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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 International Version (NIV)
Version
Psalm 120-127

Psalm 120

A song of ascents.

I call on the Lord(A) in my distress,(B)
    and he answers me.
Save me, Lord,
    from lying lips(C)
    and from deceitful tongues.(D)

What will he do to you,
    and what more besides,
    you deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,(E)
    with burning coals of the broom bush.

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
    that I live among the tents of Kedar!(F)
Too long have I lived
    among those who hate peace.
I am for peace;
    but when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(G) and earth.(H)

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches(I) over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over(J) you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun(K) will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm(L)
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.(M)

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love(N) you be secure.
May there be peace(O) within your walls
    and security within your citadels.(P)
For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.(Q)

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(R) in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(S) our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.
We have endured no end
    of ridicule from the arrogant,
    of contempt from the proud.

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(T)
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood(U) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(V) would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(W)
the snare has been broken,(X)
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name(Y) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(AA)
    which cannot be shaken(AB) but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(AC)
    so the Lord surrounds(AD) his people
    both now and forevermore.

The scepter(AE) of the wicked will not remain(AF)
    over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
    their hands to do evil.(AG)

Lord, do good(AH) to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.(AI)
But those who turn(AJ) to crooked ways(AK)
    the Lord will banish(AL) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.(AM)

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

When the Lord restored(AN) the fortunes of[a] Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.[b]
Our mouths were filled with laughter,(AO)
    our tongues with songs of joy.(AP)
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things(AQ) for them.”
The Lord has done great things(AR) for us,
    and we are filled with joy.(AS)

Restore our fortunes,[c](AT) Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.(AU)
Those who sow with tears(AV)
    will reap(AW) with songs of joy.(AX)
Those who go out weeping,(AY)
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds(AZ) the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches(BA) over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food(BB) to eat—
    for he grants sleep(BC) to[d] those he loves.(BD)

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward(BE) from him.
Like arrows(BF) in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.(BG)
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents(BH) in court.(BI)

2 Samuel 18:9-18

Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair(A) got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.

10 When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike(B) him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels[a] of silver and a warrior’s belt.(C)

12 But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels[b] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.[c] 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy[d]—and nothing is hidden from the king(D)—you would have kept your distance from me.”

14 Joab(E) said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.(F)

16 Then Joab(G) sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up(H) a large heap of rocks(I) over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.

18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley(J) as a monument(K) to himself, for he thought, “I have no son(L) to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

Acts 23:12-24

The Plot to Kill Paul

12 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy(A) and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.(B) 13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.(C) 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin(D) petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks(E) and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner,(F) sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

20 He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin(G) tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.(H) 21 Don’t give in to them, because more than forty(I) of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him.(J) They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

22 The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Paul Transferred to Caesarea

23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen[a] to go to Caesarea(K) at nine tonight.(L) 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”(M)

Mark 11:27-12:12

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(B)

33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants(C)

12 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard.(D) He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all,(E) saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;(F)
11 the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”(G)

12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;(H) so they left him and went away.(I)

New International Version (NIV)

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