◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 112:1-9 [10] (Light shines in the darkness); Deuteronomy 4:1-14 (The discipline of faith); 1 John 5:1-5 (God’s children obey God’s commandments) (New Catholic Bible)

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February 5, 2026

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 112:1-9

Psalm 112^[a]

The Blessings of the Righteous

¹Alleluia.

Blessed^[b] is the man who fears the Lord,
    who greatly delights in his precepts.
²His descendants will be powerful upon the earth;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.^[c]
³His house will be filled with wealth and riches,^[d]
    and his righteousness will endure forever.
⁴He shines as a light for the upright in the darkness;
    kindness, mercy, and justice are his hallmarks.^[e]
⁵The future bodes well^[f] for him
    who is generous in helping those in need
    and who conducts his affairs with justice.
⁶^[g]He will never be swayed;
    the righteous man will be remembered forever.
⁷He has no fear of bad news,
    for his heart remains steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
⁸Since his heart is tranquil, he will not be afraid,
    and he will witness the downfall of his enemies.
⁹He bestows gifts lavishly on the poor;
    his righteousness will endure forever,
    and his horn^[h] will be exalted in glory.

Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 This psalm provides the same literary characteristics as the preceding one and most likely stems from the same unknown author. By their theme the two chants complete one another. The first celebrates the divine perfections and works, while the second sings of the virtues and deeds of the true righteous person and the happiness he attains.
The ancients believed that the man who faithfully observed the law and was solicitous of his neighbor was assured prosperity, posterity, and renown. In this psalm a sage once again praises the righteous in these terms, but he adds another more mystical religious sentiment. In effect, applying to the righteous the qualities that the preceding psalm attributed to the Lord, he wishes to show that by dint of placing his delight in the will of the Lord, the righteous man ends up resembling him. Hence, the law is not a burden imposed from without, but a power that transforms the heart. To obey is to let oneself be invaded by the sentiments of God: mercy, tenderness, and righteousness. Is there any other source of happiness?
This psalm is also very suitable for describing the Christian ideal, the perfection we must achieve in the steps of the Master and the happiness we will find therein.
Psalm 112:1 Blessed is the man who follows unswervingly God’s will and call. Blessed: see note on Ps 1:1. Fears the Lord: see note on Ps 15:2-5.
Psalm 112:2 The upright man is blessed in his children and brings blessings on them (see Pss 37:26; 127:3-5; 128:3).
Psalm 112:3 Wealth and riches: see Pss 1:3; 128:2. His righteousness: i.e., his happiness, his successes, and his well-being. There is a tacit comparison of the upright person’s righteousness to God’s (they both endure forever: see Ps 111:3b). Some scholars translate the word “righteousness” as “generosity,” claiming that the original meaning of the Hebrew word in a later period of the language also acquired the meaning of “liberality, almsgiving” (see Sir 3:30; 7:10; Mt 6:1f).
Psalm 112:4 The goodness of the righteous man overflows to others. He acts in the same way as God does (see Ps 111:4b). This is brought out more clearly by the older Catholic rendition: “He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright; / he is gracious and compassionate and righteous.”
Psalm 112:5 Future bodes well: i.e., well-being and prosperity await him (see Ps 34:9-15). Good is also the quality of the righteous man. He is good in that he is generous (see Pss 34:9-11; 37:21). Just as all the Lord’s works are “faithful and right” (see Ps 111:7), so the upright man conducts his affairs with justice.
Psalm 112:6 The righteous man observes the commandments of God that are “established forever and ever” (Ps 111:8); hence “he will never be swayed” (Ps 112:6) and has no fear (v. 7), for his heart is tranquil (v. 8). His trust is in the Lord in spite of bad news, reasons to be afraid, or problems with others (vv. 7-8).
Psalm 112:9 As God’s name is held in holy awe (see Ps 111:9), so the righteous will be held in honor. Paul uses this verse to support the principle that “if you sow generously, you will reap generously as well” (2 Cor 9:6, 9). Horn: here symbolizes dignity.

Psalm 112:10

¹⁰The wicked will be furious when he sees this,
gnashing his teeth and pining away;
the desires of the wicked will be fruitless.^[a]

Deuteronomy 4:1-14

Chapter 4

Benefits of Obedience. ¹Now listen, O Israel, to the statutes and the ordinances that I am teaching you to observe so that you might live and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ²^[a]You will not add to what I command you, nor will you take away from it, so that you might observe the commandments of the Lord, your God, that I am giving you. ³Your own eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor, for the Lord, your God, wiped out from all of those who followed Baal-peor from your midst. ⁴But every one of you who clung to the Lord, your God, is alive today.

⁵Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord, my God, commanded me, so that you might enter into the land into which you are going and take possession of it. ⁶Carefully observe them, for the nations will consider this is your wisdom and your understanding. They will hear all these statutes and say, “Truly this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” ⁷For what nation is as great as we are? Who has God as near to them, as the Lord, our God, is whenever we call upon him? ⁸What nation is so great that it has statutes and ordinances as righteous as this law that I set before you today?

⁹Only be careful and watch yourselves closely lest you ever forget the things that your eyes have seen or you let them slip out of your mind. Teach them to your children and your children’s children, ¹⁰especially about the day that you stood before the Lord, your God, in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I might let them hear my words. They will thus learn to fear me all the days that they live upon the earth, and they will be able to teach their children.” ¹¹You approached and stood at the base of the mountain. The mountain blazed with flames reaching the very heavens, and it was covered with dark clouds and thick darkness. ¹²The Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you did not see a form. There was only a voice. ¹³He proclaimed his covenant to you which he ordered you to fulfill, the Ten Commandments, that he wrote upon two tablets of stone. ¹⁴The Lord then commanded me to teach you the statutes and ordinances so that you might observe them in the land that you were crossing over to possess.

1 John 5:1-5

Chapter 5

Believe in the Son of God^[a]

Faith Conquers the World

¹Everyone who believes
that Jesus is the Christ
is born of God,
and everyone who loves the parent
loves the one begotten of him as well.
²This is how we know
that we love the children of God:
by loving God and obeying his commandments.
³For the love of God is this:
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
⁴for everyone born of God
conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world
is our faith.
⁵Who indeed conquers the world
except the one who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God?

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 112[a]

The Blessings of the Righteous

Footnotes

Footnotes

Chapter 4

Footnotes

Chapter 5

Believe in the Son of God[a]

Faith Conquers the World

Footnotes

Psalm 112^[a]

Believe in the Son of God^[a]