Daily Lectionary Readings for October 31, 2025

Daily Lectionary Readings (Two-Year Cycle)

Daily Lectionary Readings for October 31, 2025 By Daily Lectionary Readings, Friday, October 31, 2025 12:00 AM Morning Psalm 84 1   How lovely is your dwelling place,           O LORD of hosts! 2   My soul longs, indeed it faints           for the courts of the LORD;      my heart and my flesh sing for joy           to the living God. 3   Even the sparrow finds a home,           and the swallow a nest for herself,           where she may lay her young,      at your altars, O LORD of hosts,           my King and my God. 4   Happy are those who live in your house,           ever singing your praise. Selah 5   Happy are those whose strength is in you,           in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6   As they go through the valley of Baca           they make it a place of springs;           the early rain also covers it with pools. 7   They go from strength to strength;           the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 8   O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;           give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9   Behold our shield, O God;           look on the face of your anointed. 10  For a day in your courts is better           than a thousand elsewhere.      I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God           than live in the tents of wickedness. 11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield;           he bestows favor and honor.      No good thing does the LORD withhold           from those who walk uprightly. 12  O LORD of hosts,           happy is everyone who trusts in you. Morning Psalm 148 1   Praise the Lord!      Praise the Lord from the heavens;           praise him in the heights! 2   Praise him, all his angels;           praise him, all his host! 3   Praise him, sun and moon;           praise him, all you shining stars! 4   Praise him, you highest heavens,           and you waters above the heavens! 5   Let them praise the name of the Lord,           for he commanded and they were created. 6   He established them forever and ever;           he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. 7   Praise the Lord from the earth,           you sea monsters and all deeps, 8   fire and hail, snow and frost,           stormy wind fulfilling his command! 9   Mountains and all hills,           fruit trees and all cedars! 10  Wild animals and all cattle,           creeping things and flying birds! 11  Kings of the earth and all peoples,           princes and all rulers of the earth! 12  Young men and women alike,           old and young together! 13  Let them praise the name of the Lord,           for his name alone is exalted;           his glory is above earth and heaven. 14  He has raised up a horn for his people,           praise for all his faithful,           for the people of Israel who are close to him.      Praise the Lord! First Reading Nehemiah 2:1-20 1In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence before. 2So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors’ graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, so that I may rebuild it.” 6The king said to me (the queen also was sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a date. 7Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may grant me passage until I arrive in Judah; 8and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the gracious hand of my God was upon me. 9Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent officers of the army and cavalry with me. 10When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. 11So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12Then I got up during the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the animal I rode. 13I went out by night by the Valley Gate past the Dragon’s Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool; but there was no place for the animal I was riding to continue. 15So I went up by way of the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work. 17Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.” 18I told them that the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us start building!” So they committed themselves to the common good. 19But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building; but you have no share or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.” Or alternate First Reading Lamentations 4:1-22 1   How the gold has grown dim,           how the pure gold is changed!      The sacred stones lie scattered           at the head of every street. 2   The precious children of Zion,           worth their weight in fine gold —      how they are reckoned as earthen pots,           the work of a potter’s hands! 3   Even the jackals offer the breast           and nurse their young,      but my people has become cruel,           like the ostriches in the wilderness. 4   The tongue of the infant sticks           to the roof of its mouth for thirst;      the children beg for food,           but no one gives them anything. 5   Those who feasted on delicacies           perish in the streets;      those who were brought up in purple           cling to ash heaps. 6   For the chastisement of my people has been greater           than the punishment of Sodom,      which was overthrown in a moment,           though no hand was laid on it. 7   Her princes were purer than snow,           whiter than milk;      their bodies were more ruddy than coral,      their hair like sapphire. 8   Now their visage is blacker than soot;           they are not recognized in the streets.      Their skin has shriveled on their bones;           it has become as dry as wood. 9   Happier were those pierced by the sword           than those pierced by hunger,      whose life drains away, deprived           of the produce of the field. 10  The hands of compassionate women           have boiled their own children;      they became their food      in the destruction of my people. 11  The LORD gave full vent to his wrath;           he poured out his hot anger,      and kindled a fire in Zion           that consumed its foundations. 12  The kings of the earth did not believe,           nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,      that foe or enemy could enter           the gates of Jerusalem. 13  It was for the sins of her prophets           and the iniquities of her priests,      who shed the blood of the righteous           in the midst of her. 14  Blindly they wandered through the streets,           so defiled with blood      that no one was able           to touch their garments. 15  “Away! Unclean!” people shouted at them;           “Away! Away! Do not touch!”      So they became fugitives and wanderers;           it was said among the nations,           “They shall stay here no longer.” 16  The LORD himself has scattered them,           he will regard them no more;      no honor was shown to the priests,           no favor to the elders. 17  Our eyes failed, ever watching           vainly for help;      we were watching eagerly           for a nation that could not save. 18  They dogged our steps           so that we could not walk in our streets;      our end drew near; our days were numbered;           for our end had come. 19  Our pursuers were swifter           than the eagles in the heavens;      they chased us on the mountains,           they lay in wait for us in the wilderness. 20  The Lord’s anointed, the breath of our life,           was taken in their pits —      the one of whom we said, “Under his shadow           we shall live among the nations.