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⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
⁸ Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹ Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

Psalm 98

1  Sing to the Lord a new song, ♦︎
   for he has done marvellous things.
2  His own right hand and his holy arm ♦︎
   have won for him the victory.
3  The Lord has made known his salvation; ♦︎
   his deliverance has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4  He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
      towards the house of Israel, ♦︎
   and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
5  Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth; ♦︎
   break into singing and make music.
6  Make music to the Lord with the lyre, ♦︎
   with the lyre and the voice of melody.
7  With trumpets and the sound of the horn ♦︎
   sound praises before the Lord, the King.
8  Let the sea thunder and all that fills it, ♦︎
   the world and all that dwell upon it.
9  Let the rivers clap their hands ♦︎
   and let the hills ring out together before the Lord,
      for he comes to judge the earth.
10  In righteousness shall he judge the world ♦︎
   and the peoples with equity.

THE LETTER TO THE

Hebrews

God Has Spoken by His Son

1Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,^* whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains^* all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

The Son Is Superior to Angels

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
‘You are my Son;
   today I have begotten you’?
Or again,
‘I will be his Father,
   and he will be my Son’?
⁶And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’
⁷Of the angels he says,
‘He makes his angels winds,
   and his servants flames of fire.’
⁸But of the Son he says,
‘Your throne, O God, is^* for ever and ever,
   and the righteous sceptre is the sceptre of your^* kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
   with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.’
¹⁰And,
‘In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands;
¹¹ they will perish, but you remain;
   they will all wear out like clothing;
¹² like a cloak you will roll them up,
   and like clothing^* they will be changed.
But you are the same,
   and your years will never end.’

The Gospel According to

John

The Word Became Flesh

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life,^* and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.^*

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹He came to what was his own,^* and his own people did not accept him. ¹²But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,^* full of grace and truth. ¹⁵(John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,^* who is close to the Father’s heart,^* who has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ ²⁰He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’^*