Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch
23 “(A)Woe to the shepherds who are causing the (B)sheep of My pasture to (C)perish and are scattering them!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says concerning the shepherds who are [a]tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not been concerned about them; behold, I am going to (D)call you to account for the (E)evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. 3 “Then I Myself will (F)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will also raise up (G)shepherds over them and they will [b]tend them; and they will (H)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, (I)nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “Behold, the (J)days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous [c](K)Branch;
And He will (L)reign as king and [d]act wisely
And (M)do justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In His days Judah will be saved,
And (N)Israel will live securely;
And this is His (O)name by which He will be called,
‘The (P)Lord Our Righteousness.’
68 “(A)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (B)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (C)horn of salvation for us
In the house of (D)His servant David—
70 (E)Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (F)from ancient times—
71 [a](G)Salvation (H)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (I)To show mercy to our fathers,
(J)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (K)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
75 (L)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, also will be called the (M)prophet of (N)the Most High;
For you will go on (O)before the Lord to (P)prepare His ways;
77 To give His people the knowledge of salvation
[b]By (Q)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (R)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (S)To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (T)way of peace.”
11 (A)strengthened with all power, according to [a]His glorious might, [b]for the attaining of all perseverance and [c]patience; (B)joyously 12 giving thanks to (C)the Father, who has qualified us [d]to share in (D)the inheritance of the [e]saints in (E)light.
The Incomparable Christ
13 [f]For He rescued us from the [g](F)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of [h](G)His beloved Son, 14 (H)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 [i]He is the (I)image of the (J)invisible God, the (K)firstborn of all creation: 16 for [j](L)by Him all things were created, (M)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (N)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—(O)all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [k](P)is before all things, and in Him all things [l]hold together. 18 He is also the (Q)head of (R)the body, the church; and He is (S)the beginning, (T)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For [m]it was (U)the Father’s good pleasure for all (V)the [n]fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to (W)reconcile all things to Himself, (X)whether things on earth or things in [o]heaven, having made (Y)peace through (Z)the blood of His cross.
The Crucifixion
33 (A)And when they came to the place called [a]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 [[b]But Jesus was saying, “(B)Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”] (C)And they cast lots, dividing His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, watching. And even the (D)rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; (E)let Him save Himself if this is the [c]Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also ridiculed Him, coming up to Him, (F)offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “(G)If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “(H)THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
39 (I)One of the criminals who were hanged there was [d]hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the [e]Christ? (J)Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other responded, and rebuking him, said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving [f]what we deserve for our crimes; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in (K)Paradise.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.