diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 7dace36..53b3cfa 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -4838,3 +4838,22 @@ category of move as this app's existing late-canonization rank-deflation convent
 the other direction — bringing his own count to 6.
 
 `npm test` (821 passed), `tsc --noEmit`, and `npm run build` all pass.
+
+### Matins ferial nocturn: mid-nocturn versicle removed, a real live-verified bug (2026-09-02)
+
+User noticed the 1-nocturn ferial branch had a V./R. versicle stuck mid-list as if marking a
+nocturn boundary — structurally incoherent for a single continuous nocturn.
+
+`data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml`'s per-weekday `groups` carried a `versicle` field
+ported from a mid-list V./R. line embedded in the source `Psalmi matutinum.txt`
+(`[Daym1_]`-`[Daym6_]`), rendered partway through the single continuous 1-nocturn ferial day.
+Live-verified against the reference engine (`Pofficium.pl`, `command=prayMatutinum`,
+`version=Monastic Tridentinum 1617`) for Wednesday and Thursday: the real office runs straight
+from the last psalm to the Capitulum, no versicle anywhere in the psalmody — that source line
+is inert there, never actually emitted. Removed the field from all 6 weekdays and the
+rendering code (`ferialAntiphonedNocturn`); the earlier "versicle placement" reasoning in that
+file's header was a documented-but-unverified assumption, not real content.
+
+See memory `vu_ferial_matins_antiphons` for full detail.
+
+`npm test`, `tsc --noEmit`, and `npm run build` all pass.
diff --git a/src/data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml b/src/data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml
index 3e95c77..29ca4c7 100644
--- a/src/data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml
+++ b/src/data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-# Antiphons + versicles for the plain ferial weekday Matins nocturn (no
-# Sunday, no Duplex+ override) — previously rendered with bare psalms and
-# no antiphon at all (a genuine oversight, not a documented design choice
-# like `ferialPsalmodyThreeNocturns`'s antiphon-less fallback).
+# Antiphons for the plain ferial weekday Matins nocturn (below Semiduplex,
+# see hours/matins.ts's threeNocturns threshold) — previously rendered
+# with bare psalms and no antiphon at all (a genuine oversight, not a
+# documented design choice like `ferialPsalmodyThreeNocturns`'s
+# antiphon-less fallback).
 #
 # `psalter-distribution.yml`'s own `matins:` table is NOT the historical
 # per-weekday psalm set — its own header documents a deliberate "editorial
@@ -43,16 +44,17 @@
 # psalm, just spread over two verse ranges); any cross-psalm pair is now
 # split per the "One antiphon per psalm" note above.
 #
-# Versicle placement: each weekday draws its 9 psalms from 1-2 different
-# original source days (see each weekday's own comment below for exactly
-# which), but only one versicle fits per plain single-nocturn weekday —
-# taken from whichever source day contributes the majority of that
-# weekday's psalms, placed at the same relative position it held in that
-# source day's own sequence (immediately after whichever group of this
-# weekday's psalms was originally its next-door neighbor, once the
-# psalms that moved out from between them are accounted for). None of the
-# cross-psalm pairs split by the 2026-09-01 change carried a versicle of
-# their own, so no versicle needed repositioning.
+# No mid-nocturn versicle (fixed 2026-09-02): the source `Psalmi
+# matutinum.txt` files (`[Daym1_]`-`[Daym6_]`) embed a V./R. line partway
+# through each weekday's psalm list, and an earlier version of this file
+# ported it as a real `versicle` field on the group where it happened to
+# fall, rendered mid-nocturn as if marking a nocturn boundary. Live-verified
+# against the reference engine (`Pofficium.pl`, `command=prayMatutinum`,
+# `version=Monastic Tridentinum 1617`) for both Wednesday and Thursday: the
+# real single-nocturn ferial office runs straight from the last psalm to
+# the Capitulum, with no versicle anywhere in the psalmody — that embedded
+# line is inert in the source and was never actually emitted by the engine.
+# Removed; do not reintroduce it without a live query proving otherwise.
 #
 # Not live-verified against a running query (Monastic ferial ordinary time
 # isn't independently re-derivable that way once psalter-distribution.yml's
@@ -62,8 +64,8 @@
 
