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Book of Common Prayer

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

Thanksgiving for Victory

118 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
    His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.
Let Israel say,
    “His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
Let the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests] say,
    “His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”
Let those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] say,
    “His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.”

I was in ·trouble [distress], so I ·called [prayed] to the Lord.
    The Lord answered me and set me ·free [L in a broad place].
I will not ·be afraid [fear], because the Lord is with me [Rom. 8:31].
    ·People can’t do anything [L What can people do…?] to me [Heb. 13:6].
The Lord is with me to help me,
    so I will ·see my enemies defeated [L look on my enemy; C in triumph].
It is better to ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord
    than to ·trust [have confidence in] people.
It is better to ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord
    than to ·trust [have confidence in] princes.

10 All the nations surrounded me,
    but I ·defeated them [warded them off] in the name of the Lord.
11 They surrounded me; they surrounded me on every side,
    but ·with the Lord’s power [L in the name of the Lord] I ·defeated them [warded them off].
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
    but they ·died [L were extinguished] as quickly as thorns burn.
    ·By the Lord’s power [L In the name of the Lord], I ·defeated them [warded them off].
13 They [or You] ·chased me [pushed me hard] until I ·was almost defeated [almost fell],
    but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord ·gives me strength and a song [L is my strength and song/or might].
    He has ·saved me [given me victory].

15 Shouts of joy and victory
    come from the tents of ·those who do right [the righteous]:
    “The right hand of the Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The ·power [L right hand] of the Lord ·has won the victory [is exalted];
    with his ·power [L right hand] the Lord has done powerful things.

17 I will not die, but live,
    and I will ·tell [recount] what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has ·taught me a hard lesson [L surely disciplined/instructed me],
    but he did not ·let me die [L give me over to death].

19 Open for me the ·Temple gates [L gates of righteousness].
    Then I will come in and ·thank [praise] the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
    only ·those who are good [the righteous] may enter through it [15; 24:3–6].
21 Lord, I ·thank [praise] you for answering me.
    You have ·saved me [given me victory].

22 The stone that the builders rejected
    became the chief cornerstone [Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7].
23 ·The Lord did this [L This is from the Lord],
    and it is wonderful ·to us [L in our eyes; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11].
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
    Let us rejoice and be glad ·today [L in it]!

25 Please, Lord, ·save us [give us victory];
    please, Lord, give us ·success [prosperity].
26 ·God bless [Blessed be] the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
    We bless all of you from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord [Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38].
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has ·shown kindness to [illuminated; given light to] us.
·With branches in your hands, join the feast [L Bind the feast/procession with branches].
    Come to the ·corners [L horns; Ex. 27:2] of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will ·thank [praise] you;
you are my God, and I will ·praise your greatness [L exalt you].

29 ·Thank [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] ·continues [endures] forever.

Psalm 145

Praise to God the King

A psalm of praise. Of David.

145 I ·praise your greatness [exalt you], my God the King;
    I will ·praise [bless] ·you [L your name] forever and ever.
I will ·praise [bless] you every day;
    I will praise ·you [L your name] forever and ever.
The Lord is great and ·worthy of our praise [greatly to be praised; 48:1];
    ·no one can understand how great he is [L there is no searching out/limit to his greatness].

·Parents [L A generation] will ·tell their children [L praise to a generation] what you have done.
    They will ·retell [proclaim] your mighty acts,
·wonderful majesty, and glory [L and the majestic glory of your splendor; C God’s manifest presence].
    And I will ·think about [meditate on] your ·miracles [wonderful works].
They will tell about the ·amazing things you do [L might of your awesomeness],
    and I will ·tell [recount] how great you are.
They will ·remember [bubble forth with] ·your great goodness [L the remembrance of your goodness]
    and will sing about your ·fairness [righteousness].

