among us. We saw his great glory. He has the glory of the Father's one true Son. He is full of God's grace and truth.
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