Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The beauty and glory of Zion.
A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised,
In the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
Is mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God hath made himself known in her palaces for a [a]refuge.
4 For, lo, the kings assembled themselves,
They [b]passed by together.
5 They saw it, then were they amazed;
They were dismayed, they [c]hasted away.
6 Trembling took hold of them there,
Pain, as of a woman in travail.
7 [d]With the east wind
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Jehovah of hosts, in the city of our God:
God will establish it for ever. Selah
9 We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of thy temple.
10 As is thy name, O God,
So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth:
Thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let mount Zion be glad,
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice,
Because of thy judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her;
Number the towers thereof;
13 Mark ye well her bulwarks;
[e]Consider her palaces:
That ye may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever:
He will be our guide even unto death.
24 1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said,
Balaam the son of Beor saith,
And the man whose eye [a]was closed saith;
4 He saith, who heareth the words of God,
Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, and having his eyes open:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As valleys are they spread forth,
As gardens by the river-side,
As lign-aloes which Jehovah hath planted,
As cedar-trees beside the waters.
7 Water shall flow from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters,
And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God bringeth him forth out of Egypt;
He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox:
He shall eat up the nations his adversaries,
And shall break their bones in pieces,
And smite them through with his arrows.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion,
And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
Blessed be every one that blesseth thee,
And cursed be every one that curseth thee.
10 And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, Jehovah hath kept thee back from honor. 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers that thou sentest unto me, saying, 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what Jehovah speaketh, that will I speak? 14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art [a]highly favored, the Lord is with thee[b]. 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found [c]favor with God. 31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob [d]for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also [e]the holy thing which is begotten [f]shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that [g]was called barren. 37 For no word from God shall be void of power. 38 And Mary said, Behold, the [h]handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
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