Daily Readings - 10/02/2026

^8:22 Then (in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel) Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh and, stretching out his hands towards heaven,

^8:23 said, Yahweh, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way

^8:27 Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built!

^8:28 Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, Yahweh my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today.

^8:29 Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, “My name shall be there”. Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.

^8:30 ‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.

^83:1 God, do not remain silent; do not be unmoved, O God, or unresponsive!

^83:2 See how your enemies are stirring, see how those who hate you rear their heads.

^83:3 Weaving a plot against your people, conspiring against those you protect, .

^83:4 they say, ‘Come, we will finish them as a nation, the name of Israel shall be forgotten!’

^83:5 Unanimous in their plot, they seal a treaty against you:

^83:6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,

^83:7 Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia and the Tyrians;

^83:8 and now Assur[*a] has joined them to reinforce the sons of Lot. (pause)

^83:9 Treat them like Midian and Sisera, like Jabin at the river Kishon,

^83:10 wiped out at En-dor, they served to dung the ground.

^83:11 Treat their generals like Oreb and Zeeb, their commanders like Zebah and Zalmunna,

^83:12 those who once said, ‘Let us take for ourselves possession of the Dwellings of God!’

^83:13 My God, bowl them along like tumbleweed, like chaff at the mercy of the wind;

^83:14 as fire devours the forest, as the flame licks up the mountains,

^83:15 drive them on with your whirlwind, rout them with your tornado;

^83:16 cover their faces with shame, until they seek your name, Yahweh.

^83:17 Shame and panic be always theirs, disgrace and death;

^83:18 and let them know this: you alone bear the name Yahweh, Most High over the whole world.

^7:1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round him,

^7:2 and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

^7:3 For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow;

^7:4 and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes.

^7:5 So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’

^7:6 He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.

^7:7 The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.[*a]

^7:8 You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’

^7:9 And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition!

^7:10 For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death.

^7:11 But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban[*b] (that is, dedicated to God),

^7:12 then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother”.

^7:13 In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’