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
New King James Version (NKJV)
Version
Psalm 18

God the Sovereign Savior(A)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David (B)the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of (C)this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

18 I (D)will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, (E)in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, (F)who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

(G)The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

(H)Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
(I)He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
10 (J)And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
(K)He flew upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His secret place;
(L)His canopy around Him was dark waters
And thick clouds of the skies.
12 (M)From the brightness before Him,
His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered (N)His voice,
[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 (O)He sent out His arrows and scattered [e]the foe,
Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Lord,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 (P)He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19 (Q)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

20 (R)The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless [f]before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 (S)Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25 (T)With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And (U)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down (V)haughty looks.

28 (W)For You will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can [g]run against a troop,
By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, (X)His way is perfect;
(Y)The word of the Lord is [h]proven;
He is a shield (Z)to all who trust in Him.

31 (AA)For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who (AB)arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
33 (AC)He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
And (AD)sets me on my high places.
34 (AE)He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You enlarged my path under me,
(AF)So my feet did not slip.

37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
38 I have wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have [i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out, but there was none to save;
(AG)Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;
I (AH)cast them out like dirt in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;
(AI)You have made me the head of the [j]nations;
(AJ)A people I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners [k]submit to me.
45 (AK)The foreigners fade away,
And come frightened from their hideouts.

46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me,
(AL)And subdues the peoples under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
(AM)You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 (AN)Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the [l]Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

50 (AO)Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his [m]descendants forevermore.

Job 8:1-10

Bildad: Job Should Repent

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

“How long will you speak these things,
And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
(A)Does God subvert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
If (B)your sons have sinned against Him,
He has cast them away [a]for their transgression.
(C)If you would earnestly seek God
And make your supplication to the Almighty,
If you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would [b]awake for you,
And prosper your rightful dwelling place.
Though your beginning was small,
Yet your latter end would (D)increase abundantly.

“For(E) inquire, please, of the former age,
And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
For (F)we were born yesterday, and know [c]nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their heart?

Job 8:20-22

20 Behold, (A)God will not [a]cast away the blameless,
Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,
And your lips with [b]rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be (B)clothed with shame,
And the dwelling place of the wicked [c]will come to nothing.”

Acts 10:17-33

Summoned to Caesarea

17 Now while Peter [a]wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate. 18 And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.

19 While Peter thought about the vision, (A)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. 20 (B)Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”

21 Then Peter went down to the men [b]who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”

22 And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and (C)has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” 23 Then he invited them in and lodged them.

On the next day Peter went away with them, (D)and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

Peter Meets Cornelius

24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, (E)“Stand up; I myself am also a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how (F)unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But (G)God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

30 So Cornelius said, [c]“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, (H)a man stood before me (I)in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, (J)your prayer has been heard, and (K)your [d]alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. [e]When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”

John 7:14-36

14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and (A)taught. 15 (B)And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”

16 [a]Jesus answered them and said, (C)“My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 (D)If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 (E)He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who (F)seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and (G)no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 (H)Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? (I)Why do you seek to kill Me?”

20 The people answered and said, (J)“You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”

21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 (K)Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, (L)but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because (M)I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 (N)Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Could This Be the Christ?

25 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to (O)kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. (P)Do the rulers know indeed that this is [b]truly the Christ? 27 (Q)However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”

28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, (R)“You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and (S)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me (T)is true, (U)whom you do not know. 29 [c]But (V)I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”

30 Therefore (W)they sought to take Him; but (X)no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 And (Y)many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

Jesus and the Religious Leaders

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said [d]to them, (Z)“I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I (AA)go to Him who sent Me. 34 You (AB)will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you (AC)cannot come.”

35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to (AD)the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”

New King James Version (NKJV)

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