M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Learns About Saul’s Death
1 After David defeated the Amalekites, he went back to Ziklag. This was just after Saul had been killed. David had been there two days. 2 Then, on the third day, a young soldier from Saul’s camp came to Ziklag. His clothes were torn, and he had dirt on his head.[a] He came to David and bowed with his face to the ground.
3 David asked him, “Where have you come from?”
The man answered, “I just came from the Israelite camp.”
4 David asked him, “Please tell me, who won the battle?”
The man answered, “Our people ran away from the battle. Many of them were killed in the battle. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 David said to the young soldier, “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 The young soldier said, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. I saw Saul leaning on his spear. The Philistine chariots and horse soldiers were coming closer and closer to Saul. 7 Saul looked back and saw me. He called to me and I answered him. 8 Then Saul asked me who I was. I told him that I was an Amalekite. 9 Then Saul said, ‘Please kill me. I am hurt badly. And I am about to die anyway.’ 10 He was hurt so badly that I knew he wouldn’t live. So I stopped and killed him. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm and brought them here to you, my lord.”
11 Then David tore his clothes to show he was very sad. All the men with him did the same thing. 12 They were very sad and cried. They did not eat until evening. They cried because Saul and his son Jonathan were dead. David and his men cried for the Lord’s people, and they cried for Israel. They cried because Saul, his son Jonathan, and many Israelites had been killed in battle.
David Orders the Amalekite Killed
13 Then David talked with the young soldier who had told him about Saul’s death. David asked, “Where are you from?”
The young soldier answered, “I am the son of a foreigner. I am an Amalekite.”
14 David said to the young soldier, “Why were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s chosen king[b]?”
15-16 Then David told the Amalekite, “You are responsible for your own death. You said you killed the Lord’s chosen king, so your own words prove you are guilty.” Then David called one of his young servants and told him to kill the Amalekite. So the young Israelite killed him.
David’s Song About Saul and Jonathan
17 David sang a sad song about Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 David told his men to teach the song to the people of Judah. This song is called “The Bow,” and it is written in the Book of Jashar.[c]
19 “Israel, your beauty was ruined on your hills.
Oh, how those heroes fell!
20 Don’t tell the news in Gath.[d]
Don’t announce it in the streets of Ashkelon.[e]
Those Philistine cities would be happy!
Those foreigners[f] would be glad.
21 “May no rain or dew fall
on you, mountains of Gilboa.
May there be no offerings
coming from your fields.
The shields of the heroes rusted there.
Saul’s shield was not rubbed with oil.
22 Jonathan’s bow killed its share of enemies,
and Saul’s sword killed its share!
They have spilled the blood of men now dead.
They cut into the fat of strong men.
23 “Saul and Jonathan—how dear they were to us!
In life they loved being together,
and even death did not separate them!
They were faster than eagles
and stronger than lions.
24 Daughters of Israel, cry for Saul!
Saul gave you beautiful red dresses
and covered them with gold jewelry!
25 “Strong men have fallen in the battle.
Jonathan is dead on Gilboa’s hills.
26 Jonathan, my brother, I miss you!
I enjoyed your friendship so much.
Your love for me was wonderful,
stronger than the love of women.
27 Heroes have fallen in battle.
Their weapons of war are lost.”
Gifts From the Holy Spirit
12 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand about spiritual gifts. 2 You remember the lives you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that have no life. 3 So I tell you that no one who is speaking with the help of God’s Spirit says, “Jesus be cursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” without the help of the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. 5 There are different ways to serve, but we serve the same Lord. 6 And there are different ways that God works in people, but it is the same God who works in all of us to do everything.
7 Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person. The Spirit gives this to each one to help others. 8 The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives faith to one person and to another he gives gifts of healing. 10 The Spirit gives to one person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy, and to another the ability to judge what is from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages, and to another the ability to interpret those languages. 11 One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things. The Spirit decides what to give each one.
The Body of Christ
12 A person has only one body, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts, but all those parts are still just one body. Christ is like that too. 13 Some of us are Jews and some of us are not; some of us are slaves and some of us are free. But we were all baptized to become one body through one Spirit. And we were all given[a] the one Spirit.
14 And a person’s body has more than one part. It has many parts. 15 The foot might say, “I am not a hand, so I don’t belong to the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. 16 The ear might say, “I am not an eye, so I don’t belong to the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell anything. 18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But as it is, God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one. 20 So there are many parts, but only one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!” 22 No, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are actually very important. 23 And the parts that we think are not worth very much are the parts we give the most care to. And we give special care to the parts of the body that we don’t want to show. 24 The more beautiful parts don’t need this special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it. 25 God did this so that our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. 26 If one part of the body suffers, then all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part is honored, then all the other parts share its honor.
