M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Report of Saul’s Death
1 After Saul died and David returned from defeating the Amalekites,[a] David stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp. His clothes were torn, and he had dirt on his head. When he came to David, he immediately bowed down with his face touching the ground.
3 “Where did you come from?” David asked him.
“I escaped from the camp of Israel,” he answered.
4 “What happened?” David asked him. “Please tell me.”
The man answered, “The army fled from the battle, and many of the soldiers died. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead too.”
5 “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” David asked the young man who had brought him the news.
6 The young man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Saul was there leaning on his spear, and the chariots and horsemen were catching up with him. 7 When he looked back and saw me, he called to me, and I said, ‘Yes?’”
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“I said to him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’
9 “He said to me, ‘Please stand over me and kill me. I’m alive, but I’m suffering.’[b]
10 “So I stood over him and killed him, since I knew he couldn’t survive after he had been wounded. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band that was on his arm and brought them here to you, sir.”
11 Then David grabbed his own clothes and tore them in grief. All the men with him did the same. 12 They mourned, cried, and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, Yahweh’s army, and the nation of Israel had been defeated in battle.
13 David asked the young man who had brought him the news, “Where are you from?”
And the young man answered, “I’m an Amalekite, the son of a foreign resident.”
14 David asked, “Why weren’t you afraid to take it upon yourself to destroy Yahweh’s anointed king?” 15 Then David called one of his young men and told him, “Come here and attack him.” David’s young man executed him 16 while David said, “You are responsible for spilling your own blood. You testified against yourself when you said, ‘I killed Yahweh’s anointed king.’”
David’s Lament
17 David wrote this song of mourning for Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 He said,
“Teach this kesheth[c] to the people of Judah.”
(It is recorded in the Book of Jashar.)
19 “Your glory, Israel, lies dead on your hills.
See how the mighty have fallen!
20 Don’t tell the news in Gath.
Don’t announce the victory in the streets of Ashkelon,
or the daughters of the Philistines will be glad,
and the daughters of godless men will celebrate.
21 You mountains in Gilboa,
may there be no dew or rain on you
or on your slopes,[d]
because warriors’ shields were tarnished there.
Saul’s shield was never rubbed with olive oil.
22 From the blood of those killed and the fat of the warriors,
Jonathan’s bow did not turn away,
nor did Saul’s sword return unused.
23 Saul and Jonathan were loved and well-liked while they were living.
They were not separated even when they died.
They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions.
24 Daughters of Israel, cry over Saul,
who dressed you in decorated, red clothes,
who put gold jewelry on your clothes.
25 See how the mighty have fallen in battle!
On your hills Jonathan was killed!
26 I am heartbroken over you, my brother Jonathan.
You were my great delight.
Your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women.
27 See how the mighty have fallen!
See how the weapons of war have been destroyed!”
Spiritual Gifts
12 Brothers and sisters, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding concerning spiritual gifts. 2 You know that when you were unbelievers, every time you were led to worship false gods you were worshiping gods who couldn’t even speak. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Yeshua is cursed.” No one can say, “Yeshua is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. 6 There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person.
7 The evidence of the Spirit’s presence is given to each person for the common good of everyone. 8 The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. The same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. 9 To another person the same Spirit gives courageous faith. To another person the same Spirit gives the ability to heal. 10 Another can work miracles. Another can speak what God has revealed. Another can tell the difference between spirits. Another can speak in different kinds of languages. Another can interpret languages. 11 There is only one Spirit who does all these things by giving what God wants to give to each person.
12 For example, the body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether we are Jewish or Greek, slave or free, God gave all of us one Spirit to drink.
14 As you know, the human body is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. 15 Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? 16 Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, so I’m not a part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? 18 So God put each and every part of the body together as he wanted it. 19 How could it be a body if it only had one part? 20 So there are many parts but one body.
21 An eye can’t say to a hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 The opposite is true. The parts of the body that we think are weaker are the ones we really need. 23 The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we give special honor. So our unpresentable parts are made more presentable. 24 However, our presentable parts don’t need this kind of treatment. God has put the body together and given special honor to the part that doesn’t have it. 25 God’s purpose was that the body should not be divided but rather that all of its parts should feel the same concern for each other. 26 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.
