Print Page Options
Previous Prev Day Next DayNext

Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
American Standard Version (ASV)
Version
Psalm 72

The reign of the righteous king.

A Psalm of Solomon.

72 Give the king thy judgments, O God,
And thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
[a]He will judge thy people with righteousness,
And thy poor with justice.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
He will judge the poor of the people,
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.
They shall fear thee while the sun endureth,
And [b]so long as the moon, throughout all generations.
He will come down like rain upon the mown grass,
As showers that water the earth.
In his days shall the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River unto the ends of the earth.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;
And his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute:
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him;
All nations shall serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy when he crieth,
And the poor, [c]that hath no helper.
13 He will have pity on the [d]poor and needy,
And the souls of the needy he will save.
14 He will redeem their soul from [e]oppression and violence;
And precious will their blood be in his sight:
15 And [f]they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
And men shall pray for him continually;
They shall bless him all the day long.
16 There shall be [g]abundance of grain in the [h]earth upon the top of the mountains;
The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever;
His name shall [i]be continued [j]as long as the sun:
And men shall [k]be blessed in him;
All nations shall call him happy.

18 Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel,
Who only doeth wondrous things:
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever;
And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Psalm 119:73-96

י Yodh.

73 Thy hands have made me and [a]fashioned me:
Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
74 They that fear thee shall see me and be glad,
Because I have hoped in thy word.
75 I know, O Jehovah, that thy judgments are righteous,
And that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me.
76 Let, I pray thee, thy lovingkindness be for my comfort,
According to thy word unto thy servant.
77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live;
For thy law is my delight.
78 Let the proud be put to shame;
for they have overthrown me [b]wrongfully:
But I will meditate on thy precepts.
79 Let those that fear thee turn unto me;
[c]And they shall know thy testimonies.
80 Let my heart be perfect in thy statutes,
That I be not put to shame.

כ Kaph.

81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation;
But I hope in thy word.
82 Mine eyes fail for thy word,
While I say, When wilt thou comfort me?
83 For I am become like a wine-skin in the smoke;
Yet do I not forget thy statutes.
84 How many are the days of thy servant?
When wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85 The proud have digged pits for me,
Who are not according to thy law.
86 All thy commandments are faithful:
They persecute me [d]wrongfully; help thou me.
87 They had almost consumed me upon earth;
But I forsook not thy precepts.
88 Quicken me after thy lovingkindness;
So shall I observe the testimony of thy mouth.

ל Lamedh.

89 For ever, O Jehovah,
Thy word is settled in heaven.
90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations:
Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
91 [e]They abide this day according to thine ordinances;
For all things are thy servants.
92 Unless thy law had been my delight,
I should then have perished in mine affliction.
93 I will never forget thy precepts;
For with them thou hast quickened me.
94 I am thine, save me;
For I have sought thy precepts.
95 The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me;
But I will consider thy testimonies.
96 I have seen an end of all perfection;
But thy commandment is exceeding broad.

Judges 3:12-30

12 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. 13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm-trees. 14 And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15 But when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed. And the children of Israel sent tribute by him unto Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh. 17 And he offered the tribute unto Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when he had made an end of offering the tribute, he sent away the people that bare the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the [a]quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. 20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. 21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body: 22 and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword out of his body; and [b]it came out behind. 23 Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room upon him, and locked them.

24 Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the doors of the upper room were locked; and they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the upper chamber. 25 And they tarried till they were ashamed; and, behold, he opened not the doors of the upper room: therefore they took the key, and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the [c]quarries, and escaped unto Seirah. 27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he before them. 28 And he said unto them, Follow after me; for Jehovah hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan [d]against the Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over. 29 And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

Acts 1:1-14

The [a]former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: to whom he also [b]showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God: and, [c]being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me: for John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized [d]in the Holy Spirit not many days hence.

They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath [e]set within his own authority. But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey off. 13 And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and [f]James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, [g]James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the [h]son of [i]James. 14 These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, [j]with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Matthew 27:45-54

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the [a]land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, [b]Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, [c]why hast thou forsaken me? 47 And some of them that stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah. 48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. 49 And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save him.[d] 50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the [e]temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent; 52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many. 54 Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was [f]the Son of God.