DAILY OFFICE

1 Praise the Lord!
    Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
    or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
    they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
    that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20 They exchanged the glory of God
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
    stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    scattering them among the lands.
28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.
32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
    and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
    whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
    by all those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O Lord our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
    that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
    And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the Lord!

1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
    say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
     accept what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    the vows of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us;
    we will not ride on horses;
    and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
    In you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will heal their apostasy;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
    they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.
    I am like an evergreen cypress;
    from me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
    for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. 43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”