Bible Readings for August 24-30, 2026

Let’s read the Bible together next year. For the week of Monday August 24 through Sunday, August 30, the daily readings are below.

• Monday, August 24, 2026 - Job 12:1–15:35 , 1 Cor. 15:29-58, Psalm 39:1-13, Prov. 21:30-31
• Tuesday, August 25, 2026 - Job 16:1–19:29, 1 Cor. 16:1-24, Psalm 40:1-10, Prov. 22:1
• Wednesday, August 26, 2026 - Job 20:1–22:30, 2 Cor. 1:1-11, Psalm 40:11-17, Prov. 22:2-4
• Thursday, August 27, 2026 - Job 23:1–27:23, 2 Cor. 1:12–2:11, Psalm 41:1-13, Prov. 22:5-6
• Friday, August 28, 2026 - Job 28:1–30:31, 2 Cor. 2:12-17, Psalm 42:1-11, Prov. 22:7
• Saturday, August 29, 2026 - Job 31:1-33:33, 2 Cor. 3:1-18, Psalm 43:1-5, Prov. 22:8-9
• Sunday, August 30, 2026 - Job 34:1–36:33, 2 Cor. 4:1-12, Psalm 44:1-8, Prov. 22:10-12

Bible Readings for August 21, 2026

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today, our passages are Job 1:1–3:26; 1 Corinthians 14:1-17; Psalm 37:12-29; and Proverbs 21:25-26. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Job 1-3:26 (The Message)

Job 1

 ^1-3 Job was a man who lived in Uz. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. He had seven sons and three daughters. He was also very wealthy—seven thousand head of sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a huge staff of servants—the most influential man in all the East!  ^4-5 His sons used to take turns hosting parties in their homes, always inviting their three sisters to join them in their merrymaking. When the parties were over, Job would get up early in the morning and sacrifice a burnt offering for each of his children, thinking, "Maybe one of them sinned by defying God inwardly." Job made a habit of this sacrificial atonement, just in case they'd sinned. 

The First Test: Family and Fortune

^6-7 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan, who was the Designated Accuser, came along with them. God singled out Satan and said, "What have you been up to?"    Satan answered God, "Going here and there, checking things out on earth."
 ⁸ God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil."
 ^9-10 Satan retorted, "So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can't lose!
 ¹¹ "But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He'd curse you right to your face, that's what."
 ¹² God replied, "We'll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don't hurt him." Then Satan left the presence of God.
 ^13-15 Sometime later, while Job's children were having one of their parties at the home of the oldest son, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing in the field next to us when Sabeans attacked. They stole the animals and killed the field hands. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ¹⁶ While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Bolts of lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and fried them—burned them to a crisp. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ¹⁷ While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Chaldeans coming from three directions raided the camels and massacred the camel drivers. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ^18-19 While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Your children were having a party at the home of the oldest brother when a tornado swept in off the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young people and they died. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ²⁰ Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:

 ²¹ Naked I came from my mother's womb,
   naked I'll return to the womb of the earth.
God gives, God takes.
   God's name be ever blessed.
 ²² Not once through all this did Job sin; not once did he blame God. 

Job 2

The Second Test: Health

 ^1-3 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan also showed up. God singled out Satan, saying, "And what have you been up to?" Satan answered God, "Oh, going here and there, checking things out." Then God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him, is there—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn't work." ^4-5 Satan answered, "A human would do anything to save his life. But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health? He'd curse you to your face, that's what."
 ⁶ God said, "All right. Go ahead—you can do what you like with him. But mind you, don't kill him."
 ^7-8 Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.
 ⁹ His wife said, "Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!"
 ¹⁰ He told her, "You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?"
   Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God. 

Job's Three Friends

 ^11-13 Three of Job's friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.

Job 3

Job Cries Out

What's the Point of Life?

 ^1-2Then Job broke the silence. He spoke up and cursed his fate:
^3-10 "Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived!
Let it be a black hole in space.
   May God above forget it ever happened.
   Erase it from the books!
May the day of my birth be buried in deep darkness,
   shrouded by the fog,
   swallowed by the night.
And the night of my conception—the devil take it!
   Rip the date off the calendar,
   delete it from the almanac.
Oh, turn that night into pure nothingness—
   no sounds of pleasure from that night, ever!
May those who are good at cursing curse that day.
   Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it.
May its morning stars turn to black cinders,
   waiting for a daylight that never comes,
   never once seeing the first light of dawn.
And why? Because it released me from my mother's womb
   into a life with so much trouble.

 ^11-19 "Why didn't I die at birth,
   my first breath out of the womb my last?
Why were there arms to rock me,
   and breasts for me to drink from?
I could be resting in peace right now,
   asleep forever, feeling no pain,
In the company of kings and statesmen
   in their royal ruins,
Or with princes resplendent
   in their gold and silver tombs.
Why wasn't I stillborn and buried
   with all the babies who never saw light,
Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone
   and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest?
Prisoners sleep undisturbed,
   never again to wake up to the bark of the guards.
The small and the great are equals in that place,
   and slaves are free from their masters.