The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·shows mercy [compassionate].
    He ·does not become angry quickly [is slow to anger] but ·is full of love [has great loyalty].
The Lord is good to everyone;
    he is ·merciful [compassionate] to all he has made [86:15; 103:8; Ex. 34:6–7; Neh. 9:17, 31; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2].
10 Lord, everything you have made will ·praise [bless] you;
    ·those who belong to you [your saints/loyal ones] will bless you.
11 They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
    and will speak about your ·power [strength].
12 Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
    and the glory and ·majesty [splendor] of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom ·will go on and on [L is an eternal kingdom],
    and you will rule ·forever [L from generation to generation; Dan. 4:3].

The Lord ·will keep all his promises [L is faithful/true in all his words];
    he is loyal to all he has made.[a]
14 The Lord ·helps [supports] those who have ·been defeated [L fallen]
    and ·takes care of [L lifts up] those who are ·in trouble [bowed down].
15 ·All living things look to you for food [L The eyes of all look to you],
    and you give ·it [L their food] to them at the right time.
16 You open your hand,
    and you satisfy the desire of all living things [Matt. 6:25–27].

17 ·Everything the Lord does is right [L The Lord is righteous in all his ways].
    He is loyal ·to all he has made [or in all his deeds].
18 The Lord is ·close [near] to everyone who ·prays to [calls on] him,
    to all who ·truly pray to him [call on him in truth/faithfulness].
19 He ·gives those who respect him what they want [L accomplishes the desire of all who fear him; Prov. 1:7].
    He listens when they cry, and he ·saves them [gives them victory].
20 The Lord ·protects [guards; keeps] everyone who loves him,
    but he will destroy the wicked.

21 ·I will praise [L My mouth will speak the praise of] the Lord.
Let ·everyone [L all flesh] ·praise [bless] his holy name forever.

Zechariah 9:9-16

The King Is Coming

Rejoice greatly, ·people of Jerusalem [L Daughter Zion]!
    Shout for joy, ·people of Jerusalem [L Daughter Jerusalem]!
[L Look; T Behold] Your king is coming to you.
    He ·does what is right [is righteous/just], and he saves.
    He is ·gentle [lowly; humble] and riding on a donkey,
    on ·the colt [L a colt, the foal] of a donkey [Matt. 21:5; John 12:15].
10 I will ·take away [L cut off] the chariots from Ephraim
    and the ·horses [warhorses] from Jerusalem.
    The bows used in war will be broken.
The king will ·talk about [announce; bring] peace to the nations.
    His ·kingdom [dominion; rule] will go from sea to sea,
and from the ·Euphrates River [L River] to the ends of the earth.

11 As for you, because of the blood of ·the agreement [my covenant/treaty] with you
    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 You prisoners who have hope,
    return to ·your place of safety [the fortress/stronghold].
Today I ·am telling you [announce; declare]
    that I will ·give you back twice as much as before [return double what you lost].
13 I will ·use [L bend] Judah like a bow
    and Ephraim like the arrows.
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], I will ·use your men [L rouse your sons/children]
    ·to fight the men of [against your sons/children,] Greece.
I will use you like a warrior’s sword.

14 Then the Lord will appear above them,
    and his arrows will shoot like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
    and he will march in the ·storms [whirlwinds] of the south.
15 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will protect them;
    they will ·destroy [L eat and subdue] the enemy with slingshots.
They will drink and shout like drunks.
    They will be filled like a bowl
    used for sprinkling blood ·at [or and drenched with blood like] the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the Lord their God will save them
    as ·if his people were sheep [L the flock of his people].
They will shine in his land
    like jewels in a crown.

1 Peter 3:13-22

13 If you are ·trying hard [eager; zealous; passionate] to do good, ·no one [L who…?] can really ·hurt [harm; do evil to; mistreat] you. 14 But even if you suffer for ·doing right [righteousness], you are blessed [Matt. 5:10].

“Don’t be afraid of ·what they fear [or their threats/intimidation];
    do not ·dread those things [be disturbed/intimidated; Is. 8:12–13].”

