M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
26 Now the men from Ziph came back to Saul at Gibeah to tell him that David had returned to the wilderness and was hiding on Hachilah Hill. 2 So Saul took his elite corps of three thousand troops and went to hunt him down. 3-4 Saul camped along the road at the edge of the wilderness where David was hiding, but David knew of Saul’s arrival and sent out spies to watch his movements.
5-7 David slipped over to Saul’s camp one night to look around. King Saul and General Abner were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering soldiers.
“Any volunteers to go down there with me?” David asked Ahimelech (the Hittite) and Abishai (Joab’s brother and the son of Zeruiah).
“I’ll go with you,” Abishai replied. So David and Abishai went to Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear in the ground beside his head.
8 “God has put your enemy within your power this time for sure,” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me go and put that spear through him. I’ll pin him to the earth with it—I’ll not need to strike a second time!”
9 “No,” David said. “Don’t kill him, for who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s chosen king? 10 Surely God will strike him down some day, or he will die in battle or of old age. 11 But God forbid that I should kill the man he has chosen to be king! But I’ll tell you what—we’ll take his spear and his jug of water and then get out of here!”
12 So David took the spear and jug of water, and they got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the Lord had put them sound asleep. 13 They climbed the mountain slope opposite the camp until they were at a safe distance.
14 Then David shouted down to Abner and Saul, “Wake up, Abner!”
“Who is it?” Abner demanded.
15 “Well, Abner, you’re a great fellow, aren’t you?” David taunted. “Where in all Israel is there anyone as wonderful? So why haven’t you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? 16 This isn’t good at all! I swear by the Lord that you ought to die for your carelessness. Where is the king’s spear and the jug of water that was beside his head? Look and see!”
17-18 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is that you, my son David?”
And David replied, “Yes, sir, it is. Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? 19 If the Lord has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my peace offering. But if this is simply the scheme of a man, then may he be cursed by God. For you have driven me out of my home so that I can’t be with the Lord’s people, and you have sent me away to worship heathen gods. 20 Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of Jehovah? Why should the king of Israel come out to hunt my life like a partridge on the mountains?”
21 Then Saul confessed, “I have done wrong. Come back home, my son, and I’ll no longer try to harm you; for you saved my life today. I have been a fool, and very, very wrong.”
22 “Here is your spear, sir,” David replied. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23 The Lord gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the Lord placed you in my power. 24 Now may the Lord save my life, even as I have saved yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles.”
25 And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You shall do heroic deeds and be a great conqueror.”
Then David went away and Saul returned home.
7 Now about those questions you asked in your last letter: my answer is that if you do not marry, it is good. 2 But usually it is best to be married, each man having his own wife, and each woman having her own husband, because otherwise you might fall back into sin.
3 The man should give his wife all that is her right as a married woman, and the wife should do the same for her husband: 4 for a girl who marries no longer has full right to her own body, for her husband then has his rights to it, too; and in the same way the husband no longer has full right to his own body, for it belongs also to his wife. 5 So do not refuse these rights to each other. The only exception to this rule would be the agreement of both husband and wife to refrain from the rights of marriage for a limited time, so that they can give themselves more completely to prayer. Afterwards, they should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt them because of their lack of self-control.
6 I’m not saying you must marry, but you certainly may if you wish. 7 I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of a husband or wife, and others he gives the gift of being able to stay happily unmarried. 8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—better to stay unmarried if you can, just as I am. 9 But if you can’t control yourselves, go ahead and marry. It is better to marry than to burn with lust.
10 Now, for those who are married I have a command, not just a suggestion. And it is not a command from me, for this is what the Lord himself has said: A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she is separated from him, let her remain single or else go back to him. And the husband must not divorce his wife.
12 Here I want to add some suggestions of my own. These are not direct commands from the Lord, but they seem right to me: If a Christian has a wife who is not a Christian, but she wants to stay with him anyway, he must not leave her or divorce her. 13 And if a Christian woman has a husband who isn’t a Christian, and he wants her to stay with him, she must not leave him. 14 For perhaps the husband who isn’t a Christian may become a Christian with the help of his Christian wife. And the wife who isn’t a Christian may become a Christian with the help of her Christian husband. Otherwise, if the family separates, the children might never come to know the Lord; whereas a united family may, in God’s plan, result in the children’s salvation.
15 But if the husband or wife who isn’t a Christian is eager to leave, it is permitted. In such cases the Christian husband or wife should not insist that the other stay, for God wants his children to live in peace and harmony. 16 For, after all, there is no assurance to you wives that your husbands will be converted if they stay; and the same may be said to you husbands concerning your wives.
17 But be sure in deciding these matters that you are living as God intended, marrying or not marrying in accordance with God’s direction and help, and accepting whatever situation God has put you into. This is my rule for all the churches.
18 For instance, a man who already has gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision before he became a Christian shouldn’t worry about it; and if he hasn’t been circumcised, he shouldn’t do it now. 19 For it doesn’t make any difference at all whether a Christian has gone through this ceremony or not. But it makes a lot of difference whether he is pleasing God and keeping God’s commandments. That is the important thing.
