Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 ‘The Lord God of Israel is a great God.
He has come to save his people. He has come to make them free.
69 He has sent a very strong person who will save us.[a]
This person comes from the family of his servant, King David.
70 Long ago, God promised that he would do this.
He gave his own prophets this message to speak.
71 God will save us from our enemies.
He will save us from everyone that hates us.
72 He has promised to be kind to our ancestors.
He will do the things that he promised in his holy covenant.
73 Yes, he will remember the strong promises that he spoke to Abraham.[b]
74 God said, “I will keep you safe from your enemies.
Then you can serve me and not be afraid.
75 You can live in a way that is good and right.
You can do this all your lives.” ’[c]
76 Zechariah then spoke to John:
‘You, my child, will be called a prophet of the powerful God who is over all.
You will go in front of the Lord to prepare a way for him.
77 You will tell God's people how God can save them.
They have done wrong things but God will forgive them.
78 Our God will forgive us because he is very kind.
He will send someone from the highest place.
When this person comes, it will be like the sunrise for us.[d]
79 He will bring light to people who are living without God.
It is like those people are living in the dark. They are afraid to die.
But he will shine on them.
He will show us how to live so that we will not be afraid.’[e]
A message to Judah's kings[a]
22 The Lord said to me, ‘Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. You must say to him, 2 “King of Judah, descendant of King David, listen to this message from the Lord. Your officers and the people of your palace must listen too. 3 The Lord says: You must do things that are right and fair. Punish those who rob other people. Help the people that they have hurt. Do not be cruel to foreigners who are living among you. Do not cheat them. Do not hurt or cheat widows, or children who have no family. Stop killing people who have not done anything wrong. 4 If you are careful to obey these commands, David's descendants will continue to rule as kings in this city. They will ride on horses and on chariots to come in through the city's gates. Their officers and their people will come with them. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, I will destroy this palace. I promise you that it will become a heap of stones! That is what I, the Lord, tell you.” ’
6 The Lord says this about the palace of the king of Judah:
‘This place is as beautiful as Gilead!
It is as beautiful as Lebanon's mountains.
But I will cause it to become a wilderness,
a place where nobody lives any more.
7 I will send enemies to destroy this place.
They will use their weapons to knock it all down.
They will cut down the strong beams of cedar wood.
They will throw them into the fire.
8 People from many nations will see what has happened here. They will ask each other, “Why has the Lord destroyed this great city?” 9 Other people will answer, “He did it because they refused to obey their covenant with the Lord their God. They worshipped other gods instead of him.” ’
A message about King Jehoahaz
10 Do not weep because the king is dead.
Do not be sad that he no longer lives.
Instead, weep for the king that has gone away.
He will never return to see his own land again.[b]
11 Josiah's son, Shallum, became king of Judah after his father died. But enemies took him away as a prisoner to a foreign land. The Lord says this about him: ‘He will never return to this land. 12 He will die in the foreign land where they took him as prisoner. He will not see this land again.’
A message about King Jehoiakim[c]
13 The Lord says,
‘Terrible trouble will happen to this man!
He cheats people
so that he can build a beautiful palace for himself.
He does not do what is right and fair.
He does not pay the people who work for him.
His own men have to work for nothing.
14 He says, “I will build a great palace for myself.
It will have large rooms upstairs.”
He puts windows in its walls.
He covers the walls with cedar wood.
He uses red paint to make it beautiful.
15 Are you better than other kings
because you use more cedar wood to build your palace?
Think about how your father lived.
He did what was right and fair.
He had enough to eat and to drink.
So he was happy with a good life.
16 He did what was right
for people who were poor and helpless.
So people were happy.
That is how people who know me should live.’
That is what the Lord says.
17 ‘But you always want to cheat people,
so that you can get more riches for yourself.
You make plans to kill people who have not done anything wrong.
You hurt people in cruel ways.’
3 We praise God, who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is very kind to us, so that he has given us new life. This is possible because God raised Jesus Christ to new life after his death. Now, as we live, we are sure that we will receive good things from God. 4 We wait to receive all the good things that he has prepared for us. Nobody can ever destroy those things. Nothing can spoil them. They will never become old or less beautiful. God is keeping those things in heaven for you. 5 God is using his great power to keep you safe, because you trust him. He will continue to keep you safe until the last day, when Christ will return. Then you will know that God has saved you completely from sin and from death.
6 All this causes you to be very happy, even when you have troubles. For a short time now, different kinds of troubles may make you sad. 7 The purpose of these troubles is to show whether you really trust God. When you believe in Jesus, that is more valuable even than gold. People put gold into a hot fire to see if it is really good. And even gold will come to an end one day. But if you continue to trust God in your troubles, he will be very happy. On the day when Jesus Christ returns and appears to everyone, God will praise you. He will say that you have done well. That will be great!
8 You have never seen Jesus, but still you love him. You do not see him now, but you believe in him. As a result, you are very happy. There are no words to describe how happy you are. 9 You are happy now because God is saving you from sin. You believe in Jesus, and you know that God saves you because of that.[a]
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