15 But ·respect Christ as the holy Lord [L sanctify Christ as Lord; Is. 8:13] in your hearts [C that is, acknowledge his holiness and sovereignty in your life]. Always be ready to ·answer [or give a defense to] everyone who asks you to explain about the hope ·you have [L that is in you], 16 but answer in a ·gentle [humble] way and ·with respect [or with fear/reverence for God]. Keep a ·clear [good] conscience so that ·those who speak evil of [L when you are accused, those slanderers of] your good ·life [behavior; conduct] in Christ will be made ashamed. 17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing ·wrong [evil] if that is ·what God wants [the will of God]. 18 Christ himself suffered for sins ·once [or once for all; C only his suffering has the power to redeem others]. ·He was not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty [L …the righteous for the unrighteous] to bring you to God. ·His body was killed [L He was put to death in the flesh/body], but he was made alive in the ·spirit [or Spirit; C at his resurrection in a glorified body]. 19 And in the ·spirit [or Spirit] he went and preached to the spirits in prison [C probably either fallen angels, imprisoned by God (see Gen. 6:1–4; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6) or the spirits of the people who rejected Noah’s preaching; see v. 20] 20 who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah [Gen. 6:1—8:22], when ·God was waiting patiently [L the patience of God waited] while Noah was building the ·boat [ark]. [In this ark; L In it] Only a few people—eight in all—were saved ·by [or through] water. 21 And that water ·is like [anticipates; foreshadows; symbolizes; prefigures] baptism that now saves you—not the ·washing [removal] of dirt from the body, but the ·promise [pledge; appeal; or response] made to God from a ·good [clear] conscience. And this is ·because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead [or through the resurrection of Jesus Christ]. 22 Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side [C the place of honor] ·ruling over angels, authorities, and powers [L with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him].

Matthew 21:1-13

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King(A)

21 As Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] ·were coming closer to [approached] Jerusalem, they ·stopped at [L came to] Bethphage ·at [or on] the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his ·followers [disciples] and said to them, “Go to the town ·you can see there [ahead of you; or opposite you]. When you enter it, you will ·quickly [immediately] find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks you ·why you are taking the donkeys [L anything], say that ·the Master [the Lord; or its Owner] needs them, and ·he will send them at once [or the Lord will return it soon; see Mark 11:3].”

This was to ·bring about [fulfill] what ·the prophet had said [L had been spoken through the prophet]:

“Tell ·the people of Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C a metaphor for Israel],
    [L Look; T Behold,] Your king is coming to you.
He is ·gentle [humble] and ·riding [mounted] on a donkey,
    on the colt of a donkey [Is. 62:11; Zech. 9:9].’”

[So] The ·followers [disciples] went and did what Jesus ·told them to do [instructed; commanded]. They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their ·coats [cloaks] on them, ·and Jesus sat on them. ·Many people [A very large crowd; or Most of the crowd] spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The ·people [crowds] were walking ahead of Jesus and ·behind [following] him, shouting,

“·Praise [L Hosanna! C a Hebrew word originally used in praying for help, but by this time a joyful shout of praise to God] to the Son of David [C a title for the Messiah]!
·God bless [Blessed is] the One who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps. 118:26]!
·Praise to God in heaven [L Hosanna in the highest; C either “in highest heaven” or “to the Most High God”]!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was ·filled with excitement [stirred up; in an uproar]. The people asked, “Who is this man?”

11 The crowd said, “This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus Goes to the Temple(B)

12 Jesus went into the ·Temple [temple complex; C the large temple area, not the inner building where only the priests could go] and ·threw [drove] out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of ·those who were exchanging different kinds of money [L the moneychangers], and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves [or pigeons; C moneychangers provided particular coins needed for the temple tax; doves or pigeons were sold for sacrifices; Lev. 5:7]. 13 Jesus said to ·all the people there [L them], “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My ·Temple [L House] will be called a house for prayer [Is. 56:7].’ But you are ·changing [making] it into a ·hideout for robbers [T den of thieves; Jer. 7:11].”

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