“ 21  Rejoice and be glad, O daughter Edom,           you that live in the land of Uz;           but to you also the cup shall pass;           you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare. 22  The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter Zion, is accomplished,           he will keep you in exile no longer;      but your iniquity, O daughter Edom, he will punish,           he will uncover your sins. Second Reading Revelation 6:12-7:4 6:12When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” 7:1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, 3saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” 4And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel. Gospel Reading Matthew 13:24-30 24He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” Evening Psalm 25 1   To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2   O my God, in you I trust;           do not let me be put to shame;           do not let my enemies exult over me. 3   Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;           let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4   Make me to know your ways, O LORD;           teach me your paths. 5   Lead me in your truth, and teach me,           for you are the God of my salvation;           for you I wait all day long. 6   Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,           for they have been from of old. 7   Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;           according to your steadfast love remember me,           for your goodness’ sake, O LORD! 8   Good and upright is the LORD;           therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9   He leads the humble in what is right,           and teaches the humble his way. 10  All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,           for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 11  For your name’s sake, O LORD,           pardon my guilt, for it is great. 12  Who are they that fear the LORD?           He will teach them the way that they should choose. 13  They will abide in prosperity,           and their children shall possess the land. 14  The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,           and he makes his covenant known to them. 15  My eyes are ever toward the LORD,           for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 16  Turn to me and be gracious to me,           for I am lonely and afflicted. 17  Relieve the troubles of my heart,           and bring me out of my distress. 18  Consider my affliction and my trouble,           and forgive all my sins. 19  Consider how many are my foes,           and with what violent hatred they hate me. 20  O guard my life, and deliver me;           do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me,           for I wait for you. 22  Redeem Israel, O God,           out of all its troubles. Evening Psalm 40 1   I waited patiently for the LORD;           he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2   He drew me up from the desolate pit,           out of the miry bog,      and set my feet upon a rock,           making my steps secure. 3   He put a new song in my mouth,           a song of praise to our God.      Many will see and fear,           and put their trust in the LORD. 4   Happy are those who make           the LORD their trust,      who do not turn to the proud,           to those who go astray after false gods. 5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,           your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;           none can compare with you.      Were I to proclaim and tell of them,           they would be more than can be counted. 6   Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,           but you have given me an open ear.      Burnt offering and sin offering           you have not required. 7   Then I said, “Here I am;           in the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8   I delight to do your will, O my God;           your law is within my heart.” 9   I have told the glad news of deliverance           in the great congregation;      see, I have not restrained my lips,           as you know, O LORD. 10  I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,           I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;      I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness           from the great congregation. 11  Do not, O LORD, withhold           your mercy from me;      let your steadfast love and your faithfulness           keep me safe forever. 12  For evils have encompassed me           without number;      my iniquities have overtaken me,           until I cannot see;      they are more than the hairs of my head,           and my heart fails me. 13  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;           O LORD, make haste to help me. 14  Let all those be put to shame and confusion           who seek to snatch away my life;      let those be turned back and brought to dishonor           who desire my hurt. 15  Let those be appalled because of their shame           who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” 16  But may all who seek you           rejoice and be glad in you;      may those who love your salvation           say continually, “Great is the LORD!” 17  As for me, I am poor and needy,           but the Lord takes thought for me.      You are my help and my deliverer;           do not delay, O my God. 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Daily Lectionary Readings for August 22, 2025

Daily Lectionary Readings (Two-Year Cycle)

Daily Lectionary Readings for August 22, 2025 By Daily Lectionary Readings, Friday, August 22, 2025 12:00 AM Morning Psalm 130 1   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2       Lord, hear my voice!      Let your ears be attentive           to the voice of my supplications! 3   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,           Lord, who could stand? 4   But there is forgiveness with you,           so that you may be revered. 5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,           and in his word I hope; 6   my soul waits for the Lord           more than those who watch for the morning,           more than those who watch for the morning. 7   O Israel, hope in the LORD!           For with the LORD there is steadfast love,           and with him is great power to redeem. 8   It is he who will redeem Israel           from all its iniquities. Morning Psalm 148 1   Praise the Lord!      Praise the Lord from the heavens;           praise him in the heights! 2   Praise him, all his angels;           praise him, all his host! 3   Praise him, sun and moon;           praise him, all you shining stars! 4   Praise him, you highest heavens,           and you waters above the heavens! 5   Let them praise the name of the Lord,           for he commanded and they were created. 6   He established them forever and ever;           he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. 7   Praise the Lord from the earth,           you sea monsters and all deeps, 8   fire and hail, snow and frost,           stormy wind fulfilling his command! 9   Mountains and all hills,           fruit trees and all cedars! 10  Wild animals and all cattle,           creeping things and flying birds! 11  Kings of the earth and all peoples,           princes and all rulers of the earth! 12  Young men and women alike,           old and young together! 13  Let them praise the name of the Lord,           for his name alone is exalted;           his glory is above earth and heaven. 