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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
English Standard Version (ESV)
Version
Psalm 97

The Lord Reigns

97 (A)The Lord reigns, (B)let the earth rejoice;
    let the many (C)coastlands be glad!
(D)Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
    (E)righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
(F)Fire goes before him
    and burns up his adversaries all around.
His (G)lightnings light up the world;
    the earth sees and (H)trembles.
The mountains (I)melt like (J)wax before the Lord,
    before (K)the Lord of all the earth.

(L)The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
    and all (M)the peoples see his glory.
All worshipers of images are (N)put to shame,
    who make their boast in (O)worthless idols;
    (P)worship him, all you gods!

Zion hears and (Q)is glad,
    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you, O Lord, are (R)most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above (S)all gods.

10 O you who love the Lord, (T)hate evil!
    He (U)preserves the lives of his (V)saints;
    he (W)delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 (X)Light (Y)is sown[a] for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
12 (Z)Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
    and (AA)give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 99-100

The Lord Our God Is Holy

99 (A)The Lord reigns; (B)let the peoples tremble!
    He (C)sits enthroned upon the cherubim; (D)let the earth quake!
The Lord is (E)great in Zion;
    he is (F)exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your (G)great and awesome name!
    (H)Holy is he!
(I)The King in his might (J)loves justice.[a]
    You have established equity;
you have executed justice
    and righteousness in Jacob.
(K)Exalt the Lord our God;
    (L)worship at his (M)footstool!
    (N)Holy is he!

(O)Moses and Aaron were among his (P)priests,
    Samuel also was among those who (Q)called upon his name.
    They (R)called to the Lord, and he answered them.
In (S)the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
    they (T)kept his testimonies
    and the statute that he gave them.

O Lord our God, you answered them;
    you were (U)a forgiving God to them,
    but (V)an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Exalt the Lord our God,
    and worship at his (W)holy mountain;
    for the Lord our God is holy!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for (X)giving thanks.

100 (Y)Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
    (Z)Serve the Lord with gladness!
    (AA)Come into his presence with singing!

Know that (AB)the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who (AC)made us, and (AD)we are his;[b]
    we are his (AE)people, and (AF)the sheep of his pasture.

(AG)Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his (AH)courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; (AI)bless his name!

(AJ)For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his (AK)faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 94-95

The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

94 O Lord, God of (A)vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, (B)shine forth!
(C)Rise up, O (D)judge of the earth;
    repay to the (E)proud what they deserve!
O Lord, (F)how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall (G)the wicked exult?
They pour out their (H)arrogant words;
    all (I)the evildoers boast.
They (J)crush your people, O Lord,
    and afflict your heritage.
They kill (K)the widow and the sojourner,
    and murder (L)the fatherless;
(M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

(N)Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
(O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who (P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who (Q)teaches man knowledge—
11     (R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are (S)but a breath.[a]

12 (T)Blessed is the man whom you (U)discipline, O Lord,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him (V)rest from (W)days of trouble,
    until (X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 (Y)For the Lord will not forsake his (Z)people;
    he will not abandon his (AA)heritage;
15 for (AB)justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will (AC)follow it.

16 (AD)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 (AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of (AF)silence.
18 When I thought, (AG)“My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, (AH)held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can (AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame[b] injustice by (AJ)statute?
21 They (AK)band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn (AL)the innocent to death.[c]
22 But the Lord has become my (AM)stronghold,
    and my God (AN)the rock of my (AO)refuge.
23 He will bring back on them (AP)their iniquity
    and (AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us (AR)make a joyful noise to (AS)the rock of our salvation!
Let us (AT)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us (AU)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is (AV)a great God,
    and a great King (AW)above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for (AX)he made it,
    and his hands formed (AY)the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us (AZ)kneel before the Lord, our (BA)Maker!
For he is our (BB)God,
    and we are the people of his (BC)pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
(BD)Today, if you (BE)hear his voice,
    (BF)do not harden your hearts, as at (BG)Meribah,
    as on the day at (BH)Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the (BI)test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my (BJ)work.
10 (BK)For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known (BL)my ways.”
11 Therefore I (BM)swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter (BN)my rest.”

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which (A)the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, (B)you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and (C)do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath (D)or do any work, but (E)keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet (F)they did not listen or incline their ear, (G)but stiffened their neck, that they (H)might not hear and receive instruction.

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and (I)bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but (J)keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then (K)there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from (L)the cities of Judah (M)and the places around Jerusalem, (N)from the land of Benjamin, (O)from the Shephelah, from the hill country, (P)and from (Q)the Negeb, bringing (R)burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and (S)bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to (T)keep the Sabbath day holy, (U)and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will (V)kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall (W)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (X)shall not be quenched.’”

Romans 7:13-25

13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, (A)sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For (B)I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with (C)the law, that it is good. 17 So now (D)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells (E)in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 (F)For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, (G)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For (H)I delight in the law of God, (I)in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members (J)another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from (K)this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

John 6:16-27

Jesus Walks on Water

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 (A)But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

I Am the Bread of Life

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only (B)one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord (C)had given thanks. 24 (D)So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and (E)went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, (F)“Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (G)you are seeking me, not because you saw (H)signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 (I)Do not work for the food that perishes, but for (J)the food that endures to eternal life, which (K)the Son of Man will give to you. For on (L)him God the Father has (M)set his seal.”

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.