Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited to help and has redeemed[a] his people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times—
71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us,
72 to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
could serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
76 And so you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the merciful compassion[b] of our God
by which the dawn will visit to help us from on high,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to direct our feet into the way of peace.”
5 “Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely,[a] and against the oppressors of the hired worker with his wages, the widow and the orphan, and the abusers of[b] the alien,[c] and yet do not fear me,” says Yahweh of hosts.
An Overflowing Blessing
6 “For I, Yahweh, have not changed,[d] and you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.[e] 7 From the days of your ancestors[f] you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept[g] them! Return to me and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “but you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 Will a human dare to rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In the tithes and the contributions! 9 You are being cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse,[h] so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you an overflowing blessing.[i] 11 I will rebuke the devourer[j] for you; it will not destroy the fruit of your soil; your vine in the field will not be unfruitful,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “And all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a land in which one takes joy,”[k] says Yahweh of hosts.
The Progress of the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances[a] have happened instead for the progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in Christ has become known in the whole praetorium[b] and to all the rest, 14 and most of the brothers, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, dare even more to speak the word without fear. 15 Some even because of envy and strife preach Christ, but some also because of good will. 16 The latter do so from love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction in my imprisonment. 18 What is the result?[c] Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But also I will rejoice,
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