14  He has raised up a horn for his people,           praise for all his faithful,           for the people of Israel who are close to him.      Praise the Lord! First Reading 2 Samuel 19:24-43 24Mephibosheth grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet, or trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes, from the day the king left until the day he came back in safety. 25When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said to him, ‘Saddle a donkey for me, so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. 27He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. 28For all my father’s house were doomed to death before my lord the king; but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to appeal to the king?” 29The king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” 30Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take it all, since my lord the king has arrived home safely.” 31Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; he went on with the king to the Jordan, to escort him over the Jordan. 32Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. 33The king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you in Jerusalem at my side.” 34But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35Today I am eighty years old; can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king recompense me with such a reward? 37Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own town, near the graves of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do for him whatever seems good to you.” 38The king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you; and all that you desire of me I will do for you.” 39Then all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed over; the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home. 40The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; all the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way. 41Then all the people of Israel came to the king, and said to him, “Why have our kindred the people of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?” 42All the people of Judah answered the people of Israel, “Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?” 43But the people of Israel answered the people of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?” But the words of the people of Judah were fiercer than the words of the people of Israel. Second Reading Acts 24:24-25:12 24:24Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. 25And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.” 26At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him. 27After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. 25:1Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem 2where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him 3and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 4Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5“So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.” 6After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. 8Paul said in his defense, “I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor.” 9But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?” 10Paul said, “I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. 11Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.” 12Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, “You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.” Gospel Reading Mark 12:35-44 35While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,      'The Lord said to my Lord,      “Sit at my right hand,           until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight. 38As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” 41He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Evening Psalm 32 1   Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,           whose sin is covered. 2   Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,           and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3   While I kept silence, my body wasted away           through my groaning all day long. 4   For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;           my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5   Then I acknowledged my sin to you,           and I did not hide my iniquity;      I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”           and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah 6   Therefore let all who are faithful           offer prayer to you;      at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters           shall not reach them. 7   You are a hiding place for me;           you preserve me from trouble;           you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah 8   I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;           I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9   Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,           whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,           else it will not stay near you. 10   Many are the torments of the wicked,           but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. 11   Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,           and shout for joy, all you upright in heart. Evening Psalm 139 1   O LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2   You know when I sit down and when I rise up;           you discern my thoughts from far away. 3   You search out my path and my lying down,           and are acquainted with all my ways. 4   Even before a word is on my tongue,           O LORD, you know it completely. 5   You hem me in, behind and before,           and lay your hand upon me. 6   Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;           it is so high that I cannot attain it. 7   Where can I go from your spirit?           Or where can I flee from your presence? 8   If I ascend to heaven, you are there;           if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9   If I take the wings of the morning           and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 10  even there your hand shall lead me,           and your right hand shall hold me fast. 11  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,           and the light around me become night,” 12  even the darkness is not dark to you;           the night is as bright as the day,           for darkness is as light to you. 13  For it was you who formed my inward parts;           you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.           Wonderful are your works;      that I know very well. 15       My frame was not hidden from you,      when I was being made in secret,           intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.      In your book were written           all the days that were formed for me,           when none of them as yet existed. 17  How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!           How vast is the sum of them! 18  I try to count them — they are more than the sand;           I come to the end — I am still with you. 19  O that you would kill the wicked, O God,           and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me — 20  those who speak of you maliciously,           and lift themselves up against you for evil! 21  Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?           And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22  I hate them with perfect hatred;           I count them my enemies. 23  Search me, O God, and know my heart;           test me and know my thoughts. 24  See if there is any wicked way in me,           and lead me in the way everlasting. 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