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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 119:1-24

Psalm 119[a]

א Aleph

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,(A)
    who walk(B) according to the law of the Lord.(C)
Blessed(D) are those who keep his statutes(E)
    and seek him(F) with all their heart—(G)
they do no wrong(H)
    but follow his ways.(I)
You have laid down precepts(J)
    that are to be fully obeyed.(K)
Oh, that my ways were steadfast
    in obeying your decrees!(L)
Then I would not be put to shame(M)
    when I consider all your commands.(N)
I will praise you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous laws.(O)
I will obey your decrees;
    do not utterly forsake me.(P)

ב Beth

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?(Q)
    By living according to your word.(R)
10 I seek you with all my heart;(S)
    do not let me stray from your commands.(T)
11 I have hidden your word in my heart(U)
    that I might not sin(V) against you.
12 Praise be(W) to you, Lord;
    teach me(X) your decrees.(Y)
13 With my lips I recount
    all the laws that come from your mouth.(Z)
14 I rejoice in following your statutes(AA)
    as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts(AB)
    and consider your ways.
16 I delight(AC) in your decrees;
    I will not neglect your word.

ג Gimel

17 Be good to your servant(AD) while I live,
    that I may obey your word.(AE)
18 Open my eyes that I may see
    wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;(AF)
    do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed(AG) with longing
    for your laws(AH) at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant,(AI) who are accursed,(AJ)
    those who stray(AK) from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn(AL) and contempt,
    for I keep your statutes.(AM)
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
    your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
    they are my counselors.

Psalm 12-14

Psalm 12[a]

For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;(A)
    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
Everyone lies(B) to their neighbor;
    they flatter with their lips
    but harbor deception in their hearts.(C)

May the Lord silence all flattering lips(D)
    and every boastful tongue—(E)
those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;(F)
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

“Because the poor are plundered(G) and the needy groan,(H)
    I will now arise,(I)” says the Lord.
    “I will protect them(J) from those who malign them.”
And the words of the Lord are flawless,(K)
    like silver purified(L) in a crucible,(M)
    like gold[c] refined seven times.

You, Lord, will keep the needy safe(N)
    and will protect us forever from the wicked,(O)
who freely strut(P) about
    when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Psalm 13[d]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long,(Q) Lord? Will you forget me(R) forever?
    How long will you hide your face(S) from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts(T)
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?(U)

Look on me(V) and answer,(W) Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes,(X) or I will sleep in death,(Y)
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,(Z)
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.(AA)

But I trust in your unfailing love;(AB)
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.(AC)
I will sing(AD) the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Psalm 14(AE)

For the director of music. Of David.

The fool[e] says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”(AF)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven(AG)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(AH)
    any who seek God.(AI)
All have turned away,(AJ) all have become corrupt;(AK)
    there is no one who does good,(AL)
    not even one.(AM)

Do all these evildoers know nothing?(AN)

They devour my people(AO) as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.(AP)
But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.(AQ)

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!(AR)
    When the Lord restores(AS) his people,
    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Jonah 1:17-2:10

Jonah’s Prayer

17 Now the Lord provided(A) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,(B) and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:

“In my distress I called(C) to the Lord,(D)
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead(E) I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths,(F)
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves(G) and breakers
    swept over me.(H)
I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;(I)
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’(J)
The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.(K)
To the roots of the mountains(L) I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.(M)

“When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered(N) you, Lord,
and my prayer(O) rose to you,
    to your holy temple.(P)

“Those who cling to worthless idols(Q)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(R)
    will sacrifice(S) to you.
What I have vowed(T) I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation(U) comes from the Lord.’”

10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Acts 27:9-26

Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.[a](A) So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”(B) 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete,(C) facing both southwest and northwest.

The Storm

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force,(D) called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat(E) secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground(F) on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[b] and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.(G) 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice(H) not to sail from Crete;(I) then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage,(J) because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel(K) of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve(L) stood beside me(M) 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar;(N) and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’(O) 25 So keep up your courage,(P) men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.(Q) 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground(R) on some island.”(S)

Luke 9:1-17

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve(A)(B)

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons(C) and to cure diseases,(D) and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God(E) and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.(F) Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”(G) So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

Now Herod(H) the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John(I) had been raised from the dead,(J) others that Elijah had appeared,(K) and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.(L) But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.(M)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand(N)(O)

10 When the apostles(P) returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,(Q) 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God,(R) and healed those who needed healing.

12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them.(S) Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

New International Version (NIV)

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