Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Glory of God in Zion
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (A)city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 (B)Beautiful in [a]elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
4 For behold, (C)the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear (D)took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the (E)ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will (F)establish it forever. Selah
Balaam Foretells the Happiness of Israel
24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at (A)other times, to seek to use [a]sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel (B)encamped according to their tribes; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 (D)Then he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who (E)falls down, with eyes wide open:
5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
(F)Like aloes (G)planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be (H)in many waters.
8 “God(K) brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall (L)consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall (M)break their bones
And (N)pierce them with his arrows.
9 ‘He(O) bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’
(P)“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he (Q)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, (R)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. (S)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, (T)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the (U)latter days.”
Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin (A)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, (B)“Rejoice, highly favored one, (C)the Lord is with you; [a]blessed are you among women!”
29 But [b]when she saw him, (D)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found (E)favor with God. 31 (F)And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and (G)shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, (H)and will be called the Son of the Highest; and (I)the Lord God will give Him the (J)throne of His (K)father David. 33 (L)And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I [c]do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, (M)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called (N)the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For (O)with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.