Daily Readings For February 18

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Daily Readings Sunday/Festival Readings

Daily Readings for Tuesday, February 18, 2025


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 Isaiah 63:7-14

7   I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD,
          the praiseworthy acts of the LORD,
     because of all that the LORD has done for us,
          and the great favor to the house of Israel
     that he has shown them according to his mercy,
          according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8   For he said, “Surely they are my people,
          children who will not deal falsely”;
     and he became their savior
9        in all their distress.
     It was no messenger or angel
          but his presence that saved them;
     in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
          he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

10  But they rebelled
          and grieved his holy spirit;
     therefore he became their enemy;
          he himself fought against them.
11  Then they remembered the days of old,
          of Moses his servant.
     Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea
          with the shepherds of his flock?
     Where is the one who put within them
          his holy spirit,
12  who caused his glorious arm
          to march at the right hand of Moses,
     who divided the waters before them
          to make for himself an everlasting name,
13      who led them through the depths?
     Like a horse in the desert,
          they did not stumble.
14  Like cattle that go down into the valley,
          the spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
     Thus you led your people,
          to make for yourself a glorious name.

Second Reading 1 Timothy 1:18-2:8 (9-15)

1:18I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; 20among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2:1  First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5For
     there is one God;
          there is also one mediator between God and humankind,
     Christ Jesus, himself human,
6        who gave himself a ransom for all
— this was attested at the right time. 7For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument; 9also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, 10but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. 11Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. 12I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

Gospel Reading Mark 11:12-26

12On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. 15Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; 16and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written,
     ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?
          But you have made it a den of robbers.”
18And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. 19And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

20In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus answered them, 22“Have faith in God. 23Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. 24So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

25“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” [Other ancient authorities add verse 26, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”]

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.