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Daily Readings For January 9

Please note that two distinct lectionaries are provided on this page: the two-year Daily Lectionary from the Book of Common Worship and the three-year Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for Sundays and festivals; be sure you select the appropriate one.

Daily Readings Sunday/Festival Readings

Daily Readings for Monday, January 9, 2023


Morning Psalm 5

1   Give ear to my words, O LORD;
          give heed to my sighing.
2   Listen to the sound of my cry,
          my King and my God,
          for to you I pray.
3   O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
          in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.


4   For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
          evil will not sojourn with you.
5   The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
          you hate all evildoers.
6   You destroy those who speak lies;
          the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.


7   But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
          will enter your house,
     I will bow down toward your holy temple
          in awe of you.
8   Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
          because of my enemies;
          make your way straight before me.


9   For there is no truth in their mouths;
          their hearts are destruction;
     their throats are open graves;
          they flatter with their tongues.
10  Make them bear their guilt, O God;
          let them fall by their own counsels;
     because of their many transgressions cast them out,
          for they have rebelled against you.


11  But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
          let them ever sing for joy.
     Spread your protection over them,
          so that those who love your name may exult in you.
12  For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
          you cover them with favor as with a shield.

Morning Psalm 145

1   I will extol you, my God and King,
          and bless your name forever and ever.
2   Every day I will bless you,
          and praise your name forever and ever.
3   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
          his greatness is unsearchable.


4   One generation shall laud your works to another,
          and shall declare your mighty acts.
5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
          and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6   The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
          and I will declare your greatness.
7   They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
          and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.


8   The Lord is gracious and merciful,
          slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9   The Lord is good to all,
          and his compassion is over all that he has made.


10  All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
          and all your faithful shall bless you.
11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
          and tell of your power,
12  to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
          and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
          and your dominion endures throughout all generations.


     The Lord is faithful in all his words,
          and gracious in all his deeds.
14  The Lord upholds all who are falling,
          and raises up all who are bowed down.
15  The eyes of all look to you,
          and you give them their food in due season.
16  You open your hand,
          satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17  The Lord is just in all his ways,
          and kind in all his doings.
18  The Lord is near to all who call on him,
          to all who call on him in truth.
19  He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
          he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20  The Lord watches over all who love him,
          but all the wicked he will destroy.


21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
          and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

First Reading Isaiah 40:12-24

12  Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
          and marked off the heavens with a span,
     enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
          and weighed the mountains in scales
          and the hills in a balance?
13  Who has directed the spirit of the LORD,
          or as his counselor has instructed him?
14  Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
          and who taught him the path of justice?
     Who taught him knowledge,
          and showed him the way of understanding?
15  Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
          and are accounted as dust on the scales;
          see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.
16  Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
          nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17  All the nations are as nothing before him;
          they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

18  To whom then will you liken God,
          or what likeness compare with him?
19  An idol? — A workman casts it,
          and a goldsmith overlays it with gold,
          and casts for it silver chains.
20  As a gift one chooses mulberry wood
          — wood that will not rot —
     then seeks out a skilled artisan
          to set up an image that will not topple.
21  Have you not known? Have you not heard?
          Has it not been told you from the beginning?
          Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
          and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
     who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
          and spreads them like a tent to live in;
23  who brings princes to naught,
          and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

24  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
          scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
     when he blows upon them, and they wither,
          and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

Second Reading Ephesians 1:1-14

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Gospel Reading Mark 1:1-13

1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
     “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
          who will prepare your way;
3   the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
          ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
          make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness 13He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Evening Psalm 82

1   God has taken his place in the divine council;
          in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2   “How long will you judge unjustly
          and show partiality to the wicked?

3   Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
          maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4   Rescue the weak and the needy;
          deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5   They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
          they walk around in darkness;
          all the foundations of the earth are shaken.


6   I say, “You are gods,
          children of the Most High, all of you;
7   nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
          and fall like any prince.”


8   Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
          for all the nations belong to you!

Evening Psalm 29

1   Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
          ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2   Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
          worship the LORD in holy splendor.


3   The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
          the God of glory thunders,
          the LORD, over mighty waters.
4   The voice of the LORD is powerful;
          the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.


5   The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
          the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6   He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
          and Sirion like a young wild ox.


7   The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8   The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
          the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.


9   The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
          and strips the forest bare;
          and in his temple all say, “Glory!”


10  The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
          the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11  May the LORD give strength to his people!
          May the LORD bless his people with peace!