Daily Reading for Friday, August 23rd, 2024

Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:1-14

¹ The hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley, a valley full of bones.

² He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the floor of the valley; and they were completely dry.

³ He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'You know, Lord Yahweh.'

⁴ He said, 'Prophesy over these bones. Say, "Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.

⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: I am now going to make breath enter you, and you will live.

⁶ I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will know that I am Yahweh." '

⁷ I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering sound; it was the bones coming together.

⁸ And as I looked, they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, yet there was no breath in them.

⁹ He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that they come to life!" '

¹⁰ I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army.

¹¹ Then he said, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They keep saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope has gone; we are done for."

¹² So, prophesy. Say to them, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I am now going to open your graves; I shall raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel.

¹³ And you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people,

¹⁴ and put my spirit in you, and you revive, and I resettle you on your own soil. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and done this -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

² So let them say whom Yahweh redeemed, whom he redeemed from the power of their enemies,

³ bringing them back from foreign lands, from east and west, north and south.

⁴ They were wandering in the desert, in the wastelands, could find no way to an inhabited city;

⁵ they were hungry and thirsty, their life was ebbing away.

⁶ They cried out to Yahweh in their distress, he rescued them from their plight,

⁷ he set them on the road, straight to an inhabited city.

⁸ Let them thank Yahweh for his faithful love, for his wonders for the children of Adam!

⁹ He has fed the hungry to their hearts' content, filled the starving with good things.