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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Common English Bible (CEB)
Version
Psalm 61-62

Psalm 61

For the music leader, with stringed instruments. Of David.

61 God, listen to my cry;
    pay attention to my prayer!
When my heart is weak,
    I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am
    because you have been my refuge,
    a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
Please let me live in your tent forever!
    Please let me take refuge
    in the shelter of your wings! Selah
Because you, God, have heard my promises;
    you’ve given me[a] the same possession
    as those who honor your name.

Add days to the king’s life!
    Let his years extend for many generations!
Let him be enthroned forever before God!
    Make it so love and faithfulness watch over him!
Then I will sing praises to your name forever,
    and I will do what I promised every single day.

Psalm 62

For the music leader. According to Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

62 Only in God do I[b] find rest;
    my salvation comes from him.
Only God is my rock and my salvation—
    my stronghold!—I won’t be shaken anymore.

How long will all of you attack others;
    how long will you tear them down[c]
    as if they were leaning walls or broken-down fences?
The only desire of this people
    is to bring others down low;
    they delight in deception.
With their mouths they bless,
    but inside they are cursing. Selah

Oh, I[d] must find rest in God only,
    because my hope comes from him!
Only God is my rock and my salvation—
    my stronghold!—I will not be shaken.
My deliverance and glory depend on God.
    God is my strong rock.
    My refuge is in God.
All you people: Trust in him at all times!
    Pour out your hearts before him!
    God is our refuge! Selah

Human beings are nothing but a breath.
    Human beings are nothing but lies.
    They don’t even register on a scale;
    taken all together they are lighter than a breath!
10 Don’t trust in violence;
    don’t set false hopes in robbery.
When wealth bears fruit,
    don’t set your heart on it.
11 God has spoken one thing—
    make it two things—
    that I myself have heard:
    that strength belongs to God,
12     and faithful love comes from you, my Lord—
    and that you will repay
    everyone according to their deeds.

Psalm 68

Psalm 68

For the music leader. Of David. A psalm. A song.

68 Let God rise up;
    let his enemies scatter;
    let those who hate him
        run scared before him!
Like smoke is driven away,
        drive them away!
    Like wax melting before fire,
        let the wicked perish before God!
But let the righteous be glad
    and celebrate before God.
    Let them rejoice with gladness!
Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
        Exalt the one who rides the clouds!
    The Lord is his name.
        Celebrate before him!

Father of orphans and defender of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
God settles the lonely in their homes;
    he sets prisoners free with happiness,[a]
    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

When you went forth before your people, God,
        when you marched through the wasteland, Selah
    the earth shook!
Yes, heaven poured down
    before God, the one from Sinai—
    before God, the God of Israel!
You showered down abundant rain, God;
    when your inheritance grew weary,
    you restored it yourself,
10     and your creatures settled in it.
In your goodness, God,
    you provided for the poor.

11 My Lord gives the command—
    many messengers are bringing good news:
12 “The kings of armies are on the run!
    The women back home divide the spoil.
13 Even if you lie down among the sheepfolds,
    there are wings of a dove covered with silver;
    its pinions covered in precious gold.”[b]
14 When the Almighty[c] scattered the kings there,
    snow fell on Mount Zalmon.

15 Mighty mountain, Mount Bashan;
    many-peaked mountain, Mount Bashan!
16 You many-peaked mountain:
    Why do you look with envy
    at the mountain God desired for his dwelling,
        the mountain where the Lord dwells forever?

17 God’s chariots are twice ten thousand—
    countless thousands!
    My Lord came from Sinai[d] into the sanctuary.
18 You ascended the heights,
    leading away your captives,
    receiving tribute from people,
        even from those who rebel
        against the Lord God’s dwelling there.
19 Bless the Lord!
    The God of our salvation
    supports us day after day! Selah
20 Our God is the God of salvation,
    and escape from certain death comes through God my Lord.

21 Yes, God will shatter the heads of his enemies—
    the very skulls of those who walk in guilt.
22 My Lord has spoken:
    “From Bashan I will bring those people back.
    I will bring them back from the ocean’s depths
23         so that you can wash your feet in their blood,
        so that your dogs’ tongues
        can lap up their share of your enemies.”

