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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.

Leviticus 8:1-13

Consecration of the Priesthood[a]

Chapter 8[b]

Priestly Consecration. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Bring Aaron and his sons together with their garments,[c] the oil of anointing, a young bull for a sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread and gather the whole assembly together at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” Moses did as the Lord had commanded and the community was gathered together at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Moses said to the community, “This is what the Lord has commanded.”

Moses had Aaron and his sons draw near and he washed them with water. Then he put his coat on him and bound him with his sash. He put the ephod on him and bound him in the skillfully woven band of the ephod, wrapping it around him. He put his breastplate on him, and in the breastplate he placed the Urim and the Thummim. Then he placed the turban on his head, and on the front of the turban he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

10 Then Moses then took the oil of anointing, and he anointed and consecrated the tabernacle and everything that was in it. 11 He sprinkled some of it upon the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all of its accessories, as well as the basin and its base, to consecrate them. 12 He poured the oil of anointing on the head of Aaron and anointed Aaron, consecrating him. 13 Then Moses had the sons of Aaron draw near and he clothed them in their tunics. He bound them with their sashes and put their caps on their heads, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Leviticus 8:30-36

30 Moses took the oil of anointing and some of the blood that was on the altar and he sprinkled them upon Aaron and his clothes, and upon his sons and their clothes. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his clothes and his sons and their clothes. 31 Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Cook the meat at the entrance to the meeting tent and eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded saying, ‘Aaron and his sons will eat it.’ 32 Whatever is left over from the meat and the bread is to be burned in a fire. 33 [a]You are not to go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are complete, for it will take seven days to consecrate you. 34 What was done today was what the Lord commanded so that an atonement might be made for you. 35 You shall remain for seven days at the entrance to the tent of meeting, day and night, observing the commandment of the Lord, lest you die, for thus I was commanded.” 36 Aaron and his sons did what the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Hebrews 12:1-14

Let Us Run with Eyes Fixed on Jesus[a]

Chapter 12

You Have Not Yet Resisted to the Point of Bloodshed. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,[b] let us throw off everything that weighs us down and the sins that so easily distract us and with perseverance run the race that lies ahead of us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, ignoring its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Reflect on how he endured such great hostility from sinners so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

God Is Treating You as His Children.[c] You have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children:

“My son, do not scorn the discipline of the Lord
    or lose heart when you are punished by him.
For the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
    and he chastises every son whom he acknowledges.”

Endure the trials you receive as a form of discipline. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there who is not disciplined by his father? If you have not received the discipline in which all share, then you are illegitimate and not true sons.

In addition, we have all received discipline from our earthly fathers, and we respected them. Should we not then be even more willing to submit to the Father of spirits and live? 10 They disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but he does so for our benefit so that we may share his holiness.

11 At the time that discipline is received, it always seems painful rather than pleasant, but afterward it yields a harvest of peace and uprightness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that your weakened limbs may not be disabled but rather may be healed.

14 Seek Peace and Sanctification.[d] Seek peace with everyone, as well as the holiness without which no one will ever see the Lord.

Luke 4:16-30

16 Jesus at Nazareth.[a]When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the passage where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to bring the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to let the oppressed go free,
19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed intently on him.

21 Then he began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All present spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that flowed from his lips. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”

23 He said to them, “Undoubtedly you will quote to me the proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself,’ and say: ‘Do here in your hometown[b] the deeds we have heard that you performed in Capernaum.’ 24 Amen, I say to you,” he went on, “no prophet is accepted in his own country.

25 [c]“I tell you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the skies remained closed for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet it was to none of them that Elijah was sent, but to a widow at Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 There were also many people with leprosy in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but not one of these was cleansed except for Naaman the Syrian.”

28 When they heard these words, all the people in the synagogue were roused to fury.[d] 29 They leapt up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the top of the hill upon which their town was built, intending to hurl him off the cliff. 30 However, he passed through the midst of the crowd and went on his way.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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