 ^20-23 "Why does God bother giving light to the miserable,
   why bother keeping bitter people alive,
Those who want in the worst way to die, and can't,
   who can't imagine anything better than death,
Who count the day of their death and burial
   the happiest day of their life?
What's the point of life when it doesn't make sense,
   when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

 ^24-26 "Instead of bread I get groans for my supper,
   then leave the table and vomit my anguish.
The worst of my fears has come true,
   what I've dreaded most has happened.
My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed.
   No rest for me, ever—death has invaded life."

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1 Corinthians 14:1-17 (The Message)

1 Corinthians 14

Prayer Language

 ^1-3Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him. But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you're letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you. ^4-5The one who prays using a private "prayer language" certainly gets a lot out of it, but proclaiming God's truth to the church in its common language brings the whole church into growth and strength. I want all of you to develop intimacies with God in prayer, but please don't stop with that. Go on and proclaim his clear truth to others. It's more important that everyone have access to the knowledge and love of God in language everyone understands than that you go off and cultivate God's presence in a mysterious prayer language—unless, of course, there is someone who can interpret what you are saying for the benefit of all.
 ^6-8Think, friends: If I come to you and all I do is pray privately to God in a way only he can understand, what are you going to get out of that? If I don't address you plainly with some insight or truth or proclamation or teaching, what help am I to you? If musical instruments—flutes, say, or harps—aren't played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music? If the trumpet call can't be distinguished, will anyone show up for the battle?
 ^9-12So if you speak in a way no one can understand, what's the point of opening your mouth? There are many languages in the world and they all mean something to someone. But if I don't understand the language, it's not going to do me much good. It's no different with you. Since you're so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don't you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?
 ^13-17So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don't hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy. If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my mind lies fallow, and all that intelligence is wasted. So what's the solution? The answer is simple enough. Do both. I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray. I should sing with my spirit, and sing with my mind. If you give a blessing using your private prayer language, which no one else understands, how can some outsider who has just shown up and has no idea what's going on know when to say "Amen"? Your blessing might be beautiful, but you have very effectively cut that person out of it.

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Psalm 37:12-29 (The Message)

 ^12-13 Bad guys have it in for the good guys,
      obsessed with doing them in.
   But God isn't losing any sleep; to him
      they're a joke with no punch line.

 ^14-15 Bullies brandish their swords,
      pull back on their bows with a flourish.
   They're out to beat up on the harmless,
      or mug that nice man out walking his dog.
   A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—
      slapstick figures in a moral circus.

 ^16-17 Less is more and more is less.
      One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,
   For the wicked are moral weaklings
      but the righteous are God-strong.

 ^18-19 God keeps track of the decent folk;
      what they do won't soon be forgotten.
   In hard times, they'll hold their heads high;
      when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.

 ²⁰ God-despisers have had it;
      God's enemies are finished—
   Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time,
      vanished like smoke in thin air.

 ^21-22 Wicked borrows and never returns;
      Righteous gives and gives.
   Generous gets it all in the end;
      Stingy is cut off at the pass.

 ^23-24 Stalwart walks in step with God;
      his path blazed by God, he's happy.
   If he stumbles, he's not down for long;
      God has a grip on his hand.

 ^25-26 I once was young, now I'm a graybeard—
      not once have I seen an abandoned believer,
      or his kids out roaming the streets.
   Every day he's out giving and lending,
      his children making him proud.

 ^27-28 Turn your back on evil,
      work for the good and don't quit.
   God loves this kind of thing,
      never turns away from his friends.

 ^28-29 Live this way and you've got it made,
      but bad eggs will be tossed out.
   The good get planted on good land
      and put down healthy roots.

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Proverbs 21:25-26 (The Message)

 ²⁵ Lazy people finally die of hunger
   because they won't get up and go to work.

 ²⁶ Sinners are always wanting what they don't have;
   the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

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Thought for the Day

“Every day, you are kind, and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living LORD God.” (Psalm 42:8 - Contemporary English Version) God loved us before he laid the foundation of the universe and he'll love us long after time has lost its meaning. And when we trust in this living Lord God, we'll have peace as we live in the present and hope as we move into the future.

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Quote for the Day

French billionaire businessman, founder of the luxury group Kering (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta) and the investment holding company Groupe Artémis (Château Latour, Christie's, Pinault Collection, Stade Rennais FC, Creative Artists Agency), François Pinault wrote, "I have no sense of nostalgia. Tomorrow is what interests me."

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Joke for Today

A kind-hearted fellow was walking through Central Park in New York and was astonished to see an old man, fishing rod in hand, fishing over a beautiful bed of lilies.

"Tch Tch!" said the passerby to himself. "What a sad sight. That poor old man is fishing over a bed of flowers. I'll see if I can help."

So the kind fellow walked up to the old man and asked, "What are you doing, my friend?"

