Daily Readings - 07/12/2025

^11:1 A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots:

^11:2 on him the spirit of Yahweh rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. (The fear of Yahweh is his breath.)

^11:3 He does not judge by appearances, he gives no verdict on hearsay,

^11:4 but judges the wretched with integrity, and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land. His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless, his sentences bring death to the wicked.

^11:5 Integrity is the loincloth round his waist, faithfulness the belt about his hips.

^11:6 The wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion cub feed together with a little boy to lead them.

^11:7 The cow and the bear make friends, their young lie down together. The lion eats straw like the ox.

^11:8 The infant plays over the cobra’s hole; into the viper’s lair the young child puts his hand.

^11:9 They do no hurt, no harm, on all my holy mountain, for the country is filled with the knowledge of Yahweh as the waters swell the sea.

^11:10 That day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples. It will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.

^72:1 God, give your own justice to the king, your own righteousness to the royal son,

^72:2 so that he may rule your people rightly and your poor with justice.

^72:3 Let the mountains and hills bring a message of peace for the people. Uprightly

^72:4 he will defend the poorest, he will save the children of those in need, and crush their oppressors.

^72:5 Like sun and moon he will endure, age after age,

^72:6 welcome as rain that falls on the pasture, and showers to thirsty soil.

^72:7 In his days virtue will flourish, a universal peace till the moon is no more;

^72:8 his empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.

^72:9 The Beast[*a] will cower before him and his enemies grovel in the dust;

^72:10 the kings of Tarshish and of the islands will pay him tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts;

^72:11 all kings will do him homage, all nations become his servants.

^72:12 He will free the poor man who calls to him, and those who need help,

^72:13 he will have pity on the poor and feeble, and save the lives of those in need;

^72:14 he will redeem their lives from exploitation and outrage, their lives will be precious in his sight.

^72:15 (Long may he live, may gold from Sheba be given him!) Prayer will be offered for him constantly, blessings invoked on him all day long.

^72:16 Grain everywhere in the country, even on the mountain tops, abundant as Lebanon its harvest, luxuriant as common grass!

^72:17 Blessed be his name for ever, enduring as long as the sun! May every race in the world be blessed in him, and all the nations call him blessed!

^72:18 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who alone performs these marvels!

^72:19 Blessed for ever be his glorious name, may the whole world be filled with his glory! Amen. Amen!

^72:20 End of the prayers of David, son of Jesse.[*b]

^15:4 And indeed everything that was written long ago in the scriptures was meant to teach us something about hope from the examples scripture gives of how people who did not give up were helped by God.

^15:5 And may he who helps us when we refuse to give up, help you all to be tolerant with each other, following the example of Christ Jesus,

^15:6 so that united in mind and voice you may give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

^15:7 It can only be to God’s glory, then, for you to treat each other in the same friendly way as Christ treated you.

^15:8 The reason Christ became the servant of circumcised Jews was not only so that God could faithfully carry out the promises made to the patriarchs,

^15:9 it was also to get the pagans to give glory to God for his mercy, as scripture says in one place: For this I shall praise you among the pagans and sing to your name.[*b]

^3:1 In due course John the Baptist appeared; he preached in the wilderness of Judaea and this was his message:

^3:2 ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven[*a] is close at hand’.

^3:3 This was the man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said: A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.[*b]

^3:4 This man John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

^3:5 Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him,

^3:6 and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.

^3:7 But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees[*c] coming for baptism he said to them,

^3:8 ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming? But if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruit,

^3:9 and do not presume to tell yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father”, because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.

^3:10 Even now the axe is laid to the roots of the trees, so that any tree which fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire.

^3:11 I baptise you in water for repentance, but the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

^3:12 His winnowing-fan is in his hand; he will clear his threshing-floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’