M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
18 David finished talking with Saul. After that, Saul's son Jonathan became a very good friend of David. Jonathan loved David as much as he loved his own life. 2 Saul kept David with him from that day. He did not let David go home to his father's house. 3 Jonathan made a special promise to be David's friend, because he loved David as much as he loved his own life. 4 Jonathan took off his coat and he gave it to David. He also gave his armour to David, as well as his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 David did whatever Saul asked him to do. And he always did it well. So Saul made David an officer to lead his army. That made the soldiers happy, and it also pleased Saul's officers.
6 After David had killed the Philistine, Goliath, he and the soldiers returned to their homes. Women came out from all the towns in Israel to meet King Saul. The women were happy as they sang songs and they danced. They made music with tambourines and lyres. 7 They sang this song while they danced:
‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies.
And David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.’
8 Saul did not like this song. He became very angry. He thought, ‘The women say that David has killed tens of thousands of men. But they say that I have only killed thousands of men. They will soon want David to be their king.’
9 After that, Saul was jealous of David and he watched David carefully.
10 The next day God caused an evil spirit to come and control Saul. Saul started to prophesy in his house. David was making music on his harp as he did every day. Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 He threw the spear at David. He thought, ‘I will hit David so that it fixes him to the wall.’ He tried to do this twice, but David moved out of the way.
12 The Lord was with David. But the Lord had left Saul. So Saul was afraid of David. 13 So Saul sent David away from him. He made David the leader of 1,000 soldiers. David led the soldiers into battles, but he always came back again.[a] 14 David won all his fights because the Lord was with him. 15 Saul saw that David was a great soldier. So he became more afraid of David. 16 All the people in Israel and Judah loved David because he led the army in their battles.
David marries Saul's daughter
17 Saul said to David, ‘Here is my oldest daughter Merab. I will let you marry her. But you must be a brave soldier and you must fight battles for the Lord.’ Saul thought to himself, ‘I will not have to kill David myself. The Philistines will do that.’
18 But David said to Saul, ‘I am not an important person. My family and my father's clan are not important either. I do not deserve to marry the king's daughter.’
19 When the time came for Merab to marry David, Saul told her to marry a different man. He gave her to Adriel from Meholah to be his wife.
20 Saul had another daughter, Michal, and she loved David. When somebody told Saul about this, he was very happy. 21 He thought, ‘I will let David marry her. I will use her as a trap that will catch him. I will give the Philistines a chance to kill him.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Now you have another chance to marry one of my daughters.’
22 Saul told his servants to say secretly to David, ‘The king is pleased with you. His servants all like you. You should now marry the king's daughter.’
23 Saul's servants said this to David. But David replied, ‘It is a great honour for someone to marry the king's daughter. But I am poor. I am not important enough.’[b]
24 Saul's servants told him what David had said. 25 Saul said, ‘Tell David this: The king does not want David to pay money to marry the king's daughter. He can pay for her with the foreskins of 100 dead Philistines. Saul wants David to punish his enemies.’
In this way, Saul thought that he would use the Philistines to kill David.
26 Saul's servants told David what Saul wanted. It made David happy to think that he could marry the king's daughter. Before the time for the wedding arrived, 27 David and his men left their homes. They went and they killed 200 Philistines. David brought all their foreskins to Saul. David gave them to Saul so that he could marry the king's daughter. So Saul agreed to let David marry his daughter Michal.
28 Saul realized that the Lord was with David. He knew that his daughter Michal loved David. 29 So Saul became even more afraid of David. Saul was David's enemy for the rest of his life.
30 The Philistine army continued to march out and attack the Israelites. Every time that they fought, David won more fights than any of Saul's other officers. So David became very famous.
Paul says ‘hello’
16 I want you to know that our Christian friend Phoebe is a good person. She is a servant of the church at Cenchrea. 2 Please be kind to her when she comes to you, because you belong to the Lord. Help her in the way that God's people ought to help one another. Give to her the things that she needs. She has worked to help me as well as many other people.[a]
3 Say ‘hello’ on my behalf to Priscilla and Aquila. They have worked together with me as servants of Christ Jesus. 4 They were even ready to die so that they could help me. So I have a good reason to thank them. All the groups of Gentile believers also have a good reason to thank them. 5 Also say ‘hello’ for me to the group of believers who meet in Priscilla and Aquila's house.
Say ‘hello’ to my very good friend Epenetus. He was the first person in the region of Asia who believed in Christ.
6 Say ‘hello’ to Mary, who has worked very much on your behalf. 7 Say ‘hello’ to my relatives Andronicus and Junia, who were in prison with me. The apostles know them well and respect them. They became believers in Christ before I did.
8 Say ‘hello’ to Ampliatus on my behalf. He is my very good friend in the Lord's family. 9 Say ‘hello’ to Urbanus, who works with us to serve Christ. Also say ‘hello’ to my good friend Stachys. 10 Say ‘hello’ to Apelles. He has shown that he trusts Christ very well. Say ‘hello’ to those people who belong to Aristobulus's family. 11 Say ‘hello’ to my relative Herodion. Say ‘hello’ to those people in Narcissus's family who belong to the Lord.
