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Daily Readings For December 23

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, December 23, 2025


Morning Psalm 33

1   Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.
          Praise befits the upright.
2   Praise the LORD with the lyre;
          make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
3   Sing to him a new song;
          play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.


4   For the word of the LORD is upright,
          and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5   He loves righteousness and justice;
          the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.


6   By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
          and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7   He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
          he put the deeps in storehouses.


8   Let all the earth fear the LORD;
          let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9   For he spoke, and it came to be;
          he commanded, and it stood firm.


10  The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
          he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11  The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
          the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12   Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD,
          the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.


13  The LORD looks down from heaven;
          he sees all humankind.
14  From where he sits enthroned he watches
          all the inhabitants of the earth —
15  he who fashions the hearts of them all,
          and observes all their deeds.
16  A king is not saved by his great army;
          a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17  The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
          and by its great might it cannot save.


18  Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
          on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19  to deliver their soul from death,
          and to keep them alive in famine.


20  Our soul waits for the LORD;
          he is our help and shield.
21  Our heart is glad in him,
          because we trust in his holy name.
22  Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
          even as we hope in you.

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 Jeremiah 31:10-14

10Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,

and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him,

and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."

11For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,

and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.

12They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,

over the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

their life shall become like a watered garden,

and they shall never languish again.

13Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

14I will give the priests their fill of fatness,

and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the LORD.

Second Reading Galatians 3:15-22

15Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person's will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. 16Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, "And to offsprings," as of many; but it says, "And to your offspring," that is, to one person, who is Christ. 17My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

19Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. 20Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

21Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. 22But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Gospel Reading Matthew 1:1-17

1An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,16and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Evening Psalm 85

1   LORD, you were favorable to your land;
          you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2   You forgave the iniquity of your people;
          you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3   You withdrew all your wrath;
          you turned from your hot anger.


4   Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
          and put away your indignation toward us.
5   Will you be angry with us forever?
          Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6   Will you not revive us again,
          so that your people may rejoice in you?
7   Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
          and grant us your salvation.


8   Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
          for he will speak peace to his people,
          to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9   Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
          that his glory may dwell in our land.


10  Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
          righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11  Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
          and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12  The LORD will give what is good,
          and our land will yield its increase.
13  Righteousness will go before him,
          and will make a path for his steps.

Evening Psalm 94

1O LORD, you God of vengeance,

you God of vengeance, shine forth!

2Rise up, O judge of the earth;

give to the proud what they deserve!

3O LORD, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?


4They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

5They crush your people, O LORD,

and afflict your heritage.

6They kill the widow and the stranger,

they murder the orphan,

7and they say, "The LORD does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive."


8Understand, O dullest of the people;

fools, when will you be wise?

9He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10He who disciplines the nations,

he who teaches knowledge to humankind,

does he not chastise?

11The LORD knows our thoughts,

that they are but an empty breath.


12Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD,

and whom you teach out of your law,

13giving them respite from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14For the LORD will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

15for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.


16Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17If the LORD had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

18When I thought, "My foot is slipping,"

your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

19When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

20Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who contrive mischief by statute?

21They band together against the life of the righteous,

and condemn the innocent to death.

22But the LORD has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

23He will repay them for their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the LORD our God will wipe them out.