Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 (A)“Blessed be the Lord (B)God of Israel,
for he has (C)visited and (D)redeemed his people
69 and (E)has raised up (F)a horn of salvation for us
(G)in the house of his servant David,
70 (H)as (I)he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 (J)that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (K)to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and (L)to remember his holy (M)covenant,
73 (N)the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him (O)without fear,
75 (P)in holiness and righteousness before him (Q)all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called (R)the prophet of (S)the Most High;
for (T)you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
(U)in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the (V)tender mercy of our God,
whereby (W)the sunrise shall (X)visit us[a] (Y)from on high
79 to (Z)give light to (AA)those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into (AB)the way of (AC)peace.”
Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar
21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him (A)Pashhur the son of Malchiah and (B)Zephaniah the priest, the son of (C)Maaseiah, saying, 2 (D)“Inquire of the Lord for us, (E)for Nebuchadnezzar[a] king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to (F)all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (G)Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. (H)And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you (I)with outstretched hand and strong arm, (J)in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, (K)I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. (L)He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’
8 “And to this people you shall say: (M)‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, (N)I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die (O)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and (P)surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live (Q)and shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For (R)I have set my face against this city for harm and (S)not for good, declares the Lord: (T)it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’
Message to the House of David
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:
(U)“‘Execute justice (V)in the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
(W)lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 (X)“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,
declares the Lord;
you who say, (Y)‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’
14 (Z)I will punish you according to (AA)the fruit of your deeds,
declares the Lord;
(AB)I will kindle a fire in her forest,
(AC)and it shall devour all that is around her.”
23 Thus it was necessary for (A)the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places (B)made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God (C)on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as (D)the high priest enters (E)the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, (F)he has appeared (G)once for all (H)at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as (I)it is appointed for man to die once, and (J)after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once (K)to bear the sins of (L)many, will appear (M)a second time, (N)not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly (O)waiting for him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.