Readings That Skip Verses Within Scripture

The Lectionary version of Scripture has always had some readings that were shortened or which edited out certain passages. This was for a variety of reasons, but this is because the requirements of liturgical reading are different from the requirements of academic study or personal spiritual reading. There is the question of time, or of the complementarity of the reading with other readings where certain points might be left out in order to underline the main theme of the readings selected, and even sometimes when a passage may be too graphic or potentially misleading. This has been a practice since the emergence of lectionaries in the later patristic period.

To be sure, with the very large lectionary adopted after the Second Vatican Council, there are many other examples of truncated or edited readings, since the attempt is made to go through Sacred Scripture in the course of a year. Not all of these editings are wise, of course, but that is how they are offered to us. We are always encouraged to read the reading directly from the Bible itself so as to see its context, which is very important for explaining its meaning.