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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Modern English Version (MEV)
Version
Psalm 105

Psalm 105(A)

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name;
    make known His deeds among the peoples.
Sing unto Him, sing praises unto Him;
    proclaim all His wondrous works.
Glory in His holy name;
    let the heart rejoice for those who seek the Lord.
Seek the Lord and His strength;
    seek His presence continuously.

Remember His marvelous works that He has done;
    His wonders and the judgments from His mouth,
O offspring of Abraham, His servant,
    O children of Jacob, His chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God;
    His judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers His covenant forever,
    the word that He commanded, to a thousand generations,
that covenant He made with Abraham,
    and His oath to Isaac,
10 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree,
    and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as the portion of your inheritance.”

12 When they were but a few people in number,
    indeed, very few, and strangers in it,
13 when they went from one nation to another,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 He did not permit anyone to do them wrong;
    indeed, He reproved kings on their behalf,
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones,
    and do no harm to my prophets.”

16 Moreover He called for a famine upon the land;
    He broke the whole supply of bread.
17 He sent a man before them,
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They hurt his feet with fetters;
    his neck was put in an iron collar.
19 Until the time that his word came to pass,
    the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of the people let him go free.
21 He made Joseph lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to imprison his princes at Joseph’s pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel came into Egypt,
    and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord increased His people greatly
    and made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He turned their hearts to hate His people,
    to deal cleverly with His servants.
26 He sent Moses, His servant,
    and Aaron whom He had chosen.
27 They showed His signs among them
    and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark,
    and Moses and Aaron did not rebel against His word.
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance,
    even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
    and gnats in all their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain
    and flaming lightning in their land.
33 He struck their vines and their fig trees
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    and caterpillars without number,
35 that devoured all the vegetation in their land,
    and ate all the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the first fruits of all their strength.
37 Then He brought them out with silver and gold,
    and no one among their tribes faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
    for the fear of Israel fell upon them.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light in the night.
40 The people asked, and He brought quail,
    and satisfied them with abundant bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out;
    they ran in the desert like a river.

42 For he recalled His holy promise
    to Abraham His servant.
43 He brought forth His people with joy,
    and His chosen ones with gladness,
44 and gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the fruitful labor of the people,
45 that they might observe His statutes
    and keep His laws.

Praise the Lord!

Hosea 5:8-6:6

War, Wrath, and Repentance

Blow the horn in Gibeah,
    and the trumpet in Ramah.
Cry aloud at Beth Aven,
    Look behind you, O Benjamin!”[a]
Ephraim will become desolate
    in the day of punishment.
Among the tribes of Israel
    I make known that which is sure.
10 The princes of Judah have become
    like those who remove a boundary marker.
Upon them I will pour out
    My wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed
    and broken in judgment,
    because he eagerly followed after vanity.
12 Therefore I will be like pus to Ephraim
    and like rottenness to the house of Judah.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
    and Judah saw his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
    and sent to King Jareb.[b]
Yet he cannot cure you
    or heal your wound.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, Myself, will tear and go away.
    I will carry off, and no one will rescue.
15 I will again return to My place
    until they acknowledge their offense
and seek My face.
    In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

A Call to Repentance

Come, let us return to the Lord,
for He has torn,
    and He will heal us.
He has struck,
    and He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us.
    On the third day He will raise us up,
    that we may live before Him.
Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.
    His appearance is as sure as the dawn.
He will come to us like the rain;
    like the spring rains He will water the earth.

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

What shall I do to you, O Ephraim?
    What shall I do to you, O Judah?
Your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
    and like the early dew it goes away.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets.
    I have killed them by the words of My mouth,
    and My[c] judgments go forth like light.
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice,
    and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Acts 21:27-36

Paul Arrested in the Temple

27 When the seven days were nearly concluded, the Jews from Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man teaching all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place. He even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they supposed Paul had brought into the temple.

30 Then the whole city was provoked, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. And immediately the doors were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commander[a] of the battalion of soldiers that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33 Then the commander came and arrested him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another. As he could not learn the truth because of the uproar, he commanded that he be brought into the barracks. 35 When he came onto the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the people. 36 For the mob of people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”

Luke 6:1-11

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath(A)

On the second Sabbath after the first, He went through the grain fields, and His disciples plucked and ate the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? He went into the house of God, and took and ate the ritual bread, and also gave it to those who were with him. This was not lawful, but for the priests only to eat.” Then He said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Man With a Withered Hand(B)

On another Sabbath, when He entered the synagogue and taught, there was a man whose right hand had withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched Him to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise and stand in front.” So he rose and stood in front.

Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

10 Then looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with madness and discussed with each other what they might do to Jesus.

Modern English Version (MEV)

The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.