M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 Now it came to pass one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore his armour, Come and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison which is on the other side. But he did not tell his father.
2 And Saul abode at the extreme end of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which [was] in Migron; and the people that were with him were about six hundred men.
3 (And Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, Jehovah's priest in Shiloh, wore the ephod.) And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.
4 Now between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side; and the name of the one [was] Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
5 The one crag [formed] a pillar on the north opposite to Michmash, and the other on the south opposite to Geba.
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: perhaps Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.
7 And his armour-bearer said to him, Do all that is in thy heart; turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will shew ourselves to them.
9 If they say thus to us, Stand still until we come to you, then we will stay in our place, and will not go up to them.
10 And if they say thus, Come up to us, then we will go up; for Jehovah has given them into our hand; and this shall be the sign to us.
11 And both of them shewed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you something. And Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah has delivered them into the hand of Israel.
13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan; and his armour-bearer slew after him.
14 And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour-bearer wrought was about twenty men, as it were on the half-furrow of an acre of land.
15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the ravagers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; for it was a trembling [from] God.
16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on slaying one another.
17 Then said Saul to the people that were with him, Muster now, and see who is gone from us. And they mustered, and behold, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there.
18 And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
19 And it came to pass while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thy hand.
20 And Saul and all the people that were with him were called together, and they came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, a very great confusion.
21 And there were Hebrews with the Philistines before that time, who had gone up with them into the camp round about; and they also [turned] to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 And all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in mount Ephraim heard that the Philistines fled, and they also followed hard after them in the battle.
23 And Jehovah saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over beyond Beth-Aven.
24 But the men of Israel were distressed that day. Now Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food until evening, and [until] I am avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food.
25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey on the ground.
26 And the people had come into the wood, and behold, the honey flowed; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
27 But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he put forth the end of his staff which was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright.
28 Then answered one of the people and said, Thy father strictly adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food this day; and the people are faint.
29 And Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land: see, I pray you, that mine eyes are bright, because I tasted a little of this honey.
30 How much more, if the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for would there not now have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?
31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon; and the people were very faint.
32 And the people fell on the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate [them] with the blood.
33 And they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against Jehovah, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have acted perversely: roll me now a great stone.
34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Bring near to me every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat; and sin not against Jehovah in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slaughtered [them] there.
35 And Saul built an altar to Jehovah: this was the first altar he built to Jehovah.
36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever is good in thy sight. Then said the priest, Let us come near hither to God.
37 And Saul inquired of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou give them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him that day.
38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the heads of the people; and know and see wherein this sin has been this day.
39 For, [as] Jehovah liveth, who has saved Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall certainly die. And no one answered him among all the people.
40 Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what is good in thy sight.
41 And Saul said to Jehovah the God of Israel, Give a perfect [testimony]! And Jonathan and Saul were taken, and the people escaped.
42 And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
43 And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him and said, With the end of the staff which is in my hand I tasted a little honey, [and] behold, I must die!
44 And Saul said, God do so [to me] and more also; thou shalt certainly die, Jonathan.
45 And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far be it! [as] Jehovah liveth, there shall not a hair of his head fall to the ground; for he has wrought with God this day. So the people delivered Jonathan, that he died not.
46 And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.
47 And Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; and whithersoever he turned himself, he discomfited [them].
48 And he did valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of their spoilers.
49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.
50 And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.
51 And Kish the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner were sons of Abiel.
52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him to himself.
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your intelligent service.
2 And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [your] mind, that ye may prove what [is] the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace which has been given to me, to every one that is among you, not to have high thoughts above what he should think; but to think so as to be wise, as God has dealt to each a measure of faith.
4 For, as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office;
5 thus we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and each one members one of the other.
6 But having different gifts, according to the grace which has been given to us, whether [it be] prophecy, [let us prophesy] according to the proportion of faith;
7 or service, [let us occupy ourselves] in service; or he that teaches, in teaching;
8 or he that exhorts, in exhortation; he that gives, in simplicity; he that leads, with diligence; he that shews mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be unfeigned; abhorring evil; cleaving to good:
10 as to brotherly love, kindly affectioned towards one another: as to honour, each taking the lead in paying it to the other:
11 as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord.
12 As regards hope, rejoicing: as regards tribulation, enduring: as regards prayer, persevering:
13 distributing to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with those that rejoice, weep with those that weep.
16 Have the same respect one for another, not minding high things, but going along with the lowly: be not wise in your own eyes:
17 recompensing to no one evil for evil: providing things honest before all men:
18 if possible, as far as depends on you, living in peace with all men;
19 not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance [belongs] to me, *I* will recompense, saith the Lord.
20 If therefore thine enemy should hunger, feed him; if he should thirst, give him drink; for, so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
21 Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
51 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind;
2 and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host.
4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies.
10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.
11 Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity.
14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.
15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
17 Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and [Israel] is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
20 Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;
21 and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;
22 and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and rulers.
24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.
25 Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain.
26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.
27 Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.
28 Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion.
29 And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.
31 Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;
32 and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry.
37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
38 They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.
39 When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby.
44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen.
45 Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah!
46 lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come [one] year, and after that a rumour in [another] year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah.
49 As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 —We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.
52 —Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah.
54 The sound of a cry [cometh] from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;
55 for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth.
56 For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the God of recompences, will certainly requite.
57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.
59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.
60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;
62 and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63 And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;
64 and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.
A Psalm of David: dedication-song of the house.
30 I will extol thee, Jehovah; for thou hast delivered me, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me.
2 Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, thou hast quickened me from among those that go down to the pit.
4 Sing psalms unto Jehovah, ye saints of his, and give thanks in remembrance of his holiness.
5 For a moment [is passed] in his anger, a life in his favour; at even weeping cometh for the night, and at morn there is rejoicing.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.
7 Jehovah, by thy favour thou hadst made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled.
8 I called to thee, Jehovah, and unto the Lord did I make supplication:
9 What profit is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit? shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
10 Hear, O Jehovah, and be gracious unto me; Jehovah, be my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 That [my] glory may sing psalms of thee, and not be silent. Jehovah my God, I will praise thee for ever.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)