Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel’s Song of Joy
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you will see evil no more.
16 On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands be slack.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a Mighty One, who will save.
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will renew you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
18 I will gather those who grieve
for the appointed festival,
which is a reproach and burden on you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppress you;
I will save the lame
and gather the outcast;
I will give them praise and fame
in every land where they have been put to shame.
20 At that time I will bring you in,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes,
says the Lord.
2 Certainly God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song;
He also has become my salvation.
3 Therefore with joy you shall draw water
out of the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you shall say:
Praise the Lord, call upon His name,
declare His deeds among the peoples,
make them remember that His name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things;
let this be known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion.
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let everyone come to know your gentleness. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
7 Then he said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You children of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is put to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 The people asked him, “What then must we do?”
11 John answered, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none. And he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
13 He said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed you.”
14 Then the soldiers likewise demanded of him, “And what must we do?”
He said to them, “Do no violence to anyone nor accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and everyone reflected in their hearts upon John, whether he might be the Christ or not, 16 John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water. But One mightier than I is coming, the strings of whose shoes I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into His granary. But He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 Then he preached many other things in his exhortation to the people.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.