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Daily Readings For October 13

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 Friday, October 13, 2023


Morning Psalm 51

1   Have mercy on me, O God,
          according to your steadfast love;
     according to your abundant mercy
          blot out my transgressions.
2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
          and cleanse me from my sin.


3   For I know my transgressions,
          and my sin is ever before me.
4   Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
          and done what is evil in your sight,
     so that you are justified in your sentence
          and blameless when you pass judgment.

5   Indeed, I was born guilty,
          a sinner when my mother conceived me.


6   You desire truth in the inward being;
          therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
          wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8   Let me hear joy and gladness;
          let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9   Hide your face from my sins,
          and blot out all my iniquities.


10  Create in me a clean heart, O God,
          and put a new and right spirit within me.
11  Do not cast me away from your presence,
          and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
          and sustain in me a willing spirit.


13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
          and sinners will return to you.
14  Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
          O God of my salvation,
          and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.


15  O Lord, open my lips,
          and my mouth will declare your praise.
16  For you have no delight in sacrifice;
          if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17  The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
          a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.


18  Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
          rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19  then you will delight in right sacrifices,
          in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
          then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Morning Psalm 148

1   Praise the Lord!
     Praise the Lord from the heavens;
          praise him in the heights!
2   Praise him, all his angels;
          praise him, all his host!


3   Praise him, sun and moon;
          praise him, all you shining stars!
4   Praise him, you highest heavens,
          and you waters above the heavens!


5   Let them praise the name of the Lord,
          for he commanded and they were created.
6   He established them forever and ever;
          he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.


7   Praise the Lord from the earth,
          you sea monsters and all deeps,
8   fire and hail, snow and frost,
          stormy wind fulfilling his command!


9   Mountains and all hills,
          fruit trees and all cedars!
10  Wild animals and all cattle,
          creeping things and flying birds!


11  Kings of the earth and all peoples,
          princes and all rulers of the earth!
12  Young men and women alike,
          old and young together!


13  Let them praise the name of the Lord,
          for his name alone is exalted;
          his glory is above earth and heaven.
14  He has raised up a horn for his people,
          praise for all his faithful,
          for the people of Israel who are close to him.
     Praise the Lord!

First Reading 2 Kings 23:36-24:17

36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, just as all his ancestors had done.

1In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2The LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed, 4and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to pardon. 5Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 6So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his son Jehoiachin succeeded him. 7The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken over all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father had done.

10At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; 12King Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.

13He carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which King Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the LORD had foretold. 14He carried away all Jerusalem, all the officials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths; no one remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the elite of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war. 17The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 12:12-26

12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

14Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Gospel Reading Matthew 9:27-34

27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you.” 30And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.” 31But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.

32After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. 33And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” 34But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”

Evening Psalm 142

1   With my voice I cry to the LORD;
          with my voice I make supplication to the LORD.
2   I pour out my complaint before him;
          I tell my trouble before him.
3   When my spirit is faint,
          you know my way.


     In the path where I walk
          they have hidden a trap for me.
4   Look on my right hand and see —
          there is no one who takes notice of me;
     no refuge remains to me;
          no one cares for me.


5   I cry to you, O LORD;
          I say, “You are my refuge,
          my portion in the land of the living.”
6   Give heed to my cry,
          for I am brought very low.


     Save me from my persecutors,
          for they are too strong for me.
7   Bring me out of prison,
          so that I may give thanks to your name.
     The righteous will surround me,
          for you will deal bountifully with me.

Evening Psalm 65

1   Praise is due to you,
          O God, in Zion;
     and to you shall vows be performed,
2        O you who answer prayer!
     To you all flesh shall come.
3   When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
          you forgive our transgressions.
4   Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
          to live in your courts.
     We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
          your holy temple.


5   By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
          O God of our salvation;
     you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
          and of the farthest seas.
6   By your strength you established the mountains;
          you are girded with might.
7   You silence the roaring of the seas,
          the roaring of their waves,
          the tumult of the peoples.
8   Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
          you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.


9   You visit the earth and water it,
          you greatly enrich it;
     the river of God is full of water;
          you provide the people with grain,
          for so you have prepared it.
10  You water its furrows abundantly,
          settling its ridges,
     softening it with showers,
          and blessing its growth.
11  You crown the year with your bounty;
          your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12  The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
          the hills gird themselves with joy,
13  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
          the valleys deck themselves with grain,
          they shout and sing together for joy.