 monday:
   # All 9 psalms are Daym1_'s own (Monastic Matins Feria II) — no reslicing
-  # across weekday boundaries here, so both antiphon grouping and the
-  # versicle sit exactly where Daym1_ itself has them.
+  # across weekday boundaries here, so the antiphon grouping sits exactly
+  # where Daym1_ itself has it.
   groups:
     - psalms: [{ number: 32 }]
       antiphon:
@@ -83,9 +85,6 @@ monday:
       antiphon:
         la: "Revéla * Dómino viam meam."
         en: "Commit my way * to the Lord."
-      versicle:
-        v: { la: "Dómine, in cælo misericórdia tua.", en: "O Lord, thy mercy is in heaven," }
-        r: { la: "Et véritas tua usque ad nubes.", en: "And thy truth reacheth even to the clouds." }
     - psalms: [{ number: 37 }]
       antiphon:
         la: "Ne in ira tua * árguas me Dómine."
@@ -107,11 +106,7 @@ monday:
 
 tuesday:
   # 43-44 are Monday's own tail (Daym1_); 47-58 are Daym2_'s own opening (6
-  # of 9 psalms — the majority, hence Daym2_'s own versicle here); 59 is
-  # Wednesday's own opening (Daym3_). The versicle sits right after 49,
-  # exactly where Daym2_ itself has it (between the "49,51" and "52,53"
-  # groups — 51/52/53 all moved elsewhere in the reslice, but 49 and 54
-  # remain each other's nearest neighbor once they're gone).
+  # of 9 psalms — the majority); 59 is Wednesday's own opening (Daym3_).
   groups:
     - psalms: [{ number: 43 }]
       # New (2026-09-01): the source's shared antiphon for this pair
@@ -138,9 +133,6 @@ tuesday:
       antiphon:
         la: "Deus deórum * Dóminus locútus est."
         en: "The God of gods * the Lord hath spoken."
-      versicle:
-        v: { la: "Ímmola Deo sacrifícium laudis.", en: "Offer to God the sacrifice of praise." }
-        r: { la: "Et redde Altíssimo vota tua.", en: "And pay thy vows to the most High." }
     - psalms: [{ number: 54 }]
       antiphon:
         la: "Inténde in me * et exáudi me."
@@ -162,9 +154,7 @@ tuesday:
 
 wednesday:
   # 65-72 are Daym3_'s own (7 of 9 — the majority); 73 is Thursday's own
-  # opening (Daym4). The versicle sits between the "67ab" and "68ab"
-  # groups, exactly where Daym3_ itself has it — nothing moved out from
-  # between those two groups in the reslice, so the position is unchanged.
+  # opening (Daym4).
   groups:
     - psalms: [{ number: 65 }]
       antiphon:
@@ -174,9 +164,6 @@ wednesday:
       antiphon:
         la: "In ecclésiis, * benedícite Dóminum."
         en: "In the churches * bless ye the Lord."
-      versicle:
-        v: { la: "Benedícite, gentes, Deum nostrum.", en: "O bless our God, ye people." }
-        r: { la: "Et audítam fácite vocem laudis ejus.", en: "And make the voice of his praise to be heard." }
     - psalms: [{ number: 68, verses: "2-16" }, { number: 68, verses: "17-37" }]
       antiphon:
         la: "Quǽrite Dóminum * et vivet ánima vestra."
@@ -204,9 +191,7 @@ wednesday:
 
