Out of the ground the Lord GOD made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Daily Bible Reading: Saturday, June 8, 2024
Genesis 2:4b-14 (NRSV)
4bThese are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up — for the Lord GOD had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground — 7then the Lord GOD formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8And the Lord GOD planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of the ground the Lord GOD made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. 11The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Daily Bible Reading: Thursday, March 14, 2024
Psalm 51:1-12 (NRSV)
1Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
11Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
Daily Bible Reading: Thursday, February 22, 2024
Psalm 22:23-31 (NRSV)
23You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.
25From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD.
May your hearts live forever!
27All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the LORD,
31and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Daily Bible Reading: Monday, February 19, 2024
Psalm 77 (NRSV)
1I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2In the day of my trouble I seek the LORD;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints.
Selah
4You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5I consider the days of old,
and remember the years of long ago.
6I commune with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:
7"Will the LORD spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8Has his steadfast love ceased forever?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"
Selah
10And I say, "It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High has changed."
11I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD;
I will remember your wonders of old.
12I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
16When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.
17The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19Your way was through the sea,
your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
ELCA's daily Bible readings are chosen from "Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings," prepared by Consultation on the Common Texts, © 2005.
All text is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches USA, and is used by permission. All rights reserved.