Daily Readings - 08/07/2026

^10:1 Israel was a luxuriant vine yielding plenty of fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the richer his land became, the richer he made the sacred stones.

^10:2 Their heart is a divided heart; very well, they must pay for it: Yahweh is going to break their altars down and destroy their sacred stones.

^10:3 Then they will say, ‘We have no king because we have not feared Yahweh’. But what can a king do for us?

^10:7 Samaria has had her day. Her king[*a] is like a straw drifting on the water.

^10:8 The idolatrous high places shall be destroyed-that sin of Israel; thorn and thistle will grow on their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’

^10:12 Sow integrity for yourselves, reap a harvest of kindness, break up your fallow ground: it is time to go seeking Yahweh until he comes to rain salvation on you.

^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.

^10:1 He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.

^10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

^10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

^10:4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him.

^10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town;

^10:6 go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

^10:7 And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.