Daily Lectionary

November 7, 2023

November 6, 2023 November 8, 2023

These daily readings from the EHV follow the one-year daily lectionary provided in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, and the Treasury of Daily Prayer. In this lectionary, two readings of 15-25 verses each are provided for each day. Under this plan, nearly all of the New Testament and approximately one-third of the Old Testament are read each year. These readings fit well within the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, or Compline as daily family devotions.

Jeremiah 11:1-23

The Broken Covenant

11¹This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord.

²Listen to the terms of this covenant, and announce them to every man in Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. ³Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. A curse on the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant, ⁴the terms I commanded your fathers^[] when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace. I said, “Obey me and do everything that I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God.” ⁵Then I will ratify the oath I swore to your fathers, that I would give them a land flowing with milk and honey—as it is today.

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

⁶The Lord then told me to proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.

Listen to the terms of this covenant and obey them. ⁷From the time when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt until today. I have warned them again and again to obey my voice, ⁸but they did not obey. They did not pay attention. Each one lived according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart. So I brought all the curses of this covenant on them. I commanded them to obey, but they did not obey.

⁹The Lord also said to me:

A conspiracy has been uncovered among the men of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have returned to the sins of their fathers, who refused to obey my words. They are following other gods and serving them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their fathers.

¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord says. Watch this. I am going to bring a disaster on them that they will not be able to escape. They will cry out to me, but I will not listen to them. ¹²Then the cities of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem will cry out to the gods to whom they have been burning offerings, but who cannot do anything to save them in the time of trouble. ¹³Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns. You have set up as many altars to burn offerings to Shame—that is, to Baal—as there are streets in Jerusalem.

¹⁴As for you, Jeremiah, do not pray for this people or lift up a cry or a request for them. I will not listen to them when they call to me in their time of distress. ¹⁵She is my beloved, but what right does she have to be in my temple when she has done so many wicked things? Can consecrated meat prevent you from being punished if you rejoice when you do evil?

¹⁶The Lord called you a green olive tree with beautifully formed fruit. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it ablaze, and its branches will be broken.

¹⁷The Lord of Armies, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done. They have provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal.

A Plot Against Jeremiah

¹⁸The Lord revealed their plot to me so I became aware of it. He showed me what they were doing. ¹⁹I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I had not realized that they had plotted against me. They were saying:

“Let us destroy the tree along with its fruit.

Let us cut him off from the land of the living,

so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

²⁰But, Lord of Armies, you judge righteously.

You test the heart and mind.

Let me see your vengeance on them,

for I have presented my case to you.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the men of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hands.” ²²This is what the Lord of Armies says. I will certainly punish them. Their young men will die by the sword. Their sons and daughters will die by famine, ²³and none of them will be left. I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.

Matthew 24:1-28

The Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World

(Mark 13:1-31; Luke 21:5-33)

24¹As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the temple buildings. ²Then he replied to them, “Do you see all of these things? Amen I tell you: Not one stone here will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”

³While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”

⁴Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵Because many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many people. ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because all these things must happen; but that is not yet the end. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains. ⁹Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will put you to death. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰Then many will fall away from faith. They will betray each other and hate each other. ¹¹Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹²Because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But whoever endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵“Therefore when you see the abomination that causes desolation, that was spoken of through the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place-let the reader understand— ¹⁶then those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. ¹⁷The one on the housetop should not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁸The one who is in the field should not return to get his clothes. ¹⁹How terrible it will be for those who are pregnant or are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight will not take place in the winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For at that time there will be great distress, unlike any that has happened since the beginning of the world until now, and unlike any that will happen again. ²²If those days were not shortened, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.

²³“At that time if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. ²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive even the elect, if it were possible.

²⁵“See, I have told you in advance. ²⁶So if they tell you, ‘Look! There he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or ‘Look! Here he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷Just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines as far as the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. ²⁸Wherever the carcass may be, there the vultures will gather.