 thursday:
   # All 9 psalms are Daym4's own — no reslicing across weekday boundaries
-  # here either, so grouping and versicle position are both unchanged from
-  # the source (the versicle sits between the "78" and "79,80" groups,
-  # exactly as Daym4 itself has it).
+  # here either, so the grouping is unchanged from the source.
   groups:
     - psalms: [{ number: 76 }]
       antiphon:
@@ -220,9 +205,6 @@ thursday:
       antiphon:
         la: "Propítius esto * peccátis nostris, Dómine."
         en: "Forgive us our sins * O Lord."
-      versicle:
-        v: { la: "Deus, in sancto via tua.", en: "Thy way, O God, is in the holy place." }
-        r: { la: "Quis Deus magnus sicut Deus noster.", en: "Who is the great God like our God?" }
     - psalms: [{ number: 79 }]
       # New (2026-09-01): no real antiphon found elsewhere in the corpus
       # for Ps 79 alone; composed from its own opening verse (79:2).
@@ -254,10 +236,7 @@ friday:
   # elsewhere, so it's kept here on 93 alone; likewise 95's antiphon
   # originally also covered 96, which the redistribution's own documented
   # hand-adjustment moved to Saturday to keep both halves of Ps 103
-  # together there); 101-103 are Daym6_'s own opening (4 of 9). The
-  # versicle sits between the "93" and "95" groups, exactly where Daym5_
-  # itself has it (originally between "92/93" and "95/96" — 96 leaving for
-  # Saturday doesn't touch this boundary).
+  # together there); 101-103 are Daym6_'s own opening (4 of 9).
   groups:
     - psalms: [{ number: 85 }]
       antiphon:
@@ -271,9 +250,6 @@ friday:
       antiphon:
         la: "Exaltáre, * qui júdicas terram."
         en: "Lift up thyself, * thou that judgest the earth."
-      versicle:
-        v: { la: "Intret orátio mea in conspéctu tuo, Dómine.", en: "Let my prayer come before Thee, O Lord." }
-        r: { la: "Inclína aurem tuam ad precem meam.", en: "Incline Thine ear unto my cry." }
     - psalms: [{ number: 95 }]
       antiphon:
         la: "Cantáte Dómino, * et benedícite nómini ejus."
@@ -297,9 +273,7 @@ saturday:
   # Ps 96 is Daym5_'s own tail (moved here by the redistribution's own
   # documented hand-adjustment, swapped out of Friday to let both halves
   # of Ps 103 land there instead); 104-108 are Daym6_'s own tail (8 of 9 —
-  # the majority, hence Daym6_'s own versicle here). The versicle sits
-  # between the "104ab" and "105ab" groups, exactly where Daym6_ itself
-  # has it — nothing moved out from between those two groups.
+  # the majority).
   groups:
     - psalms: [{ number: 96 }]
       antiphon:
@@ -309,9 +283,6 @@ saturday:
       antiphon:
         la: "Lætétur cor * quæréntium Dóminum."
         en: "Let the heart of them rejoice, * that seek the Lord."
-      versicle:
-        v: { la: "Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.", en: "O Lord, hear my prayer." }
-        r: { la: "Et clamor meus ad te véniat.", en: "And let my cry come unto thee." }
     - psalms: [{ number: 105, verses: "1-31" }, { number: 105, verses: "32-48" }]
       antiphon:
         la: "Vísita nos, * Dómine, in salutári tuo."
diff --git a/src/hours/matins.ts b/src/hours/matins.ts
index 83005e0..9ea651d 100644
--- a/src/hours/matins.ts
+++ b/src/hours/matins.ts
@@ -208,7 +208,6 @@ function sundayNocturnFor(nocturnKey: 'nocturn1' | 'nocturn2' | 'nocturn3', day:
 interface FerialGroup {
   psalms: PsalmRef[];
   antiphon: BilingualText;
-  versicle?: { v: BilingualText; r: BilingualText };
 }
 interface FerialNocturn {
   groups: FerialGroup[];
@@ -434,12 +433,14 @@ function resolveMatinsHymn(day: LiturgicalDay): ResolvedText {
 
