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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 5-6

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    consider my (A)groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my (B)King and my God,
    for (C)to you do I pray.
O Lord, in (D)the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you[a] and (E)watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
The (F)boastful shall not (G)stand before your eyes;
    you (H)hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak (I)lies;
    the Lord abhors (J)the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.
I will (K)bow down (L)toward your (M)holy temple
    in the fear of you.
(N)Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    (O)make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth;
    their inmost self is (P)destruction;
(Q)their throat is (R)an open grave;
    they (S)flatter with their tongue.
10 (T)Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them (U)fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who (V)take refuge in you (W)rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may (X)exult in you.
12 For you (Y)bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you (Z)cover him with favor as with (AA)a shield.

O Lord, Deliver My Life

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to (AB)The Sheminith.[b] A Psalm of David.

O Lord, (AC)rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor (AD)discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    (AE)heal me, O Lord, (AF)for my bones are troubled.
My (AG)soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord(AH)how long?

Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
    save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
For in (AI)death there is no remembrance of you;
    in Sheol who will give you praise?

I am (AJ)weary with my (AK)moaning;
    every night I flood my bed with tears;
    I drench my couch with my weeping.
My (AL)eye wastes away because of grief;
    it grows weak because of all my foes.

(AM)Depart from me, all you (AN)workers of evil,
    for the Lord (AO)has heard the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my (AP)plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
    they shall (AQ)turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Psalm 10-11

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

10 Why, O Lord, do you stand (A)far away?
    Why (B)do you hide yourself in (C)times of trouble?

In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them (D)be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked (E)boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain (F)curses[a] and (G)renounces the Lord.
In the pride of his face[b] the wicked does not (H)seek him;[c]
    all his thoughts are, (I)“There is no God.”
His ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, (J)out of his sight;
    as for all his foes, he (K)puffs at them.
He (L)says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations I (M)shall not meet adversity.”
(N)His mouth is filled with cursing and (O)deceit and (P)oppression;
    (Q)under his tongue are (R)mischief and (S)iniquity.
He sits in ambush in the villages;
    in (T)hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
    he lurks in ambush like (U)a lion in his (V)thicket;
he (W)lurks that he may seize the poor;
    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his (X)net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
    and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has (Y)hidden his face, he (Z)will never see it.”

12 (AA)Arise, O Lord; O God, (AB)lift up your hand;
    (AC)forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked (AD)renounce God
    and say in his heart, “You will not (AE)call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you (AF)note mischief and vexation,
    that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless (AG)commits himself;
    you have been (AH)the helper of the fatherless.
15 (AI)Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
    (AJ)call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16 (AK)The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the (AL)nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you will (AM)strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to (AN)do justice to the fatherless and (AO)the oppressed,
    so that (AP)man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

11 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
    (AQ)“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
for behold, the wicked (AR)bend the bow;
    (AS)they have fitted their arrow to the string
    to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
if (AT)the foundations are destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”[d]

(AU)The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's (AV)throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids (AW)test the children of man.
The Lord (AX)tests the righteous,
    but (AY)his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
Let him rain coals on the wicked;
    (AZ)fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be (BA)the portion of their cup.
For the Lord is righteous;
he (BB)loves righteous deeds;
    (BC)the upright shall behold his face.

Amos 3:1-11

Israel's Guilt and Punishment

(A)Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

(B)“You only have I known
    of all the families of the earth;
(C)therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

“Do two walk together,
    unless they have agreed to meet?
Does a lion roar in the forest,
    when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
    if he has taken nothing?
Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
    when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
    when it has taken nothing?
(D)Is a trumpet blown in a city,
    and the people are not afraid?
(E)Does disaster come to a city,
    unless the Lord has done it?

“For the Lord God does nothing
    (F)without revealing his secret
    to his servants the prophets.
The lion has roared;
    who will not fear?
(G)The Lord God has spoken;
    who can but prophesy?”

Proclaim to the strongholds in (H)Ashdod
    and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on (I)the mountains of Samaria,
    and see the great tumults within her,
    and (J)the oppressed in her midst.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
    (K)“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

(L)“An adversary shall surround the land
    and bring down[a] your defenses from you,
    and (M)your strongholds shall be plundered.”

2 Peter 1:12-21

12 Therefore I intend (A)always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in (B)the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this (C)body,[a] (D)to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 (E)since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, (F)as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

16 For we did not follow (G)cleverly devised (H)myths when we made known to you (I)the power and (J)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but (K)we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, (L)“This is my beloved Son,[b] with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on (M)the holy mountain. 19 And (N)we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention (O)as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until (P)the day (Q)dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For (R)no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God (S)as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 21:12-22

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

12 (A)And Jesus entered the temple[a] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of (B)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold (C)pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, (D)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but (E)you make it a den of robbers.”

14 (F)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 (G)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, (H)“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; (I)have you never read,

(J)“‘Out of the mouth of (K)infants and nursing babies
    you have prepared praise’?”

17 And (L)leaving them, he (M)went out of the city to (N)Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

18 (O)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, (P)he became hungry. 19 (Q)And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, (R)“Truly, I say to you, (S)if you have faith and (T)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, (U)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And (V)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, (W)if you have faith.”

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.