M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David and Goliath
17 The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They met at Socoh in Judah and camped at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah and camped there and took their positions to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines controlled one hill while the Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them.
4 The Philistines had a champion fighter from Gath named Goliath. He was about nine feet, four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp 5 with a bronze helmet on his head and a coat of bronze armor that weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. 6 He wore bronze protectors on his legs, and he had a bronze spear on his back. 7 The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver’s rod, and its blade weighed about fifteen pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. 9 If he can fight and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I can kill him, you will be our servants.” 10 Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very scared.
12 Now David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. 13 His three oldest sons followed Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. Jesse’s three oldest sons followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to Bethlehem, where he took care of his father’s sheep.
16 For forty days the Philistine came out every morning and evening and stood before the Israelite army.
17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take this half bushel of cooked grain and ten loaves of bread to your brothers in the camp. 18 Also take ten pieces of cheese to the commander and to your brothers. See how your brothers are and bring back some proof to show me that they are all right. 19 Your brothers are with Saul and the army in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was going out to their battle positions, shouting their war cry. 21 The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.
22 David left the food with the man who kept the supplies and ran to the battle line to talk to his brothers. 23 While he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard him. 24 When the Israelites saw Goliath, they were very much afraid and ran away.
25 They said, “Look at this man! He keeps coming out to challenge Israel. The king will give much money to whoever kills him. He will also let whoever kills him marry his daughter. And his father’s family will not have to pay taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men who stood near him, “What will be done to reward the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? Who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is? Does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?”
27 The Israelites told David what would be done for the man who would kill Goliath.
28 When David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers, he was angry with David. He asked David, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of those few sheep of yours in the desert? I know you are proud and wicked at heart. You came down here just to watch the battle.”
29 David asked, “Now what have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?” 30 When he turned to other people and asked the same questions, they gave him the same answer as before. 31 Yet what David said was told to Saul, and he sent for David.
32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. I, your servant, will go and fight this Philistine!”
33 Saul answered, “You can’t go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a boy. Goliath has been a warrior since he was a young man.”
34 But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, 35 I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur and hit it and killed it. 36 I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! This uncircumcised Philistine will be like them, because he has spoken against the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who saved me from a lion and a bear will save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” 38 Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on his head and dressed him in armor. 39 David put on Saul’s sword and tried to walk around, but he was not used to all the armor Saul had put on him.
He said to Saul, “I can’t go in this, because I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. 40 He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his shepherd’s bag and grabbed his sling. Then he went to meet the Philistine.
41 At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. 42 When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on David with disgust. 43 He said, “Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” He used his gods’ names to curse David. 44 He said to David, “Come here. I’ll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!”
45 But David said to him, “You come to me using a sword and two spears. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken against him. 46 Today the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll kill you and cut off your head. Today I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! 47 Everyone gathered here will know the Lord does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him, and he will hand you over to us.”
48 As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. 49 He took a stone from his bag, put it into his sling, and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine and went deep into his forehead, and Goliath fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. 51 Then David ran and stood beside him. He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him by cutting off his head.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 The men of Israel and Judah shouted and chased the Philistines all the way to the entrance of the city of Gath and to the gates of Ekron.
The Philistines’ bodies lay on the Shaaraim road as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 The Israelites returned after chasing the Philistines and robbed their camp. 54 David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem and put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 When Saul saw David go out to meet Goliath, Saul asked Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, who is that young man’s father?”
Abner answered, “As surely as you live, my king, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son he is.”
57 When David came back from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul. David was still holding Goliath’s head.
58 Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
15 We who are strong in faith should help the weak with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. 2 Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to help them be stronger in faith. 3 Even Christ did not live to please himself. It was as the Scriptures said: “When people insult you, it hurts me.”[a] 4 Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. 5 May the patience and encouragement that come from God allow you to live in harmony with each other the way Christ Jesus wants. 6 Then you will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God. 8 I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God’s promises to the Jewish ancestors are true. 9 And he also did this so that those who are not Jews could give glory to God for the mercy he gives to them. It is written in the Scriptures:
“So I will praise you among the non-Jewish people.
I will sing praises to your name.” Psalm 18:49
10 The Scripture also says,
“Be happy, you who are not Jews, together with his people.” Deuteronomy 32:43
11 Again the Scripture says,
“All you who are not Jews, praise the Lord.
All you people, sing praises to him.” Psalm 117:1
12 And Isaiah says,
“A new king will come from the family of Jesse.[b]
He will come to rule over the non-Jewish people,
and they will have hope because of him.” Isaiah 11:10
13 I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul Talks About His Work
14 My brothers and sisters, I am sure that you are full of goodness. I know that you have all the knowledge you need and that you are able to teach each other. 15 But I have written to you very openly about some things I wanted you to remember. I did this because God gave me this special gift: 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to those who are not Jews. I served God by teaching his Good News, so that the non-Jewish people could be an offering that God would accept—an offering made holy by the Holy Spirit.
17 So I am proud of what I have done for God in Christ Jesus. 18 I will not talk about anything except what Christ has done through me in leading those who are not Jews to obey God. They have obeyed God because of what I have said and done, 19 because of the power of miracles and the great things they saw, and because of the power of the Holy Spirit. I preached the Good News from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, and so I have finished that part of my work. 20 I always want to preach the Good News in places where people have never heard of Christ, because I do not want to build on the work someone else has already started. 21 But it is written in the Scriptures:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard about him will understand.” Isaiah 52:15
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22 This is the reason I was stopped many times from coming to you. 23 Now I have finished my work here. Since for many years I have wanted to come to you, 24 I hope to visit you on my way to Spain. After I enjoy being with you for a while, I hope you can help me on my trip. 25 Now I am going to Jerusalem to help God’s people. 26 The believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece were happy to give their money to help the poor among God’s people at Jerusalem. 27 They were happy to do this, and really they owe it to them. These who are not Jews have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, so they should use their material possessions to help the Jews. 28 After I am sure the poor in Jerusalem get the money that has been given for them, I will leave for Spain and stop and visit you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will bring Christ’s full blessing.
