July 23, 2026

1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, Following me in the wilderness, in a land unsown. 3Israel was dedicated to the LORD, the first fruits of his harvest; All who ate of it were held guilty, evil befell them—oracle of the LORD. 7I brought you into the garden land to eat its fine fruits, But you entered and defiled my land, you turned my heritage into an abomination. 8The priests did not ask, “Where is the LORD?” The experts in the law did not know me: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols. 12Be horrified at this, heavens; shudder, be appalled—oracle of the LORD. 13Two evils my people have done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

6II - LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds. 7Your justice is like the highest mountains; your judgments, like the mighty deep; human being and beast you sustain, LORD. 8How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 9They feast on the rich food of your house; from your delightful stream you give them drink. 10For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light. 11Show mercy on those who know you, your just defense to the upright of heart.

25The Praise of the Father. At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

10The Purpose of Parables. The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. 12To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ 14Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. 15Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.’ The Privilege of Discipleship. 16“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. The Explanation of the Parable of the Sower.