Bible Readings - Feb. 9, 2026

Reading I

1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13

The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,

the princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel,

came to King Solomon in Jerusalem,

to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant

from the City of David, which is Zion.

All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomon

during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).

When all the elders of Israel had arrived,

the priests took up the ark;

they carried the ark of the LORD

and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels

that were in the tent.

(The priests and Levites carried them.)

King Solomon and the entire community of Israel

present for the occasion

sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen

too many to number or count.

The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD

to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary,

the holy of holies of the temple.

The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark,

sheltering the ark and its poles from above.

There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets

which Moses had put there at Horeb,

when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel

at their departure from the land of Egypt.

When the priests left the holy place,

the cloud filled the temple of the LORD

so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,

since the LORD’s glory had filled the temple of the LORD.

Then Solomon said, “The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud;

I have truly built you a princely house,

a dwelling where you may abide forever.”

Psalm 132:6-10

Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

Let us enter into his dwelling,

let us worship at his footstool.

Advance, O LORD, to your resting place,

you and the ark of your majesty.

May your priests be clothed with justice;

let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.

For the sake of David your servant,

reject not the plea of your anointed.

Matthew 4:23

He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,

proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every

disease and illness among the people.

Gospel

Mark 6:53-56

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,

Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret

and tied up there.

As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.

They scurried about the surrounding country

and began to bring in the sick on mats

to wherever they heard he was.

Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,

they laid the sick in the marketplaces

and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;

and as many as touched it were healed.