Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Mary’s Praise
46 And Mary said:
My soul proclaims the greatness of[a] the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit has rejoiced(B) in God my Savior,(C)
48 because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,(D)
49 because the Mighty One(E)
has done great things for me,(F)
and His name(G) is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation(H)
on those who fear Him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with His arm;(I)
He has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
52 He has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things(J)
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
mindful of His mercy,[b]
55 just as He spoke to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his descendants[c] forever.
The Lord’s Rule from Restored Zion
4 In the last days(A)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(B)
will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will stream to it,(C)
2 and many nations will come and say,(D)
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(E)
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about His ways(F)
so we may walk in His paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion(G)
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will settle disputes among many peoples(H)
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows,
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
4 But each man will sit under his grapevine(I)
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.(J)
For the mouth of the Lord(K) of Hosts
has promised this.
5 Though all the peoples each walk
in the name of their gods,(L)
we will walk(M) in the name of Yahweh our God
forever and ever.(N)
Unity in Christ
11 So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,”(A) which is done in the flesh by human hands.(B) 12 At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,(C) without hope(D) and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood(E) of the Messiah. 14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one(F) and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, 15 He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create(G) in Himself one(H) new man from the two, resulting in peace. 16 He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body(I) through the cross and put the hostility to death by it.[a] 17 When the Messiah came, He proclaimed the good news(J) of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.(K) 18 For through Him we both have access(L) by one Spirit to the Father.(M) 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,(N) with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. 21 The whole building, being put together(O) by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord.(P) 22 You also are being built together(Q) for God’s dwelling(R) in the Spirit.
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