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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 97

Psalm 97[a]

Divine King and Universal Judge

The Lord is King;[b] let the earth exult;
    let the distant isles rejoice.
[c]Clouds and darkness[d] surround him;
    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire[e] precedes him,
    consuming his enemies on every side.
His flashes of lightnwing illumine the world;
    the earth sees this and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
    before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,[f]
    and all the nations behold his glory.
All who worship images are put to shame,
    those who boast of their worthless idols;
    bow down before him, all you gods.[g]
Zion hears and rejoices,
    and the cities[h] of Judah exult
    because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you, O Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.
10 [i]Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
    for he protects the souls of his faithful ones
    and rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 [j]Light dawns for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
    and give thanks to his holy name.

Psalm 99

Psalm 99[a]

God, King of Justice and Holiness

The Lord is King;[b]
    let the nations tremble.
He sits enthroned on the cherubim;
    let the earth quake.
The Lord is great in Zion;
    he is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name:[c]
    holy is he!
Mighty King, you love justice,
    and you have established fairness;
in Jacob[d] you have brought about
    what is just and right.
Exalt the Lord, our God,
    and worship at his footstool;
    holy is he![e]
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    and Samuel was among those who invoked his name;
they cried out to the Lord,
    and he answered them.[f]
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;[g]
    they obeyed his decrees and the law he gave them.
Lord, our God,
    you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
    but you punished their wrongdoings.[h]
Exalt the Lord, our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain,
    for the Lord, our God, is holy.[i]

Psalm 115

Psalm 115[a]

Hymn to the Lord, the One God

[b]Not to us,[c]Lord, not to us,
    but to your name give glory
    because of your kindness and faithfulness.
Why should the nations ask,
    “Where is their God?”[d]
Our God is in heaven;
    he does whatever he pleases.[e]
Their idols are merely silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.[f]
They have mouths but they cannot speak;
    they have eyes but they cannot see.
They have ears but they cannot hear;
    they have noses but they cannot smell.
They have hands but they cannot feel;
    they have feet but they cannot walk;
    their throats can emit no sound.
Those who make them end up like them,
    as do all who place their trust in them.
[g]The house of Israel trusts in the Lord;
    he is their help and their shield.
10 The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord;
    he is their help and their shield.
11 Those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord;
    he is their help and their shield.
12 [h]The Lord will be mindful of us and bless us;
    he will bless the house of Israel;
    he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,
    the small no less than the great.[i]
14 [j]May the Lord cause you to increase,
    both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 [k]The heavens belong to the Lord,
    but he has given the earth to humanity.
17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
    those who sink into silence.[l]
18 It is we who bless the Lord
    from this time forward and forevermore.[m]
Alleluia.

Exodus 12:40-51

40 The children of Israel had lived in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years. 41 At the end of four hundred and thirty years, exactly to the day, all the hosts of the Lord went up out of Egypt. 42 This was a night of vigil unto the Lord, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Hence, it must be a night of vigil in honor of the Lord for all the children of Israel, from one generation to the next.

43 Ordinances for the Passover.[a] The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the ordinances for the Passover:

“No foreigner may eat it. 44 As for each slave bought with money, you shall circumcise him so that he may eat it. 45 The foreigner and the hired laborer cannot eat it.

46 “It must be eaten in one house. One may not carry the meat outside of the house, and none of its bones is to be broken.[b] 47 All the community of Israel shall celebrate it.

48 “If a foreigner dwells among you and wishes to celebrate the Passover of the Lord, let each man in his household be circumcised. Then let him draw near to celebrate and he will be like a native of the land. But no one who is uncircumcised can eat it. 49 The same law will be binding on the native and the foreigner who is living in your midst.”

50 All the children of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 On that very day the Lord brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, organized according to their hosts.

1 Corinthians 15:29-41

29 Practical Faith. Otherwise, what will people accomplish when they have themselves baptized for the dead?[a] If the dead are not raised at all, why should anyone be baptized for them? 30 And why should we be placing ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I face death every day—that is as sure as the pride that I have in you, brethren, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

32 With only human hopes, what would I have gained by fighting those wild beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”

33 Do not let anyone lead you astray. “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Come to your senses and sin no more. For some of you have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

The Mode of the Resurrection

35 The Resurrected Body. Someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What sort of body will they have when they come back?” 36 This is foolish. What you sow must die before it is given new life, 37 and what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare grain of wheat or of something else. 38 God gives to it a body that he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own particular body.

39 Not all flesh is alike. There is one kind for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The splendor of heavenly bodies is of one kind, and that of earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has a splendor of its own, the moon another splendor, and the stars still another. Indeed, the stars differ among themselves in splendor.

Matthew 28:1-16

Chapter 28

Jesus Is Raised from the Dead.[a] After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the sepulcher. And behold, there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descended from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat upon it. His face shone like lightning, and his garments were as white as snow. The guards were so paralyzed with fear of him that they became like dead men.

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he promised he would be. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has been raised from the dead and now he is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”

They were filled with fear and great joy, and they ran from the tomb to inform his disciples. And behold, Jesus came to meet them, saying, “Greetings.” They approached him, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be fearful. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee. There they will see me.”[b]

11 The Report of the Guard.[c] While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the chief priests had conferred with the elders, they presented a large sum of money to the soldiers 13 and gave them this order: “Say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole the body while we were asleep.’ 14 And should the governor hear anything in this regard, we will explain the situation to him and you will be safe.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did as they had been instructed. And this story is still circulated among the Jews to this very day.

16 Jesus Gives the Great Commission.[d] Then the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to meet him.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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