Tuesday 7 November 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 7 November 2023
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Nehemiah 12:27-31a,42b-47

Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the
Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate
the dedication with rejoicing, with thanksgivings and with singing,
with cymbals, harps, and lyres. The companies of the singers gathered
together from the circuit around Jerusalem and from the villages of
the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba
and Azmaveth; for the singers had built for themselves villages around
Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and
they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on to the wall, and appointed
two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went
to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate; and Maaseiah, Shemaiah,
Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers
sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. They offered great sacrifices
that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy;
the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard
far away.
 On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the
contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them
the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites
from the fields belonging to the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the
priests and the Levites who ministered. They performed the service of
their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the
gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.
For in the days of David and Asaph long ago there was a leader of the
singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. In
the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the
daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set apart
that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which
was for the descendants of Aaron.
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Revelation 11:1-19

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Come
and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship
there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that
out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over
the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant my two witnesses
authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days,
wearing sackcloth.’

 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand
before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire
pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to
harm them must be killed in this manner. They have authority to shut
the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their
prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into
blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as
they desire.

 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up
from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and
kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great
city that is prophetically* called Sodom and Egypt, where also their
Lord was crucified. For three and a half days members of the peoples
and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies
and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; and the inhabitants of the
earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents,
because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of
the earth.

 But after the three and a half days, the breath* of life from God
entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them
were terrified. Then they* heard a loud voice from heaven saying to
them, ‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud while
their enemies watched them. At that moment there was a great
earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were
killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory
to the God of heaven.

 The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.
 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices
in heaven, saying,
‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
   and of his Messiah,*
and he will reign for ever and ever.’

 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell
on their faces and worshipped God, singing,
‘We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
   who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
   and begun to reign. 
The nations raged,
   but your wrath has come,
   and the time for judging the dead,
for rewarding your servants,* the prophets
   and saints and all who fear your name,
   both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’

 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his
covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of
lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
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Matthew 13:44-52
 
‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which
someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he
has and buys that field.

 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine
pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that
he had and bought it.

 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into
the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it
ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and
separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace
of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he
said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the
kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of
his treasure what is new and what is old.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 61, 62

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God;
   listen to my prayer. 
>From the end of the earth I call to you,
   when my heart is faint. 

Lead me to the rock
   that is higher than I; 
for you are my refuge,
   a strong tower against the enemy. 

Let me abide in your tent for ever,
   find refuge under the shelter of your wings.
          Selah 
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 

Prolong the life of the king;
   may his years endure to all generations! 
May he be enthroned for ever before God;
   appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 

So I will always sing praises to your name,
   as I pay my vows day after day.

Psalm 62

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
   from him comes my salvation. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 

How long will you assail a person,
   will you batter your victim, all of you,
   as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
   They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
   but inwardly they curse.
          Selah 

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
   for my hope is from him. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 
On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
   my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 

Trust in him at all times, O people;
   pour out your heart before him;
   God is a refuge for us.
          Selah 

Those of low estate are but a breath,
   those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
   they are together lighter than a breath. 
Put no confidence in extortion,
   and set no vain hopes on robbery;
   if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 

Once God has spoken;
   twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God, 
   and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
   according to their work.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 68

Psalm 68

Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
   let those who hate him flee before him. 
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
   as wax melts before the fire,
   let the wicked perish before God. 
But let the righteous be joyful;
   let them exult before God;
   let them be jubilant with joy. 

Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
   lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds*—
his name is the Lord—
   be exultant before him. 

Father of orphans and protector of widows
   is God in his holy habitation. 
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
   he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
   but the rebellious live in a parched land. 

O God, when you went out before your people,
   when you marched through the wilderness,
          Selah 
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
   at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
   at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
   you restored your heritage when it languished; 
your flock found a dwelling in it;
   in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 

The Lord gives the command;
   great is the company of those* who bore the tidings: 
   ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil, 
   though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
   its pinions with green gold. 
When the Almighty* scattered kings there,
   snow fell on Zalmon. 

O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
   O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! 
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
   at the mount that God desired for his abode,
   where the Lord will reside for ever? 

With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
   thousands upon thousands,
   the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.* 
You ascended the high mount,
   leading captives in your train
   and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there. 
Blessed be the Lord,
   who daily bears us up;
   God is our salvation.
          Selah 
Our God is a God of salvation,
   and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. 

But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
   the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways. 
The Lord said,
   ‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, 
so that you may bathe* your feet in blood,
   so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the
foe.’ 

Your solemn processions are seen,* O God,
   the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary— 
the singers in front, the musicians last,
   between them girls playing tambourines: 
‘Bless God in the great congregation,
   the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’ 
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
   the princes of Judah in a body,
   the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 

Summon your might, O God;
   show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before. 
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
   kings bear gifts to you. 
Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
   the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample* under foot those who lust after tribute;
   scatter the peoples who delight in war.* 
Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
   let Ethiopia* hasten to stretch out its hands to God. 

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
   sing praises to the Lord,
          Selah 
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
   listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 
Ascribe power to God,
   whose majesty is over Israel;
   and whose power is in the skies. 
Awesome is God in his* sanctuary,
   the God of Israel;
   he gives power and strength to his people. 

Blessed be God!
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