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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Version
Psalm 118

Psalm 118

Thanksgiving for Victory

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(A)
Let Israel say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”(B)
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”(C)
Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”(D)

I called to the Lord in distress;(E)
the Lord answered me
and put me in a spacious place.[a](F)
The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?(G)
The Lord is my helper,
Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.(H)

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.(I)
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in nobles.(J)

10 All the nations surrounded me;
in the name of Yahweh I destroyed them.(K)
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
in the name of Yahweh I destroyed them.(L)
12 They surrounded me like bees;(M)
they were extinguished like a fire among thorns;
in the name of Yahweh I destroyed them.(N)
13 You[b] pushed me[c] hard to make me fall,
but the Lord helped me.(O)
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.(P)

15 There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!(Q)
16 The Lord’s right hand is raised.
The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!”(R)
17 I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the Lord has done.(S)
18 The Lord disciplined me severely
but did not give me over to death.(T)

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.(U)
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous will enter through it.(V)
21 I will give thanks to You
because You have answered me
and have become my salvation.(W)
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.(X)
23 This came from the Lord;
it is wonderful in our eyes.(Y)
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.(Z)

25 Lord, save us!
Lord, please grant us success!(AA)
26 He who comes in the name
of the Lord is blessed.(AB)
From the house of the Lord we bless you.(AC)
27 The Lord is God and has given us light.
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the altar.(AD)
28 You are my God, and I will give You thanks.
You are my God; I will exalt You.(AE)
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(AF)

Psalm 145

Psalm 145

Praising God’s Greatness

A Davidic hymn.

I[a] exalt You, my God the King,
and praise Your name forever and ever.(A)
I will praise You every day;
I will honor Your name forever and ever.(B)

Yahweh is great and is highly praised;(C)
His greatness is unsearchable.(D)
One generation will declare Your works to the next
and will proclaim Your mighty acts.(E)
I[b] will speak of Your splendor and glorious majesty
and[c] Your wonderful works.(F)
They will proclaim the power of Your awe-inspiring acts,
and I will declare Your greatness.[d](G)
They will give a testimony of Your great goodness
and will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.(H)

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in faithful love.(I)
The Lord is good to everyone;(J)
His compassion rests on all He has made.(K)
10 All You have made will thank You, Lord;
the[e] godly will praise You.(L)
11 They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom
and will declare Your might,(M)
12 informing all people of Your mighty acts
and of the glorious splendor of Your[f] kingdom.(N)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
Your rule is for all generations.(O)
The Lord is faithful in all His words
and gracious in all His actions.[g](P)

14 The Lord helps all who fall;
He raises up all who are oppressed.[h](Q)
15 All eyes look to You,
and You give them their food at the proper time.(R)
16 You open Your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.(S)

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways
and gracious in all His acts.(T)
18 The Lord is near all who call out to Him,
all who call out to Him with integrity.(U)
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry for help and saves them.(V)
20 The Lord guards all those who love Him,
but He destroys all the wicked.(W)
21 My mouth will declare Yahweh’s praise;
let every living thing
praise His holy name forever and ever.(X)

Zechariah 9:9-16

The Coming of Zion’s King

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!
Look, your King is coming to you;
He is righteous and victorious,[a]
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(A)
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the horse from Jerusalem.
The bow of war will be removed,
and He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion will extend from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
to the ends of the earth.(B)
11 As for you,
because of the blood of your covenant,(C)
I will release your prisoners
from the waterless cistern.(D)
12 Return to a stronghold,
you prisoners who have hope;
today I declare that I will restore double to you.(E)
13 For I will bend Judah as My bow;
I will fill that bow with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece.[b](F)
I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
and His arrow will fly like lightning.
The Lord God will sound the trumpet
and advance with the southern storms.(G)
15 The Lord of Hosts will defend them.
They will consume and conquer with slingstones;
they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine.(H)
They will be as full as the sprinkling basin,(I)
like those at the corners of the altar.(J)
16 The Lord their God will save them on that day
as the flock of His people;(K)
for they are like jewels in a crown,(L)
sparkling over His land.

1 Peter 3:13-22

Undeserved Suffering

13 And who will harm[a] you if you are deeply committed to what is good?[b] 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness,(A) you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear(B) or be disturbed,(C)[c] 15 but honor[d] the Messiah[e] as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason[f] for the hope that is in you.(D) 16 However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear,[g][h](E) so that when you are accused,[i] those who denounce your Christian life[j] will be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer(F) for doing good, if that should be God’s will,[k] than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also suffered(G) for sins once for all,[l](H)
the righteous for the unrighteous,[m]
that He might bring you[n] to God,(I)
after being put to death in the fleshly realm[o](J)
but made alive in the spiritual realm.[p]

19 In that state[q] He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits(K) in prison[r] 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah(L) while an ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people[s](M)—were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not the removal of the filth of the flesh,(N) but the pledge[t] of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.(O) 22 Now that He has gone into heaven,(P) He is at God’s right hand(Q) with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.(R)

Matthew 21:1-13

The Triumphal Entry

21 When they approached Jerusalem(A) and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives,(B) Jesus then sent two disciples, telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you should say that the Lord needs them, and immediately he will send them.”

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

Tell Daughter Zion,
“Look, your King is coming to you,
gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
even on a colt,
the foal of a beast of burden.”(C)[a]

The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their robes on them, and He sat on them. A very large crowd spread their robes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Then the crowds who went ahead of Him and those who followed kept shouting:

Hosanna to the Son of David!
He who comes in the name
of the Lord is the blessed One![b]
Hosanna in the highest heaven!(D)

10 When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Jesus(E) from Nazareth in Galilee!”

Cleansing the Temple Complex

12 Jesus went into the temple complex[c](F) and drove out all those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves.(G) 13 And He said to them, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer.[d] But you are making it a den of thieves!”(H)[e]