27 You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it. 28 In the church God has appointed first apostles, next prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who have the gift of healing, then those who help others, those who are managers, and those who can speak in a number of languages. 29 Not all believers are apostles, are they? Are all of them prophets? Do all of them teach? Do all of them perform miracles 30 or have gifts of healing? Can all of them speak in other languages or interpret languages?
31 You only want the better gifts, but I will show you the best thing to do.[a]
The Glory of the Lord Leaves His Temple
10 As I looked at the dome over the heads of the angels,[a] I saw something that looked like a throne made of sapphire. 2 Yahweh said to the person dressed in linen, “Go between the wheels under the angels, and fill your hands with burning coals. Then scatter them over the city.” So he went between the wheels as I watched.
3 The angels were standing on the south side of the temple as the person went. A cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Yahweh’s glory rose from the angels to the entrance of the temple, the cloud filled the temple, and the brightness of Yahweh’s glory filled the courtyard. 5 The sound of the angels’ wings was heard as far as the outer courtyard. It was like the sound of El Shadday when he speaks.
6 After Yahweh had commanded the person dressed in linen to take burning coals from between the wheels beside the angels, the person went in and stood beside one of the wheels. 7 One of the angels reached into the fire that was between the angels and took out some coals. This angel put them in the hands of the person dressed in linen. The person took them and left.
8 The angels appeared to have what looked like human hands under their wings. 9 As I looked, I saw four wheels beside the angels, one wheel beside each of the angels. The wheels looked like beryl. 10 All four wheels looked the same. Each was like a wheel within a wheel. 11 Whenever the angels moved, they moved in any of the four directions without turning as they moved. They always moved in the direction they faced without turning as they moved. 12 Their entire bodies, their backs, hands, wings, and wheels were covered with eyes. Each of the angels had a wheel. 13 I heard that the wheels were called the whirling wheels. 14 Each of the angels had four faces. The first was the face of an angel, the second was the face of a human, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
15 The angels rose. These were the living creatures that I saw at the Chebar River. 16 When the angels moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the angels lifted their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels didn’t leave their side. 17 When the angels stood still, the wheels stood still. When the angels rose, the wheels rose with them. The spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 18 Then the glory of Yahweh left the temple’s entrance and stood over the angels. 19 The angels lifted their wings and rose from the ground. I was watching them as they left with the wheels beside them. The angels stood at the door to the east gate of Yahweh’s temple, and the glory of the Elohim of Israel was above them.
20 These are the living creatures that I saw under the Elohim of Israel at the Chebar River. I realized that they were angels. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces looked exactly like the faces that I saw by the Chebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
Psalm 49
For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Listen to this, all you people.
Open your ears, all who live in the world—
2 common people and important ones,
rich people and poor ones.
3 My mouth will speak wise sayings,
the insights I have carefully considered.
4 I will turn my attention to a proverb.
I will explain my riddle with the music of a lyre.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
when slanderers surround me with evil?
6 They trust their riches
and brag about their abundant wealth.
7 No one can ever buy back another person
or pay Elohim a ransom for his life.
8 The price to be paid for his soul is too costly.
He must always give up
9 in order to live forever and never see the pit.
10 Indeed, one can see that wise people die,
that foolish and stupid people meet the same end.
They leave their riches to others.
11 Although they named their lands after themselves,
their graves[a] have become their homes for ages to come,
their dwelling places throughout every generation.
12 But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure.
They are like animals that die.
13 This is the final outcome for fools and their followers
who are delighted by what they say: Selah
14 Like sheep, they are driven to hell
with death as their shepherd.
(Decent people will rule them in the morning.)
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far away from their comfortable homes.
15 But Elohim will buy me back from the power of hell
because he will take me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich,
when the greatness of his house increases.
17 He will not take anything with him when he dies.
His greatness cannot follow him.
18 Even though he blesses himself while he is alive
(and they praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 he must join the generation of his ancestors,
who will never see light again.
20 Mortals, with what they treasure, still don’t have understanding.
They are like animals that die.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.