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!

¹⁸Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,
     who drag sin along as with cart ropes,
¹⁹who say, "Let him make haste,
     let him speed his work
     that we may see it;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfillment,
     that we may know it!"
²⁰Ah, you who call evil good
     and good evil,
who put darkness for light
     and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
     and sweet for bitter!
²¹Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes,
     and shrewd in your own sight!
²²Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine
     and valiant at mixing drink,
²³who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
     and deprive the innocent of their rights!

²⁴Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
     and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will become rotten,
     and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of hosts,
     and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

²⁵Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
     and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them;
     the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like refuse in the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
     and his hand is stretched out still.

¹²But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; ¹³esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. ¹⁵See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise the words of prophets, ²¹but test everything; hold fast to what is good; ²²abstain from every form of evil.

²³May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

²⁵Beloved, pray for us.

²⁶Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. ²⁷I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.

²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²⁹Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁴"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

³⁷Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. ³⁸And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.

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.