Share the peace of Christ by supporting the Peace & Global Witness Offering.

Daily Readings For April 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 Friday, April 19, 2024


Morning Psalm 96

1   O sing to the LORD a new song;
          sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2   Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
          tell of his salvation from day to day.
3   Declare his glory among the nations,
          his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4   For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
          he is to be revered above all gods.
5   For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
          but the LORD made the heavens.
6   Honor and majesty are before him;
          strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7   Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
          ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
          bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9   Worship the LORD in holy splendor;
          tremble before him, all the earth.


10  Say among the nations, “The LORD is king!
          The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
          He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
          let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12       let the field exult, and everything in it.
     Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13       before the LORD; for he is coming,
          for he is coming to judge the earth.
     He will judge the world with righteousness,
          and the peoples with his truth.

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 Exodus 24:1-18

1Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. 2Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him."

3Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do." 4And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the LORD. 6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. 7Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." 8Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, "See the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."

9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank.

12The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." 13So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them."

15Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Second Reading Colossians 2:8-23

8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.

16Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 21"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"? 22All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. 23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

Gospel Reading Matthew 4:12-17

12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - 16the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." 17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Evening Psalm 49

1   Hear this, all you peoples;
          give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2   both low and high,
          rich and poor together.
3   My mouth shall speak wisdom;
          the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4   I will incline my ear to a proverb;
          I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

5   Why should I fear in times of trouble,
          when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6   those who trust in their wealth
          and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7   Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
          there is no price one can give to God for it.
8   For the ransom of life is costly,
          and can never suffice,
9   that one should live on forever
          and never see the grave.

10   When we look at the wise, they die;
          fool and dolt perish together
          and leave their wealth to others.
11   Their graves are their homes forever,
          their dwelling places to all generations,
          though they named lands their own.
12  Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
          they are like the animals that perish.

13  Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
          the end of those who are pleased with their lot. Selah
14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
          Death shall be their shepherd;
     straight to the grave they descend,
          and their form shall waste away;
          Sheol shall be their home.
15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
          for he will receive me. Selah

16  Do not be afraid when some become rich,
          when the wealth of their houses increases.
17  For when they die they will carry nothing away;
          their wealth will not go down after them.
18  Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
          — for you are praised when you do well for yourself —
19  they will go to the company of their ancestors,
          who will never again see the light.
20  Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
          they are like the animals that perish.

Evening Psalm 138

1   I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
          before the gods I sing your praise;
2   I bow down toward your holy temple
          and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
          for you have exalted your name and your word
          above everything.
3   On the day I called, you answered me,
          you increased my strength of soul.


4   All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,
          for they have heard the words of your mouth.
5   They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
          for great is the glory of the LORD.
6   For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;
          but the haughty he perceives from far away.


7   Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
          you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
     you stretch out your hand,
          and your right hand delivers me.
8   The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
          your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
          Do not forsake the work of your hands.