Daily Reading for Saturday, October 14th, 2023

Reading 1, Joel 4:12-21

¹² 'Let the nations rouse themselves and march to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I shall sit in judgement on all the nations around.

¹³ Ply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come and tread, for the winepress is full; the vats are overflowing, so great is their wickedness!'

¹⁴ Multitude on multitude in the Valley of Decision! For the Day of Yahweh is near in the Valley of the Verdict!

¹⁵ Sun and moon grow dark, the stars lose their brilliance.

¹⁶ Yahweh roars from Zion, he thunders from Jerusalem; heaven and earth tremble. But Yahweh will be a shelter for his people, a stronghold for the Israelites.

¹⁷ 'Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God residing on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will then be a sanctuary, no foreigners will overrun it ever again.'

¹⁸ When that Day comes, the mountains will run with new wine and the hills will flow with milk, and all the stream-beds of Judah will run with water. A fountain will spring from Yahweh's Temple and water the Gorge of the Acacias.

¹⁹ Egypt will become a desolation, and Edom a desert waste on account of the violence done to the children of Judah whose innocent blood they shed in their country.

²⁰ But Judah will be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation!

²¹ 'I shall avenge their blood and let none go unpunished,' and Yahweh will dwell in Zion.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12

¹ Yahweh is king! Let earth rejoice, the many isles be glad!

² Cloud, black cloud enfolds him, saving justice and judgement the foundations of his throne.

⁵ The mountains melt like wax, before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his saving justice, all nations see his glory.

¹¹ Light dawns for the upright, and joy for honest hearts.

¹² Rejoice in Yahweh, you who are upright, praise his unforgettable holiness.

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