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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 63

Psalm 63[a]

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,(A)
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.(B)

I have seen you in the sanctuary(C)
    and beheld your power and your glory.(D)
Because your love is better than life,(E)
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,(F)
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.(G)
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;(H)
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.(I)
Because you are my help,(J)
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.(K)
I cling to you;(L)
    your right hand upholds me.(M)

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;(N)
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.(O)
10 They will be given over to the sword(P)
    and become food for jackals.(Q)

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,(R)
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.(S)

Psalm 98

Psalm 98

A psalm.

Sing to the Lord(A) a new song,(B)
    for he has done marvelous things;(C)
his right hand(D) and his holy arm(E)
    have worked salvation(F) for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known(G)
    and revealed his righteousness(H) to the nations.(I)
He has remembered(J) his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth(K) have seen
    the salvation of our God.(L)

Shout for joy(M) to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,(N)
    with the harp and the sound of singing,(O)
with trumpets(P) and the blast of the ram’s horn(Q)
    shout for joy(R) before the Lord, the King.(S)

Let the sea(T) resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.(U)
Let the rivers clap their hands,(V)
    let the mountains(W) sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.(X)

Psalm 103

Psalm 103

Of David.

Praise the Lord,(A) my soul;(B)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.(C)
Praise the Lord,(D) my soul,
    and forget not(E) all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins(F)
    and heals(G) all your diseases,
who redeems your life(H) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,(I)
who satisfies(J) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed(K) like the eagle’s.(L)

The Lord works righteousness(M)
    and justice for all the oppressed.(N)

He made known(O) his ways(P) to Moses,
    his deeds(Q) to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,(R)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;(S)
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve(T)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love(U) for those who fear him;(V)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions(W) from us.

13 As a father has compassion(X) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,(Y)
    he remembers that we are dust.(Z)
15 The life of mortals is like grass,(AA)
    they flourish like a flower(AB) of the field;
16 the wind blows(AC) over it and it is gone,
    and its place(AD) remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children(AE)
18 with those who keep his covenant(AF)
    and remember(AG) to obey his precepts.(AH)

19 The Lord has established his throne(AI) in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules(AJ) over all.

20 Praise the Lord,(AK) you his angels,(AL)
    you mighty ones(AM) who do his bidding,(AN)
    who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,(AO)
    you his servants(AP) who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works(AQ)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.(AR)

Genesis 13:2-18

Abram had become very wealthy(A) in livestock(B) and in silver and gold.

From the Negev(C) he went from place to place until he came to Bethel,(D) to the place between Bethel and Ai(E) where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar.(F) There Abram called on the name of the Lord.(G)

Now Lot,(H) who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.(I) And quarreling(J) arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites(K) and Perizzites(L) were also living in the land(M) at that time.

So Abram said to Lot,(N) “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me,(O) or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.(P) Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”(Q)

10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain(R) of the Jordan toward Zoar(S) was well watered, like the garden of the Lord,(T) like the land of Egypt.(U) (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom(V) and Gomorrah.)(W) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan,(X) while Lot(Y) lived among the cities of the plain(Z) and pitched his tents near Sodom.(AA) 13 Now the people of Sodom(AB) were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.(AC)

14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.(AD) 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring[a] forever.(AE) 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.(AF) 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land,(AG) for I am giving it to you.”(AH)

18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre(AI) at Hebron,(AJ) where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.(AK)

Galatians 2:1-10

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem,(A) this time with Barnabas.(B) I took Titus(C) along also. I went in response to a revelation(D) and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.(E) I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race(F) in vain. Yet not even Titus,(G) who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.(H) This matter arose because some false believers(I) had infiltrated our ranks to spy on(J) the freedom(K) we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel(L) might be preserved for you.

As for those who were held in high esteem(M)—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism(N)—they added nothing to my message.(O) On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task(P) of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a](Q) just as Peter(R) had been to the circumcised.[b] For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle(S) to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle(T) to the Gentiles. James,(U) Cephas[c](V) and John, those esteemed as pillars,(W) gave me and Barnabas(X) the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.(Y) They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles,(Z) and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor,(AA) the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Mark 7:31-37

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man(A)

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre(B) and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee(C) and into the region of the Decapolis.[a](D) 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk,(E) and they begged Jesus to place his hand on(F) him.

33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit(G) and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven(H) and with a deep sigh(I) said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.(J)

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.(K) But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

New International Version (NIV)

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