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Daily Readings For October 16

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, October 16, 2023


Morning Psalm 135

1   Praise the LORD!
          Praise the name of the LORD;
          give praise, O servants of the LORD,
2   you that stand in the house of the LORD,
          in the courts of the house of our God.
3   Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
          sing to his name, for he is gracious.
4   For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
          Israel as his own possession.


5   For I know that the LORD is great;
          our Lord is above all gods.
6   Whatever the LORD pleases he does,
          in heaven and on earth,
          in the seas and all deeps.
7   He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
          he makes lightnings for the rain
          and brings out the wind from his storehouses.


8   He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
          both human beings and animals;
9   he sent signs and wonders
          into your midst, O Egypt,
          against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10  He struck down many nations
          and killed mighty kings —
11  Sihon, king of the Amorites,
          and Og, king of Bashan,
          and all the kingdoms of Canaan —
12  and gave their land as a heritage,
          a heritage to his people Israel.


13  Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
          your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.
14  For the LORD will vindicate his people,
          and have compassion on his servants.


15  The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
          the work of human hands.
16  They have mouths, but they do not speak;
          they have eyes, but they do not see;
17  they have ears, but they do not hear,
          and there is no breath in their mouths.
18  Those who make them
          and all who trust them
          shall become like them.


19  O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
          O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
20  O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
          You that fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
21  Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
          he who resides in Jerusalem.
     Praise the LORD!

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 Jeremiah 36:11-26

When Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, 12 he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber; and all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the officials. 13 And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14Then all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm, and said to Baruch, “We certainly must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they questioned Baruch, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?" 18 Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”

20 Leaving the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, they went to the court of the king; and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary; and Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in his winter apartment (it was the ninth month), and there was a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23 As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24 Yet neither the king, nor any of his servants who heard all these words, was alarmed, nor did they tear their garments. 25 Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the secretary Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But the LORD hid them.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians (13:1-3) 13:4-13

1If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Gospel Reading Matthew 10:5-15

5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. 11Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter the house, greet it. 13If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Evening Psalm 97

1   The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice;
          let the many coastlands be glad!
2   Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
          righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3   Fire goes before him,
          and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4   His lightnings light up the world;
          the earth sees and trembles.
5   The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
          before the Lord of all the earth.


6   The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
          and all the peoples behold his glory.
7   All worshipers of images are put to shame,
          those who make their boast in worthless idols;
          all gods bow down before him.
8   Zion hears and is glad,
          and the towns of Judah rejoice,
          because of your judgments, O God.
9   For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
          you are exalted far above all gods.


10  The LORD loves those who hate evil;
          he guards the lives of his faithful;
          he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11  Light dawns for the righteous,
          and joy for the upright in heart.
12  Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
          and give thanks to his holy name!

Evening Psalm 112

1   Praise the LORD!
          Happy are those who fear the LORD,
          who greatly delight in his commandments.
2   Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
          the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3   Wealth and riches are in their houses,
          and their righteousness endures forever.
4   They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
          they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5   It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
          who conduct their affairs with justice.
6   For the righteous will never be moved;
          they will be remembered forever.
7   They are not afraid of evil tidings;
          their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8   Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
          in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9   They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
          their righteousness endures forever;
          their horn is exalted in honor.
10  The wicked see it and are angry;
          they gnash their teeth and melt away;
          the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.