Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Israel’s Joyful Song
14 Sing happily, people of Zion!
Shout loudly, Israel!
Celebrate and rejoice with all your heart, people of Jerusalem.
15 The Lord has reversed the judgments against you.
He has forced out your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is with you.
You will never fear disaster again.
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Do not be afraid, Zion!
Do not lose courage!”
17 The Lord your God is with you.
He is a hero who saves you.
He happily rejoices over you,
renews you with his love,
and celebrates over you with shouts of joy.
Israel Will Return Home
18 “I will gather those among you who are troubled because of the festivals.
They bear a burden of disgrace.
19 At that time
I will deal with all who have overpowered you.
I will rescue those who are lame.
I will gather those who have been scattered.
I will make them praised and famous in all the world,
though they had been ashamed.
20 At that time I will bring you ⌞home⌟.
Yes, at that time I will gather you together.
I will make you famous and praised among all the people of the earth
when I restore your fortunes right before your eyes,” says the Lord.
2 Look! God is my Savior.
I am confident and unafraid,
because the Lord is my strength and my song.
He is my Savior.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.
4 At that time you will say,
“Praise the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make his deeds known among the nations.
Make them remember that his name is highly honored.
5 Make music to praise the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Shout loudly, and sing with joy, people of Zion!
The Holy One of Israel is great. He is among you.”
Always Be Joyful
4 Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! 5 Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. 6 Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. 7 Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.
7 Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? 8 Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”
10 The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”
11 He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.”
12 Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.”
14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.”
15 People’s hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. 16 John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing [a] shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor.[b] He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”
18 With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.
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