12 Say ‘hello’ to Tryphena and Tryphosa. They work hard to serve the Lord. Say ‘hello’ to my good friend Persis. She has worked very hard to serve the Lord. 13 Say ‘hello’ to Rufus. He is a special servant of the Lord. Say ‘hello’ also to his mother, who has been kind to me, like a mother.
14 Say ‘hello’ to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas and Hermas. Say ‘hello’ also to all our Christian friends who are there with them. 15 Say ‘hello’ to Philologus and Julia, to Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas. Say ‘hello’ also to all God's people who are there with them.
16 When you meet, kiss each other as Christian brothers and sisters. The people of all the Christian churches here say ‘hello’ to you.
False teachers
17 My Christian friends, I want to tell you something important. Be very careful about people who teach wrong things. They teach things that are different from God's true message that you learned. Those people cause you to quarrel with each other. They cause people to turn away from God. You must stay away from them. 18 People who are like that are not servants of our Lord Christ. Instead, they are doing the things which please themselves. They speak words that seem very nice, but they deceive people who easily accept a false message.
19 Everyone knows that you obey God well. So I am very happy because of you. But I want you to understand clearly what things are good. And I want you to stay away from the things that are bad. 20 God gives us peace in our minds. He will quickly help you to win against the power of Satan. I pray that our Lord Jesus will continue to be kind to you.
Paul finishes his letter
21 Timothy, who is working together with me, says ‘hello’ to you. My relatives Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, also say ‘hello’ to you.
22 I, Tertius, have written down this letter for Paul. I also belong to the Lord and I say ‘hello’ to you.[b]
23 Gaius also says ‘hello’ to you. I, Paul, am staying in his house. The group of Christians here also meet together in his house. Erastus also says ‘hello’ to you. He is an officer who takes care of the city's money. Our Christian friend Quartus says ‘hello’ to you too.
[24 I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to all of you.][c]
25 We praise God because he is great! He is able to make you strong in your spirits! That is the good news that I teach. That good news is the message about Jesus Christ that God has kept secret since long ago. But now he has shown this message to us. 26 God's prophets already wrote that this good news would come. God, who lives for ever, has commanded us to tell it to people. He wants people from all nations to know this message. Then they can believe in God and obey him.
27 Yes, we praise God! Only he is completely wise. We praise him for ever, because of Jesus Christ! This is true. Amen.
From trouble to hope[a]
3 I am the man who has seen trouble.
God punished me because he was angry with me.
2 He has led me into the dark.
There is no light, so I cannot see the right way.
3 He is completely against me.[b]
He causes me trouble all the time.
4 God has caused my skin and my whole body to become old.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has fought against me from every side.
He caused much trouble for me,
so that I am very sad.
6 He has brought me to this dark place.
So I am like a person who has been dead for a long time.
7 It is as if God has built high walls round me, and I cannot go out.
My troubles are very bad.
They hold me down like heavy chains.
8 I shout and I pray for help, but God does not listen.
9 On every road that I go along, he has put big rocks in my way.
I cannot go past them.
10 God is like a strong wild animal.
He hides and he waits for me by the path.
11 He is like an animal that catches me and pulls me off the path.
He tears me in pieces and then he leaves me without any help.
12 God is like a soldier with a bow and arrows.
He used his bow to shoot at me.
13 It was as if he shot me in the heart with his arrows.
14 All the people see me and laugh.
They even sing silly songs about me all the time.
15 God has caused my life to become a thing of pain.
It is as if he filled a cup with a very bitter drink for me.
16 It is as if he caused me to eat small stones, so that the stones broke my teeth.
Then he put me on the ground, and he pushed me down in the dirt.
17 He has taken peace away from my mind.
I cannot remember the happy days that I had before.
18 I tell myself, ‘Everything good has finished for me!
The things that I hoped for from the Lord have not come!’
19 Lord, please remember all my troubles, because I am sad.
Remember that I am very lonely.
My troubles are like poison for me.
20 I think about all those things,
and I feel small and alone.
21 But then I choose to remember God,
and this is my hope:[c]
22 The Lord's faithful love never comes to an end.
He never stops being kind to us.[d]
23 Every day, we can trust him to be kind again.
We know that he will do what he has promised to do.
24 ‘He is my Lord,’ I say to myself.
‘He is the reason why I can hope for good things.’
25 The Lord does good things for people who wait for him.
He is kind to everyone who looks for him.
26 It is good when people continue to hope.
It is good when they quietly wait for the Lord,
because he will save them.
27 It is also good for people to obey God when they are young.
They should work well for him.
28 Also, when the Lord causes them to be in trouble,
they should sit alone quietly.[e]
29 They should be humble in front of God.[f]
Then hope may come again.
