M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Learns About Saul’s Death
1 Now Saul was dead. After David had defeated the Amalekites, he returned to Ziklag and stayed there two days. 2 On the third day a young man from Saul’s camp came to Ziklag. To show his sadness, his clothes were torn and he had dirt on his head. He came and bowed facedown on the ground before David.
3 David asked him, “Where did you come from?”
The man answered, “I escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4 David asked him, “What happened? Please tell me!”
The man answered, “The people have run away from the battle, and many of them have fallen and are dead. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also.”
5 David asked him, “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 The young man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. There I saw Saul leaning on his spear. The Philistine chariots and the men riding in them were coming closer to Saul. 7 When he looked back and saw me, he called to me. I answered him, ‘Here I am!’
8 “Then Saul asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
9 “Then Saul said to me, ‘Please come here and kill me. I am badly hurt and am almost dead already.’
10 “So I went over and killed him. He had been hurt so badly I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm, and I have brought them here to you, my master.”
11 Then David tore his clothes to show his sorrow, and all the men with him did also. 12 They were very sad and cried and fasted until evening. They cried for Saul and his son Jonathan and for all the people of the Lord and for all the Israelites who had died in the battle.
David Orders the Amalekite Killed
13 David asked the young man who brought the report, “Where are you from?”
The young man answered, “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.”
14 David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s appointed king?”
15 Then David called one of his men and told him, “Go! Kill the Amalekite!” So the Israelite killed him. 16 David had said to the Amalekite, “You are responsible for your own death. You confessed by saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s appointed king.’”
David’s Song About Saul and Jonathan
17 David sang a funeral song about Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this song. It is called “The Bow,” and it is written in the Book of Jashar:
19 “Israel, your leaders have been killed on the hills.
How the mighty have fallen in battle!
20 Don’t tell it in Gath.
Don’t announce it in the streets of Ashkelon.
If you do, the Philistine women will be happy.
The daughters of the Philistines will rejoice.
21 “May there be no dew or rain on the mountains of Gilboa,
and may their fields produce no grain,
because there the mighty warrior’s shield was dishonored.
Saul’s shield will no longer be rubbed with oil.
22 Jonathan’s bow did not fail
to kill many soldiers.
Saul’s sword did not fail
to wound many strong men.
23 “We loved Saul and Jonathan
and enjoyed them while they lived.
They are together even in death.
They were faster than eagles.
They were stronger than lions.
24 “You daughters of Israel, cry for Saul.
Saul clothed you with red dresses
and put gold decorations on them.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan is dead on Gilboa’s hills.
26 I cry for you, my brother Jonathan.
I enjoyed your friendship so much.
Your love to me was wonderful,
better than the love of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war are gone.”
Gifts from the Holy Spirit
12 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand about spiritual gifts. 2 You know the way you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that could not speak. 3 So I want you to understand 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 gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. 5 There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. 6 And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. 7 Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. 8 The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom, and the same Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives faith to one person. And, to another, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. 10 The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages[a] and to another the ability to interpret those languages. 11 One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things, and the Spirit decides what to give each person.
The Body of Christ Works Together
12 A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that also. 13 Some of us are Jews, and some are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.
14 The human body has many parts. 15 The foot might say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. 16 The ear might say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the ear from 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. 18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them. 20 So then 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 the weaker are really necessary. 23 And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor. We give special respect to the parts we want to hide. 24 The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it 25 so 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, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor.
27 Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body. 28 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 govern, and those who can speak in different languages.[b] 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 languages. Not all interpret those languages. 31 But you should truly want to have the greater gifts.
Love Is the Greatest Gift
And now I will show you the best way of all.
The Coals of Fire
10 Then I looked and saw in the dome above the heads of the living creatures something like a sapphire gem which looked like a throne. 2 The Lord said to the man dressed in linen, “Go in between the wheels under the living creatures, fill your hands with coals of fire from between the living creatures, and scatter the coals over the city.”
As I watched, the man with linen clothes went in. 3 Now the living creatures were standing on the south side of the Temple when the man went in. And a cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the glory of the Lord went up from the living creatures and stood over the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the brightness from the glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the living creatures was heard all the way to the outer courtyard. It was like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
6 When the Lord commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the living creatures,” the man went in and stood by a wheel. 7 One living creature put out his hand to the fire that was among them, took some of the fire, and put it in the hands of the man dressed in linen. Then the man took the fire and went out.
The Wheels and the Creatures
8 Something that looked like a human hand could be seen under the wings of the living creatures. 9 I saw the four wheels by the living creatures, one wheel by each living creature. The wheels looked like shining chrysolite. 10 All four wheels looked alike: Each looked like a wheel crossways inside another wheel. 11 When the wheels moved, they went in any of the directions that the four living creatures faced. The wheels did not turn about, and the living creatures did not turn their bodies as they went. 12 All their bodies, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all over. Each of the four living creatures had a wheel. 13 I heard the wheels being called “whirling wheels.” 14 Each living creature had four faces. The first face was the face of a creature with wings. The second face was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
15 Then the living creatures flew up. They were the same living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the living creatures lifted their wings to fly up from the ground, the wheels did not leave their place beside them. 17 When the living creatures stopped, the wheels stopped. When the creatures went up, the wheels went up also, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
18 Then the glory of the Lord left the door of the Temple and stood over the living creatures. 19 As I watched, the living creatures spread their wings and flew up from the ground, with the wheels beside them. They stood where the east gate of the Temple of the Lord opened, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.
20 These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel by the Kebar River. I knew they were called cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were things that looked like human hands. 22 Their faces looked the same as the ones I had seen by the Kebar River. They each went straight ahead.
Trusting Money Is Foolish
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Listen to this, all you nations;
listen, all you who live on earth.
2 Listen, both great and small,
rich and poor together.
3 What I say is wise,
and my heart speaks with understanding.
4 I will pay attention to a wise saying;
I will explain my riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid of bad days?
Why should I fear when evil people surround me?
6 They trust in their money
and brag about their riches.
7 No one can buy back the life of another.
No one can pay God for his own life,
8 because the price of a life is high.
No payment is ever enough.
9 Do people live forever?
Don’t they all face death?
10 See, even wise people die.
Fools and stupid people also die
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves will always be their homes.
They will live there from now on,
even though they named places after themselves.
12 Even rich people do not live forever;
like the animals, people die.
13 This is what will happen to those who trust in themselves
and to their followers who believe them. Selah
14 Like sheep, they must die,
and death will be their shepherd.
Honest people will rule over them in the morning,
and their bodies will rot in a grave far from home.
15 But God will save my life
and will take me from the grave. Selah
16 Don’t be afraid of rich people
because their houses are more beautiful.
17 They don’t take anything to the grave;
their wealth won’t go down with them.
18 Even though they were praised when they were alive—
and people may praise you when you succeed—
19 they will go to where their ancestors are.
They will never see light again.
20 Rich people with no understanding
are just like animals that die.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.