4 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.

6 And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.

7 And the Lord said to me: Say not: I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee: and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak.

8 Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

9 And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:

10 Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root up, and pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.

R. (6) Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength.

1 Of the sons of Jonadab, and the former captives. In thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be put to confusion:

2 Deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me. Incline thy ear unto me, and save me.

R. Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength.

3 Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength: that thou mayst make me safe. For thou art my firmament and my refuge.

4a Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner.

R. Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength.

5 For thou art my patience, O Lord: my hope, O Lord, from my youth;

6ab By thee have I been confirmed from the womb: from my mother’s womb thou art my protector.

R. Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength.

15ab My mouth shall shew forth thy justice; thy salvation all the day long.

17 Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth: and till now I will declare thy wonderful works.

R. Since my mother’s womb, you have been my strength.

8 Whom having not seen, you love: in whom also now, though you see him not, you believe: and believing shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified;

9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and diligently searched, who prophesied of the grace to come in you.

11 Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did signify: when it foretold those sufferings that are in Christ, and the glories that should follow:

12 To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you they ministered those things which are now declared to you by them that have preached the gospel to you, the Holy Ghost being sent down from heaven, on whom the angels desire to look.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jn 1:7; Lk 1:17 He came to testify to the light, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.

6 And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame.

7 And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.

8 And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God,

9 According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord.

10 And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense.

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the alter of incense.

12 And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John:

14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity.

15 For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

16 And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

9b When he heard of Theraca king of Ethiopia: Behold, he is come out to fight with thee: and was going against him, he sent messengers to Ezechias, saying:

10 Thus shall you say to Ezechias king of Juda: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest: and do not say: Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.

11 Behold thou hast heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done to all countries, how they have laid them waste: and canst thou alone be delivered?

14 And when Ezechias had received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and had read it, he went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord,

15 And he prayed in his sight, saying: O Lord God of Israel, who sitteth upon the cherubims, thou alone art the God of all the kings of the earth: thou madest heaven and earth:

16 Incline thy ear, and hear: open, O Lord, thy eyes, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to upbraid unto us the living God.

17 Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have destroyed nations, and the lands of them all.

18 And they have cast their gods into the fire: for they were not Rods, but the works of men’s hands of wood and stone, and they destroyed them.

19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou art the Lord the only God.

20 And Isaias the son of Amos sent to Ezechias, saying: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I have heard the prayer thou hast made to me concerning Sennacherib king of the Assyrians.

21 This is the word, that the Lord hath spoken of him: The virgin the daughter of Sion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn: the daughter of Jerusalem hath wagged her head behind thy back.

31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and that which shall be saved out of mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.

32 Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a trench about it.

33 By the way that he came, he shall return: and into this city he shall not come, saith the Lord.

34 And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake, and for David my servant’s sake.

35a And it came to pass that night, that an angel of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand.

36 And Sennacherib king of the Assyrians departing went away, and he returned and abode in Ninive.

R. (9d) God upholds his city for ever.

2 Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.

3ab With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

3cd On the sides of the north, the city of the great king.

4 In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

10 We have received thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

11 According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of justice.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

12 I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

6 Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you.

12 All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat.

14 How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!

5 And he went through all the land: and going up to Samaria, he besieged it three years.

6 And in the ninth year of Osee, the king of the Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria: and he placed them in Hala and Habor by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.

7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao king of Egypt, and they worshipped strange gods.

8 And they walked according to the way of the nations which the Lord had destroyed in the sight of the children of Israel and of the kings of Israel: because they had done in like manner.

13 And the Lord testified to them in Israel and in Juda by the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts, and ceremonies, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers: and as I have sent to you in the hand of my servants the prophets.

14 And they hearkened not, but hardened their necks like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord their God.

15a And they rejected his ordinances and the covenant that he made with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified against them.

18 And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from his sight, and there remained only the tribe of Juda.

R. (7b) Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

3 O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

4 Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it: heal thou the breaches thereof, for it has been moved.

5 Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink wine of sorrow.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

12 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go out with our armies?

13 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the salvation of man.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

12 The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

1 Judge not, that you may not be judged,

2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye?

