Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
68 “Blessed(A) is the Lord God of Israel,
For (B)He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 (C)And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 (D)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been (E)since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (F)To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (G)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might (H)serve Him without fear,
75 (I)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (J)prophet of the Highest;
For (K)you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give (L)knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the [a]Dayspring from on high [b]has visited us;
79 (M)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To (N)guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah
22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, 2 and say, (A)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! 3 Thus says the Lord: (B)“Execute[a] judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the (C)fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you indeed do this thing, (D)then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. 5 But if you will not [b]hear these words, (E)I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”
6 For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are (F)Gilead to Me,
The head of Lebanon;
Yet I surely will make you a wilderness,
Cities which are not inhabited.
7 I will prepare destroyers against you,
Everyone with his weapons;
They shall cut down (G)your choice cedars
(H)And cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, (I)‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, (J)‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
10 Weep not for (K)the dead, nor bemoan him;
Weep bitterly for him (L)who goes away,
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country.
Message to the Sons of Josiah
11 For thus says the Lord concerning (M)Shallum[c] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, (N)who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, 12 but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 “Woe(O) to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
And his [d]chambers by injustice,
(P)Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages
And gives him nothing for his work,
14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house with spacious [e]chambers,
And cut out windows for it,
Paneling it with cedar
And painting it with vermilion.’
15 “Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then (Q)it was well with him.
16 He [f]judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord.
17 “Yet(R) your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness,
For shedding innocent blood,
And practicing oppression and violence.”
A Heavenly Inheritance
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who (B)according to His abundant mercy (C)has begotten us again to a living hope (D)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance [a]incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, (E)reserved in heaven for you, 5 (F)who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 (G)In this you greatly rejoice, though now (H)for a little while, if need be, (I)you have been [b]grieved by various trials, 7 that (J)the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though (K)it is tested by fire, (L)may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 (M)whom having not [c]seen you love. (N)Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.