Daily Offices

Thursday February 12 - Morning
Thursday February 12 - Evening

ANZPB Online
2025-2026 Lectionary Year A [PDF]
New Zealand Prayer Book Daily Prayer - Bosco Peters

Thursday February 12 - Morning

Recommended liturgies
pp80-82 or pp123-125

The readings are those set for Morning Prayer for February 12.

Psalm 37
Genesis 32:3-30
Titus 2
Collect

Psalm 37

¹ Do not fret because of those who are evil
 or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
 like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
 dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
 and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
 trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
 your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
 and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
 when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
 do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
 but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
 though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
 and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
 and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
 for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
 and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
 to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
 and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
 than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
 but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
 and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
 in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
²⁰ But the wicked will perish:
 Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
 they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
 but the righteous give generously;
²² those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
 but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
 of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
 for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
 yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
 or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
 their children will be a blessing.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
 then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
 and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
 the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
 and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
 and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
 their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
 intent on putting them to death;
³³ but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
 or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Hope in the Lord
 and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
 when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man  flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, ³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;  though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
 a future awaits those who seek peace.
³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed;
 there will be no future for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
 he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
 he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
 because they take refuge in him.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Genesis 32:3-30

³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷ In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ ¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. ¹² But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

¹³ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”

¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” ²¹ So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Titus 2

¹ You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. ² Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶ Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

⁹ Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, ¹⁰ and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Collect

O God, the author of peace
and lover of concord,
whom to know is eternal life,
whose service is perfect freedom:
defend us your servants
from all assaults of our enemies,
that we, surely trusting in your defence,
may not fear the power of any adversaries;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen.

Daily Office SSF, p160

Thursday February 8 - Evening

Recommended liturgies
pp82-84 or pp126-128

The readings are those set for Evening Prayer for February 8.

Psalm 40
2 Chronicles 13:1-14:1
John 20:1-10
Collect

Psalm 40

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord;
 he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
 out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
 and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
 a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
 and put their trust in him.

⁴ Blessed is the one
 who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
 to those who turn aside to false gods.
⁵ Many, Lord my God,
 are the wonders you have done,
 the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
 were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
 they would be too many to declare.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
 but my ears you have opened —
 burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
 it is written about me in the scroll.
⁸ I desire to do your will, my God;
 your law is within my heart.”

⁹ I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
 I do not seal my lips, Lord,
 as you know.
¹⁰ I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
 I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
 from the great assembly.

¹¹ Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
 may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
¹² For troubles without number surround me;
 my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
 and my heart fails within me.
¹³ Be pleased to save me, Lord;
 come quickly, Lord, to help me.

¹⁴ May all who want to take my life
 be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
 be turned back in disgrace.
¹⁵ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
 be appalled at their own shame.
¹⁶ But may all who seek you
 rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
 “The Lord is great!”

¹⁷ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.

2 Chronicles 13:1-14:1

¹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah, ² and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah, a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.

⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! ⁵ Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. ⁷ Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them.

⁸ “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. ⁹ But didn’t you drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.

¹⁰ “As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. ¹¹ Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. ¹² God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”

¹³ Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets ¹⁵ and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷ Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. ¹⁸ The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

²² The other events of Abijah’s reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo.

^{[14] 1} And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

John 20:1-10

¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Collect

O God
the source of all good desires,
all right judgements and all just works:
give to your servants that peace the world cannot give;
that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments
and that, freed from the fear of our enemies,
we may pass our time in rest and quietness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen.

Daily Office SSF, p175