Daily Readings - 18/12/2026

^23:5 ‘See, the days are coming – it is Yahweh who speaks – when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David, who will reign as true king and be wise, practising honesty and integrity in the land.

^23:6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel dwell in confidence. And this is the name he will be called:

^23:7 ‘So, then, the days are coming – it is Yahweh who speaks – when people will no longer say, “As Yahweh lives who brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt!”

^23:8 but, “As Yahweh lives who led back and brought home the descendants of the House of Israel out of the land of the North and from all the countries to which he had dispersed them, to live on their own soil”.’

^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]

^1:18 This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph;[*b] but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

^1:19 Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally.

^1:20 He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.

^1:21 She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save[*c] his people from their sins.’

^1:22 Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

^1:23 ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel,[*d] a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’.

^1:24 When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home