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Daily Readings For November 14

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 Tuesday, November 14, 2023


Morning Psalm 123

1   To you I lift up my eyes,
          O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2   As the eyes of servants
          look to the hand of their master,
     as the eyes of a maid
          to the hand of her mistress,
     so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
          until he has mercy upon us.


3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
          for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4   Our soul has had more than its fill
          of the scorn of those who are at ease,
          of the contempt of the proud.

Morning Psalm 146

1   Praise the LORD!
     Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
          I will sing praises to my God all my life long.


3   Do not put your trust in princes,
          in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4   When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
          on that very day their plans perish.


5   Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
          whose hope is in the LORD their God,
6   who made heaven and earth,
          the sea, and all that is in them;
     who keeps faith forever;
7        who executes justice for the oppressed;
          who gives food to the hungry.


     The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8        the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
     The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
          the LORD loves the righteous.
9   The LORD watches over the strangers;
          he upholds the orphan and the widow,
          but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.


10  The LORD will reign forever,
          your God, O Zion, for all generations.
     Praise the LORD!

First Reading Nehemiah 9:26-38

26“Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 27Therefore you gave them into the hands of their enemies, who made them suffer. Then in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hands of their enemies. 28But after they had rest, they again did evil before you, and you abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you rescued them according to your mercies. 29And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances, by the observance of which a person shall live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30Many years you were patient with them, and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; yet they would not listen. Therefore you handed them over to the peoples of the lands. 31Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

32“Now therefore, our God — the great and mighty and awesome God, keeping covenant and steadfast love — do not treat lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until today. 33You have been just in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly; 34our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law or heeded the commandments and the warnings that you gave them. 35Even in their own kingdom, and in the great goodness you bestowed on them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you and did not turn from their wicked works. 36Here we are, slaves to this day — slaves in the land that you gave to our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts. 37Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.”

38Because of all this we make a firm agreement in writing, and on that sealed document are inscribed the names of our officials, our Levites, and our priests.

Or alternate First Reading Nehemiah 4:1-23

1Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews. 2He said in the presence of his associates and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish — and burned ones at that?” 3Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “That stone wall they are building — any fox going up on it would break it down!” 4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their taunt back on their own heads, and give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from your sight; for they have hurled insults in the face of the builders.

6So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.

7But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they were very angry, 8and all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9So we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

10But Judah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, and there is too much rubbish so that we are unable to work on the wall.” 11And our enemies said, “They will not know or see anything before we come upon them and kill them and stop the work.” 12When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, “From all the places where they live they will come up against us.” 13So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14After I looked these things over, I stood up and said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your kin, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

15When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. 16From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor; and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah, 17who were building the wall. The burden bearers carried their loads in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and with the other held a weapon. 18And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. 20Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us.”

21So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from break of dawn until the stars came out. 22I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night inside Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” 23So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me ever took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his right hand.

Second Reading Revelation 18:9-20

9And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; 10they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
     “Alas, alas, the great city,
          Babylon, the mighty city!
     For in one hour your judgment has come.”

11And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, 13cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves — human lives.
14  “The fruit for which your soul longed
          has gone from you,
     and all your dainties and your splendor
          are lost to you,
          never to be found again!”
15The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16  “Alas, alas, the great city,
          clothed in fine linen,
               in purple and scarlet,
          adorned with gold,
               with jewels, and with pearls!
17  For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!”
  And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
     “What city was like the great city?”
19And they threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying out,
     “Alas, alas, the great city,
          where all who had ships at sea
          grew rich by her wealth!
     For in one hour she has been laid waste.”

20Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has given judgment for you against her.

Gospel Reading Matthew 15:21-28

21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Evening Psalm 30

1   I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
          and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2   O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
          and you have healed me.
3   O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
          restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.


4   Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
          and give thanks to his holy name.
5   For his anger is but for a moment;
          his favor is for a lifetime.
     Weeping may linger for the night,
          but joy comes with the morning.


6   As for me, I said in my prosperity,
          “I shall never be moved.”
7   By your favor, O LORD,
          you had established me as a strong mountain;
     you hid your face;
          I was dismayed.
8   To you, O LORD, I cried,
          and to the LORD I made supplication:
9   “What profit is there in my death,
          if I go down to the Pit?
     Will the dust praise you?
          Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10  Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
          O LORD, be my helper!”

11  You have turned my mourning into dancing;
          you have taken off my sackcloth
          and clothed me with joy,
12  so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
          O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Evening Psalm 86

1   Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
          for I am poor and needy.
2   Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
          save your servant who trusts in you.
     You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, O Lord,
          for to you do I cry all day long.
4   Gladden the soul of your servant,
          for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5   For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
          abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
6   Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
          listen to my cry of supplication.
7   In the day of my trouble I call on you,
          for you will answer me.


8   There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
          nor are there any works like yours.
9   All the nations you have made shall come
          and bow down before you, O Lord,
          and shall glorify your name.
10  For you are great and do wondrous things;
          you alone are God.
11  Teach me your way, O LORD,
          that I may walk in your truth;
          give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
12  I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
          and I will glorify your name forever.
13  For great is your steadfast love toward me;
          you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.


14  O God, the insolent rise up against me;
          a band of ruffians seeks my life,
          and they do not set you before them.
15  But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
          slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16  Turn to me and be gracious to me;
          give your strength to your servant;
          save the child of your serving girl.

17  Show me a sign of your favor,
          so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
          because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.