30 If somebody hits them or insults them, they should accept it.[g]
31 The Lord does not turn against people for ever.
32 He does cause people to feel sad sometimes,
but he is sorry for us.
He is also very kind to us, because he loves us very much.
33 He does not enjoy seeing people who are in pain.
He does not enjoy causing trouble for them.[h]
34 Bad people may be cruel to those who are in prison.
35 They may turn against the Most High God and cheat people.
36 They may tell lies in court.
The Lord is not happy when he sees any of those bad things.
37 The Lord causes things to happen.
Nobody can cause things to happen without him.
38 The Most High God causes all things to happen.
He causes good things and bad things to happen when he speaks.
39 He only punishes us when we do wrong things.
We are still alive, so we should not be angry with God.
40 Instead, we should think a lot about what we do,
and we should turn back to the Lord again.
41 We should lift up our hands and pray to God in heaven.[i]
We should be honest with God and say to him,
42 ‘We have done wrong things,
and we have turned against you.
You have not forgiven us.
43 You have hidden yourself from us because you are angry.
You have followed us so that you could kill us.
You were not sorry about it.
44 You have hidden from us in a cloud.
So you do not listen to us when we talk to you.
45 You let people from other countries think bad things about us.
They think that we have no value.
We are like things that nobody can use any longer.
46 All our enemies have insulted us.
47 We have become afraid of them.
They have caught us and they have destroyed us and our things.’[j]
48 I weep, and my eyes are red with all my tears.
It is because the enemy has killed my people.
49 Tears come like a river from my eyes and they will not stop,
50 until the Lord looks down on us from heaven.
He will see us and he will help us.
51 I see what has happened to all the people in my city.
And so I am very sad.
52 My enemies had no reason to follow me.
But they caught me as they would catch a bird.
53 They put me alive into the well,
and they threw stones down on me.
54 The water covered my head.
Then I said, ‘I will soon die.’
55 I shouted your name, Lord,
when I was in the well.
56 ‘Please listen to me, Lord,’ I shouted.
‘Help me! Save me!’ I shouted,
and you heard me.
57 You came near to me when I prayed to you.
‘Do not be afraid,’ you said.
58 Lord, you have given me help.
You have paid the price to keep me alive.
59 You saw the bad things that they did to me.
So please agree with me that they were not fair!
60 You know all the bad things that they did to me.
And you know about all the bad things that they want to do to me.
61 You have heard their cruel words against me, Lord.
Yes, you know about all the bad things that they want to do to me.
62 These people have been cruel to me.
They attack me with cruel words every hour of the day.
63 Look at them as they sing cruel things about me.
They sing when they are sitting, and they sing when they are standing.
64 Punish them for what they have done, Lord.
65 Cause them to think that they cannot hope for anything good.
Cause bad things to happen to them.
66 Run after them angrily.
Kill them all because you are angry with them.
Let nobody on earth remember them any longer.
David wrote this song when he made the Philistine king think that he was crazy. He wanted the king to send him away.[a]
God is great![b]
34 I will always praise the Lord.
All the time I will sing to praise him.
2 I will boast that the Lord is great!
I want weak people to hear that.
I want them to be happy!
3 Join with me to tell people that the Lord is great!
Together we will make his name famous.
4 I asked the Lord to help me,
and he answered me.
He saved me from everything that made me afraid.
5 People who trust the Lord to help them
will be very happy.
Their faces will be bright,
and they will not be ashamed.
6 I was weak and helpless,
so I called out to the Lord.
The Lord heard me.
He saved me from all my troubles.
7 The Lord's angel is very near
to people who respect and obey the Lord.
He keeps them safe from danger.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good!
God blesses people who turn to him
to keep them safe.
9 All you people who belong to the Lord,
continue to obey him.
People who respect the Lord
will have the things that they need.
10 Even young lions may not have food,
so that they become hungry.
But people who trust the Lord for help
will receive every good thing that they need.
11 Children, come and listen to me!
I will teach you how to respect the Lord.
12 Do you want to live a good life?
Do you want your life to be long and happy?
13 If so, do not speak any evil words.
Do not tell lies to deceive people.
14 Do good things instead of evil things.
Try to bring peace into people's lives.
15 The Lord watches over righteous people.
He hears them when they call to him for help.
16 But the Lord turns against people who do evil things.
He causes everybody to forget that they ever lived.
17 The Lord hears his righteous people
when they call for help.
He saves them from all their troubles.
18 When people are upset,
the Lord is near to them.
He saves those who feel very weak and upset.
19 Righteous people may often have troubles,
but the Lord saves them from every danger.
20 The Lord keeps them safe.
Not even one of their bones is broken!
21 Evil things will return to kill wicked people.
Whoever hates God's own people
will receive punishment.
22 The Lord saves the lives of his servants.
Everyone who trusts the Lord to keep them safe
will not receive punishment as a guilty person.
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