EASTER VIGIL YEAR B
The following readings and psalms are provided for use at the Easter Vigil. A minimum of three Old
Testament readings should be chosen. The reading from Exodus 14 should always be used.


OLD TESTAMENT READINGS AND PSALMS


FIRST READING Genesis 1.1 - 2.4a

A reading from the book of Genesis.
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.
4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, 'Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.'
7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.
8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, 'Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.
10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, 'Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.' And it was so.
12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.
13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, 'Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.' And it was so.
16 God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.
17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth,
18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, 'Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.'
21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'
23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.' And it was so.
25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'
27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'
29 God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.
2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.
3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.


PSALM Psalm 136.1-9, 23-26

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures for ever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures for ever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his mercy endures for ever.
4 Who only does great wonders,
for his mercy endures for ever;
5 Who by his wisdom made the heavens,
for his mercy endures for ever;
6 Who spread out the earth upon the waters,
for his mercy endures for ever;
7 Who created great lights,
for his mercy endures for ever;
8 The sun to rule the day,
for his mercy endures for ever;
9 The moon and the stars to govern the night,
for his mercy endures for ever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his mercy endures for ever;
24 And delivered us from our enemies,
for his mercy endures for ever;
25 Who gives food to all creatures,
for his mercy endures for ever;
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his mercy endures for ever.


SECOND READING Genesis 7.1-5, 11-18; 8.6-18; 9.8-13

A reading from the book of Genesis.
1 The LORD said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.
2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate;
3 and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.
4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.'
5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
11 In the six-hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
12 The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark,
14 they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind - every bird, every winged creature.
15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17 The flood continued for forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
18 The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made
7 and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
8 Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;
9 but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him.
10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark;
11 and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
12 Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.
13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying.
14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
15 Then God said to Noah,
16 'Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you.
17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh - birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth - so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.'
18 So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives.
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
9 'As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.
11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.'
12 God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'


PSALM Psalm 46

R The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble;
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea;
3 Though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult. R
[ 4 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. ]
5 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
6 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be overthrown; God shall help her at the break of day.
7 The nations make much ado and the kingdoms are shaken; God has spoken and the earth shall melt away. R
[ 8 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. ]
9 Come now and look upon the works of the Lord, what awesome things he has done on earth.
10 It is he who makes war to cease in all the world; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear and burns the shields with fire.
11 'Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.' R
[12 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. ]


THIRD READING Genesis 22.1-18

A reading from the book of Genesis.
1 God tested Abraham. He said to him, 'Abraham!' And Abraham said, 'Here I am.'
2 God said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.'
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him.
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away.
5 Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.'
6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 'Father!' And Abraham said, 'Here I am, my son.' Isaac said, 'The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?'
8 Abraham said, 'God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.' So the two of them walked on together.
9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.'
12 The angel said, 'Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.'
13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called that place 'The LORD will provide'; as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.'
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
16 and said, 'By myself I have sworn, says the LORD: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies,
18 and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.'


PSALM Psalm 16

R O Lord, you are my portion and my cup.

1 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord, my good above all other.'
2 All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, upon those who are noble among the people. R
3 But those who run after other gods shall have their troubles multiplied.
4 Their libations of blood I will not offer, nor take the names of their gods upon my lips. R
5 O Lord, you are my portion and my cup; it is you who uphold my lot.
6 My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; indeed, I have a goodly heritage. R
7 I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night.
8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not fall. R
9 My heart, therefore, is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11 You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. R


FOURTH READING Exodus 14.10-31; 15.20-21

A reading from the book of Exodus.
10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
11 They said to Moses, 'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?
12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, "Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians"? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.'
13 But Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.
14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.'
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.
17 Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.'
19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them.
20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.
22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers.
24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic.
25 He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, 'Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.'
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.'
27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea.
28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.
29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31 Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing.
21 And Miriam sang to them: 'Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.'


CANTICLE Exodus 15.1b-13, 17-18

R Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.

1 'I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. R
4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power - your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. R
7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.
8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. R
9 The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them."
10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. R
11 Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendour, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. R
13 In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O LORD, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O LORD, that your hands have established.
18 The LORD will reign for ever and ever.' R


FIFTH READING Isaiah 55.1-11

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The LORD says this:
1 Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.


