M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Gibeonites Kill Seven of Saul’s Grandsons

21 While David was king there was a time without food for three years. David went to the Lord. The Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his house of blood, for he put the Gibeonites to death.” ² So the king called the Gibeonites. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel, but of the people who were left of the Amorites. The sons of Israel had made an agreement with them. But Saul had wanted to kill them because he thought so much of the sons of Israel and Judah.) ³ David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I pay for the sin, so you may bring good to the land of the Lord?” ⁴ The Gibeonites said to him, “We will take no silver or gold from Saul or his family. And it is not for us to put any man to death in Israel.” David said, “I will do for you whatever you say.” ⁵ So they said to the king, “Saul destroyed us and planned to keep us from staying in any land of Israel. ⁶ Let seven men from his sons be given to us. We will hang them before the Lord at Gibeon on the Lord’s mountain.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

⁷ But the king kept alive Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because David had made a promise to Saul’s son Jonathan before the Lord. ⁸ The king took the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Armoni and Mephibosheth, whom she had born to Saul. And he took the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. ⁹ He gave them to the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them died together. They were put to death in the first days of gathering time, when the barley was ready to gather.

¹⁰ Aiah’s daughter Rizpah spread cloth made from hair on the rock for herself to lie upon, from the beginning of gathering time until the rain fell from the sky upon the bodies. She would not let the birds of the sky rest on them during the day, or the animals of the field during the night. ¹¹ David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s woman, had done. ¹² Then he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the open space in the center of Bethshan. That was where the Philistines had hanged them on the day they killed Saul in Gilboa. ¹³ David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. They gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. ¹⁴ And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the grave of Kish his father. They did all that the king told them to do. After that, God heard and answered when they prayed for the land.

¹⁵ The Philistines were at war again with Israel. David went down with his servants and they fought the Philistines. And David became tired. ¹⁶ Then Ishbi-benob wanted to kill David. He was one of the sons of the very tall and strong people. His spear weighed as much as 300 pieces of brass, and he had a new sword. ¹⁷ But Zeruiah’s son Abishai helped David and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men promised him, “You will not go out again with us to battle. You might put out the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸ After this there was war again with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the very tall and strong people. ¹⁹ There was war with the Philistines again at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite. Goliath’s spear was like the heavy piece of wood used by a cloth-maker. ²⁰ There was war at Gath again. There was a very tall man there who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number. He was one of the sons of the very tall and strong people also. ²¹ When he spoke against Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, killed him. ²² These four were sons of the very tall and strong people in Gath. They were killed by David and his servants.

1 This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father Who raised Jesus from the dead. I am not sent by men or by any one man. ² All the Christians join me in writing to you who are in the churches in the country of Galatia. ³ May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ He gave Him-self to die for our sins. He did this so we could be saved from this sinful world. This is what God wanted Him to do. ⁵ May He have all the honor forever. Let it be so.

Men Must Not Change the Good News

⁶ I am surprised you are leaving Christ so soon. You were chosen through His loving-favor. But now you are turning and listening to another kind of good news. ⁷ No! There is not another kind of good news. There are some who would like to lead you in the wrong way. They want to change the Good News about Christ. ⁸ Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach another kind of good news to you that is not the one we preached, let him be cursed. ⁹ As we said before, I will say it again. If any man is preaching another good news to you which is not the one you have received, let him be cursed.

This Good News Is from God

¹⁰ Do you think I am trying to get the favor of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant owned by Christ.

¹¹ Christian brothers, I want you to know the Good News I preached to you was not made by man. ¹² I did not receive it from man. No one taught it to me. I received it from Jesus Christ as He showed it to me.

¹³ You have heard of my old life when I followed the Jewish religion. I made it as hard as I could for the Christians and did everything I could to destroy the Christian church. ¹⁴ I had learned more about the Jewish religion than many of the Jews my age. I had a much stronger desire than they to follow the ways of our early fathers. ¹⁵ But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him. ¹⁶ His Son was to be seen in me. He did this so I could preach about Christ to the people who are not Jews. When this happened, I did not talk to men. ¹⁷ I did not even go to Jerusalem to talk to those who were missionaries before me. Instead, I went to the country of Arabia. Later I returned to the city of Damascus.

¹⁸ Three years later I went to Jerusalem to meet Peter. I stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ I did not see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I am writing the truth. God knows I am not lying.

