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Daily Readings For March 19

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, March 19, 2024


Morning Psalm 34

1   I will bless the LORD at all times;
          his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2   My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
          let the humble hear and be glad.
3   O magnify the LORD with me,
          and let us exalt his name together.
4   I sought the LORD, and he answered me,
          and delivered me from all my fears.
5   Look to him, and be radiant;
          so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6   This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD,
          and was saved from every trouble.
7   The angel of the LORD encamps
          around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8   O taste and see that the LORD is good;
          happy are those who take refuge in him.
9   O fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
          for those who fear him have no want.
10  The young lions suffer want and hunger,
          but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.


11  Come, O children, listen to me;
          I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12  Which of you desires life,
          and covets many days to enjoy good?
13  Keep your tongue from evil,
          and your lips from speaking deceit.
14  Depart from evil, and do good;
          seek peace, and pursue it.


15  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
          and his ears are open to their cry.
16  The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
          to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
          and rescues them from all their troubles.
18  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,
          and saves the crushed in spirit.


19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
          but the LORD rescues them from them all.
20  He keeps all their bones;
          not one of them will be broken.
21  Evil brings death to the wicked,
          and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22  The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
          none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

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 Exodus 5:1-6:1

1Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.'" 2But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go." 3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword." 4But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!" 5Pharaoh continued, "Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!" 6That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, 7"You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' 9Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words."

10So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I will not give you straw. 11Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.'" 12So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. 13The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw." 14And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, "Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?"

15Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, "Why do you treat your servants like this? 16No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!' Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people." 17He said, "You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' 18Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks." 19The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, "You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks." 20As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. 21They said to them, "The LORD look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."

22Then Moses turned again to the LORD and said, "O LORD, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people."

1Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 14:20-33a, 39-40

20Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. 21In the law it is written, "By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people; yet even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord. 22Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. 25After the secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, "God is really among you."

26What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. 28But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. 32And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

39So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; 40but all things should be done decently and in order.

Gospel Reading Mark 9:42-50

42"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49"For everyone will be salted with fire. 50Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

Evening Psalm 25

1   To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2   O my God, in you I trust;
          do not let me be put to shame;
          do not let my enemies exult over me.
3   Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
          let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.


4   Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
          teach me your paths.
5   Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
          for you are the God of my salvation;
          for you I wait all day long.


6   Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,
          for they have been from of old.
7   Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
          according to your steadfast love remember me,
          for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!


8   Good and upright is the LORD;
          therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9   He leads the humble in what is right,
          and teaches the humble his way.
10  All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
          for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.


11  For your name’s sake, O LORD,
          pardon my guilt, for it is great.

12  Who are they that fear the LORD?
          He will teach them the way that they should choose.


13  They will abide in prosperity,
          and their children shall possess the land.
14  The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
          and he makes his covenant known to them.
15  My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
          for he will pluck my feet out of the net.


16  Turn to me and be gracious to me,
          for I am lonely and afflicted.
17  Relieve the troubles of my heart,
          and bring me out of my distress.
18  Consider my affliction and my trouble,
          and forgive all my sins.


19  Consider how many are my foes,
          and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20  O guard my life, and deliver me;
          do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
          for I wait for you.


22  Redeem Israel, O God,
          out of all its troubles.

Evening Psalm 91

1   You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
          who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2   will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress;
          my God, in whom I trust.”
3   For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
          and from the deadly pestilence;
4   he will cover you with his pinions,
          and under his wings you will find refuge;
          his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5   You will not fear the terror of the night,
          or the arrow that flies by day,
6   or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
          or the destruction that wastes at noonday.


7   A thousand may fall at your side,
          ten thousand at your right hand,
          but it will not come near you.
8   You will only look with your eyes
          and see the punishment of the wicked.


9   Because you have made the LORD your refuge,
          the Most High your dwelling place,
10  no evil shall befall you,
          no scourge come near your tent.


11  For he will command his angels concerning you
          to guard you in all your ways.
12  On their hands they will bear you up,
          so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13  You will tread on the lion and the adder,
          the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.


14  Those who love me, I will deliver;
          I will protect those who know my name.
15  When they call to me, I will answer them;
          I will be with them in trouble,
          I will rescue them and honor them.


16  With long life I will satisfy them,
          and show them my salvation.