Daily Readings

1 Amo al Señor porque ha escuchado mis súplicas,
2 porque me ha prestado atención.
¡Toda mi vida lo invocaré!
3 La muerte me enredó en sus lazos,
la angustia del sepulcro me alcanzó
y me hallé preso del miedo y del dolor.
4 Entonces invoqué el nombre del Señor
y le rogué que me salvara la vida.

5 El Señor es justo y compasivo;
nuestro Dios es todo ternura.
6 El Señor cuida de los sencillos.
Cuando yo estaba sin fuerzas, me salvó.
7 Ahora sí, puedo volver a sentirme tranquilo
porque el Señor ha sido bueno conmigo,
8 porque me ha librado de la muerte,
porque me ha librado de llorar y de caer.
9 Seré obediente al Señor
en el mundo de los que viven.

10 Yo tenía fe, a pesar de que decía
que era grande mi aflicción.
11 Desesperado, afirmé
que todo hombre es mentiroso.

12 ¿Cómo podré pagar al Señor
todo el bien que me ha hecho?
13 ¡Levantaré la copa de la salvación
e invocaré su nombre!
14 Cumpliré mis promesas al Señor
en presencia de todo su pueblo.

15 Mucho le cuesta al Señor
ver morir a los que lo aman.
16 ¡Oh Señor, yo soy tu siervo!
¡Yo soy el hijo de tu sierva!
Tú has roto los lazos que me ataban.
17 En gratitud, te ofreceré sacrificios,
e invocaré, Señor, tu nombre.
18 Cumpliré mis promesas al Señor
en presencia de todo su pueblo,
19 en los atrios del templo del Señor,
¡en medio de ti, Jerusalén!

¡Aleluya!

12 Jerusalén, alaba al Señor;
Sión, alaba a tu Dios.
13 Pues él reforzó los cerrojos de tus puertas
y bendijo a tus hijos dentro de la ciudad.
14 Él trae la paz a tu territorio
y te satisface con lo mejor del trigo.
15 Él envía su palabra a la tierra,
y su palabra corre a toda prisa.
16 Él produce la nieve como si fuera lana,
y esparce la escarcha como si fuera polvo.
17 Él envía el hielo en forma de granizo;
con el frío que envía, el agua se congela.
18 Pero envía su palabra, y la derrite;
hace soplar el viento, y el agua corre.
19 Él dio a conocer a Jacob, a Israel,
su palabra, sus leyes y decretos.
20 No hizo lo mismo con las otras naciones,
las cuales nunca conocieron sus decretos.

¡Aleluya!

¹The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, ²one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”

⁴When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; ⁶let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. ⁷We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ⁹but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’ ¹⁰They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. ¹¹O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!”

At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

¹⁶  All your enemies
          open their mouths against you;
     they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
          they cry: “We have devoured her!
     Ah, this is the day we longed for;
          at last we have seen it!”

¹⁷  The LORD has done what he purposed,
          he has carried out his threat;
     as he ordained long ago,
          he has demolished without pity;
     he has made the enemy rejoice over you,
          and exalted the might of your foes.

¹⁸  Cry aloud to the Lord!
          O wall of daughter Zion!
     Let tears stream down like a torrent
          day and night!
     Give yourself no rest,
          your eyes no respite!

¹⁹  Arise, cry out in the night,
          at the beginning of the watches!
     Pour out your heart like water
          before the presence of the Lord!
     Lift your hands to him
          for the lives of your children,
     who faint for hunger
          at the head of every street.

²⁰  Look, O LORD, and consider!
          To whom have you done this?
     Should women eat their offspring,
          the children they have borne?
     Should priest and prophet be killed
          in the sanctuary of the Lord?

²¹  The young and the old are lying
          on the ground in the streets;
     my young women and my young men
          have fallen by the sword;
     in the day of your anger you have killed them,
          slaughtering without mercy.

²²  You invited my enemies from all around
          as if for a day of festival;
     and on the day of the anger of the LORD
          no one escaped or survived;
     those whom I bore and reared
          my enemy has destroyed.

^5:11Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹²singing with full voice,
     “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
     to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
          and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,
     “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
     be blessing and honor and glory and might
     forever and ever!"
¹⁴And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

^6:1Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” ²I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer. ³When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come!” ⁴And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword.

⁵When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, ⁶and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”

⁷When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come!” ⁸I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth.

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; ¹⁰they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” ¹¹They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.

¹⁸“Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. ²²As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

(1a) De David.
(1b) Señor, hazme justicia,
pues mi vida no tiene tacha.
En ti, Señor, confío firmemente;
2 examíname, ¡ponme a prueba!,
¡pon a prueba mis pensamientos
y mis sentimientos más profundos!
3 Yo tengo presente tu amor
y te he sido fiel;
4 jamás conviví con los mentirosos
ni me junté con los hipócritas.
5 Odio las reuniones de los malvados;
¡jamás conviví con los perversos!

6 Lavadas ya mis manos y limpias de pecado,
quiero, Señor, acercarme a tu altar,
7 y entonar cantos de alabanza,
y proclamar tus maravillas.

8 Yo amo, Señor, el templo donde vives,
el lugar donde reside tu gloria.
9 No me quites la vida junto con los pecadores;
no me hagas correr la suerte de los asesinos,
10 de esos que tienen las manos
llenas de maldad y soborno.

11 Pero mi vida es intachable;
¡sálvame, ten compasión de mí!
12 Mis pies están en terreno firme;
¡bendeciré al Señor en presencia de su pueblo!

(1a) Cántico de las subidas.
(1b) Desde el fondo del abismo
clamo a ti, Señor:
2 ¡Escucha, Señor, mi voz!,
¡atiendan tus oídos mi grito suplicante!

3 Señor, Señor,
si tuvieras en cuenta la maldad,
¿quién podría mantenerse en pie?
4 Pero en ti encontramos perdón,
para que te honremos.

5 Con toda mi alma espero al Señor,
y confío en su palabra.
6 Yo espero al Señor
más que los centinelas a la mañana.
Así como los centinelas esperan a la mañana,
7 espera tú, Israel, al Señor,
pues en él hay amor y completa libertad.
8 ¡Él librará a Israel de toda su maldad!