²¹ I went from Jerusalem to the countries of Syria and Cilicia. ²² None of the Christians in the churches in the country of Judea had ever seen me. ²³ The only thing they heard was, “The one who tried to destroy the Christian church is now preaching the Good News!” ²⁴ And they gave thanks to God because of me.

Words against the King of Tyre

28 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, tell the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord God says, “Because your heart is proud, you have said, ‘I am a god. I sit in the seat of gods, with the seas around me.’ Yet you are a man and not God, even if you think you are as wise as God. ³ You are wiser than Daniel. There is no secret that is hidden from you. ⁴ By your wisdom and understanding you have gathered riches for yourself. You have gathered gold and silver for your store-houses. ⁵ By all your wisdom in trade you have added to your riches, and your heart has become proud because of them. ⁶ So the Lord God says, ‘Because you think you are as wise as God, ⁷ I will bring strangers against you, those who have the hardest hearts of all the nations. With their swords they will destroy the beauty of your wisdom and your greatness. ⁸ They will bring you down to the grave. You will die the death of those who are killed on the sea. ⁹ Will you still say, “I am a god,” in front of those who kill you? You will be only a man and not a god in the hands of those who kill you. ¹⁰ You will be killed by strangers, and will die the death of one who has not gone through the religious act of My people. For I have spoken,’ says the Lord God.”’”

Song of Sorrow for the King of Tyre

¹¹ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹² “Son of man, sing a song of sorrow for the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord God says, “You were once the mark of what is perfect, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every stone of great worth covered you: ruby, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, chrysolite, turquoise, and emerald. And you had beautiful objects of gold. They were made for you when you were made. ¹⁴ You were the cherub who kept watch, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked among the stones of fire. ¹⁵ You were without blame in your ways from the day you were made until sin was found in you. ¹⁶ Through all your trading you were filled with bad ways, and you sinned. So I have sent you away in shame from the mountain of God and I have destroyed you and driven you out from the stones of fire, O cherub who kept watch. ¹⁷ Your heart was proud because of your beauty. You made your wisdom sinful because of your beauty. So I threw you to the ground. I laid you in front of kings for them to see you. ¹⁸ By all your wrong-doing and sinful trading you made your holy places sinful. So I made a fire come out from you, and it has destroyed you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. ¹⁹ All the nations who know you are filled with wonder and fear because of you. You have come to a bad end, and you will be no more forever.”’”

Words against Sidon

²⁰ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²¹ “Son of man, look toward Sidon and speak against her. ²² Tell her, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, O Sidon, and My greatness will be honored among you. They will know that I am the Lord when I punish Sidon. I will show Myself holy within her. ²³ For I will send disease upon her, and blood into her streets. People will be killed by the sword from every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁴ No longer will the people of Israel have neighbors like a sharp thistle or thorn who hate them. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

²⁵ “The Lord God says, ‘I will gather the people of Israel from the different nations where they have been sent. And I will show Myself holy among them in the eyes of the nations. Then they will live in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ They will live there and be safe. They will build houses, plant grape-fields, and be safe, when I punish all those around them who speak against them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”’”

Comfort in Times of Trouble

77 My voice goes up to God, and I will cry out. My voice goes up to God and He will hear me. ² I looked to the Lord when I was in trouble. I put out my hand at night, and it did not get tired. My soul would not be comforted. ³ When I remember God, then I am troubled. When I am in deep thought, then my spirit becomes weak. ⁴ You keep my eyes from closing. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. ⁵ I have thought about the days of old, the years of long ago. ⁶ I remember my song in the night. I think with my heart. And my spirit asks questions.

⁷ Will the Lord turn away forever? Will He never show favor again? ⁸ Has His loving-kindness stopped forever? Has His promise come to an end for all time? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be loving and kind? Has He in anger taken away His loving-pity? ¹⁰ Then I said, “It is my sorrow that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

¹¹ I will remember the things the Lord has done. Yes, I will remember the powerful works of long ago. ¹² I will think of all Your work, and keep in mind all the great things You have done. ¹³ O God, Your way is holy. What god is great like our God? ¹⁴ You are the God Who does great works. You have shown Your power among the people. ¹⁵ You have set free Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph, with Your strong arm.

¹⁶ The waters saw You, O God. The waters saw You and shook. The sea shook also. ¹⁷ The clouds poured down water. The sky sounded with thunder. Your arrows of lightning went this way and that. ¹⁸ The sound of Your thunder was in the turning wind. The lightning lit up the world. The earth shook. ¹⁹ Your way was through the sea. Your paths went through the powerful waters. And it cannot be known where You stepped. ²⁰ You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.