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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 120-127

Psalm 120

A song of ascents.

I call on the Lord(A) in my distress,(B)
    and he answers me.
Save me, Lord,
    from lying lips(C)
    and from deceitful tongues.(D)

What will he do to you,
    and what more besides,
    you deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,(E)
    with burning coals of the broom bush.

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
    that I live among the tents of Kedar!(F)
Too long have I lived
    among those who hate peace.
I am for peace;
    but when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(G) and earth.(H)

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches(I) over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over(J) you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun(K) will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm(L)
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.(M)

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love(N) you be secure.
May there be peace(O) within your walls
    and security within your citadels.(P)
For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.(Q)

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(R) in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(S) our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.
We have endured no end
    of ridicule from the arrogant,
    of contempt from the proud.

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(T)
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood(U) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(V) would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(W)
the snare has been broken,(X)
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name(Y) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(AA)
    which cannot be shaken(AB) but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(AC)
    so the Lord surrounds(AD) his people
    both now and forevermore.

The scepter(AE) of the wicked will not remain(AF)
    over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
    their hands to do evil.(AG)

Lord, do good(AH) to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.(AI)
But those who turn(AJ) to crooked ways(AK)
    the Lord will banish(AL) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.(AM)

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

When the Lord restored(AN) the fortunes of[a] Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.[b]
Our mouths were filled with laughter,(AO)
    our tongues with songs of joy.(AP)
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things(AQ) for them.”
The Lord has done great things(AR) for us,
    and we are filled with joy.(AS)

Restore our fortunes,[c](AT) Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.(AU)
Those who sow with tears(AV)
    will reap(AW) with songs of joy.(AX)
Those who go out weeping,(AY)
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds(AZ) the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches(BA) over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food(BB) to eat—
    for he grants sleep(BC) to[d] those he loves.(BD)

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward(BE) from him.
Like arrows(BF) in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.(BG)
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents(BH) in court.(BI)

Zechariah 11:4-17

Two Shepherds

This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.(A) Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.(B) For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors(C) and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”(D)

So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter,(E) particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested(F) me, and I grew weary of them and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish.(G) Let those who are left eat(H) one another’s flesh.”

10 Then I took my staff called Favor(I) and broke it, revoking(J) the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.(K)

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver(L) and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.(M)

14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,(N)
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm(O) and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!”(P)

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

10 By the grace God has given me,(A) I laid a foundation(B) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.(C) 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is,(D) because the Day(E) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.(F) 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.(G) 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.(H)

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple(I) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?(J) 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise(K) by the standards of this age,(L) you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness(M) in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”[a];(N) 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”[b](O) 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders!(P) All things are yours,(Q) 22 whether Paul or Apollos(R) or Cephas[c](S) or the world or life or death or the present or the future(T)—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ,(U) and Christ is of God.

Luke 18:31-43

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time(A)

31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,(B) and everything that is written by the prophets(C) about the Son of Man(D) will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles.(E) They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him(F) and kill him.(G) On the third day(H) he will rise again.”(I)

34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.(J)

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight(K)

35 As Jesus approached Jericho,(L) a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”(M)

38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David,(N) have mercy(O) on me!”

39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”(P)

40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”(Q) 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.(R)

New International Version (NIV)

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