M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Goes to See Ahimelech
21 David went to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech shook with fear when he saw David, and he asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
2 David answered him, “The king gave me a special order. He told me, ‘No one must know what I am sending you to do or what I told you to do.’ I told my men where to meet me. 3 Now, what food do you have with you? Give me five loaves of bread or anything you find.”
4 The priest said to David, “I don’t have any plain bread here, but I do have some holy bread.[a] You may eat it if your men have kept themselves from women.”
5 David answered, “No women have been near us for days. My men always keep themselves holy, even when we do ordinary work. And this is especially true when the work is holy.”
6 So the priest gave David the holy bread from the presence of God because there was no other. Each day the holy bread was replaced with hot bread.
7 One of Saul’s servants happened to be there that day. He had been held there before the Lord. He was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
8 David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword here? The king’s business was very important, so I left without my sword or any other weapon.”
9 The priest answered, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, the one you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the holy vest. If you want it, you may take it. There’s no other sword here but that one.”
David said, “There is no other sword like it. Give it to me.”
David Goes to Gath
10 That day David ran away from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “This is David, the king of the Israelites. He’s the man they dance and sing about, saying:
‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies,
but David has killed tens of thousands.’”
12 David paid attention to these words and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13 So he pretended to be crazy in front of Achish and his servants. While he was with them, he acted like a madman and clawed on the doors of the gate and let spit run down his beard.
14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He’s crazy! Why do you bring him to me? 15 I have enough madmen. I don’t need you to bring him here to act like this in front of me! Don’t let him in my house!”
David at Adullam and Mizpah
22 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and other relatives heard that he was there, they went to see him. 2 Everyone who was in trouble, or who owed money, or who was unsatisfied gathered around David, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and spoke to the king of Moab. He said, “Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God is going to do for me.” 4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was hiding in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Saul Destroys Ahimelech’s Family
6 Saul heard that David and his men had been seen. Saul was sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, and all his officers were standing around him. He had a spear in his hand. 7 Saul said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Do you think the son of Jesse will give all of you fields and vineyards? Will David make you commanders over thousands of men or hundreds of men? 8 You have all made plans against me! No one tells me when my son makes an agreement with the son of Jesse! No one cares about me! No one tells me when my son has encouraged my servant to ambush me this very day!”
9 Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s officers, said, “I saw the son of Jesse. He came to see Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 10 Ahimelech prayed to the Lord for David and gave him food and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all of Ahimelech’s relatives who were priests at Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 Saul said to Ahimelech, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”
Ahimelech answered, “Yes, master.”
13 Saul said, “Why are you and Jesse’s son against me? You gave him bread and a sword! You prayed to God for him. David has turned against me and is waiting to attack me even now!”
14 Ahimelech answered, “You have no other servant who is as loyal as David, your own son-in-law and captain of your bodyguards. Everyone in your house respects him. 15 That was not the first time I prayed to God for David. Don’t blame me or any of my relatives. I, your servant, know nothing about what is going on.”
16 But the king said, “Ahimelech, you and all your relatives must die!” 17 Then he told the guards at his side, “Go and kill the priests of the Lord, because they are on David’s side. They knew he was running away, but they didn’t tell me.”
But the king’s officers refused to kill the priests of the Lord.
18 Then the king ordered Doeg, “Go and kill the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite went and killed the priests. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen holy vest. 19 He also killed the people of Nob, the city of the priests. With the sword he killed men, women, children, babies, cattle, donkeys, and sheep.
20 But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech, who was the son of Ahitub, escaped. He ran away and joined David. 21 He told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. 22 Then David told him, “Doeg the Edomite was there at Nob that day. I knew he would surely tell Saul. So I am responsible for the death of all your father’s family. 23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you also wants to kill me. You will be safe with me.”
Following People Is Wrong
3 Brothers and sisters, in the past I could not talk to you as I talk to spiritual people. I had to talk to you as I would to people without the Spirit—babies in Christ. 2 The teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food, because you were not able to take solid food. And even now you are not ready. 3 You are still not spiritual, because there is jealousy and quarreling among you, and this shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world. 4 One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” and another says, “I belong to Apollos.” When you say things like this, you are acting like people of the world.
5 Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do. 6 I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it. But God is the One who made it grow. 7 So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God, who makes things grow, is important. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose, and each will be rewarded for his own work. 9 We are God’s workers, working together; you are like God’s farm, God’s house.
10 Using the gift God gave me, I laid the foundation of that house like an expert builder. Others are building on that foundation, but all people should be careful how they build on it. 11 The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ, and no one can lay down any other foundation. 12 But if people build on that foundation, using gold, silver, jewels, wood, grass, or straw, 13 their work will be clearly seen, because the Day of Judgment[a] will make it visible. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test everyone’s work to show what sort of work it was. 14 If the building that has been put on the foundation still stands, the builder will get a reward. 15 But if the building is burned up, the builder will suffer loss. The builder will be saved, but it will be as one who escaped from a fire.
16 Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, because God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.
