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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 145

Psalm 145[a]

A psalm of praise. Of David.

I will exalt you,(A) my God the King;(B)
    I will praise your name(C) for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise(D) you
    and extol your name(E) for ever and ever.

Great(F) is the Lord and most worthy of praise;(G)
    his greatness no one can fathom.(H)
One generation(I) commends your works to another;
    they tell(J) of your mighty acts.(K)
They speak of the glorious splendor(L) of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b](M)
They tell(N) of the power of your awesome works—(O)
    and I will proclaim(P) your great deeds.(Q)
They celebrate your abundant goodness(R)
    and joyfully sing(S) of your righteousness.(T)

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,(U)
    slow to anger and rich in love.(V)

The Lord is good(W) to all;
    he has compassion(X) on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you,(Y) Lord;
    your faithful people extol(Z) you.(AA)
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom(AB)
    and speak of your might,(AC)
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts(AD)
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.(AE)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,(AF)
    and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy(AG) in all he promises(AH)
    and faithful in all he does.[c]
14 The Lord upholds(AI) all who fall
    and lifts up all(AJ) who are bowed down.(AK)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food(AL) at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires(AM) of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous(AN) in all his ways
    and faithful in all he does.(AO)
18 The Lord is near(AP) to all who call on him,(AQ)
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires(AR) of those who fear him;(AS)
    he hears their cry(AT) and saves them.(AU)
20 The Lord watches over(AV) all who love him,(AW)
    but all the wicked he will destroy.(AX)

21 My mouth will speak(AY) in praise of the Lord.
    Let every creature(AZ) praise his holy name(BA)
    for ever and ever.

Psalm 104

Psalm 104

Praise the Lord, my soul.(A)

Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.(B)

The Lord wraps(C) himself in light(D) as with a garment;
    he stretches(E) out the heavens(F) like a tent(G)
    and lays the beams(H) of his upper chambers on their waters.(I)
He makes the clouds(J) his chariot(K)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.(L)
He makes winds his messengers,[a](M)
    flames of fire(N) his servants.

He set the earth(O) on its foundations;(P)
    it can never be moved.
You covered it(Q) with the watery depths(R) as with a garment;
    the waters stood(S) above the mountains.
But at your rebuke(T) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder(U) they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned(V) for them.
You set a boundary(W) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs(X) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water(Y) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys(Z) quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky(AA) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.(AB)
13 He waters the mountains(AC) from his upper chambers;(AD)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.(AE)
14 He makes grass grow(AF) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food(AG) from the earth:
15 wine(AH) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil(AI) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains(AJ) their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord(AK) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon(AL) that he planted.
17 There the birds(AM) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;(AN)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.(AO)

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,(AP)
    and the sun(AQ) knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness,(AR) it becomes night,(AS)
    and all the beasts of the forest(AT) prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey(AU)
    and seek their food from God.(AV)
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.(AW)
23 Then people go out to their work,(AX)
    to their labor until evening.(AY)

24 How many are your works,(AZ) Lord!
    In wisdom you made(BA) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.(BB)
25 There is the sea,(BC) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.(BD)
26 There the ships(BE) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,(BF) which you formed to frolic(BG) there.(BH)

27 All creatures look to you
    to give them their food(BI) at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied(BJ) with good things.
29 When you hide your face,(BK)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.(BL)
30 When you send your Spirit,(BM)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord(BN) endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works(BO)
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,(BP)
    who touches the mountains,(BQ) and they smoke.(BR)

33 I will sing(BS) to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice(BT) in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish(BU) from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.(BV)

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.[b](BW)

Exodus 13:17-14:4

Crossing the Sea

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”(A) 18 So God led(B) the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.[a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.(C)

19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(D) with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”[b](E)

20 After leaving Sukkoth(F) they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.(G) 21 By day the Lord went ahead(H) of them in a pillar of cloud(I) to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left(J) its place in front of the people.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol(K) and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.(L) Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,(M) and he will pursue them.(N) But I will gain glory(O) for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”(P) So the Israelites did this.

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

16 Therefore we do not lose heart.(A) Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly(B) we are being renewed(C) day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.(D) 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,(E) since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Awaiting the New Body

For we know that if the earthly(F) tent(G) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan,(H) longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,(I) because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan(J) and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,(K) so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.(L)

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight.(M) We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.(N) So we make it our goal to please him,(O) whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us(P) for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Mark 12:18-27

Marriage at the Resurrection(A)

18 Then the Sadducees,(B) who say there is no resurrection,(C) came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.(D) 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[a] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures(E) or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.(F) 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[b]?(G) 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

New International Version (NIV)

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