M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Again Spares Saul’s Life
26 People from Ziph came to Saul in Gibeah and informed him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hachilah which is across from Jeshimon, isn’t he?” 2 So Saul rose and went down with 3,000 select men of Israel to the Wilderness of Ziph, to look for David in the Wilderness of Ziph. 3 Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hachilah, across from Jeshimon, while David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized[a] that Saul had come after him in the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and found out for certain that Saul had arrived. 5 David rose and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner, his Commander-in-Chief, lay down. Saul was lying down within the encampment, and the army was[b] camped all around him.
6 David said[c] to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai, Zeruiah’s son, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?”
Abishai said, “I’ll go down with you.”
7 David and Abishai went to the army[d] at night, and Saul was lying there asleep in the encampment. His spear was stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army[e] were lying all around him. 8 Abishai told David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Let me run the spear through him into the ground with a single blow. I won’t need to strike him twice!”
9 David told Abishai, “Don’t destroy him. Who can raise his hand to strike the Lord’s anointed and remain innocent? 10 As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him down, or his time will come to die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Now take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let’s go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water at Saul’s head, and they left. No one saw, and no one knew, because no one was awake. They were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen over them.
13 Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away with a large distance between them. 14 David called out to the army[f] and to Ner’s son Abner, “Abner, won’t you answer me?”
Abner answered: “Who are you who calls out to the king?”
15 David told Abner, “Are you not a man, and who is like you in Israel? Why didn’t you guard your lord, the king? Indeed, a soldier came to destroy the king, your lord. 16 This thing that you did is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die,[g] you who didn’t guard your lord, the Lord’s anointed. Where is the king’s spear and where is the jug of water that was at his head?”
17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?”
David replied, “It is my voice, your majesty.”[h] 18 David[i] said, “Why is your majesty pursuing his servant? For what have I done, and what evil do I bear toward you? 19 Now let your majesty[j] listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the Lord’s presence, because they have driven me out today from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord by saying, ‘Go serve other gods.’ 20 Now, don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence. Indeed, the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, like someone hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
Saul Apologizes Again
21 Then Saul said, “I’ve wronged you. Return, my son David, for I won’t harm you again because my life was precious to you[k] today. Look, I’ve acted foolishly and have made a very great mistake.”
22 David replied, “Here’s the king’s spear. Have one of the young men come over and get it. 23 The Lord repays a person for his righteousness and his faithfulness. The Lord gave you into my control today, but I refused to raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Look, just as your life was valuable in my eyes today, so may my life be valuable in the Lord’s eyes, and may he deliver me from all trouble.”
25 Saul told David, “Blessed are you, my son David. In whatever you do you will surely succeed.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
Concerning Marriage
7 Now about what you asked: “Is it advisable for a man not to touch a woman inappropriately?”[a] 2 Yes, and yet[b] because sexual immorality is so rampant,[c] every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.
3 A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should do the same for her husband. 4 A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does. 5 Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so just for a set time, in order to devote yourselves to prayer.[d] Then you should come together again so that Satan does not tempt you through your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I would like everyone to be unmarried,[e] like I am. However, each person has a special gift from God, one this and another that.
8 I say to those who are unmarried, especially to widows: It is good for them to remain like me. 9 However, if they cannot control themselves, they should get married, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.[f] 10 To married people I give this command (not really I, but the Lord): A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. Likewise, a husband must not abandon[g] his wife.
12 I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to live with him, he must not abandon[h] her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he is willing to live with her, she must not abandon[i] him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified because of her husband.[j] Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner[k] leaves, let him go. In such cases the brother or sister is not under obligation. God has called you[l] to live in peace. 16 Wife, you might be able to save your husband. Husband, you might be able to save your wife.
Live according to God’s Call
17 Nevertheless, everyone should live the life that the Lord gave him and to which God called him. This is my rule in all the churches. 18 Was anyone circumcised when he was called? He should not try to change that. Was anyone uncircumcised when he was called? He should not get circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying God’s commandments is everything.[m] 20 Everyone should stay in the same condition[n] in which he was called. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that bother you. Of course, if you have a chance to become free, take advantage of the opportunity. 22 For the slave who has been called to belong to the Lord is the Lord’s free person. In the same way, the free person who has been called is the Messiah’s[o] slave. 23 You were bought for a price. Stop becoming slaves of people. 24 Brothers, everyone should stay in the same condition[p] in which he was called by God.
Concerning Virgins
25 Now concerning virgins, although I do not have any command from the Lord, I will give you my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 In view of the present crisis, I think it is prudent for a man to stay as he is. 27 Have you become committed[q] to a wife? Stop trying to get released from your commitment.[r] Have you been freed from your commitment to[s] a wife? Stop looking for one.[t] 28 But if you do get married, you have not sinned. And if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. However, these people will experience trouble in this life,[u] and I want to spare you from that.
