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Book of Common Prayer

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

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

138 (A)I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
    before (B)the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down (C)toward your (D)holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.[a]
On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.[b]

(E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of (F)the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
(G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

(H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you (I)preserve my life;
you (J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your (K)right hand delivers me.
The Lord will (L)fulfill his purpose for me;
    (M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake (N)the work of your hands.

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have (O)searched me and known me!
You (P)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you (Q)discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, (R)you know it altogether.
You (S)hem me in, behind and before,
    and (T)lay your hand upon me.
(U)Such knowledge is (V)too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

(W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where (X)shall I flee from your presence?
(Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    (Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (AA)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 (AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you (AD)formed my inward parts;
    you (AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[c]
(AF)Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 (AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in (AH)the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your (AI)book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your (AJ)thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 (AK)If I would count them, they are more than (AL)the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would (AM)slay the wicked, O God!
    O (AN)men of blood, (AO)depart from me!
20 They (AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies (AQ)take your name in vain.[d]
21 (AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not (AS)loathe those who (AT)rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    (AU)Try me and know my thoughts![e]

Psalm 147

He Heals the Brokenhearted

147 (A)Praise the Lord!
For (B)it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for (C)it is pleasant,[a] and (D)a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord (E)builds up Jerusalem;
    he (F)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals (G)the brokenhearted
    and (H)binds up their wounds.
He (I)determines the number of the stars;
    he (J)gives to all of them their names.
(K)Great is our Lord, and (L)abundant in power;
    (M)his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord (N)lifts up the humble;[b]
    he casts the wicked to the ground.

(O)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
    make melody to our God on (P)the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
    he prepares (Q)rain for the earth;
    he makes (R)grass grow on the hills.
He (S)gives to the beasts their food,
    and to (T)the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in (U)the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord (V)takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who (W)hope in his steadfast love.

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens (X)the bars of your gates;
    he blesses your children within you.
14 He (Y)makes peace in your borders;
    he (Z)fills you with the (AA)finest of the wheat.
15 He (AB)sends out his command to the earth;
    his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives (AC)snow like wool;
    he scatters (AD)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of (AE)ice like crumbs;
    who can stand before his (AF)cold?
18 He (AG)sends out his word, and melts them;
    he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
    his (AH)statutes and rules[c] to Israel.
20 He (AI)has not dealt thus with any other nation;
    they do not know his rules.[d]
(AJ)Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 65:1-9

Judgment and Salvation

65 (A)I was ready to be sought by (B)those who did not ask for me;
    I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
    to a nation that was not called by[a] my name.
(C)I spread out my hands all the day
    to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
    following their own devices;
a people who provoke me
    to my face continually,
(D)sacrificing in gardens
    and making offerings on bricks;
who sit in tombs,
    and spend the night in secret places;
(E)who eat pig's flesh,
    and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
who say, “Keep to yourself,
    do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
(F)These are a smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that burns all the day.
Behold, (G)it is written before me:
    (H)“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
(I)I will indeed repay into their lap
    both your iniquities (J)and your fathers' iniquities together,
says the Lord;
(K)because they made offerings on the mountains
    (L)and insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
    payment for their former deeds.”[b]

Thus says the Lord:
(M)“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
    and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
    for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants' sake,
    (N)and not destroy them all.
(O)I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
    and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
    and my servants shall dwell there.

Revelation 3:1-6

To the Church in Sardis

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him (A)who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation (B)of being alive, (C)but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works (D)complete in the sight of my God. (E)Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, (F)I will come (G)like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not (H)soiled their garments, and they will walk with me (I)in white, for they are (J)worthy. (K)The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never (L)blot his name out of (M)the book of life. (N)I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. (O)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

John 6:1-14

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

After this (A)Jesus went away to the other side of (B)the Sea of Galilee, which is (C)the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on (D)the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now (E)the Passover, the (F)feast of the Jews, was at hand. (G)Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to (H)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. (I)Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, (J)Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five (K)barley loaves and two fish, but (L)what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” (M)Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and (N)when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, (O)“This is indeed (P)the Prophet (Q)who is to come into the world!”

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.