20 Usually a person should keep on with the work he was doing when God called him. 21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but of course, if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22 If the Lord calls you, and you are a slave, remember that Christ has set you free from the awful power of sin; and if he has called you and you are free, remember that you are now a slave of Christ. 23 You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears.[a] 24 So, dear brothers, whatever situation a person is in when he becomes a Christian, let him stay there, for now the Lord is there to help him.
25 Now I will try to answer your other question. What about girls who are not yet married? Should they be permitted to do so? In answer to this question, I have no special command for them from the Lord. But the Lord in his kindness has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will be glad to tell you what I think.
26 Here is the problem: We Christians are facing great dangers to our lives at present. In times like these I think it is best for a person to remain unmarried. 27 Of course, if you already are married, don’t separate because of this. But if you aren’t, don’t rush into it at this time. 28 But if you men decide to go ahead anyway and get married now, it is all right; and if a girl gets married in times like these, it is no sin. However, marriage will bring extra problems that I wish you didn’t have to face right now.
29 The important thing to remember is that our remaining time is very short, and so are our opportunities for doing the Lord’s work.[b] For that reason those who have wives should stay as free as possible for the Lord; 30 happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work. 31 Those in frequent contact with the exciting things the world offers should make good use of their opportunities without stopping to enjoy them; for the world in its present form will soon be gone.
32 In all you do, I want you to be free from worry. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man can’t do that so well; he has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. It is the same with a girl who marries. She faces the same problem. A girl who is not married is anxious to please the Lord in all she is and does.[c] But a married woman must consider other things such as housekeeping and the likes and dislikes of her husband.
35 I am saying this to help you, not to try to keep you from marrying. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few other things as possible to distract your attention from him.
36 But if anyone feels he ought to marry because he has trouble controlling his passions, it is all right; it is not a sin; let him marry. 37 But if a man has the willpower not to marry and decides that he doesn’t need to and won’t, he has made a wise decision. 38 So the person who marries does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
39 The wife is part of her husband as long as he lives; if her husband dies, then she may marry again, but only if she marries a Christian. 40 But in my opinion she will be happier if she doesn’t marry again; and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.
5 “Son of dust, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard; use balances to weigh the hair into three equal parts. 2 Place a third of it at the center of your map of Jerusalem. After your siege, burn it there. Scatter another third across your map and slash at it with a knife. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will chase my people with the sword. 3 Keep just a bit of the hair and tie it up in your robe; 4 then take a few hairs out and throw them into the fire, for a fire shall come from this remnant and destroy all Israel.”
5-7 The Lord God says, “This illustrates what will happen to Jerusalem, for she has turned away from my laws and has been even more wicked than the nations surrounding her.” 8 Therefore the Lord God says: “I, even I, am against you and will punish you publicly while all the nations watch. 9 Because of the terrible sins you have committed, I will punish you more terribly than I have ever done before or ever will again. 10 Fathers will eat their own sons, and sons will eat their fathers; and those who survive will be scattered into all the world.
11 “For I promise you: Because you have defiled my Temple with idols and evil sacrifices, therefore I will not spare you nor pity you at all. 12 One-third of you will die from famine and disease; one-third will be slaughtered by the enemy; and one-third I will scatter to the winds, sending the sword of the enemy chasing after you. 13 Then at last my anger will be appeased. And all Israel will know that what I threaten I do.
14 “So I will make a public example of you before all the surrounding nations and before everyone traveling past the ruins of your land. 15 You will become a laughingstock to the world and an awesome example to everyone, for all to see what happens when the Lord turns against an entire nation in furious rebuke. I, the Lord, have spoken it!
16 “I will shower you with deadly arrows of famine to destroy you. The famine will become more and more serious until every bit of bread is gone. 17 And not only famine will come, but wild animals will attack and kill you and your families; disease and war will stalk your land, and the sword of the enemy will slay you; I, the Lord, have spoken it!”
42 As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God. 2 I thirst for God, the living God. Where can I find him to come and stand before him? 3 Day and night I weep for his help, and all the while my enemies taunt me. “Where is this God of yours?” they scoff.
4-5 Take courage, my soul! Do you remember those times (but how could you ever forget them!) when you led a great procession to the Temple on festival days, singing with joy, praising the Lord? Why then be downcast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God! I shall yet praise him again. Yes, I shall again praise him for his help.[a]
6 Yet I am standing here depressed and gloomy, but I will meditate upon your kindness to this lovely land where the Jordan River flows and where Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar stand. 7 All your waves and billows have gone over me, and floods of sorrow pour upon me like a thundering cataract.[b]
8 Yet day by day the Lord also pours out his steadfast love upon me, and through the night I sing his songs and pray to God who gives me life.
9 “O God my Rock,” I cry, “why have you forsaken me? Why must I suffer these attacks from my enemies?” 10 Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound; again and again they scoff, “Where is that God of yours?” 11 But, O my soul, don’t be discouraged. Don’t be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help! He is my God!
43 O God, defend me from the charges of these merciless, deceitful men. 2 For you are God, my only place of refuge. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I mourn at the oppression of my enemies?
3 Oh, send out your light and your truth—let them lead me. Let them lead me to your Temple on your holy mountain, Zion. 4 There I will go to the altar of God, my exceeding joy, and praise him with my harp. O God—my God! 5 O my soul, why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God! I shall again praise him for his wondrous help; he will make me smile again,[c] for he is my God!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.