◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 134 (Praise God day and night); Proverbs 8:32—9:6 (Wisdom serves a meal); 1 Peter 2:1-3 (Long for the pure spiritual milk) (New Catholic Bible)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 134

Psalm 134^[a]

Invitation to Night Prayer

¹A song of ascents.

Come forth to bless the Lord,
    all you servants of the Lord,^[b]
who minister throughout the night
    in the house of the Lord.
²Lift up your hands toward^[c] the sanctuary
    and bless the Lord.
³May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,
    bless you from Zion.^[d]

Footnotes

Psalm 134:1 As the pilgrims leave the temple and invite the priests to keep up their praise during the night, the latter direct to them a blessing that brings to a close the Songs of Ascents, the Pilgrim’s Psalter, just as Ps 117 concludes the collection of Alleluia (or Hallelujah) Psalms (Pss 111–117).
This psalm should remind us that Jesus spent whole nights in prayer (see Lk 6:12) and that he urged the disciples to pray always and not lose heart (see Lk 18:1), a point reiterated by Paul in his first Letter: “Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thes 5:17f). Hence, this dialogued hymn can be exchanged between Christians on earth: those who are often taken away from divine praise by their earthly duties should ask those who are better prepared for this (priests and religious) to assure in their name the work of praise that is so necessary.
Psalm 134:1 The psalmist calls upon the priests and Levites to lead the people in worship. These are the servants of the Lord who minister (literally, “stand”) in the house of the Lord. The priestly and Levitical ministry is often designated by the verb “stand” (see Ps 135:2; Deut 10:8), and they offered up musical praise to the Lord both day and night (see 1 Chr 9:33; 23:26, 30).
Psalm 134:2 The priests and Levites also prayed with hands lifted up (see Ps 28:2; 1 Tim 2:8) toward the sanctuary (see 1 Ki 8:30).
Psalm 134:3 The words of this verse recall the words spoken by the priests when blessing (see Num 6:24f). The blessing follows the people wherever they may go or live, because it comes from the Maker of heaven and earth, i.e., the Great King of the universe (see Ps 121:2). Yet, like God’s commandments, the blessing is not “beyond reach,” not “in heaven,” nor “beyond the sea,” but “very near” (see Deut 30:11-14; Rom 10:6ff)—from Zion. And it is the true Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, where Jesus the “mediator of a new covenant” reigns in the midst of his people (see Heb 12:22-24).

Proverbs 8:32-9:6

³²“So now, my sons, listen to me;
    blessed^[a] are those who keep my ways.
³³Listen to instruction and gain wisdom;
    do not reject it.
³⁴Blessed is the one who listens to me,
    who keeps watch daily at my gates,
    waiting at my doorway.
³⁵For whoever finds me finds life
    and receives favor from the Lord.
³⁶But whoever sins against me harms himself,
    and all who hate me love death.”

Wisdom and Folly

Chapter 9

At God’s Banquet^[b]

¹Wisdom has built her house;
    she has hewn her seven pillars.
²She has slain her animals and mixed her wine,
    and she has spread her table.
³She has sent forth her maidservants
    and proclaimed from the heights of the city,
⁴“Let those who are simple^[c] turn in here.”
    To the person without understanding she says,
⁵“Come and partake of my food,
    and taste the wine that I have prepared!
⁶Abandon foolishness so that you may live;
    walk in the way of understanding.

1 Peter 2:1-3

Chapter 2

¹Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all deceit, hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander. ²Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may advance on the path to salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 134[a]

Invitation to Night Prayer

Footnotes

Wisdom and Folly

Chapter 9

At God’s Banquet[b]

Footnotes

Chapter 2

Psalm 134^[a]

At God’s Banquet^[b]