4 Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

10 For I heard the reproaches of many, and terror on every side: Persecute him, and let us persecute him: from all the men that were my familiars, and continued at my side: if by any means he may be deceived, and we may prevail against him, and be revenged on him.

11 But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior: therefore they that persecute me shall fall, and shall be weak: they shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach, which never shall be effaced.

12 And thou, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, who seest the reins and the heart: let me see, I beseech thee, thy vengeance on them: for to thee I have laid open my cause.

13 Sing ye to the Lord, praise the Lord: because he hath delivered the soul of the poor out of the hand of the wicked.

R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.

8 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

9 I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons of my mother.

10 For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

14 But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord; for the time of thy good pleasure, O God. In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.

17 Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

33 Let the poor see and rejoice: seek ye God, and your soul shall live.

34 For the Lord hath heard the poor: and hath not despised his prisoners.

35 Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and every thing that creepeth therein.

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

12 Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned.

13 For until the law sin was in the world; but sin was not imputed, when the law was not.

14 But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come.

15 But not as the offence, so also the gift. For if by the offence of one, many died; much more the grace of God, and the gift, by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

26b, 27a The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord; and you also will identify.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

26 Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known.

27 That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.

28 And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows.

32 Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.

33 But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

17 And after the death of Joiada, the princes of Juda went in, and worshipped the king: and he was soothed by their services and hearkened to them.

18 And they forsook the temple of the Lord the God of their fathers, and served groves and idols, and wrath came upon Juda and Jerusalem for this sin.

19 And he sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord, and they would not give ear when they testified against them.

20 The spirit of God then came upon Zacharias the son of Joiada the priest, and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Why transgress you the commandment of the Lord which will not be for your good, and have forsaken the Lord, to make him forsake you?

21 And they gathered themselves together against him, and stoned him at the king’s commandment in the court of the house of the Lord.

22 And king Joas did not remember the kindness that Joiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when he died, he said: The Lord see, and require it.

23 And when a year was come about, the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Juda and Jerusalem, and killed all the princes of the people, and they sent all the spoils to the king of Damascus.

24 And whereas there came a very small number of the Syrians, the Lord delivered into their hands an infinite multitude, because they had forsaken the Lord the God of their fathers: and on Joas they executed shameful judgments.

25 And departing they left him in diseases: and his servants rose up him, for revenge of the blood of the son of Joiada the priest, and they slew him in his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.

R. (29a) Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.

4 I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:

5 Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.

R. Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.

29 I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.

30 And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.

R. Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.

31 And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:

32 If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:

R. Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.

33 I will visit their iniquities with a rod: and their sins with stripes.

34 But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.

R. Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

9 Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

24 No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment?

26 Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?

27 And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit?

28 And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin.

29 But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.

30 And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith?

31 Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?

32 For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.

33 Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

1 And Athalia the mother of Ochozias seeing that her son was dead, arose, and slew all the royal seed.

2 But Josaba the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ochozias, took Joas the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, out of the bedchamber with his nurse: and hid him from the face of Athalia, so that he was not slain.

3 And he was with her six years hid in the house of the Lord. And Athalia reigned over the land.

4 And in the seventh year Joiada seat, and taking the centurions and the soldiers, brought them in to him into the temple of the Lord, and made a covenant with them: and taking an oath of them in the house of the Lord, shewed them the king’s son:

9 And the centurions did according to all things that Joiada the priest had commanded them: and taking every one their men, that went in on the sabbath, with them that went out on the sabbath, came to Joiada the priest.

10 And he gave them the spears, and the arms of king David, which were in the house of the Lord.

11 And they stood having every one their weapons in their hands, from the right side of the temple, unto the left side of the altar, and of the temple, about the king.

12 And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the diadem upon him, and the testimony: and they made him king, and anointed him: and clapping their hands. they said, God save the king.

13 And Athalia heard the noise of the people running: and going in to the people into the temple of the Lord,

14 She saw the king standing upon a tribunal, as the manner was, and the singers, and the trumpets near him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding the trumpets: and she rent her garments, and cried: A conspiracy, a conspiracy.

15 But Joiada commended the centurions that were over the army, and said to them: Have her forth without the precinct of the temple, and whosoever shall follow her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest had said: Let her not be slain in the temple of the Lord.

