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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 King James Version (NKJV)
Version
Psalm 24

The King of Glory and His Kingdom

A Psalm of David.

24 The (A)earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has (B)founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the [a]waters.

(C)Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has (D)clean hands and (E)a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor (F)sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who (G)seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah

(H)Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
(I)And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in (J)battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah

Psalm 29

Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty

A Psalm of David.

29 Give[a] (A)unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
[b]Give unto the Lord the glory [c]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in (B)the [d]beauty of holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
(C)The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks (D)the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
(E)He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and (F)Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord [e]divides the flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of (G)Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the (H)deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

10 The (I)Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,
And (J)the Lord sits as King forever.
11 (K)The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 8

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. [a]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,
How (A)excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have (B)set Your glory above the heavens!

(C)Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have [b]ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence (D)the enemy and the avenger.

When I (E)consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
(F)What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You (G)visit[c] him?
For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

(H)You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
(I)You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

(J)O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Psalm 84

The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician. (A)On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

84 How (B)lovely [b]is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
(C)My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your (D)house;
They will still be praising You. Selah

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley (E)of [c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with [d]pools.
They go (F)from strength to strength;
[e]Each one (G)appears before God in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
(H)O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your [f]anointed.

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather [g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (I)a sun and (J)shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
(K)No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

12 O Lord of hosts,
(L)Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

1 Kings 19:8-21

So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and (A)forty nights as far as (B)Horeb, the mountain of God.

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 So he said, (C)“I have been very (D)zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and (E)killed Your prophets with the sword. (F)I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

God’s Revelation to Elijah

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand (G)on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord (H)passed by, and (I)a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a]a still small voice.

13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that (J)he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. (K)Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 (L)And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; (M)and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint (N)Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And (O)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 (P)It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will (Q)kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, (R)Elisha will kill. 18 (S)Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, (T)and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Elisha Follows Elijah

19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his (U)mantle on him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, (V)“Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”

And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”

21 So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and (W)boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Acts 5:34-42

34 Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named (A)Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them: “Men of Israel, [a]take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, [b]joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. 38 And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; 39 (B)but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found (C)to fight against God.”

40 And they agreed with him, and when they had (D)called for the apostles (E)and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, (F)rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for [c]His name. 42 And daily (G)in the temple, and in every house, (H)they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

John 11:45-47

The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, (B)and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and (C)told them the things Jesus did. 47 (D)Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, (E)“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.