Soon after the foundation of Herrnhut, where the Church of the Unitas Fratrum was renewed in 1722, brethren would go each morning from house to house giving the "Watchword" for the day as a guide to meditation and general conduct. Count Zinzendorf undertook to select suitable texts and to these were added a few lines of hymns in current use in the services of the congregations. In 1730, for the first time, a series of "Watchwords" was printed in advance for the year 1731.

The Old Testament texts are chosen by lot from a selection of almost two thousand Watchwords. To these are added "doctrinal texts from the New Testament which have some bearing upon the Old Testament "Watchwords". Every year the selected texts are are sent to each Province of the Moravian church from Herrnhut, translated into the language of that Province and verses from the Moravian Hymnbook in use within the Province are added. Hence the Daily Watchwords are translated into fifty different languages and are used daily not only by the Moravians throughout the world, but also by many others who have come to value this practice.

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1990 the division of Christian Education of The National Council of Churches Of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission.
Occasionally, the rendering of the Revised Standard Version, the Revised English Bible or the Good News Bible (Today's English Version) is used, and this is then indicated by the appropriate initials.

The scripture readings noted at the end of the head of each days texts are designed to fulfil the petition in the Book of Common Prayer that we may "read, mark, learn and inwardly digest" them; that we may thereby be guided to a fuller knowledge of the Bible and thus to ever increasing enrichment of our lives....

The whole of the Bible is covered by readings over a period of some two and a half years. It is not felt essential to maintain an exact correspondence of Old and New Testament passages. For the readings for Sundays and Christian festivals, a separate Moravian lectionary has been used. Readings from the book of Psalms have been assigned to each Wednesday, rather than presented as continuous daily readings over a period of several weeks, in the hope that the inspiration of the Psalms may thereby be made more effective.

For devotional purposes genealogies, obscure legal procedures and construction details have been omitted, together with a good deal of repetitious material. The overlapping between 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and the book of Chronicles has been dealt with by including the two sections in alternate cycles. Some passages in the Old Testament which Christian readers have found difficult have been passed over. However, apart from some obscure sections of Revelation which have been omitted, the New Testament is to be read in full. For a trial period, the readings from the first three gospels have been chosen in such a way as to provide a single continuous narrative.