16 And they laid hands on her: and thrust her out by the way by which the horses go in, by the palace, and she was slain there.

17 And Joiada made a covenant between the Lord, and the king, and the people, that they should be the people of the Lord, and between the king and the people.

18 And all the people of the land went into the temple of Baal, and broke down his altars, and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly: they slew also Mathan the priest of Baal before the altar. And the priest set guards in the house of the Lord.

20 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword in the king’s house.

R. (13) The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.

11 The Lord hath sworn truth to David, and he will not make it void: of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne.

R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.

12 If thy children will keep thy covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them: Their children also for evermore shall sit upon thy throne.

R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.

13 For the Lord hath chosen Sion: he hath chosen it for his dwelling.

14 This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.

R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.

17 There will I bring forth a horn to David: I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

18 His enemies I will clothe with confusion: but upon him will my sanctification flourish.

R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

19 Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal.

20 But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal.

21 For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.

22 The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome.

23 But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!

1 And Elias the prophet stood up, as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch.

2 He brought a famine upon them, and they that provoked him in their envy, were reduced to a small number, for they could not endure the commandments of the Lord.

3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and he brought down fire from heaven thrice.

4 Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works. And who can glory like to thee?

5 Who raisedst up a dead man from below, from the lot of death, by the word of the Lord God.

6 Who broughtest down kings to destruction, and brokest easily their power in pieces, and the glorious from their bed.

7 Who heardest judgment in Sina, and in Horeb the judgments of vengeance.

8 Who anointedst kings to penance, and madest prophets successors after thee.

9 Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses.

10 Who art registered in the judgments of times to appease the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

11 Blessed are they that saw thee, and were honoured with thy friendship.

12 For we live only in our life, but after death our name shall not be such. Elias was indeed covered with the whirlwind, and his spirit was filled up in Eliseus: in his days he feared not the prince, and no man was more powerful than he.

13 No word could overcome him, and after death his body prophesied.

14 In his life he did great wonders, and is death he wrought miracles.

R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

1 The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice: let many islands be glad.

2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: justice and judgment are the establishment of his throne.

R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

3 A fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about.

4 His lightnings have shone forth to the world: the earth saw and trembled.

R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

5 The mountains melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord: at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens declared his justice: and all people saw his glory.

R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

7 Let them be all confounded that adore graven things, and that glory in their idols. Adore him, all you his angels:

R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

15bc You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

7 And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard.

8 Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him.

9 Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our supersubstantial bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.

14 For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences.

15 But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.

1 And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal.

6 And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together,

7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.

8 And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground.

9 And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit.

10 And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.

11 And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces.

13 And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going back, he stood upon the bank of the Jordan,

14 And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided, hither and thither, and Eliseus passed over.

R. (25) Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

20 O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.

R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

21 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.

R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

24 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.

R. Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

23 Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

1 Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.

3 But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.

4 That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.

5 And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.

6 But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee.

16 And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.

17 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

18 Arise, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it:

19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

20 And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

21 Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.

22 And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done, to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.

23 And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

24 If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

25 Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set him on,

26 And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

27 And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down.

28 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

29 Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

R. (3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

3 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.

4 Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

5 For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.

6ab To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

11 Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

16 Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

34 I give you a new commandment; love one another as I have loved you.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

43 You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy.

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you:

45 That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this?

47 And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this?

48 Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab king of Samaria.

2 And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

3 Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

4 And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.

5 And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread?

6 And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard.

7 Then Jezabel his wife said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite.

8 So she wrote letter’s in Achab’s name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

9 And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people,

10 And suborn two men, sons of Belial against him, and let them bear false witness: that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

11 And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them:

12 They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people.

13 And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people, saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king: wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death.

14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

15 And it came to pass when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

16 And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it.

R. (2b) Lord, listen to my groaning.

2 Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry.

3ab Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God.

R. Lord, listen to my groaning.

4b O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice.

5 In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity.

6 Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes.

R. Lord, listen to my groaning.

7 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: Thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.

R. Lord, listen to my groaning.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

105 A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

38 You have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

39 But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other:

40 And if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him.

41 And whosoever will force thee one mile, go with him other two,

42 Give to him that asketh of thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away.