Previous Prev Day Next DayNext

Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
New International Version (NIV)
Version
Psalm 138:1-139:23

Psalm 138

Of David.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the “gods”(A) I will sing(B) your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple(C)
    and will praise your name(D)
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,(E)
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.(F)
When I called,(G) you answered me;(H)
    you greatly emboldened(I) me.

May all the kings of the earth(J) praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed.
May they sing(K) of the ways of the Lord,
    for the glory of the Lord(L) is great.

Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;(M)
    though lofty, he sees them(N) from afar.
Though I walk(O) in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.(P)
You stretch out your hand(Q) against the anger of my foes;(R)
    with your right hand(S) you save me.(T)
The Lord will vindicate(U) me;
    your love, Lord, endures forever(V)
    do not abandon(W) the works of your hands.(X)

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

You have searched me,(Y) Lord,
    and you know(Z) me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;(AA)
    you perceive my thoughts(AB) from afar.
You discern my going out(AC) and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.(AD)
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.(AE)
You hem me in(AF) behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(AG)
    too lofty(AH) for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee(AI) from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens,(AJ) you are there;
    if I make my bed(AK) in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(AL)
    your right hand(AM) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(AN) to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;(AO)
    you knit me together(AP) in my mother’s womb.(AQ)
14 I praise you(AR) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,(AS)
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made(AT) in the secret place,
    when I was woven together(AU) in the depths of the earth.(AV)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained(AW) for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](AX) God!(AY)
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AZ)
    they would outnumber the grains of sand(BA)
    when I awake,(BB) I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(BC)
    Away from me,(BD) you who are bloodthirsty!(BE)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries(BF) misuse your name.(BG)
21 Do I not hate those(BH) who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor(BI) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.(BJ)
23 Search me,(BK) God, and know my heart;(BL)
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Psalm 147

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord.[a]

How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    how pleasant(A) and fitting to praise him!(B)

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;(C)
    he gathers the exiles(D) of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted(E)
    and binds up their wounds.(F)
He determines the number of the stars(G)
    and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord(H) and mighty in power;(I)
    his understanding has no limit.(J)
The Lord sustains the humble(K)
    but casts the wicked(L) to the ground.

Sing to the Lord(M) with grateful praise;(N)
    make music(O) to our God on the harp.(P)

He covers the sky with clouds;(Q)
    he supplies the earth with rain(R)
    and makes grass grow(S) on the hills.
He provides food(T) for the cattle
    and for the young ravens(U) when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength(V) of the horse,(W)
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
11 the Lord delights(X) in those who fear him,(Y)
    who put their hope(Z) in his unfailing love.(AA)

12 Extol the Lord, Jerusalem;(AB)
    praise your God, Zion.

13 He strengthens the bars of your gates(AC)
    and blesses your people(AD) within you.
14 He grants peace(AE) to your borders
    and satisfies you(AF) with the finest of wheat.(AG)

15 He sends his command(AH) to the earth;
    his word runs(AI) swiftly.
16 He spreads the snow(AJ) like wool
    and scatters the frost(AK) like ashes.
17 He hurls down his hail(AL) like pebbles.
    Who can withstand his icy blast?
18 He sends his word(AM) and melts them;
    he stirs up his breezes,(AN) and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word(AO) to Jacob,(AP)
    his laws and decrees(AQ) to Israel.
20 He has done this for no other nation;(AR)
    they do not know(AS) his laws.[b]

Praise the Lord.(AT)

Jeremiah 23:1-8

The Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds(A) who are destroying and scattering(B) the sheep of my pasture!”(C) declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds(D) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock(E) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil(F) you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant(G) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,(H) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds(I) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid(J) or terrified, nor will any be missing,(K)” declares the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch,(L)
a King(M) who will reign(N) wisely
    and do what is just and right(O) in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.(P)
This is the name(Q) by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.(R)

“So then, the days are coming,”(S) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(T) but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”(U)

Colossians 2:8-23

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,(A) which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world(B) rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness(C) of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head(D) over every power and authority.(E) 11 In him you were also circumcised(F) with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[b](G) was put off when you were circumcised by[c] Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism,(H) in which you were also raised with him(I) through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.(J)

13 When you were dead in your sins(K) and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive(L) with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,(M) 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,(N) which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.(O) 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities,(P) he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them(Q) by the cross.[e]

Freedom From Human Rules

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you(R) by what you eat or drink,(S) or with regard to a religious festival,(T) a New Moon celebration(U) or a Sabbath day.(V) 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come;(W) the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility(X) and the worship of angels disqualify you.(Y) Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head,(Z) from whom the whole body,(AA) supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.(AB)

20 Since you died with Christ(AC) to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,(AD) why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:(AE) 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish(AF) with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.(AG) 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility(AH) and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

John 10:7-17

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am(A) the gate(B) for the sheep. All who have come before me(C) are thieves and robbers,(D) but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,(E) and have it to the full.(F)

11 “I am(G) the good shepherd.(H) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(I) 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.(J) Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd;(K) I know my sheep(L) and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father(M)—and I lay down my life for the sheep.(N) 16 I have other sheep(O) that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock(P) and one shepherd.(Q) 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life(R)—only to take it up again.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.