Daily Lectionary

August 4, 2025

August 3, 2025 August 5, 2025

These daily readings from the EHV follow the one-year daily lectionary provided in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, and the Treasury of Daily Prayer. In this lectionary, two readings of 15-25 verses each are provided for each day. Under this plan, nearly all of the New Testament and approximately one-third of the Old Testament are read each year. These readings fit well within the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, or Compline as daily family devotions.

1 Samuel 18:10-30

¹⁰On the next day, an evil spirit from God overcame Saul, and in a frenzy he prophesied inside the house. David had a lyre in his hand. He was playing as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹He hurled the spear, because he thought, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped from his presence twice.

¹²Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but he had departed from Saul. ¹³So Saul sent David away from his court and made him a commander over a unit of a thousand. So David led the army out to battle and back again. ¹⁴David was successful in everything he did, and the Lord was with him. ¹⁵When Saul saw that David was so successful, he was even more afraid of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them out to battle and back again.

¹⁷Saul said to David, “Look, here is my oldest daughter Merab. I will give her to you as your wife. Just be a strong warrior for me, and fight the Lord's battles.” For Saul thought, “It won't be my hand against him, but it will be the hand of the Philistines against him.”

¹⁸David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is the status of my father's clan in Israel, that I would be able to become the son-in-law of the king?”

¹⁹When the time came that Saul's daughter Merab was supposed have been given to David, she was given to Adriel of Meholah as his wife.

²⁰Michal, Saul's other daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about it, this situation pleased him. ²¹Saul said, “I will give her to him, so that she will be a snare for him, and the hand of the Philistines will be against him.”

So Saul said to David, “Today you have another opportunity to become my son-in-law.”

²²Saul commanded his officials to speak with David privately and say, “Look, the king is delighted with you, and all his officials love you, so you should become the king's son-in-law.” ²³Saul's officials spoke those words to David's ears.

But David said, “Does it seem to you to be a trivial thing for me to be the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and not highly regarded?”

²⁴Then Saul's officials told him what David had said.

²⁵So Saul said, “Tell David that the king desires no price for the bride except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, for revenge against the king's enemies.” Saul intended to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶When Saul's officials told David these words, David was very pleased to become the king's son-in-law. Before the deadline, ²⁷David got up and went out with his men and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins and counted them out for the king, so that he could become the king's son-in-law.

Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife. ²⁸Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that Michal, his daughter, loved David. ²⁹So Saul was even more afraid of David, and he was hostile to David all the time.

³⁰The commanders of the Philistines were regularly going out for battle, and as often as they went out, David was more successful than all the other officers of Saul. So his name was highly regarded.

Acts 27:27-44

The Shipwreck

²⁷When the fourteenth night came, while we were being driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea,^[] about midnight the sailors suspected that they were approaching some land. ²⁸They took soundings and found it to be one hundred twenty feet deep.^[] After sailing a little farther, they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.^[] ²⁹Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

³⁰The sailors tried to escape from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending they were going to put out anchors from the bow. ³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³²Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it fall away.

³³Just before daybreak, Paul urged them all to eat some food. He said, “This is the fourteenth day you have waited in suspense and have gone without food. You have eaten nothing. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take some food because this is important for your rescue. In fact, not a hair from any of your heads will be lost.” ³⁵After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶They were all encouraged and took some food themselves. ³⁷In all there were 276 of us on the ship. ³⁸When they had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

³⁹At daybreak, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they planned to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰They cut off the anchors, leaving them in the sea, and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then, after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed for the beach. ⁴¹But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, while the stern began to break up from the pounding of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one would swim away and escape. ⁴³But the centurion wanted to save Paul and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make their way to land. ⁴⁴The rest were to follow, some on planks, and some on other pieces from the ship. In this way, all of them were brought safely onto land.