Isaiah 61:1-4

English Standard Version

The Year of the Lord's Favor

61 ^(A)The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has ^(B)anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;^[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and ^(C)the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^[b]
²^(D)to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    ^(E)and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    ^(F)to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
^(G)the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
^(H)that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, ^(I)that he may be glorified.^[c]
⁴^(J)They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 61:1 Or afflicted
Isaiah 61:1 Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind
Isaiah 61:3 Or that he may display his beauty

Isaiah 61:8-11

English Standard Version

⁸^(A)For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;^[a]
^(B)I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    ^(C)and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰^(D)I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
^(E)for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself ^(F)like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    ^(G)and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause ^(H)righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 61:8 Or robbery with a burnt offering

Luke 1:46-55

English Standard Version

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶And Mary said,

^(A)“My ^(B)soul ^(C)magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷    ^(D)and my ^(E)spirit rejoices in ^(F)God my Savior,
⁴⁸for ^(G)he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations ^(H)will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for ^(I)he who is mighty ^(J)has done great things for me,
    and ^(K)holy is his name.
⁵⁰And ^(L)his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹^(M)He has shown strength with his arm;
    ^(N)he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²^(O)he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    ^(P)and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled ^(Q)the hungry with good things,
    and the rich ^(R)he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has ^(S)helped ^(T)his servant Israel,
    ^(U)in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵^(V)as he spoke to our fathers,
    ^(W)to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

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1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

English Standard Version

Final Instructions and Benediction

¹²We ask you, brothers, ^(A)to respect those who labor among you and ^(B)are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. ^(C)Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, admonish ^(D)the idle,^[a] ^(E)encourage the fainthearted, ^(F)help the weak, ^(G)be patient with them all. ¹⁵See that ^(H)no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always ^(I)seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ¹⁶^(J)Rejoice always, ¹⁷^(K)pray without ceasing, ¹⁸^(L)give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹^(M)Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise ^(N)prophecies, ²¹but ^(O)test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil.

²³Now may ^(P)the God of peace himself ^(Q)sanctify you completely, and may your ^(R)whole ^(S)spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at ^(T)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴^(U)He who calls you is faithful; ^(V)he will surely do it.

²⁵^(W)Brothers, pray for us.

²⁶^(X)Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

²⁷I put you under oath before the Lord to have ^(Y)this letter read to all the brothers.

²⁸^(Z)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Or disorderly, or undisciplined

John 1:19-28

English Standard Version

The Testimony of John the Baptist

¹⁹And this is the ^(A)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ^(B)“Who are you?” ²⁰^(C)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹And they asked him, “What then? ^(D)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ^(E)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³He said, “I am ^(F)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight^[a] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ²⁵They asked him, ^(G)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶John answered them, ^(H)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, ²⁷even ^(I)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.