29 This is what I mean, brothers: The time is short. From now on, those who have wives should live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they did not mourn, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they did not own a thing, 31 and those who use the things in the world as though they were not dependent on them. For the world in its present form is passing away.
32 I want you to be free from concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, that is, about how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about things of this world, that is, about how he can please his wife, 34 and so his attention is divided.
An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, that is, about how she can please her husband. 35 I’m saying this for your benefit, not to put a noose around your necks, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.
36 If a man thinks he is not behaving properly toward his virgin,[v] and if his passion is so strong that he feels he ought to marry her, let him do what he wants; he isn’t sinning. Let them get married. 37 However, if a man stands firm in his resolve, feels no necessity, and has made up his mind to keep her a virgin, he will be acting appropriately. 38 So then the man who marries the virgin acts appropriately, but the man who refrains from marriage does even better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 However, in my opinion she will be happier[w] if she stays as she is. And in saying this,[x] I think that I, too, have God’s Spirit.
Ezekiel Shaves with a Sword
5 “Now as for you, Son of Man, you are to go find a sharp sword and use it like a barber’s razor. You are to cut your hair and beard. Then you are to take a weighing scale and divide your shaved hair into three parts.[a] 2 You are to burn a third of it in the middle of the city when you’ve finished your siege. Next, you are to take another third of it and beat it with your sword. Last, you are to scatter the remaining third to the wind, after which I’ll unsheathe my sword and pursue them. 3 You are to preserve a few strands of hair and hide them in the folds[b] of your garment. 4 Then you are to take a few strands, throw them in the fire, and incinerate them. A fire will proceed to the house of Israel from there.”
Jerusalem’s Desolation Predicted
5 “This is what the Lord God says, ‘This is Jerusalem. I placed her in the center of nations, with many[c] nations surrounding her. 6 But she rebelled against my ordinances and my statutes. She practiced more evil than all the nations and territories around her. They rejected my ordinances and didn’t live by[d] my statutes.’
7 “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you’re more disrespectful than the nations that surround you, you didn’t follow my statutes or follow my ordinances. You didn’t even follow the ordinances of the surrounding nations!’
8 “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I—that’s right, even I—am against you. I’ll carry out my sentence among you right in front of the nations. 9 In fact, I’m going to do what I’ve never done before and what I’ll never again do, because of all of your loathsome behavior: 10 Fathers will eat their children in your midst. After this, your sons will eat their fathers as I carry out my sentence against you and scatter your survivors to the winds!’
11 “Therefore, as sure as I live,” declares the Lord God, “because you’ve defiled my sanctuary with every loathsome thing and every abomination, I’ll restrain myself, and I’ll show neither pity nor compassion.[e] 12 A third of you will die by pestilence, starving because of the famine in your midst. Another third will die violently by the violence of war[f] around you. The final third I’ll scatter to the wind as I unsheathe my sword to pursue them.
13 “Only then will I stop being angry—my burning in anger. Then they’ll know that I’ve spoken out in my arduous anger. Only then will my burning anger[g] against them be exhausted. 14 I’m also going to turn you into a waste and an object of insult among the nations that surround you and in front of every person who passes by. 15 As a result, Jerusalem[h] will become an insult, an object of taunt, an example of chastisement, and a useless waste to all the nations that surround you when I carry out my sentence against you in my anger, my burning rage, and my burning rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken it. 16 I’ll send arrows of severe famine in their direction, meant for destruction, which I’ll shoot, intending to destroy them. I’ll make you have more and more famines that will attack you, and I’ll disrupt your source of food.[i]
17 “I’ll send famine and wild beasts against you that will rob you of your children.[j] Pestilence and bloodshed will devastate you when[k] I’ll declare war on[l] you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)
To the Director: An instruction[a] of the Sons of Korah.
Hope in God When Times of Trouble Come
42 As an antelope pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When may I come and appear in God’s presence?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while people[b] keep asking me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles[c] within me:
I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God,
accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me.
6 My God, my soul feels depressed[d] within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon,
even from the foothills.[e]
7 Deep waters call out to what is deeper still;[f]
at the roar of your waterfalls
all your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
8 By day the Lord will command his gracious love,
and by night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
10 Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
God is my Hope during Times of Trouble
43 [g]You be my judge,[h] God,
and plead my case against an unholy nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 Since you are the God who strengthens me,
why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
3 Send forth your light and your truth
so they may guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places.[i]
4 Then I will approach the altar of God,
even to God in whom my joy finds its source.[j]
Then I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God,
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
because I will praise him once again,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.