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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
Version
Psalm 5-6

Psalm 5

The Refuge of the Righteous

For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.

Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to you.

In the morning,(D) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you(E) and watch expectantly.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with you.(F)
The boastful cannot stand in your sight;(G)
you hate all evildoers.(H)
You destroy those who tell lies;(I)
the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.(J)

But I enter your house
by the abundance of your faithful love;(K)
I bow down toward your holy temple
in reverential awe of you.(L)
Lord, lead me in your righteousness(M)
because of my adversaries;
make your way straight before me.(N)

For there is nothing reliable in what they say;(O)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(P)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(Q)
Drive them out(R) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.(S)

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;(T)
let them shout for joy forever.
May you shelter them,(U)
and may those who love your name boast about you.(V)
12 For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.(W)

Psalm 6

A Prayer for Mercy

For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(X) A psalm of David.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not discipline me in your wrath.(Y)
Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[a](Z)
heal me,(AA) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(AB)
my whole being is shaken with terror.(AC)
And you, Lord—how long?(AD)

Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.(AE)
For there is no remembrance of you in death;
who can thank you in Sheol?(AF)

I am weary from my groaning;(AG)
with my tears I dampen my bed
and drench my couch every night.(AH)
My eyes are swollen from grief;(AI)
they grow old because of all my enemies.

Depart from me, all evildoers,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.(AJ)
The Lord has heard my plea for help;(AK)
the Lord accepts my prayer.(AL)
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back(AM) and suddenly be disgraced.(AN)

Psalm 10-11

Psalm 10

Need for God’s Justice

Lord,[a][b] why do you stand so far away?(A)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(B)
In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)

For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[d]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”(F)
His ways are always secure;[e]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;[f]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”(H)
Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
He waits in ambush near settlements;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”(M)

12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(N)
Do not forget the oppressed.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.(Q)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(S)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(T)

16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from his land.(V)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.(X)

Psalm 11

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Of David.

I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains[g] like a bird!(Z)
For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” (AB)

The Lord is in his holy temple;(AC)
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch;
his gaze[h] examines everyone.[i]
The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and[j] those who love violence.(AE)
Let him rain burning coals[k] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.(AF)
For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.(AG)

Jonah 1

Jonah’s Flight

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:(A) “Get up!(B) Go to the great city(C) of Nineveh(D) and preach against it(E) because their evil(F) has come up before me.”(G) Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish(H) from the Lord’s presence.(I) He went down(J) to Joppa(K) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.

But the Lord threw(L) a great wind onto the sea,(M) and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.(N) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.(O) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.(P)

The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.[a](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,(R) and we won’t perish.”

“Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.(S) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.(T) Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.(U) What is your business,(V) and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?”

He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.(W) I worship[b] the Lord,(X) the God of the heavens,(Y) who made the sea(Z) and the dry land.”

10 Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence(AA) because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.

12 He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame(AB) for this great storm that is against you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.

14 So they called out to the Lord,(AC) “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”(AD) 15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.(AE) 16 The men were seized by great fear of the Lord,(AF) and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.(AG)

17 The Lord appointed a great fish(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.(AI)

Acts 26:24-27:8

Agrippa Not Quite Persuaded

24 As he was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind,(A) Paul! Too much study is driving you mad.”

25 But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment.(B) 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak boldly to him. For I am convinced that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe.”

28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?” [a]

29 “I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty,[b] not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.”(C)

30 The king, the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them got up, 31 and when they had left they talked with each other and said, “This man is not doing anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”(D)

32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”(E)

Sailing for Rome

27 When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.[c](F) When we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.(G) The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care.(H) When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast[d] of Cyprus because the winds were against us. After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.(I) There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. Sailing slowly for many days, with difficulty we arrived off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone. With still more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.

Luke 8:40-56

A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed

40 When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him,(A) for they were all expecting him.(B) 41 Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue.(C) He fell down at Jesus’s feet and pleaded with him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter(D) about twelve years old, and she was dying.

While he was going, the crowds were nearly crushing him.(E) 43 A woman suffering from bleeding(F) for twelve years,(G) who had spent all she had on doctors[a] and yet could not be healed by any, 44 approached from behind and touched the end of his robe.(H) Instantly her bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter[b] said, “Master,(I) the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”[c]

46 “Someone did touch me,” said Jesus. “I know that power has gone out from me.”(J) 47 When the woman saw that she was discovered, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she declared the reason she had touched him and how she was instantly healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you.[d] Go in peace.”(K)

49 While he was still speaking,(L) someone came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother(M) the teacher(N) anymore.”

50 When Jesus heard it, he answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.”[e] 51 After he came to the house, he let no one enter with him except Peter, John, James,(O) and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was crying(P) and mourning for her.(Q) But he said, “Stop crying, because she is not dead but asleep.”(R)

53 They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead. 54 So he[f] took her by the hand(S) and called out, “Child, get up!”(T) 55 Her spirit returned,(U) and she got up at once. Then he gave orders that she be given something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.(V)

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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