27 All of you together are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of that body. 28 And in the church God has given a place first to apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers. Then God has given a place to those who do miracles, those who have gifts of healing, those who can help others, those who are able to lead, and those who can speak in different kinds of languages. 29 Not all are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles. 30 Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different kinds of languages. Not all interpret those languages. 31 Continue to give your attention to the spiritual gifts you consider to be the greatest. But now I want to point out a way of life that is even greater.
The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple
10 Then I looked up at the bowl[a] over the heads of the Cherub angels. The bowl looked clear blue like sapphire, and there was something that looked like a throne over it. 2 Then the one sitting on the throne said to the man dressed in linen clothes,[b] “Step into the area between the wheels[c] under the Cherub angels. Take a handful of the burning coals from between the Cherub angels and go throw them over the city of Jerusalem.”
The man walked past me. 3 The Cherub angels were standing in the area south[d] of the Temple as the man walked to them. The cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the Glory of the Lord rose up off the Cherub angels near the threshold of the door of the Temple. Then the cloud filled the Temple, and the bright light from the Glory of the Lord filled the whole courtyard. 5 The noise from the wings of the Cherub angels could be heard all the way out into the outer courtyard. The sound was very loud—like the thundering voice when God All-Powerful speaks.
6 God had given the man dressed in linen clothes a command. He had told him to go into the area between the wheels among the Cherub angels and get some hot coals. So the man went there and stood by the wheel. 7 One of the Cherub angels reached out his hand and took some of the hot coals from the area between the Cherub angels. He poured the coals into the man’s hands, and the man left. 8 (The Cherub angels had what looked like human arms under their wings.)
9 Then I noticed that there were four wheels. There was one wheel by each Cherub angel, and the wheels looked like a clear yellow jewel. 10 There were four wheels, and they all looked the same. They looked like there was a wheel in a wheel. 11 They could go in any direction when they moved, but the Cherub angels did not turn around when they moved. They went in the direction that the head was looking. They did not turn around when they moved. 12 There were eyes all over their bodies. There were eyes on their backs, on their arms, on their wings, and on their wheels—on all four wheels! 13 These wheels were what I heard called, “the area between the wheels.”
14-15 Each Cherub angel had four faces. The first was the face of a Cherub,[e] the second was the face of a man, the third was a lion’s face, and the fourth was an eagle’s face. (These Cherub angels were the living beings I saw in the vision by the Kebar Canal.[f])
Then the Cherub angels rose into the air, 16 and the wheels rose with them. When the Cherub angels raised their wings and flew into the air, not even the wheels turned around. 17 If they flew into the air, the wheels went with them. If they stood still, so did the wheels, because the spirit[g] of the living being was in them.
18 Then the Glory of the Lord rose from the threshold of the Temple, moved to the place over the Cherub angels, and stopped there. 19 Then the Cherub angels raised their wings and flew into the air. I saw them leave. The wheels went with them. Then they stopped at the East Gate of the Lord’s Temple. The Glory of the God of Israel was in the air above them.
20 These were the living beings under the Glory of the God of Israel in the vision at the Kebar Canal, and now I realized that they were Cherub angels. 21 Each living being had four faces, four wings, and something that looked like human arms under their wings. 22 The faces of the Cherub angels were the same as the four faces on the living beings in the vision by the Kebar Canal. They all looked straight ahead in the direction they were going.
To the director: A song from the Korah family.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you people on earth.
2 Everyone, rich and poor, listen to me.
3 I have some very wise words for you.
My thoughts will give you understanding.
4 I listened to these sayings.
And now, with my harp, I will sing and make the hidden meaning clear.
5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
There is no need to fear when evil enemies surround me.
6 They think their wealth will protect them.
They brag about how rich they are.
7 But no one has enough to buy back a life,
and you cannot bribe[a] God.
8 You will never get enough money
to pay for your own life.
9 You will never have enough
to buy the right to live forever
and keep your body out of the grave.
10 Look, the wise die the same as fools and stupid people.[b]
They die and leave their wealth to others.
11 The grave will be their new home forever.
And how much land they owned will not make any difference.
12 People might be wealthy, but they cannot stay here forever.
They will die like the animals.
13 That is what happens to all who trust in themselves
and to anyone who accepts their way of life. Selah
14 They are just like sheep, but the grave will be their pen.
Death will be their shepherd.
When morning comes, the good people will enjoy victory,
as the bodies of the proud slowly rot in the grave,
far away from their fancy houses.
15 But God will pay the price to save me from the grave.
He will take me to be with him. Selah
16 Don’t be afraid of people just because they are rich.
Don’t be afraid of people just because they have big, fancy houses.
17 They will not take anything with them when they die.
They will not take their wealth with them.
18 A wealthy man might tell himself how well he has done in life.
And other people might praise him.
19 But the time will come for him to die and go to his ancestors.
And he will never again see the light of day.
20 Wealthy people don’t seem to understand
that they will die like the animals.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International