Daily Readings

¹   Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.
          Praise befits the upright.
²   Praise the LORD with the lyre;
          make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³   Sing to him a new song;
          play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴   For the word of the LORD is upright,
          and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵   He loves righteousness and justice;
          the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

⁶   By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
          and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷   He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
          he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸   Let all the earth fear the LORD;
          let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹   For he spoke, and it came to be;
          he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰  The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
          he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹  The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
          the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹²   Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD,
          the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³  The LORD looks down from heaven;
          he sees all humankind.
¹⁴  From where he sits enthroned he watches
          all the inhabitants of the earth —
¹⁵  he who fashions the hearts of them all,
          and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶  A king is not saved by his great army;
          a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷  The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
          and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸  Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
          on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹  to deliver their soul from death,
          and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰  Our soul waits for the LORD;
          he is our help and shield.
²¹  Our heart is glad in him,
          because we trust in his holy name.
²²  Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
          even as we hope in you.

¹   Praise the LORD!
     Praise the LORD, O my soul!
²   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
          I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

³   Do not put your trust in princes,
          in mortals, in whom there is no help.
⁴   When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
          on that very day their plans perish.

⁵   Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
          whose hope is in the LORD their God,
⁶   who made heaven and earth,
          the sea, and all that is in them;
     who keeps faith forever;
⁷        who executes justice for the oppressed;
          who gives food to the hungry.

     The LORD sets the prisoners free;
⁸        the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
     The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
          the LORD loves the righteous.
⁹   The LORD watches over the strangers;
          he upholds the orphan and the widow,
          but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰  The LORD will reign forever,
          your God, O Zion, for all generations.
     Praise the LORD!

¹   Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help
          and who rely on horses,
     who trust in chariots because they are many
          and in horsemen because they are very strong,
     but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
          or consult the LORD!
²   Yet he too is wise and brings disaster;
          he does not call back his words,
     but will rise against the house of the evildoers,
          and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
³   The Egyptians are human, and not God;
          their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
     When the LORD stretches out his hand,
          the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall,
          and they will all perish together.

⁴   For thus the LORD said to me,
     As a lion or a young lion growls over its prey,
          and — when a band of shepherds is called out against it —
     is not terrified by their shouting
          or daunted at their noise,
     so the LORD of hosts will come down
          to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.
⁵   Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of hosts
          will protect Jerusalem;
     he will protect and deliver it,
          he will spare and rescue it.

⁶Turn back to him whom you have deeply betrayed, O people of Israel. ⁷For on that day all of you shall throw away your idols of silver and idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
⁸   "Then the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of mortals;
          and a sword, not of humans, shall devour him;
     he shall flee from the sword,
          and his young men shall be put to forced labor.
⁹   His rock shall pass away in terror,
          and his officers desert the standard in panic,"
     says the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,
          and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

²²I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵Its gates will never be shut by day - and there will be no night there. ²⁶People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

⁴⁶And Mary said,
     "My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷       and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
          Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹  for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
          and holy is his name.
⁵⁰  His mercy is for those who fear him
          from generation to generation.
⁵¹  He has shown strength with his arm;
          he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵²  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
          and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³  he has filled the hungry with good things,
          and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴  He has helped his servant Israel,
          in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵  according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
          to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

¹   LORD, you were favorable to your land;
          you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
²   You forgave the iniquity of your people;
          you pardoned all their sin. Selah
³   You withdrew all your wrath;
          you turned from your hot anger.

⁴   Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
          and put away your indignation toward us.
⁵   Will you be angry with us forever?
          Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶   Will you not revive us again,
          so that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷   Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
          and grant us your salvation.

⁸   Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
          for he will speak peace to his people,
          to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
⁹   Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
          that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰  Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
          righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
¹¹  Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
          and righteousness will look down from the sky.
¹²  The LORD will give what is good,
          and our land will yield its increase.
¹³  Righteousness will go before him,
          and will make a path for his steps.

¹O LORD, you God of vengeance,

you God of vengeance, shine forth!

²Rise up, O judge of the earth;

give to the proud what they deserve!

³O LORD, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

⁴They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

⁵They crush your people, O LORD,

and afflict your heritage.

⁶They kill the widow and the stranger,

they murder the orphan,

⁷and they say, "The LORD does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive."

⁸Understand, O dullest of the people;

fools, when will you be wise?

⁹He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

¹⁰He who disciplines the nations,

he who teaches knowledge to humankind,

does he not chastise?

¹¹The LORD knows our thoughts,

that they are but an empty breath.

¹²Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD,

and whom you teach out of your law,

¹³giving them respite from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴For the LORD will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

¹⁵for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

¹⁷If the LORD had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

¹⁸When I thought, "My foot is slipping,"

your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

²⁰Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who contrive mischief by statute?

²¹They band together against the life of the righteous,

and condemn the innocent to death.

²²But the LORD has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

²³He will repay them for their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the LORD our God will wipe them out.