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Daily Readings For September 17

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, September 17, 2024


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 Job 40:1, 41:1-11

1And the LORD said to Job:

1"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord? 2Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook? 3Will it make many supplications to you? Will it speak soft words to you? 4Will it make a covenant with you to be taken as your servant forever? 5Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls? 6Will traders bargain over it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? 7Can you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fishing spears? 8Lay hands on it; think of the battle; you will not do it again! 9Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed; were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it? 10No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it? 11Who can confront it and be safe? - under the whole heaven, who?

Second Reading Acts 16:6-15

6They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

11We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us.

Gospel Reading John 12:9-19

9When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

12The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord - the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: 15"Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" 16His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 17So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. 18It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. 19The Pharisees then said to one another, "You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!"

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.