Daily Readings - 23/05/2026

^28:16 On our arrival in Rome Paul was allowed to stay in lodgings of his own with the soldier who guarded him.

^28:17 After three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

^28:18 They examined me and would have set me free, since they found me guilty of nothing involving the death penalty;

^28:19 but the Jews lodged an objection, and I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation to make against my own nation.

^28:20 That is why I have asked to see you and talk to you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.’

^28:30 Paul spent the whole of the two years[*c] in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him,

^28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone.

^9:1 I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart; I recite your marvels one by one,

^9:2 I rejoice and exult in you, I sing praise to your name, Most High.

^9:3 My enemies are in retreat, stumbling, perishing as you confront them:

^9:4 you have upheld the justice of my cause from the throne where you sit as righteous judge.

^9:5 You have checked the nations, you have crushed the wicked, blotted out their name for ever and ever;

^9:6 the enemy is finished, in everlasting ruin, you have overthrown cities, their memory has perished.

^9:7 See, Yahweh is enthroned for ever, he sets up his throne for judgement;

^9:8 he is going to judge the world with justice, and pronounce a true verdict on the nations.

^9:9 May Yahweh be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold when times are hard.

^9:10 Those who acknowledge your name can rely on you, you never desert those who seek you, Yahweh.

^9:11 To Yahweh with his home in Zion, sing praise, tell the nations of his mighty actions;

^9:12 he, the avenger of blood, remembers them, he does not ignore the cry of the wretched.

^9:13 Take pity on me, Yahweh, look on my suffering, you who lift me back from the gates of death,

^9:14 that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may recite your praises one by one, rejoicing that you have saved me.

^9:15 The nations have sunk into a pit of their own making, they are caught by the feet in the snare they set themselves.

^9:16 Yahweh has made himself known, has given judgement, he has trapped the wicked in the work of their own hands. (Muted music)

^9:17 May the wicked return to Sheol (pause), all the nations forgetful of God.

^9:18 For the needy is not always forgotten, the hope of the poor is never brought to nothing.

^9:19 Rise, Yahweh, let not man have the upper hand, let the nations stand trial before you!

^9:20 Strike terror into them, Yahweh, let the nations know they are only men! (pause)

^21:20 Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them – the one who had leaned on his breast at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’

^21:21 Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’

^21:22 Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’

^21:23 The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die’, but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come’.

^21:24 This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.

^21:25 There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.

^11:1 Throughout the earth men spoke the same language, with the same vocabulary.

^11:2 Now as they moved eastwards they found a plain in the land of Shinar[*b] where they settled.

^11:3 They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them in the fire’.-For stone they used bricks, and for mortar they used bitumen.-

^11:4 ‘Come,’ they said ‘let us build ourselves a town and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered about the whole earth.’

^11:5 Now Yahweh came down to see the town and the tower that the sons of man had built.

^11:6 ‘So they are all a single people with a single language!’ said Yahweh. ‘This is but the start of their undertakings! There will be nothing too hard for them to do.

^11:7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language on the spot so that they can no longer understand one another.’

^11:8 Yahweh scattered them thence over the whole face of the earth, and they stopped building the town.

^11:9 It was named Babel therefore, because there Yahweh confused[*c] the language of the whole earth. It was from there that Yahweh scattered them over the whole face of the earth.

^33:1 Shout for joy to Yahweh, all virtuous men, praise comes well from upright hearts;

^33:2 give thanks to Yahweh on the lyre, play to him on the ten-string harp;

^33:3 sing a new song in his honour, play with all your skill as you acclaim[*a] him!

^33:4 The word of Yahweh is integrity itself, all he does is done faithfully;

^33:5 he loves virtue and justice, Yahweh’s love fills the earth.

^33:6 By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, their whole array by the breath of his mouth;

^33:7 he collects the ocean waters as though in a wineskin, he stores the deeps in cellars.

^33:8 Let the whole world fear Yahweh, let all who live on earth revere him!

^33:9 He spoke, and it was created; he commanded, and there it stood.

^33:10 Yahweh thwarts the plans of nations, frustrates the intentions of peoples;

^33:11 but Yahweh’s plans hold good for ever, the intentions of his heart from age to age.

^33:12 Happy the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people he has chosen for his heritage.

^33:13 Yahweh looks down from heaven, he sees the whole human race;

^33:14 from where he sits he watches all who live on the earth,

^33:15 he who moulds every heart and takes note of all men do.

