Daily Reading

When Moses came to the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.
When she saw him coming, she exclaimed to his father,
“Tobit, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!”

Raphael said to Tobiah before he reached his father:
“I am certain that his eyes will be opened.
Smear the fish gall on them.
This medicine will make the cataracts shrink and peel off from his eyes;

Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.
Then with sobs I began to pray:

    “You are righteous, O Lord,
        and all your deeds are just;
    All your ways are mercy and truth;
        you are the judge of the world.
    And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
        and look with favor upon me.
    Punish me not for my sins,

On the night of Pentecost, after I had buried the dead,
I, Tobit, went into my courtyard 
to sleep next to the courtyard wall. 
My face was uncovered because of the heat. 
I did not know there were birds perched on the wall above me, 
till their warm droppings settled in my eyes,

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
    Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart, 
    O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
    he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
    you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
    Fear not,

I thank the LORD and I praise him;
    I bless the name of the LORD.
When I was young and innocent,
    I sought wisdom openly in my prayer
I prayed for her before the temple,
    and I will seek her until the end,
    and she flourished as a grape soon ripe.

Now will I praise those godly men,
    our ancestors, each in his own time.
But of others there is no memory,
    for when they ceased, they ceased.
And they are as though they had not lived,
    they and their children after them.
Yet these also were godly men
    whose virtues have not been forgotten;
Their wealth remains in their families,

Now will I recall God’s works;
    what I have seen, I will describe.
At God’s word were his works brought into being;
    they do his will as he has ordained for them.
As the rising sun is clear to all,
    so the glory of the LORD fills all his works;
Yet even God’s holy ones must fail
    in recounting the wonders of the LORD,

To keep the law is a great oblation,
    and he who observes the 
    commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
In works of charity one offers fine flour,
    and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
    and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
    for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.