Readings for Celebrating Advent

⁶⁸ “Blessed be Adonai,
    God of Israel,
for He has looked after His people
    and brought them redemption.
⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,^[a]
70 just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ages past,
⁷¹ salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us!
⁷² So He shows mercy to our fathers
    and remembers His holy covenant,^[b]
73 the vow which He swore to Abraham
    our father, to grant us—
⁷⁴ rescued fearlessly from the hand of
    our enemies^[c]—to serve Him,
⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of Elyon.
For you will go before Adonai to prepare His ways,^[d]
77 to give knowledge of salvation to His people
through removal of their sins.^[e]
78 Through our God’s heart of mercy,
the Sunrise from on high will come upon us,
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,^[f]
to guide our feet in the way of shalom.”