CANTICLE Isaiah 12.2-6

R Shout aloud and sing for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. R
4 And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. R
5 Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. R


SIXTH READING

Either Baruch 3.9-15, 32-36; 4.1-4

A reading from the book of the prophet Baruch.
9 Hear the commandments of life, O Israel; give ear, and learn wisdom!
10 Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies, that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead,
11 that you are counted among those in Hades?
12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
13 If you had walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace for ever.
14 Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, where there is understanding, so that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life, where there is light for the eyes, and peace.
15 Who has found her place? And who has entered her storehouses?
32 But the one who knows all things knows her, he found her by his understanding. The one who prepared the earth for all time filled it with four-footed creatures;
33 the one who sends forth the light, and it goes; he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling;
34 the stars shone in their watches, and were glad; he called them, and they said, 'Here we are!' They shone with gladness for him who made them.
35 This is our God; no other can be compared to him.
36 He found the whole way to knowledge, and gave her to his servant Jacob and to Israel, whom he loved.
1 She is the book of the commandments of God, the law that endures for ever. All who hold her fast will live, and those who forsake her will die.
2 Turn, O Jacob, and take her; walk towards the shining of her light.
3 Do not give your glory to another, or your advantages to an alien people.
4 Happy are we, O Israel, for we know what is pleasing to God.

Or Proverbs 8.1-8, 19-21; 9.4b-6

A reading from the book of Proverbs.
1 Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
4 'To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.
5 O simple ones, learn prudence; acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
6 Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right;
7 for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
21 endowing with wealth those who love me, and filling their treasuries.'
4 To those without sense she says,
5 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.'


PSALM Psalm 19

R The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork.
2 One day tells its tale to another, and one night imparts knowledge to another.
3 Although they have no words or language, and their voices are not heard,
4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world. R
5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again; nothing is hidden from its burning heat. R
7 The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.
8 The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes. R
9 The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever; the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold, sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb. R
11 By them also is your servant enlightened, and in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can tell how often he offends? Cleanse me from my secret faults. R
13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not get dominion over me; then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offence.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. R


SEVENTH READING Ezekiel 36.24-28

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
The word of the LORD came to me:
24 I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.
25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
28 Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.


PSALM Psalms 42 and 43

R Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me?

1 As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long they say to me, 'Where now is your God?' R
4 I pour out my soul when I think on these things: how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,
5 With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, among those who keep holy-day. R
[ 6 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me? ]
7 Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
8 My soul is heavy within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.
9 One deep calls to another in the noise of your cataracts; all your rapids and floods have gone over me. R
10 The Lord grants his loving-kindness in the daytime; in the night season his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
11 I will say to the God of my strength, 'Why have you forgotten me? and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?' R
12 While my bones are being broken, my enemies mock me to my face;
13 All day long they mock me, say to me, 'Where now is your God?' R
[14 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me? ]
15 Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God. R
1 Give judgement for me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
2 For you are the God of my strength; why have you put me from you? and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me? R
3 Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling;
4 That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God. R
[ 5 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me? ]
6 Put your trust in God; for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God. R


EIGHTH READING Ezekiel 37.1-14

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.
3 He said to me, 'Mortal, can these bones live?' I answered, 'O Lord GOD, you know.'
4 Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.'
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'
10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, 'Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely."
12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.
14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.'


PSALM Psalm 143

R Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning.

1 Lord, hear my prayer, and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; answer me in your righteousness.
2 Enter not into judgement with your servant, for in your sight shall no one living be justified.
3 For my enemy has sought my life and has crushed me to the ground; making me live in dark places like those who are long dead. R
4 My spirit faints within me; my heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; I consider the works of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land. R
7 O Lord, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; show me the road that I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, for I flee to you for refuge. R
10 Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 Revive me, O Lord, for your name's sake; for your righteousness' sake, bring me out of trouble.
12 Of your goodness, destroy my enemies and bring all my foes to naught, for truly I am your servant. R


NINTH READING Zephaniah 3.14-20

A reading from the book of the prophet Zephaniah.
14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.
17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
18 as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.


PSALM Psalm 98

R The Lord has made known his victory in the sight of the nations.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.
2 With his right hand and his holy arm has he won for himself the victory. R
3 The Lord has made known his victory; his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4 He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. R
5 Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands; lift up your voice, rejoice and sing.
6 Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the voice of song.
7 With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout with joy before the King, the Lord. R
8 Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, the lands and those who dwell therein.
9 Let the rivers clap their hands, and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord, when he comes to judge the earth.
10 In righteousness shall he judge the world, and the peoples with equity. R


NEW TESTAMENT READING Romans 6.3-11

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
7 For whoever has died is freed from sin.
8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.


PSALM Psalm 114

R Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

1 Alleluia! When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech,
2 Judah became God's sanctuary and Israel his dominion. R
3 The sea beheld it and fled; Jordan turned and went back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like young sheep. R
5 What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back?
6 You mountains, that you skipped like rams? you little hills like young sheep? R
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 Who turned the hard rock into a pool of water and flint-stone into a flowing spring. R


GOSPEL Mark 16.1-8

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
3 They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?'
4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 But he said to them, 'Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.'
8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.