Old Testament Readings
Our first reading proclaimed comes from the Old Testament. Please choose one of the following, and enter the reading number on your planning form.
1. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of the prophet Job.(19:1,23-26)
Job answered and said: Oh, would that my words were written down!
Would that they were inscribed in a record:
That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,
and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust, whom I myself shall see:
my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him,
and from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing.
The word of the Lord.
2. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of Wisdom. (3:1-9)
The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction,
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality,
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
The word of the Lord.
3. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of Wisdom.(4:7-15)
The just man, though he die early, shall be at rest.
For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time,
nor can it be measured in terms of years.
Rather, understanding is the hoary crown for men,
and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.
He who pleased God was loved; he who lived among sinners was transported —
Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind or deceit beguile his soul;
For the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right
and the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind.
Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career;
for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness.
But the people saw and did not understand, nor did they take this into account.
The word of the Lord.
4. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.(25:6a,7-9)
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples.
On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples.
The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever.
The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth;
for the Lord has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the Lord for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!
The word of the Lord.
5. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of Lamentations.(3:17-26)
My soul is deprived of peace! I have forgotten what happiness is:
I tell myself my future is lost, all that I hoped for from the Lord.
The thought of my homeless poverty is wormwood and gall;
Remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me.
But I will call this to mind, as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness.
My portion is the Lord says my soul; therefore will I hope in him;
Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him;
It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord.
The word of the Lord.
6. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of the Prophet Daniel. (12:1-3)
I, Daniel, mourned and I heard this word of the Lord:
At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people;
It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time.
At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;
Some shall live forever; others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament,
And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.
The word of the Lord.
7. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the second book of Maccabees. (12:43-46)
Judas [the ruler of Israel] then took up a collection among all his soldiers,
amounting to two thousand silver drachmas,
which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice.
In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way,
inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view,
for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again,
it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward
that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness,
it was a holy and pious thought
Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.
The word of the Lord.
8. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A reading from the book of Ecclesiastes (3:1-13)
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless
into their hearts, without men's ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
I recognized that there is nothing better than to be glad
and to do well during life.
For every man, moreover, to eat and drink and enjoy
the fruit of all his labor is a gift of God.
The word of the Lord.
9. OLD TESTAMENT READINGS
A Reading from the Book of Proverbs (31:11-15, 20, 25-26, 28-30)
When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel. Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her: "Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all." Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
The Word of the Lord.
