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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 88

Psalm 88[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.

Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
    day and night I cry out(B) to you.
May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
    and my life draws near to death.(D)
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
    I am like one without strength.(F)
I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off(G) from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.(H)
Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
    my eyes(N) are dim with grief.

I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
    in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
    and hide your face(W) from me?

15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
    your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

Psalm 91-92

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter(A) of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow(B) of the Almighty.[a]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge(C) and my fortress,(D)
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare(E)
    and from the deadly pestilence.(F)
He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;(G)
    his faithfulness will be your shield(H) and rampart.
You will not fear(I) the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.(J)

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm(K) will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels(L) concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;(M)
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(N)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.(O)

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.(P)
16 With long life(Q) I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.(R)

Psalm 92[c]

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music(S) to your name,(T) O Most High,(U)
proclaiming your love in the morning(V)
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(W)
    and the melody of the harp.(X)

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy(Y) at what your hands have done.(Z)
How great are your works,(AA) Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!(AB)
Senseless people(AC) do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.(AD)

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies(AE), Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.(AF)
10 You have exalted my horn[d](AG) like that of a wild ox;(AH)
    fine oils(AI) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(AJ)

12 The righteous will flourish(AK) like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(AL)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.(AM)
14 They will still bear fruit(AN) in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(AO)

Numbers 13:1-3

Exploring Canaan

13 The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore(A) the land of Canaan,(B) which I am giving to the Israelites.(C) From each ancestral tribe(D) send one of its leaders.”

So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.(E)

Numbers 13:21-30

21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin(A) as far as Rehob,(B) toward Lebo Hamath.(C) 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,(D) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,(E) the descendants of Anak,(F) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)(G) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,[a](H) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates(I) and figs.(J) 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days(K) they returned from exploring the land.(L)

Report on the Exploration

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh(M) in the Desert of Paran.(N) There they reported to them(O) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.(P) 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!(Q) Here is its fruit.(R) 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.(S) We even saw descendants of Anak(T) there.(U) 29 The Amalekites(V) live in the Negev; the Hittites,(W) Jebusites(X) and Amorites(Y) live in the hill country;(Z) and the Canaanites(AA) live near the sea and along the Jordan.(AB)

30 Then Caleb(AC) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Romans 2:25-3:8

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law,(A) but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.(B) 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements,(C) will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?(D) 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you(E) who, even though you have the[a] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,(F) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.(G) 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,(H) by the Spirit,(I) not by the written code.(J) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.(K)

God’s Faithfulness

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way!(L) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.(M)

What if some were unfaithful?(N) Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?(O) Not at all! Let God be true,(P) and every human being a liar.(Q) As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak
    and prevail when you judge.”[b](R)

But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly,(S) what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)(T) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?(U) Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,(V) why am I still condemned as a sinner?”(W) Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”?(X) Their condemnation is just!

Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?(A) Up to seven times?”(B)

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a](C)

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like(D) a king who wanted to settle accounts(E) with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay,(F) the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold(G) to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him.(H) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”(I)

New International Version (NIV)

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