♗Previous readings

Alternative content

♝Today's readings

Alternative content

Psalms 73:1-75:10 DRB

A psalm for Asaph. How good is God to Israel, to them that are of a right heart! 2 But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 Because I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing the prosperity of sinners. 4 For there is no regard to their death, nor is there strength in their stripes. 5 They are not in the labour of men: neither shall they be scourged like other men. 6 Therefore pride hath held them fast: they are covered with their iniquity and their wickedness. 7 Their iniquity hath come forth, as it were from fatness: they have passed into the affection of the heart. 8 They have thought and spoken wickedness: they have spoken iniquity on high. 9 They have set their mouth against heaven: and their tongue hath passed through the earth. 10 Therefore will my people return here and full days shall be found in them. 11 And they said: How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? 12 Behold these are sinners; and yet, abounding in the world they have obtained riches. 13 And I said: Then have I in vain justified my heart, and washed my hands among the innocent. 14 And I have been scourged all the day; and my chastisement hath been in the mornings. 15 If I said: I will speak thus; behold I should condemn the generation of thy children. 16 I studied that I might know this thing, it is a labour in my sight: 17 Until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand concerning their last ends. 18 But indeed for deceits thou hast put it to them: when they were lifted up thou hast cast them down. 19 How are they brought to desolation? they have suddenly ceased to be: they have perished by reason of their iniquity. 20 As the dream of them that awake, O Lord; so in thy city thou shalt bring their image to nothing. 21 For my heart hath been inflamed, and my reins have been changed: 22 And I am brought to nothing, and I knew not. 23 I am become as a beast before thee: and I am always with thee. 24 Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by thy will thou hast conducted me, and with thy glory thou hast received me. 25 For what have I in heaven? and besides thee what do I desire upon earth? 26 For thee my flesh and my heart hath fainted away: thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever. 27 For behold they that go far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that are disloyal to thee. 28 But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God: That I may declare all thy praises, in the gates of the daughter of Sion. 74:1 Understanding for Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off unto the end: why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning. The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed: mount Sion in which thou hast dwelt. 3 Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what things the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. 4 And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of thy solemnity. They have set up their ensigns for signs, 5 And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top. As with axes in a wood of trees, 6 They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and hatchet they have brought it down. 7 They have set fire to thy sanctuary: they have defiled the dwelling place of thy name on the earth. 8 They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together: Let us abolish all the festival days of God from the land. 9 Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet: and he will know us no more. 10 How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach: is the adversary to provoke thy name for ever? 11 Why dost thou turn away thy hand: and thy right hand out of the midst of thy bosom for ever? 12 But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm: thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon: thou hast given him to be meat for the people of the Ethiopians. 15 Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents: thou hast dried up the Ethan rivers. 16 Thine is the day, and thine is the night: thou hast made the morning light and the sun. 17 Thou hast made all the borders of the earth: the summer and the spring were formed by thee. 18 Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord: and a foolish people hath provoked thy name. 19 Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee: and forget not to the end the souls of thy poor. 20 Have regard to thy covenant: for they that are the obscure of the earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity. 21 Let not the humble be turned away with confusion: the poor and needy shall praise thy name. 22 Arise, O God, judge thy own cause: remember thy reproaches with which the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day. 23 Forget not the voices of thy enemies: the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually. 75:1 Unto the end, corrupt not, a psalm of a canticle for Asaph. (75:2) We will praise thee, O God: we will praise, and we will call upon thy name. We will relate thy wondrous works: 2 (75:3) When I shall take a time, I will judge justices. 3 (75:4) The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein: I have established the pillars thereof. 4 (75:5) I said to the wicked: Do not act wickedly: and to the sinners: Lift not up the horn. 5 (75:6) Lift not up your horn on high: speak not iniquity against God. 6 (75:7) For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert hills: 7 (75:8) For God is the judge. One he putteth down, and another he lifteth up: 8 (75:9) For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of mixture. And he hath poured it out from this to that: but the dregs thereof are not emptied: all the sinners of the earth shall drink. 9 (75:10) But I will declare for ever: I will sing to the God of Jacob. 10 (75:11) And I will break all the horns of sinners: but the horns of the just shall be exalted.

Read about the Douay-Rheims Bible  ➺ "DRB"

Sirach chapter 18

The Greatness of God

1 The Lord, who lives forever, created the whole universe,

2 and he alone is just.

4 He has given no one enough power to describe what he has done, and no one can investigate it completely.

5 Who can measure his majestic power? Who can tell the whole story of his merciful actions?

6 We cannot add to them; we cannot subtract from them. There is no way to comprehend the marvelous things the Lord has done.

7 When we come to the end of that story, we have not even begun; we are simply at a loss for words.

Human Beings Are Nothing

8 What are human beings? Of what use are we? The good that we do-the evil that we do-what does it all mean?

9 If we live a hundred years, we have lived an unusually long time,

10 but compared with all eternity, those years are like a drop of water in an ocean, like a single grain of sand.

11 That is why the Lord is so patient with us, why he is so free with his mercy.

12 He looks at us and knows that we are doomed to die; that is why he is so willing to forgive us.

13 We can show compassion to someone we know, but the Lord shows compassion for all humanity. He corrects us; he disciplines us; he teaches us. Like a shepherd tending sheep, he brings us back to himself.

14 He will have compassion on us if we accept his guidance and are eager for him to show us where we are wrong.

Kindness and Charity

15 My child, when you help someone, don't reprimand him at the same time. When you make a gift, don't say anything that hurts.

16 Your words count for more than what you give. Even dew gives some relief during a spell of hot weather.

17 Yes, kind words are more effective than the best of gifts, and if you are really concerned, you will give both.

18 It is stupid to be unkind and insulting. No one's eyes are going to sparkle at a gift that you resent giving.

Self-examination

19 Know what you are talking about before you speak, and give attention to your health before you get sick.

20 Examine your conscience before the Lord judges you; then when that time comes, he will forgive you.

21 Humble yourself before you are punished with sickness. When you have sinned, show repentance.

22 If you make a promise to the Lord, keep it as soon as you can. Don't wait until you are about to die to set things straight.

23 But before you make such a promise, be prepared to keep it. Don't try to test the Lord's patience.

24 Think! Do you want him to be angry with you on the day you die? When you face his judgment, do you want him to turn his back on you?

25 When you have all you want, think what it is like to be hungry, what it is to be poor.

26 Things can change in a single day; the Lord can act very quickly.

27 If you are wise, you will be careful in everything you do. When sin is all around you, be especially careful that you do not become guilty.

28 Every intelligent person can recognize wisdom and will honor anyone who shows it.

29 If you appreciate wisdom when you hear it, you will become wise yourself, and your words will be a source of wisdom for others.

Self-control

30 Don't be controlled by your lust; keep your passions in check.

31 If you allow yourself to satisfy your every desire, you will be a joke to your enemies.

32 Don't indulge in luxurious living; the expense of it will ruin you.

33 Don't make yourself a beggar by borrowing for expensive banquets when you don't have enough money of your own.

<|>

Read about the Good News Bible ➺ "GNB"

☦ A Psalm ☦

♔

Alternative content

Psalm 91:1-16 KJV

Read about the  King James Version ➺ "KJV"

☥Virtue of the week: Meekness☥

✡ Daily Torah Reading ✡