Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The City of Our God
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 (A)Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised,
In the (B)city of our God, His (C)holy mountain.
2 (D)Beautiful in elevation, (E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (F)city of the great King.
3 God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.
4 For, behold, the (H)kings assembled themselves,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were astonished;
They were (I)dismayed, they [a]fled in alarm.
6 [b]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as of (J)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (K)east wind
You (L)break the (M)ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Yahweh of hosts, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. [c]Selah.
9 We have thought on (O)Your lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (P)name, O God,
So is Your (Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (R)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount (S)Zion be glad,
Let the (T)daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion and go around her;
Count her (U)towers;
13 Consider her (V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
That you may (W)recount it to the next generation.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)guide us [d]over death.
Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam
24 And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to [a]encounter (A)omens, but he set his face toward the (B)wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his [b]discourse and said,
“(D)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;
4 The oracle of him who (E)hears the [c]words of God,
Who beholds the (F)vision of [d]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like [e]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like (G)aloes planted by Yahweh,
Like (H)cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be lifted up higher than (I)Agag,
(J)And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 (K)God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
(L)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will gnaw their bones in pieces,
And [f]shatter them with his (M)arrows.
9 (N)He [g]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [h]lion, who [i]dares rouse him?
(O)Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his [j]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly these three times! 11 So now, [k]flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(P)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the [l]command of Yahweh, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [m]accord. (R)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? 14 So now, behold, (S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the last days.”
Jesus’ Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called (B)Nazareth, 27 to (C)a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, (D)of the [a]house of David, and the virgin’s name was [b]Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, [c]favored one! The Lord [d]is with you.” 29 But she (E)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And the angel said to her, “(F)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you (G)shall name Him Jesus. 32 [e]He will be great and will be called the Son of (H)the Most High, and the [f]Lord God will give Him (I)the throne of His father David, 33 (J)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, (K)and there will be no end of His kingdom.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I [g]am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “(L)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (M)the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason [h](N)the holy Child shall be called (O)the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For [i](P)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the [j]Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
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