Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Song of Mary
46 And Mary said:
(A)“My soul [a]magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has (B)rejoiced in (C)God my Savior.
48 For (D)He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth (E)all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty (F)has done great things for me,
And (G)holy is His name.
50 And (H)His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 (I)He has shown strength with His arm;
(J)He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 (K)He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has (L)filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His (M)servant Israel,
(N)In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (O)As He spoke to our (P)fathers,
To Abraham and to his (Q)seed forever.”
The Gentiles Bless Zion
60 Arise, (A)shine;
For your light has come!
And (B)the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The (C)Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift(D) up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, (E)they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because (F)the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and (G)Ephah;
All those from (H)Sheba shall come;
They shall bring (I)gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
Zacharias’ Prophecy
67 Now his father Zacharias (A)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed(B) is the Lord God of Israel,
For (C)He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 (D)And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 (E)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been (F)since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (G)To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (H)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might (I)serve Him without fear,
75 (J)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (K)prophet of the Highest;
For (L)you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give (M)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 (N)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To (O)guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So (P)the child grew and became strong in spirit, and (Q)was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.