Daily Readings

¹   Why do the nations conspire,
          and the peoples plot in vain?
²   The kings of the earth set themselves,
          and the rulers take counsel together,
          against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
³   “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
          and cast their cords from us.”

⁴   He who sits in the heavens laughs;
          the LORD has them in derision.
⁵   Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
          and terrify them in his fury, saying,
⁶   “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷   I will tell of the decree of the LORD:
     He said to me, “You are my son;
          today I have begotten you.
⁸   Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
          and the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹   You shall break them with a rod of iron,
          and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

¹⁰  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
          be warned, O rulers of the earth.
¹¹  Serve the LORD with fear,
          with trembling ¹²kiss his feet,
     or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
          for his wrath is quickly kindled.

     Happy are all who take refuge in him.

¹   Praise the Lord!
     Sing to the Lord a new song,
          his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
²   Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
          let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
³   Let them praise his name with dancing,
          making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
⁴   For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
          he adorns the humble with victory.
⁵   Let the faithful exult in glory;
          let them sing for joy on their couches.
⁶   Let the high praises of God be in their throats
          and two-edged swords in their hands,
⁷   to execute vengeance on the nations
          and punishment on the peoples,
⁸   to bind their kings with fetters
          and their nobles with chains of iron,
⁹   to execute on them the judgment decreed.
          This is glory for all his faithful ones.
     Praise the Lord!

¹³  Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
          break forth, O mountains, into singing!
     For the LORD has comforted his people,
          and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

¹⁴  But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
          my Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵  Can a woman forget her nursing child,
          or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
     Even these may forget,
          yet I will not forget you.
¹⁶  See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
          your walls are continually before me.
¹⁷  Your builders outdo your destroyers,
          and those who laid you waste go away from you.
¹⁸  Lift up your eyes all around and see;
          they all gather, they come to you.
     As I live, says the LORD,
          you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
          and like a bride you shall bind them on.

¹⁹  Surely your waste and your desolate places
          and your devastated land —
     surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
          and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
²⁰  The children born in the time of your bereavement
          will yet say in your hearing:
     “The place is too crowded for me;
          make room for me to settle.”
²¹  Then you will say in your heart,
          “Who has borne me these?
     I was bereaved and barren,
          exiled and put away —
          so who has reared these?
     I was left all alone —
          where then have these come from?”

²²  Thus says the Lord GOD:
     I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
          and raise my signal to the peoples;
     and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
          and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³  Kings shall be your foster fathers,
          and their queens your nursing mothers.
     With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
          and lick the dust of your feet.
     Then you will know that I am the LORD;
          those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

¹   Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
          burst into song and shout,
          you who have not been in labor!

     For the children of the desolate woman will be more
          than the children of her that is married, says the LORD.
²   Enlarge the site of your tent,
          and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
     do not hold back; lengthen your cords
          and strengthen your stakes.

³   For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
          and your descendants will possess the nations
          and will settle the desolate towns.

⁴   Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
          do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;
     for you will forget the shame of your youth,
          and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.
⁵   For your Maker is your husband,
          the LORD of hosts is his name;
     the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
          the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶   For the LORD has called you
          like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
     like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
          says your God.
⁷   For a brief moment I abandoned you,
          but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸   In overflowing wrath for a moment
          I hid my face from you,
     but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
          says the LORD, your Redeemer.

⁹   This is like the days of Noah to me:
          Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
          would never again go over the earth,
     so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
          and will not rebuke you.
¹⁰  For the mountains may depart
          and the hills be removed,
     but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
          and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
          says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

¹¹  O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
          I am about to set your stones in antimony,
          and lay your foundations with sapphires.
¹²  I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
          your gates of jewels,
          and all your wall of precious stones.
¹³  All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
          and great shall be the prosperity of your children.

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

⁶“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

¹⁰“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹²What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”

¹   The LORD says to my lord,
          “Sit at my right hand
     until I make your enemies your footstool.”

²   The LORD sends out from Zion
          your mighty scepter.
          Rule in the midst of your foes.
³   Your people will offer themselves willingly
          on the day you lead your forces
          on the holy mountains.
     From the womb of the morning,
          like dew, your youth will come to you.
⁴   The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,
          “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵   The Lord is at your right hand;
          he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
⁶   He will execute judgment among the nations,
          filling them with corpses;
     he will shatter heads
          over the wide earth.
⁷   He will drink from the stream by the path;
          therefore he will lift up his head.

¹   Praise the LORD!
     I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
          in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
²   Great are the works of the LORD,
          studied by all who delight in them.
³   Full of honor and majesty is his work,
          and his righteousness endures forever.
⁴   He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
          the LORD is gracious and merciful.
⁵   He provides food for those who fear him;
          he is ever mindful of his covenant.
⁶   He has shown his people the power of his works,
          in giving them the heritage of the nations.
⁷   The works of his hands are faithful and just;
          all his precepts are trustworthy.
⁸   They are established forever and ever,
          to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
⁹   He sent redemption to his people;
          he has commanded his covenant forever.
          Holy and awesome is his name.
¹⁰  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
          all those who practice it have a good understanding.
          His praise endures forever.