"Fishin', sir."

"Fishin', eh. Well how would you like to come have a  drink with me?" S

The old man stood up, put his rod away and followed the kind stranger to the corner bar. He ordered a large glass of beer and a fine cigar.

His host, the kind fellow, felt good about helping the old man, and he asked, "Tell me, old friend, how many did you catch this morning?"

The old fellow took a long drag on the cigar, blew a careful smoke ring and replied, "You are the sixth today, sir!"

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A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That those who have power address that humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Daily Lectionary Readings for August 20, 2026

Daily Lectionary Readings (Two-Year Cycle)

Lectionary Readings for Thursday, August 20, 2026

Morning Psalm 36 1   Transgression speaks to the wicked           deep in their hearts;      there is no fear of God           before their eyes. 2   For they flatter themselves in their own eyes           that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 3   The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;           they have ceased to act wisely and do good. 4   They plot mischief while on their beds;           they are set on a way that is not good;           they do not reject evil. 5   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,           your faithfulness to the clouds. 6   Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,           your judgments are like the great deep;           you save humans and animals alike, O LORD. 7   How precious is your steadfast love, O God!           All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8   They feast on the abundance of your house,           and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9   For with you is the fountain of life;           in your light we see light. 10  O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,           and your salvation to the upright of heart! 11  Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,           or the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12  There the evildoers lie prostrate;           they are thrust down, unable to rise. Morning Psalm 147:12-20 12  Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!           Praise your God, O Zion! 13  For he strengthens the bars of your gates;           he blesses your children within you. 14  He grants peace within your borders;           he fills you with the finest of wheat. 15  He sends out his command to the earth;           his word runs swiftly. 16  He gives snow like wool;           he scatters frost like ashes. 17  He hurls down hail like crumbs —           who can stand before his cold? 18  He sends out his word, and melts them;           he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow. 19  He declares his word to Jacob,           his statutes and ordinances to Israel. 20  He has not dealt thus with any other nation;           they do not know his ordinances.      Praise the Lord! First Reading Job 1:1-22 1There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another's houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." This is what Job always did. 6One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." 8The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil." 9Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." 12The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!" So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. 13One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother's house, 14a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you." 16While he was still speaking, another came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you." 17While he was still speaking, another came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you." 18While he was still speaking, another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, 19and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you." 20Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 22In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong-doing. Second Reading Acts 8:26-40 26Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) 27So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." 30So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." 34The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" 35Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" 37, 38He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Gospel Reading John 6:16-27 16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 1 7got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 1 8The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 1 9When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going. 22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Evening Psalm 80 1   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,           you who lead Joseph like a flock!      You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2        before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.      Stir up your might,           and come to save us! 3   Restore us, O God;      let your face shine, that we may be saved. 4   O LORD God of hosts,           how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? 5   You have fed them with the bread of tears,           and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6   You make us the scorn of our neighbors;           our enemies laugh among themselves. 7   Restore us, O God of hosts;           let your face shine, that we may be saved. 8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;      you drove out the nations and planted it. 9   You cleared the ground for it;           it took deep root and filled the land. 10  The mountains were covered with its shade,           the mighty cedars with its branches; 11  it sent out its branches to the sea,           and its shoots to the River. 12  Why then have you broken down its walls,           so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13  The boar from the forest ravages it,           and all that move in the field feed on it. 14  Turn again, O God of hosts;           look down from heaven, and see;      have regard for this vine, 15       the stock that your right hand planted. 16  They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;           may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 17  But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,           the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18  Then we will never turn back from you;           give us life, and we will call on your name. 19  Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;           let your face shine, that we may be saved. Evening Psalm 27 1   The LORD is my light and my salvation;           whom shall I fear?      The LORD is the stronghold of my life;           of whom shall I be afraid? 2   When evildoers assail me           to devour my flesh —      my adversaries and foes —           they shall stumble and fall. 3   Though an army encamp against me,           my heart shall not fear;      though war rise up against me,           yet I will be confident. 4   One thing I asked of the LORD,           that will I seek after:      to live in the house of the LORD           all the days of my life,      to behold the beauty of the LORD,           and to inquire in his temple. 5   For he will hide me in his shelter           in the day of trouble;      he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;           he will set me high on a rock. 6   Now my head is lifted up           above my enemies all around me,      and I will offer in his tent           sacrifices with shouts of joy;      I will sing and make melody to the LORD. 7   Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud,           be gracious to me and answer me! 8   “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”           Your face, LORD, do I seek. 9        Do not hide your face from me.      Do not turn your servant away in anger,           you who have been my help.      Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,           O God of my salvation! 10   If my father and mother forsake me,           the LORD will take me up. 11  Teach me your way, O LORD,           and lead me on a level path           because of my enemies. 12  Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,           for false witnesses have risen against me,           and they are breathing out violence. 13  I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD           in the land of the living. 14   Wait for the LORD;           be strong, and let your heart take courage;           wait for the LORD!

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