Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Judgments of the Branch
11 Then a (A)shoot will spring from the (B)stem of Jesse,
And a (C)branch from (D)his roots will bear fruit.
2 The (E)Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him,
The spirit of (F)wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and (G)might,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh.
3 And He will delight in the fear of Yahweh,
And He will not judge by what His eyes (H)see,
Nor render a decision by what His ears hear;
4 But with (I)righteousness He will judge the (J)poor,
And decide with uprightness for the (K)afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the (L)rod of His mouth,
And with the (M)breath of His lips He will put the wicked to death.
5 Also (N)righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And (O)faithfulness the belt about His waist.
6 And the (P)wolf will [a]dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion [b]and the fatling together;
And a young boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the (Q)lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 And the nursing baby will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
9 They will (R)do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain,
For the (S)earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh
As the waters cover the sea.
A Remnant Remains
Give the King Your Judgments
Of Solomon.
72 O God, give the king (A)Your judgments,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)render judgment to Your people with righteousness
And (D)Your [c]afflicted with justice.
3 Let the mountains lift up [d](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [e]May he (F)give justice to the [f]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [g]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [h]as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.
6 [i]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [j]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
And (K)abundance of peace until the moon is no more.
4 For (A)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the (B)God of perseverance and encouragement grant you (C)to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one [a]voice glorify (D)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ, the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
7 Therefore, (E)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted [b]us to the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to (F)the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm (G)the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for (H)the Gentiles to (I)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,
10 And again he says,
“(K)Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again,
12 And again Isaiah says,
“(M)There shall come (N)the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
(O)In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all (P)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope (Q)by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Preaching of John the Baptist
3 Now (A)in those days [a](B)John the Baptist *[b]came, [c]preaching in the (C)wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “(D)Repent, for (E)the kingdom of heaven [d]is at hand.” 3 For this is the (F)one referred to [e]by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
“(G)The voice of one [f]crying in the wilderness,
‘(H)Make ready the way of the [g]Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4 Now John himself had [h](I)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was (J)locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem (K)was going out to him, and all Judea, and all (L)the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being (M)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the (N)Pharisees and (O)Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You (P)brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from (Q)the wrath to come? 8 (R)Therefore bear fruit (S)in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘(T)We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 And the (U)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore (V)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, (W)I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; (X)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His (Y)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will (Z)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the (AA)chaff with (AB)unquenchable fire.”
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