24 They saw your procession, God—
    the procession of my God,
    my king, into the sanctuary.
25 First came the singers,
    then the musicians;
    between them the young women
        were playing hand drums:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation;
    bless the Lord from Israel’s fountain!”
27 There’s Benjamin leading them,
    though he’s little;
    then the princes of Judah,
    their speaker;
    then the princes of Zebulun
    and the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your strength, God!
    Show how strong you are, God,
        just as you’ve done for us before,
29         from your temple above Jerusalem,
        where kings bring you gifts.
30 Rebuke the wild animals of the marshland,
    the herd of bulls among the calves of the peoples.
Trample those who delight in money;
    scatter the peoples who take pleasure in battles.
31 Let ambassadors come from Egypt;
    let Cush stretch out its hands to God.

32 Sing to God, all kingdoms of the earth!
    Sing praises to my Lord. Selah
33 Sing to the one who rides through heaven,
    the most ancient heaven.
    Look! God sends forth his voice,
        his mighty voice.
34 Recognize how strong God is!
    His majesty extends over Israel;
    his strength is in the clouds.
35 You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries—
    the God of Israel who gives strength and power to his people!

Bless God!

Genesis 42:1-17

Joseph’s brothers arrive in Egypt

42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring blankly at each other? I’ve just heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we can survive and not starve to death.” So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. However, Jacob didn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin along with his brothers because he thought something bad might happen to him. Israel’s sons came to buy grain with others who also came since the famine had spread to the land of Canaan.

As for Joseph, he was the land’s governor, and he was the one selling grain to all the land’s people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him, their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he acted like he didn’t know them. He spoke to them with a harsh tone and said, “Where have you come from?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him. Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies. You’ve come to look for the country’s weaknesses.”

10 They said to him, “No, Master. Your servants have just come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants aren’t spies.”

12 He said to them, “No. You’ve come to look for the country’s weaknesses.”

13 They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, but one is gone.”

14 Joseph said to them, “It’s just as I’ve said to you. You are spies! 15 But here is how to prove yourselves: As Pharaoh lives, you won’t leave here until your youngest brother arrives. 16 Send one of you to get your brother, but the rest of you will stay in prison. We will find out if your words are true. If not, as Pharaoh lives, you are certainly spies.”

Joseph’s brothers return to Canaan

17 He put them all in prison for three days.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8

Confronting sexual immorality in the church

Everyone has heard that there is sexual immorality among you. This is a type of immorality that isn’t even heard of among the Gentiles—a man is having sex with his father’s wife! And you’re proud of yourselves instead of being so upset that the one who did this thing is expelled from your community. Though I’m absent physically, I’m present in the spirit and I’ve already judged the man who did this as if I were present. When you meet together in the name of our Lord Jesus, I’ll be present in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus. At that time we need to hand this man over to Satan to destroy his human weakness so that his spirit might be saved on the day of the Lord.

Your bragging isn’t good! Don’t you know that a tiny grain of yeast makes a whole batch of dough rise? Clean out the old yeast so you can be a new batch of dough, given that you’re supposed to be unleavened bread. Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed, so let’s celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of honesty and truth, not with old yeast or with the yeast of evil and wickedness.

Mark 3:19-35

19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

Misunderstandings about Jesus

20 Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. 21 When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!”

22 The legal experts came down from Jerusalem. Over and over they charged, “He’s possessed by Beelzebul. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”

23 When Jesus called them together he spoke to them in a parable: “How can Satan throw Satan out? 24 A kingdom involved in civil war will collapse. 25 And a house torn apart by divisions will collapse. 26 If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for. 27 No one gets into the house of a strong person and steals anything without first tying up the strong person. Only then can the house be burglarized. 28 I assure you that human beings will be forgiven for everything, for all sins and insults of every kind. 29 But whoever insults the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. That person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever.” 30 He said this because the legal experts were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”

31 His mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent word to him, calling for him. 32 A crowd was seated around him, and those sent to him said, “Look, your mother, brothers, and sisters are outside looking for you.”

33 He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible