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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 Catholic Bible (NCB)
Version
Psalm 24

Psalm 24[a]

The Lord’s Solemn Entry into Jerusalem

[b]A psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,
    the world and all who live in it.[c]
For he founded it on the seas
    and established[d] it on the rivers.
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
One who has clean hands and a pure heart,[e]
    who does not turn his mind to vanities
    or swear an oath in order to deceive.
He will receive a blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God, his Savior.
This is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
[f]Lift up your arches, O gates;
    rise up, you ancient portals,[g]
    so that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, valiant in battle.
Lift up your arches, O gates,
    rise up, you ancient portals,
    so that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts:[h]
    he is the King of glory. Selah

Psalm 29

Psalm 29[a]

God’s Majesty in the Storm

A psalm of David.

Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,[b]
    ascribe to the Lord glory and might.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name;[c]
    worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the Lord[d] echoes over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord thunders over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is filled with majesty.
The voice of the Lord shatters the cedars;
    the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.[e]
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
    and Sirion[f] like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth
    with bolts of lightning.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.[g]
The voice of the Lord batters the oaks
    and strips the forests bare,
    while in his temple all cry out, “Glory!”[h]
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood;[i]
    the Lord is enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord grant strength to his people.
    May the Lord bless his people with peace.

Psalm 8

Psalm 8[a]

The Majesty of God and the Dignity of Human Beings

For the director.[b] “Upon the gittith.” A psalm of David.

Lord, our Lord,
    how glorious is your name[c] in all the earth!
    You have exalted your majesty above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of newborn babes and infants[d]
    you have brought forth praise
as a bulwark against your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look up at your heavens
    that have been formed by your fingers,
the moon and the stars
    that you set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
    the son of man[e] that you care for him?
You have made him a little less than the angels[f]
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands
    and placed everything under his feet:
all sheep and oxen
    as well as the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
    and whatever swims in the paths of the sea.
10 Lord, our Lord,
    how glorious is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 84

Psalm 84[a]

Longing for God’s Dwelling

For the director.[b] “Upon the gittith.” A psalm of the sons of Korah.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord of hosts.[c]
My soul yearns and is filled with longing
    for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
Just as the sparrow searches for a home
    and the swallow builds a nest for herself
    where she may place her young,
so do I seek your altars,[d]
    Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed[e] are those who dwell in your house;
    they offer continuous praise to you. Selah
Blessed are those who find strength in you,
    who set their hearts upon your ways.[f]
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
    they turn it into a region of springs,
    and the early rain covers it with pools.[g]
[h]They move forward with increasing strength
    as they behold the God of gods in Zion.
Lord of hosts, hear my prayer;
    listen to my pleas, O God of Jacob. Selah
10 O God, look upon our shield[i]
    behold the face of your anointed one.
11 It is better to spend one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper[j] in God’s house
    than dwell inside the tents of the wicked.
12 The Lord God serves as our sun[k] and our shield;
    the Lord showers us with grace and glory.
He does not withhold any good thing
    from those who walk in integrity.
13 Lord of hosts,
    blessed is the man who puts his trust in you.

Isaiah 51:9-16

Awake, awake, O arm of the Lord!
    Clothe yourself in strength.
Awake as in the days of old,
    in ages long past.
Was it not you who hacked Rahab[a] to pieces
    and pierced the dragon through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
and turned the depths of the sea into a path
    for the redeemed to pass over?
11 Therefore, those whom the Lord has redeemed will return
    and enter Zion singing,
    their heads crowned with everlasting joy.
They shall experience joy and gladness,
    while sorrow and mourning will disappear.
12 I, I alone, am the one who comforts you.
    Why then do you fear mortal men who must die,
    human beings who must perish like grass?
13 You have forgotten the Lord, your maker,
    who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the foundations of the earth.
You are in constant fear every moment of the day,
    dreading the fury of the oppressor
    who is bent on your destruction.
But where now is the oppressor’s fury?
14     The oppressed will soon be set free;
they will not die in the dungeon,
    nor will they be without food.
15 For I am the Lord, your God
    who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar;
    the Lord of hosts is my name.
16 I have put my words into your mouth
    and sheltered you in the shadow of my hand,
I who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion,
    You are my people.

Hebrews 11:8-16

The Faith of Abraham and His Descendants. By faith Abraham[a] obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. He went forth without knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to a city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11 By faith Abraham also received the power of procreation, even though he was well past the age—and Sarah herself was barren[b]—because he believed that the one who had made the promise would be faithful in fulfilling it. 12 Therefore, from one man, himself as good as dead, came forth descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand on the seashore.

13 All these died in faith without having received what had been promised, but from a distance they saw far ahead how those promises would be fulfilled and welcomed them, and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and foreigners on the earth. 14 People who speak in this way make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had the opportunity to return. 16 But in fact they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

John 7:14-31

14 Do Not Judge by Appearances.[a] When the feast was half over, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. 15 The Jews were astonished, and they wondered, “How has this man acquired such knowledge when he has never studied?”[b] 16 Jesus answered them,

“My teaching is not my own;
rather, it comes from him who sent me.
17 Anyone who resolves to do his will
will know whether my teaching comes from God
or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
18 Whoever speaks on his own authority
is simply seeking his own glory,
but whoever seeks the glory
of the one who sent him
is a truthful person,
and there is no dishonesty in him.
19 “Did not Moses give you the Law?
And not one of you keeps the Law.
Why are you trying to kill me?”

20 The crowd shouted, “You are possessed! Who is trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus replied,

“I performed a single work,[c]
and all of you are astonished.
22 Moses gave you circumcision
—although it did not originate with Moses
but with the patriarchs—
and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
23 Now if a man can be circumcised on the Sabbath
so that the Law of Moses may not be broken,
why are you angry with me
for making a man’s entire body
completely healthy on the Sabbath?
24 Do not base your judgment on appearances;
judge according to what is right.”

25 Where Is Jesus from and Where Is He Going?[d] Then some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is this not the man they are trying to kill? 26 And yet he is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities realize that he is the Christ? 27 And yet we know where this man is from. But when the Christ appears, no one will know where he is from.”

28 Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple,

“You know me,
and you also know where I am from.
Yet I have not come of my own accord,
but he who sent me is true.
You do not know him,
29 but I know him
because I am from him
and it was he who sent me.”

30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many in the crowd believed in him, and they said, “When the Christ comes, will he perform more signs than this man has accomplished?”

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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