 /** The plain ferial weekday nocturn's real antiphoned psalmody (see
  * data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml's own header for how each
- * weekday's groups/versicle were reconciled against psalter-
- * distribution.yml's own "editorial redistribution" of the historical
- * per-weekday psalm set). Every psalm-group carries its own antiphon
- * (incipit-or-full opening, same rank rule as Sunday's own nocturns), and
- * exactly one group per weekday carries a versicle+responsory, rendered
- * as one combined V./R. block via `versicleText`. */
+ * weekday's groups were reconciled against psalter-distribution.yml's own
+ * "editorial redistribution" of the historical per-weekday psalm set).
+ * Every psalm-group carries its own antiphon (incipit-or-full opening,
+ * same rank rule as Sunday's own nocturns). No versicle: an earlier
+ * version of this ported a mid-list V./R. line embedded in the source
+ * `Psalmi matutinum.txt`, but that line is live-verified inert there — the
+ * real single-nocturn ferial office runs straight from the last psalm to
+ * the Capitulum (fixed 2026-09-02, see the data file's own header). */
 function ferialAntiphonedNocturn(day: LiturgicalDay): ResolvedPart[] {
   const nocturn = ferialAntiphons[day.weekday as Exclude<Weekday, 'sunday'>];
   const winner = resolveOfficeWinner(day);
@@ -459,22 +460,20 @@ function ferialAntiphonedNocturn(day: LiturgicalDay): ResolvedPart[] {
       });
     });
     parts.push({ kind: 'antiphon', text: full });
-    if (group.versicle) {
-      parts.push({ kind: 'versicle', text: versicleText(group.versicle) });
-    }
   }
   return parts;
 }
 
-/** Fallback for a Duplex+ weekday feast with no matins-psalmody-overrides
+/** Fallback for a Semiduplex+ weekday feast with no matins-psalmody-overrides
  * entry authored for its winner yet: the plain ferial weekday table,
  * chunked into 3 nocturns instead of 1. Bare (no antiphons, no canticles)
  * when `common` isn't given — genuinely nothing authored at all for this
  * winner, still used as-is for a duplex-majus+ winner with no Common
  * category either.
  *
- * When `common`/`commonId` *are* given (a duplex-rank winner whose Common
- * category exists — user, 2026-08), each nocturn borrows that category's
+ * When `common`/`commonId` *are* given (a Semiduplex- or Duplex-rank
+ * winner whose Common category exists — user, 2026-08, threshold lowered
+ * to Semiduplex 2026-09-02), each nocturn borrows that category's
  * own `nocturn{N}.versicle`: the ferial table only ever authors one
  * versicle for the whole (normally 1-nocturn) day, so a 3-nocturn split
  * leaves 2 of the 3 nocturns with none at all — Common's own 3 real
diff --git a/tests/hours/matins.test.ts b/tests/hours/matins.test.ts
index bc6f25d..2e8ab14 100644
--- a/tests/hours/matins.test.ts
+++ b/tests/hours/matins.test.ts
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ describe('resolveOrdo("matins", ...) ferial (1-nocturn) branch', () => {
     expect(ordo.parts.some((p) => p.kind === 'versicle' && p.text.text.la?.includes('Te decet laus'))).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it("gives every nocturn psalm its own antiphon and includes Tuesday's own versicle (data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml)", () => {
+  it('gives every nocturn psalm its own antiphon and has no mid-nocturn versicle (data/hours/matins-ferial-antiphons.yml)', () => {
     // The nocturn's own psalms start at index 5 (after the two opening versicles/Ps3/heading/Ps94).
     const nocturnPsalms = ordo.parts.slice(5).filter((p) => p.kind === 'psalm') as {
       psalmNumber: number;
@@ -65,11 +65,11 @@ describe('resolveOrdo("matins", ...) ferial (1-nocturn) branch', () => {
         expect(p.antiphon.text.en).toBeTruthy();
       }
     }
+    // No versicle anywhere in the psalmody (fixed 2026-09-02) — the
+    // source's embedded mid-list V./R. line is live-verified inert; the
+    // real single-nocturn ferial office runs straight to the Capitulum.
     const nocturnVersicles = ordo.parts.slice(5).filter((p) => p.kind === 'versicle');
-    expect(nocturnVersicles).toHaveLength(1);
-    const versicleText = (nocturnVersicles[0] as { text: { text: Record<string, string> } }).text.text;
-    expect(versicleText.la).toContain('Ímmola Deo sacrifícium laudis');
-    expect(versicleText.la).toContain('Et redde Altíssimo vota tua');
+    expect(nocturnVersicles).toHaveLength(0);
   });
 
   it("resolves the user's own bible-plan readings for the day, not the historical lectionary", () => {