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Daily Readings For August 12

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, August 12, 2024


Morning Psalm 5

1   Give ear to my words, O LORD;
          give heed to my sighing.
2   Listen to the sound of my cry,
          my King and my God,
          for to you I pray.
3   O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
          in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.


4   For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
          evil will not sojourn with you.
5   The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
          you hate all evildoers.
6   You destroy those who speak lies;
          the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.


7   But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
          will enter your house,
     I will bow down toward your holy temple
          in awe of you.
8   Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
          because of my enemies;
          make your way straight before me.


9   For there is no truth in their mouths;
          their hearts are destruction;
     their throats are open graves;
          they flatter with their tongues.
10  Make them bear their guilt, O God;
          let them fall by their own counsels;
     because of their many transgressions cast them out,
          for they have rebelled against you.


11  But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
          let them ever sing for joy.
     Spread your protection over them,
          so that those who love your name may exult in you.
12  For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
          you cover them with favor as with a shield.

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 Judges 12:1-7

1The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!" 2Jephthah said to them, "My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand. 3When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?" 4Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites - in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh." 5Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No," 6they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.

7Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead.

Second Reading Acts 5:12-26

12Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

17Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, 18arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, 20"Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life." 21When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.

When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported, 23"We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside." 24Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on. 25Then someone arrived and announced, "Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!" 26Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Gospel Reading John 3:1-21

1Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' 8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Evening Psalm 82

1   God has taken his place in the divine council;
          in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2   “How long will you judge unjustly
          and show partiality to the wicked?

3   Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
          maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4   Rescue the weak and the needy;
          deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5   They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
          they walk around in darkness;
          all the foundations of the earth are shaken.


6   I say, “You are gods,
          children of the Most High, all of you;
7   nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
          and fall like any prince.”


8   Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
          for all the nations belong to you!

Evening Psalm 29

1   Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
          ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2   Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
          worship the LORD in holy splendor.


3   The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
          the God of glory thunders,
          the LORD, over mighty waters.
4   The voice of the LORD is powerful;
          the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.


5   The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
          the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6   He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
          and Sirion like a young wild ox.


7   The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8   The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
          the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.


9   The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
          and strips the forest bare;
          and in his temple all say, “Glory!”


10  The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
          the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11  May the LORD give strength to his people!
          May the LORD bless his people with peace!