M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 17
The Challenge of Goliath. 1 The Philistines rallied their forces for battle at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelites rallied and camped in the valley of the Elah, drawing up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were stationed on one hill and the Israelites on an opposite hill, with a valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath of Gath came out from the Philistine camp; he was six cubits and a span[a] tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a bronze breastplate of scale armor weighing five thousand shekels, 6 bronze greaves, and had a bronze scimitar slung from his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his javelin was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron head weighed six hundred shekels.[b] His shield-bearer went ahead of him.(A) 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel: “Why come out in battle formation? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants. Choose one of your men, and have him come down to me. 9 If he beats me in combat and kills me, we will be your vassals; but if I beat him and kill him, you shall be our vassals and serve us.” 10 The Philistine continued: “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Give me a man and let us fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard this challenge of the Philistine, they were stunned and terrified.
David Comes to the Camp.[c] 12 David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah who had eight sons. In the days of Saul Jesse was old and well on in years.(B) 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to war; the names of these three sons who had gone off to war were Eliab the firstborn; Abinadab the second; and Shammah the third. 14 David was the youngest. While the three oldest had joined Saul, 15 David would come and go from Saul’s presence to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.(C)
16 Meanwhile the Philistine came forward and took his stand morning and evening for forty days.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David: “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves for your brothers, and bring them quickly to your brothers in the camp. 18 Also take these ten cheeses for the field officer. Greet your brothers and bring home some token from them. 19 Saul and your brothers, together with all Israel, are at war with the Philistines in the valley of the Elah.” 20 Early the next morning, having left the flock with a shepherd, David packed up and set out, as Jesse had commanded him. He reached the barricade of the camp just as the army, on their way to the battleground, were shouting their battle cry.(D) 21 The Israelites and the Philistines drew up opposite each other in battle array. 22 David entrusted what he had brought to the keeper of the baggage and hastened to the battle line, where he greeted his brothers.(E) 23 While he was talking with them, the Philistine champion, by name Goliath of Gath, came up from the ranks of the Philistines and spoke as before, and David listened. 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all retreated before him, terrified. 25 The Israelites had been saying: “Do you see this man coming up? He comes up to insult Israel. The king will make whoever kills him a very wealthy man. He will give his daughter to him and declare his father’s family exempt from taxes in Israel.”(F) 26 David now said to the men standing near him: “How will the man who kills this Philistine and frees Israel from disgrace be rewarded? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should insult the armies of the living God?”(G) 27 They repeated the same words to him and said, “That is how the man who kills him will be rewarded.” 28 When Eliab, his oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he grew angry with David and said: “Why did you come down? With whom have you left those sheep in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and dishonest heart. You came down to enjoy the battle!”(H) 29 David protested, “What have I done now? I was only talking.” 30 He turned from him to another and asked the same question; and everyone gave him the same answer as before. 31 The words that David had spoken were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him.
David Challenges Goliath. 32 Then David spoke to Saul: “My lord should not lose heart. Let your servant go and fight this Philistine.” 33 But Saul answered David, “You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him, for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 (I)Then David told Saul: “Your servant used to tend his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or bear came to carry off a sheep from the flock, 35 I would chase after it, attack it, and snatch the prey from its mouth. If it attacked me, I would seize it by the throat, strike it, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both a lion and a bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them, because he has insulted the armies of the living God.”
37 David continued: “The same Lord who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul answered David, “Go! the Lord will be with you.”(J)
Preparation for the Encounter. 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic, putting a bronze helmet on his head and arming him with a coat of mail. 39 David also fastened Saul’s sword over the tunic. He walked with difficulty, however, since he had never worn armor before. He said to Saul, “I cannot go in these, because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. With his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.