30 Brothers and sisters, I beg you to help me in my work by praying to God for me. Do this because of our Lord Jesus and the love that the Holy Spirit gives us. 31 Pray that I will be saved from the nonbelievers in Judea and that this help I bring to Jerusalem will please God’s people there. 32 Then, if God wants me to, I will come to you with joy, and together you and I will have a time of rest. 33 The God who gives peace be with you all. Amen.
The Lord Destroyed Jerusalem
2 Look how the Lord in his anger
has brought Jerusalem to shame.
He has thrown down the greatness of Israel
from the sky to the earth;
he did not remember the Temple, his footstool,
on the day of his anger.
2 The Lord swallowed up without mercy
all the houses of the people of Jacob;
in his anger he pulled down
the strong places of Judah.
He threw her kingdom and its rulers
down to the ground in dishonor.
3 In his anger he has removed
all the strength of Israel;
he took away his power from Israel
when the enemy came.
He burned against the people of Jacob like a flaming fire
that burns up everything around it.
4 Like an enemy, he prepared to shoot his bow,
and his hand was against us.
Like an enemy, he killed
all the good-looking people;
he poured out his anger like fire
on the tents of Jerusalem.
5 The Lord was like an enemy;
he swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all her palaces
and destroyed all her strongholds.
He has caused more moaning and groaning
for Judah.
6 He cut down his Temple like a garden;
he destroyed the meeting place.
The Lord has made Jerusalem forget
the set feasts and Sabbath days.
He has rejected the king and the priest
in his great anger.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
and abandoned his Temple.
He has handed over to the enemy
the walls of Jerusalem’s palaces.
Their uproar in the Lord’s Temple
was like that of a feast day.
8 The Lord planned to destroy
the wall around Jerusalem.
He measured the wall
and did not stop himself from destroying it.
He made the walls and defenses sad;
together they have fallen.
9 Jerusalem’s gates have fallen to the ground;
he destroyed and smashed the bars of the gates.
Her king and her princes are among the nations.
The teaching of the Lord has stopped,
and the prophets do not have
visions from the Lord.
10 The elders of Jerusalem
sit on the ground in silence.
They throw dust on their heads
and put on rough cloth to show their sadness.
The young women of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.
11 My eyes have no more tears,
and I am sick to my stomach.
I feel empty inside,
because my people have been destroyed.
Children and babies are fainting
in the streets of the city.
12 They ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain and wine?”
They faint like wounded soldiers
in the streets of the city
and die in their mothers’ arms.
13 What can I say about you, Jerusalem?
What can I compare you to?
What can I say you are like?
How can I comfort you, Jerusalem?
Your ruin is as deep as the sea.
No one can heal you.
14 Your prophets saw visions,
but they were false and worth nothing.
They did not point out your sins
to keep you from being captured.
They preached what was false
and led you wrongly.
15 All who pass by on the road
clap their hands at you;
they make fun of Jerusalem
and shake their heads.
They ask, “Is this the city that people called
the most beautiful city,
the happiest place on earth?”
16 All your enemies open their mouths
to speak against you.
They make fun and grind their teeth in anger.
They say, “We have swallowed you up.
This is the day we were waiting for!
We have finally seen it happen.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has kept his word
that he commanded long ago.
He has destroyed without mercy,
and he has let your enemies laugh at you.
He has strengthened your enemies.
18 The people cry out to the Lord.
Wall of Jerusalem,
let your tears flow
like a river day and night.
Do not stop
or let your eyes rest.
19 Get up, cry out in the night,
even as the night begins.
Pour out your heart like water
in prayer to the Lord.
Lift up your hands in prayer to him
for the life of your children
who are fainting with hunger
on every street corner.
20 Jerusalem says: “Look, Lord, and see
to whom you have done this.
Women eat their own babies,
the children they have cared for.
Priests and prophets are killed
in the Temple of the Lord.
21 “People young and old
lie outside on the ground.
My young women and young men
have been killed by the sword.
You killed them on the day of your anger;
you killed them without mercy.
22 “You invited terrors to come against me on every side,
as if you were inviting them to a feast.
No one escaped or remained alive
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
My enemy has killed
those I cared for and brought up.”
Praise God Who Creates and Saves
33 Sing to the Lord, you who do what is right;
honest people should praise him.
2 Praise the Lord on the harp;
make music for him on a ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing a new song to him;
play well and joyfully.
4 God’s word is true,
and everything he does is right.
5 He loves what is right and fair;
the Lord’s love fills the earth.
6 The sky was made at the Lord’s command.
By the breath from his mouth, he made all the stars.
7 He gathered the water of the sea into a heap.
He made the great ocean stay in its place.
8 All the earth should worship the Lord;
the whole world should fear him.
9 He spoke, and it happened.
He commanded, and it appeared.
10 The Lord upsets the plans of nations;
he ruins all their plans.
11 But the Lord’s plans will stand forever;
his ideas will last from now on.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his very own.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees every person.
14 From his throne he watches
all who live on earth.
15 He made their hearts
and understands everything they do.
16 No king is saved by his great army.
No warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 Horses can’t bring victory;
they can’t save by their strength.
18 But the Lord looks after those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his love.
19 He saves them from death
and spares their lives in times of hunger.
20 So our hope is in the Lord.
He is our help, our shield to protect us.
21 We rejoice in him,
because we trust his holy name.
22 Lord, show your love to us
as we put our hope in you.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.