Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
(A)‘For (B)Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’ ”
3 Therefore with joy you will draw (C)water
From the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say:
(D)“Praise the Lord, call upon His name;
(E)Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His (F)name is exalted.
5 (G)Sing to the Lord,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
6 (H)Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is (I)the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
8 “Behold, (A)the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I (B)will destroy it from the face of the earth;
Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
9 “For surely I will command,
And will [a]sift the house of Israel among all nations,
As grain is sifted in a sieve;
(C)Yet not the smallest [b]grain shall fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,
(D)Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
Israel Will Be Restored
11 “On(E) that day I will raise up
The [c]tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
And [d]repair its damages;
I will raise up its ruins,
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 (F)That they may possess the remnant of (G)Edom,[e]
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,”
Says the Lord who does this thing.
13 “Behold, (H)the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
(I)The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And all the hills shall flow with it.
14 (J)I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
(K)They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant them in their land,
(L)And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they (A)rejoiced with her.
Circumcision of John the Baptist
59 So it was, (B)on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, (C)“No; he shall be called John.”
61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them (D)kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And (E)the hand of the Lord was with him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.