Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

Everlasting Father,

All time belongs to you, and all the ages. In signs, in songs, in words of promise, you reassured your chosen ones, “I am with you; fear not.” You taught them through the prophets to trust that your saving deeds were not limited to the past.

When Jesus came, he fulfilled “all that was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

The Church has found him everywhere in these same holy books.

Help me to find Jesus in my reading today, to listen to him, and to follow him with all my heart.

Amen.

Today's chapters are Jeremiah 35-37 and (because it is Sunday) Psalms 113-114.

The siege begins. And still King Zedekiah is in denial.

Psalm 113 is the first of the six "Hallel" psalms, an important set of liturgical hymns. The first half of the psalm invites God's praise; the second half expresses God's praiseworthiness, from one end of the earth to the other, especially because in view of his immense tenderness.

Psalm 114 is praise for the people's liberation from slavery in Egypt and for their entrance into their own land. The exuberant imagery is delightful! 

Start reading Jeremiah here and the Psalms here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.