The congregational practice of alternating Scripture reading between leader and people. Rooted in the antiphonal structure of many Psalms: Psalm 24:7-10 (the gate-keeper / king-of-glory exchange), Psalm 118 (repeated let Israel say... let the house of Aaron say... let those who fear the LORD say... that his mercy endureth for ever), Psalm 136 (twenty-six refrains of for his mercy endureth for ever). The temple choirs were structured antiphonally, with sections of Levites responding to each other (1 Chr 25; 2 Chr 5:13). Synagogue practice inherited the pattern; the early church continued it (Eph 5:19: speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs); medieval monastic offices used responsive reading extensively. Modern liturgical churches preserve the practice; many evangelical and Reformed congregations have recovered it. The form has theological substance: the reading is shared rather than only-heard, the congregation actively confesses what is being read, and the call-and-response embodies the dialogical character of God's revealed word and the church's answer.