18 Do not fool yourselves. If you think you are wise in this world, you should become a fool so that you can become truly wise, 19 because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches those who are wise in their own clever traps.”[b] 20 It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what wise people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind.”[c] 21 So you should not brag about human leaders. All things belong to you: 22 Paul, Apollos, and Peter; the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these belong to you. 23 And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Ezekiel’s Vision of Living Creatures
1 It was the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month of our captivity. I was by the Kebar River among the people who had been carried away as captives. The sky opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 It was the fifth day of the month of the fifth year that King Jehoiachin had been a prisoner. 3 The Lord spoke his word to Ezekiel son of Buzi in the land of the Babylonians by the Kebar River. There he felt the power of the Lord.
4 When I looked, I saw a stormy wind coming from the north. There was a great cloud with a bright light around it and fire flashing out of it. Something that looked like glowing metal was in the center of the fire. 5 Inside the cloud was what looked like four living creatures, who were shaped like humans, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight. Their feet were like a calf’s hoofs and sparkled like polished bronze. 8 The living creatures had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched each other. The living creatures did not turn when they moved, but each went straight ahead.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each living creature had a human face and the face of a lion on the right side and the face of an ox on the left side. And each one also had the face of an eagle. 11 That was what their faces looked like. Their wings were spread out above. Each had two wings that touched one of the other living creatures and two wings that covered its body. 12 Each went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, the living creatures would also go, without turning. 13 The living creatures looked like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire went back and forth among the living creatures. It was bright, and lightning flashed from it. 14 The living creatures ran back and forth like bolts of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground by each of the living creatures with its four faces. 16 The wheels and the way they were made were like this: They looked like sparkling chrysolite. All four of them looked the same, like one wheel crossways inside another wheel. 17 When they moved, they went in any one of the four directions, without turning as they went. 18 The rims of the wheels were high and frightening and were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the living creatures were lifted up from the ground, the wheels also were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, the living creatures would go. And the wheels were lifted up beside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved. When the living creatures stopped, the wheels stopped. And when the living creatures were lifted from the ground, the wheels were lifted beside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Now, over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome that sparkled like ice and was frightening. 23 And under the dome the wings of the living creatures were stretched out straight toward one another. Each living creature also had two wings covering its body. 24 I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring sound of the sea, as they moved. It was like the voice of God Almighty, a roaring sound like a noisy army. When the living creatures stopped, they lowered their wings.
25 A voice came from above the dome over the heads of the living creatures. When the living creatures stopped, they lowered their wings. 26 Now above the dome there was something that looked like a throne. It looked like a sapphire gem. And on the throne was a shape like a human. 27 Then I noticed that from the waist up the shape looked like glowing metal with fire inside. From the waist down it looked like fire, and a bright light was all around. 28 The surrounding glow looked like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. It seemed to look like the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I bowed facedown on the ground and heard a voice speaking.
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
2 because like the grass, they will soon dry up.
Like green plants, they will soon die away.
3 Trust the Lord and do good.
Live in the land and feed on truth.
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you what you want.
5 Depend on the Lord;
trust him, and he will take care of you.
6 Then your goodness will shine like the sun,
and your fairness like the noonday sun.
7 Wait and trust the Lord.
Don’t be upset when others get rich
or when someone else’s plans succeed.
8 Don’t get angry.
Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.
9 Evil people will be sent away,
but those who trust the Lord will inherit the land.
10 In a little while the wicked will be no more.
You may look for them, but they will be gone.
11 People who are not proud will inherit the land
and will enjoy complete peace.
12 The wicked make evil plans against good people.
They grind their teeth at them in anger.
13 But the Lord laughs at the wicked,
because he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords
and bend their bows
to kill the poor and helpless,
to kill those who are honest.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will break.
16 It is better to have little and be right
than to have much and be wrong.
17 The power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports those who do right.
18 The Lord watches over the lives of the innocent,
and their reward will last forever.
19 They will not be ashamed when trouble comes.
They will be full in times of hunger.
20 But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies will be like the flowers of the fields;
they will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and don’t pay back,
but those who do right give freely to others.
22 Those whom the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be sent away.
23 When people’s steps follow the Lord,
God is pleased with their ways.
24 If they stumble, they will not fall,
because the Lord holds their hand.
25 I was young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen good people left helpless
or their children begging for food.
26 Good people always lend freely to others,
and their children are a blessing.
27 Stop doing evil and do good,
so you will live forever.
28 The Lord loves justice
and will not leave those who worship him.
He will always protect them,
but the children of the wicked will die.
29 Good people will inherit the land
and will live in it forever.
30 Good people speak with wisdom,
and they say what is fair.
31 The teachings of their God are in their heart,
so they do not fail to keep them.
32 The wicked watch for good people
so that they may kill them.
33 But the Lord will not take away his protection
or let good people be judged guilty.
34 Wait for the Lord’s help
and follow him.
He will honor you and give you the land,
and you will see the wicked sent away.
35 I saw a wicked and cruel man
who looked strong like a healthy tree in good soil.
36 But he died and was gone;
I looked for him, but he couldn’t be found.
37 Think of the innocent person,
and watch the honest one.
The man who has peace
will have children to live after him.
38 But sinners will be destroyed;
in the end the wicked will die.
39 The Lord saves good people;
he is their strength in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and saves them;
he saves them from the wicked,
because they trust in him for protection.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.