Daily Readings - 17/12/2026

^49:1 Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Gather together that I may declare to you what lies before you in time to come.

^49:2 ‘Gather round, sons of Jacob, and listen; listen to Israel your father.

^49:8 ‘Judah, your brothers shall praise you: you grip your enemies by the neck, your father’s sons shall do you homage,

^49:9 Judah is a lion cub, you climb back, my son, from your kill; like a lion he crouches and lies down, or a lioness: who dare rouse him?

^49:10 The sceptre shall not pass from Judah, nor the mace from between his feet, until he come to whom it belongs, to whom the peoples shall render obedience.

^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]

^1:1 A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:[*a]

^1:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

^1:3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother, Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

^1:4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

^1:5 Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother, Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother, Obed was the father of Jesse;

^1:6 and Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

^1:7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

^1:8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah,

^1:9 Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

^1:10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah;

^1:11 and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place.

^1:12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

^1:13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

^1:14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud,

^1:15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob;

^1:16 and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

^1:17 The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.