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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 66-67

Praise to God for His Awesome Works

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.

66 Make (A)a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
Say to God,
“How (B)awesome are Your works!
(C)Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
(D)All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah

Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
(E)He turned the sea into dry land;
(F)They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to [a]be moved.
10 For (G)You, O God, have tested us;
(H)You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 (I)You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 (J)You have caused men to ride over our heads;
(K)We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to [b]rich fulfillment.

13 (L)I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
(M)I will pay You my [c]vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was [d]extolled with my tongue.
18 (N)If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God (O)has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!

An Invocation and a Doxology

To the Chief Musician. On [e]stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And (P)cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
That (Q)Your way may be known on earth,
(R)Your salvation among all nations.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For (S)You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah

Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
(T)Then the earth shall [f]yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Psalm 19

The Perfect Revelation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The (A)heavens declare the glory of God;
And the (B)firmament[a] shows [b]His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
(C)Their [c]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a [d]tabernacle for the sun,
Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
(D)And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

(E)The law of the Lord is perfect, [e]converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making (F)wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than (G)gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the [f]honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can understand his errors?
(H)Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from (I)presumptuous sins;
Let them not have (J)dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of [g]great transgression.

14 (K)Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my [h]strength and my (L)Redeemer.

Psalm 46

God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song (A)for Alamoth.

46 God is our (B)refuge and strength,
(C)A[a] very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the [b]midst of the sea;
(D)Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

There is a (E)river whose streams shall make glad the (F)city of God,
The holy place of the [c]tabernacle of the Most High.
God is (G)in the midst of her, she shall not be [d]moved;
God shall help her, just [e]at the break of dawn.
(H)The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The (I)Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
(J)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
(K)He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
(L)He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;
(M)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Judges 11:1-11

Jephthah

11 Now (A)Jephthah the Gileadite was (B)a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have (C)no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of (D)Tob; and (E)worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

It came to pass after a time that the (F)people of Ammon made war against Israel. And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, (G)“Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in [a]distress?”

(H)And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have (I)turned[b] again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be (J)our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”

10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, (K)“The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him (L)head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words (M)before the Lord in Mizpah.

Judges 11:29-40

Jephthah’s Vow and Victory

29 Then (A)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah (B)made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, (C)shall surely be the Lord’s, (D)and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. 33 And he [a]defeated them from Aroer as far as (E)Minnith—twenty cities—and to [b]Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

Jephthah’s Daughter

34 When Jephthah came to his house at (F)Mizpah, there was (G)his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he (H)tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I (I)have [c]given my word to the Lord, and (J)I cannot [d]go back on it.”

36 So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, (K)do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because (L)the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and [e]bewail my virginity, my [f]friends and I.”

38 So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he (M)carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She [g]knew no man.

And it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to [h]lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

2 Corinthians 11:21-31

21 To our shame (A)I say that we were too weak for that! But (B)in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also.

Suffering for Christ

22 Are they (C)Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: (D)in labors more abundant, (E)in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, (F)in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received (G)forty (H)stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was (I)beaten with rods; (J)once I was stoned; three times I (K)was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, (L)in perils of my own countrymen, (M)in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, (N)in sleeplessness often, (O)in hunger and thirst, in (P)fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: (Q)my deep concern for all the churches. 29 (R)Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

30 If I must boast, (S)I will boast in the things which concern my [a]infirmity. 31 (T)The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (U)who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

Mark 4:35-41

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus(A)

35 (B)On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, (C)“Teacher, (D)do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 Then He arose and (E)rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, (F)“Peace,[a] be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? (G)How[b] is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

New King James Version (NKJV)

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