^33:16 A large army will not keep a king safe, nor does the hero escape by his great strength;

^33:17 it is delusion to rely on the horse for safety, for all its power, it cannot save.

^33:18 But see how the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear him, on those who rely on his love,

^33:19 to rescue their souls from death and keep them alive in famine.

^33:20 Our soul awaits Yahweh, he is our help and shield;

^33:21 our hearts rejoice in him, we trust in his holy name.

^33:22 Yahweh, let your love rest on us as our hope has rested in you.

^19:3 Moses then went up to God, and Yahweh called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel,

^19:4 “You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.

^19:5 From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine.

^19:6 I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.” Those are the words you are to speak to the sons of Israel.’

^19:7 So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people, putting before them all that Yahweh had bidden him.

^19:8 Then all the people answered as one, ‘All that Yahweh has said, we will do.’ And Moses took the people’s reply back to Yahweh.

^19:16 Now at daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the people trembled.

^19:17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the bottom of the mountain.

^19:18 The mountain of Sinai was entirely wrapped in smoke, because Yahweh had descended on it in the form of fire. Like smoke from a furnace the smoke went up, and the whole mountain shook violently.

^19:19 Louder and louder grew the sound of the trumpet. Moses spoke, and God answered him with peals of thunder.

^19:20 Yahweh came down on the mountain of Sinai, on the mountain top, and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain; and Moses went up.

^3:52 ‘May you be blessed, Lord, God of our ancestors, be praised and extolled for ever. Blessed be your glorious and holy name, praised and extolled for ever.

^3:53 May you be blessed in the Temple of your sacred glory, exalted and glorified above all else for ever:

^3:54 blessed on the throne of your kingdom, praised and exalted above all else for ever.

^3:55 Blessed, you fathomer of the great depths, enthroned on the cherubs, praised and glorified above all else for ever;

^3:56 blessed in the vault of heaven, exalted and glorified above all else for ever.

^19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork;

^19:2 day discourses of it to day, night to night hands on the knowledge.

^19:3 No utterance at all, no speech, no sound that anyone can hear;

^19:4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world. High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,

^19:5 who comes out of his pavilion like a bridegroom, exulting like a hero to run his race.

^19:6 He has his rising on the edge of heaven, the end of his course is its furthest edge, and nothing can escape his heat.

^19:7 The Law of Yahweh is perfect, new life for the soul; the decree of Yahweh is trustworthy, wisdom for the simple.

^19:8 The precepts of Yahweh are upright, joy for the heart; the commandment of Yahweh is clear, light for the eyes.

^19:9 The fear of Yahweh is pure, lasting for ever; the judgements of Yahweh are true, righteous, every one,

^19:10 more desirable than gold, even than the finest gold; his words are sweeter than honey, even than honey that drips from the comb.

^19:11 Thus your servant is formed by them, observance brings great reward.

^19:12 But who can detect his own failings? Wash out my hidden faults.

^19:13 And from pride preserve your servant, never let it dominate me. So shall I be above reproach, free from grave sin.

^19:14 May the words of my mouth always find favour, and the whispering of my heart, in your presence, Yahweh, my Rock, my Redeemer!

^107:1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, his love is everlasting:

^107:2 let these be the words of Yahweh’s redeemed, those he has redeemed from the oppressor’s clutches,

^107:3 by bringing them home from foreign countries, from east and west, from north and south.

^107:4 Some had lost their way in the wilds and the desert, not knowing how to reach an inhabited town;

^107:5 they were hungry and desperately thirsty, their courage was running low.

^107:6 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble and he rescued them from their sufferings,

^107:7 guiding them by a route leading direct to an inhabited town.

^107:8 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men;

^107:9 satisfying the hungry, he fills the starving with good things.

^107:10 Some were living in gloom and darkness, fettered in misery and irons

^107:11 for defying the orders of God, for scorning the advice of the Most High;

^107:12 who bent them double with hardship, to breaking point, with no one to help them.

^107:13 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble

^107:14 releasing them from gloom and darkness, shattering their chains.

^107:15 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men;

^107:16 breaking bronze gates open, he smashes iron bars.

^107:17 Some, driven frantic by their sins, made miserable by their own guilt

^107:18 and finding all food repugnant, were nearly at death’s door.

^107:19 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble and he rescued them from their sufferings;

^107:20 sending his word and curing them, he snatched them from the Pit.

^107:21 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men.

^107:22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and proclaim with shouts of joy what he has done.

^107:23 Others, taking ship and going to sea, were plying their business across the ocean;

^107:24 they too saw what Yahweh could do, what marvels on the deep!

