Friday 8 December 2023

9The Lord God called to the man,and said to him, “Where are you?”

10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden,and I was afraid, because I was naked;so I hid myself.”

11God said, “Who told you that you were naked?Have you eaten from the treethat I commanded you not to eat from?”

12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me,she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,you are cursed above all livestock,and above every animal of the field.You shall go on your bellyand you shall eat dust all the days of your life.15I will put hostility between you and the woman,and between your offspring and her offspring.He will bruise your head,and you will bruise his heel.”

· · · verses 16–19 are not read20The man called his wife Evebecause she would be the mother of all the living.

1Sing to the Lord a new song,for he has done marvelous things!His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

2The Lord has made known his salvation.He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations.3He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.

3All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.4Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,that we would be holyand without defect before him in love,5having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself,according to the good pleasure of his desire,6to the praise of the glory of his grace,by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved.· · · verses 7–10 are not read11We were also assigned an inheritance in him,having been foreordained according to the purpose of himwho does all things after the counsel of his will,12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory,we who had before hoped in Christ.

26Now in the sixth month,the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house.The virgin’s name was Mary.28Having come in, the angel said to her,“Rejoice, you highly favored one!The Lord is with you.Blessed are you among women!”

29But when she saw him,she was greatly troubled at the saying,and considered what kind of salutation this might be.30The angel said to her,“Don’t be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with God.31Behold, you will conceive in your womband give birth to a son,and shall name him ‘Jesus.’32He will be greatand will be called the Son of the Most High.The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

34Mary said to the angel,“How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

35The angel answered her,“The Holy Spirit will come on you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.Therefore also the holy onewho is born from you will be called the Son of God.36Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age;and this is the sixth month with herwho was called barren.37For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”

38Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord;let it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her.