DAILY OFFICE

Psalm 131

¹ O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
    I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.
³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 132

¹ Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
    all the hardships he endured,
² how he swore to the Lord
    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
³ “I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ until I find a place for the Lord,
    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
    we found it in the fields of Jaar.
⁷ “Let us go to his dwelling place;
    let us worship at his footstool!”
⁸ Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
    and let your saints shout for joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David,
    do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
¹¹ The Lord swore to David a sure oath
    from which he will not turn back:
    “One of the sons of your body
    I will set on your throne.
¹² If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
    their sons also forever
    shall sit on your throne.”
¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion;
    he has desired it for his dwelling place:
¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever;
    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her provisions;
    I will satisfy her poor with bread.
¹⁶ Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her saints will shout for joy.
¹⁷ There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.”

Psalm 133

¹ Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
² It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
    on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
    For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

Psalm 134

¹Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
    who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
² Lift up your hands to the holy place
    and bless the Lord!
³ May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 135

¹ Praise the Lord!
    Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,
² who stand in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.
⁵ For I know that the Lord is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
⁷ He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
⁸ He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
⁹ who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
¹⁰ who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
¹¹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and Og, king of Bashan,
    and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
¹² and gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.
¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
    your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
¹⁴ For the Lord will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.
¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
¹⁷ they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.
¹⁹ O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
    O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
²⁰ O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
    You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹ Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
    he who dwells in Jerusalem!
    Praise the Lord!

Job 1:1-22

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. ² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. ⁴ His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. ⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” ⁸ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” ⁹ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? ¹⁰ Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹² And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. ¹³ Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” ²⁰ Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ²² In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Acts 8:26-40

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this
    “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he opens not his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
    For his life is taken away from the earth.”
³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

John 6:16-27

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. ²² On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.