^107:25 He spoke and raised a gale, lashing up towering waves.

^107:26 Flung to the sky, then plunged to the depths, they lost their nerve in the ordeal,

^107:27 staggering and reeling like drunkards with all their seamanship adrift.

^107:28 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble and he rescued them from their sufferings,

^107:29 reducing the storm to a whisper until the waves grew quiet,

^107:30 bringing them, glad at the calm, safe to the port they were bound for.

^107:31 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men.

^107:32 Let them extol him at the Great Assembly and praise him in the Council of Elders.

^107:33 Sometimes he turned rivers into desert, springs of water into arid ground,

^107:34 or a fertile country into salt-flats, because the people living there were wicked.

^107:35 Or again, he turned a desert into sheets of water, and an arid country into flowing springs,

^107:36 where he gave the hungry a home in which to found a habitable town.

^107:37 There, they sow the fields and plant their vines, there, they show a profitable harvest.

^107:38 He blesses them, they grow in number, he sees that their livestock does not decrease.

^107:39 Their numbers had fallen, they had grown weak under pressure of disaster and hardship.

^107:40 Pouring his contempt upon the nobly born, he left them to wander in a trackless waste.

^107:41 But now, he lifts the needy out of their misery, and gives them a flock of new families;

^107:42 at the sight of which, upright hearts rejoice and wickedness must hold its tongue.

^107:43 If you are wise, study these things and realise how Yahweh shows his love.

^104:1 Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and glory,

^104:2 wrapped in a robe of light! You stretch the heavens out like a tent,

^104:3 you build your palace on the waters above; using the clouds as your chariot, you advance on the wings of the wind;

^104:4 you use the winds as messengers and fiery flames as servants.

^104:5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, unshakeable for ever and ever;

^104:6 you wrapped it with the deep as with a robe, the waters overtopping the mountains.

^104:7 At your reproof the waters took to flight, they fled at the sound of your thunder,

^104:8 cascading over the mountains, into the valleys, down to the reservoir you made for them;

^104:9 you imposed the limits they must never cross again, or they would once more flood the land.

^104:10 You set springs gushing in ravines, running down between the mountains,

^104:11 supplying water for wild animals, attracting the thirsty wild donkeys;

^104:12 near there the birds of the air make their nests and sing among the branches.

^104:13 From your palace you water the uplands until the ground has had all that your heavens have to offer;

^104:14 you make fresh grass grow for cattle and those plants made use of by man, for them to get food from the soil:

^104:15 wine to make them cheerful, oil to make them happy and bread to make them strong.

^104:16 The trees of Yahweh get rain enough, those cedars of Lebanon he planted;

^104:17 here the little birds build their nest and, on the highest branches, the stork has its home.

^104:18 For the wild goats there are the mountains, in the crags rock-badgers hide.

^104:19 You made the moon to tell the seasons, the sun knows when to set:

^104:20 you bring darkness on, night falls, all the forest animals come out:

^104:21 savage lions roaring for their prey, claiming their food from God.

^104:22 The sun rises, they retire, going back to lie down in their lairs,

^104:23 and man goes out to work, and to labour until dusk.

^104:24 Yahweh, what variety you have created, arranging everything so wisely! Earth is completely full of things you have made:

^104:25 among them vast expanse of ocean, teeming with countless creatures, creatures large and small,

^104:26 with the ships going to and fro and Leviathan whom you made to amuse you.

^104:27 All creatures depend on you to feed them throughout the year;

^104:28 you provide the food they eat, with generous hand you satisfy their hunger.

^104:29 You turn your face away, they suffer, you stop their breath, they die and revert to dust.

^104:30 You give breath, fresh life begins, you keep renewing the world.

^104:31 Glory for ever to Yahweh! May Yahweh find joy in what he creates,

^104:32 at whose glance the earth trembles, at whose touch the mountains smoke!

^104:33 I mean to sing to Yahweh all my life, I mean to play for my God as long as I live.

^104:34 May these reflections of mine give him pleasure, as much as Yahweh gives me!

^104:35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked exist no more! Bless Yahweh, my soul.

^8:22 From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth;

^8:23 and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.

^8:24 For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were –

^8:25 but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.

^8:26 The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words,

^8:27 and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.

^7:37 On the last day and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood there and cried out: ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to me! Let the man come and drink

^7:38 who believes in me!’ As scripture says: From his breast shall flow fountains of living water.[*e]

^7:39 He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.