David’s Victory. 41 [d]With his shield-bearer marching before him, the Philistine advanced closer and closer to David. 42 When he sized David up and saw that he was youthful, ruddy, and handsome in appearance, he began to deride him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods 44 and said to him, “Come here to me, and I will feed your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”(K) 45 David answered him: “You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have insulted. 46 Today the Lord shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will feed your dead body and the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God. 47 All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the battle belongs to the Lord, who shall deliver you into our hands.”(L)
48 The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters, while David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone, hurled it with the sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone embedded itself in his brow, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50 Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with sling and stone; he struck the Philistine dead, and did it without a sword in his hand.(M) 51 Then David ran and stood over him; with the Philistine’s own sword which he drew from its sheath he killed him, and cut off his head.(N)
Flight of the Philistines. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah sprang up with a battle cry and pursued them to the approaches of Gath and to the gates of Ekron, and Philistines fell wounded along the road from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 When they returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, the Israelites looted their camp. 54 (O)David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he kept Goliath’s armor in his own tent.[e]
David Presented to Saul. 55 As Saul watched David go out to meet the Philistine, he asked his general Abner, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “On your life, O king, I have no idea.”(P) 56 And the king said, “Find out whose son the lad is.” 57 So when David returned from slaying the Philistine, Abner escorted him into Saul’s presence. David was still holding the Philistine’s head. 58 Saul then asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
Chapter 15
Patience and Self-Denial. 1 We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves;(A) 2 let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up.(B) 3 For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written,(C) “The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”[a] 4 For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.(D) 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony[b] with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus,(E) 6 that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Fidelity and Mercy.[c] 7 Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God.(F) 8 For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,(G) 9 but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.”(H)
10 And again it says:(I)
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”[d]
11 And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him.”(J)
12 And again Isaiah says:
“The root of Jesse shall come,
raised up to rule the Gentiles;
in him shall the Gentiles hope.”(K)
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit.(L)
VII. Conclusion
Apostle to the Gentiles. 14 [e]I myself am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness,[f] filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another. 15 But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you, because of the grace given me by God(M) 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the holy Spirit.(N) 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,(O) 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit [of God], so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum[g] I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ. 20 Thus I aspire[h] to proclaim the gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another’s foundation,(P) 21 but as it is written:(Q)
“Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”[i]
Paul’s Plans; Need for Prayers. 22 That is why I have so often been prevented from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any opportunity in these regions and since I have desired to come to you for many years,(R) 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and to be sent on my way there by you, after I have enjoyed being with you for a time.(S) 25 [j]Now, however, I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the holy ones.(T) 26 For Macedonia and Achaia[k] have decided to make some contribution for the poor among the holy ones in Jerusalem;(U) 27 they decided to do it, and in fact they are indebted to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to serve them in material blessings.(V) 28 So when I have completed this and safely handed over this contribution to them, I shall set out by way of you to Spain; 29 and I know that in coming to you I shall come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.
30 I urge you, [brothers,] by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf,(W) 31 that I may be delivered from the disobedient in Judea, and that my ministry for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the holy ones, 32 so that I may come to you with joy by the will of God and be refreshed together with you. 33 The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.(X)
Chapter 2
The Lord’s Wrath and Zion’s Ruin[a]
1 How the Lord in his wrath
has abhorred daughter Zion,
Casting down from heaven to earth
the glory of Israel,[b]
Not remembering his footstool
on the day of his wrath!
2 The Lord has devoured without pity
all of Jacob’s dwellings;
In his fury he has razed
daughter Judah’s defenses,
Has brought to the ground in dishonor
a kingdom and its princes.
3 In blazing wrath, he cut down entirely
the horn[c] of Israel;
He withdrew the support of his right hand
when the enemy approached;
He burned against Jacob like a blazing fire
that consumes everything in its path.
4 He bent his bow like an enemy;
the arrow in his right hand
Like a foe, he killed
all those held precious;
On the tent of daughter Zion
he poured out his wrath like fire.
5 The Lord has become the enemy,
he has devoured Israel:
Devoured all its strongholds,
destroyed its defenses,
Multiplied moaning and groaning
throughout daughter Judah.
6 He laid waste his booth like a garden,
destroyed his shrine;[d]
The Lord has blotted out in Zion
feast day and sabbath,
Has scorned in fierce wrath
king and priest.(A)
7 The Lord has rejected his altar,
spurned his sanctuary;
He has handed over to the enemy
the walls of its strongholds.
They shout in the house of the Lord
as on a feast day.(B)
8 The Lord was bent on destroying
the wall of daughter Zion:
He stretched out the measuring line;[e]
did not hesitate to devour,
Brought grief on rampart and wall
till both succumbed.(C)
9 Her gates sank into the ground;
he smashed her bars to bits.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
instruction is wanting,
Even her prophets do not obtain
any vision from the Lord.(D)
10 The elders of daughter Zion
sit silently on the ground;
They cast dust[f] on their heads
and dress in sackcloth;
The young women of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.(E)
11 My eyes are spent with tears,
my stomach churns;[g]
My bile is poured out on the ground
at the brokenness of the daughter of my people,
As children and infants collapse
in the streets of the town.(F)
12 They cry out to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”
As they faint away like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
As their life is poured out
in their mothers’ arms.
13 To what can I compare you[h]—to what can I liken you—
O daughter Jerusalem?
What example can I give in order to comfort you,
virgin daughter Zion?
For your breach is vast as the sea;
who could heal you?(G)
14 Your prophets provided you visions
of whitewashed illusion;
They did not lay bare your guilt,
in order to restore your fortunes;
They saw for you only oracles
of empty deceit.(H)
15 All who pass by on the road,
clap their hands at you;
They hiss and wag their heads
over daughter Jerusalem:
“Is this the city they used to call
perfect in beauty and joy of all the earth?”(I)
16 They open their mouths against you,
all your enemies;
They hiss and gnash their teeth,
saying, “We have devoured her!
How we have waited for this day—
we have lived to see it!”(J)
17 The Lord has done what he planned.
He has fulfilled the threat
Decreed from days of old,
destroying without pity!
He let the enemy gloat over you
and exalted the horn of your foes.(K)
18 Cry out to the Lord from your heart,
wall of daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night;
Give yourself no rest,
no relief for your eyes.
19 Rise up! Wail in the night,
at the start of every watch;
Pour out your heart like water
before the Lord;
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
Who collapse from hunger
at the corner of every street.[i]
20 “Look, O Lord, and pay attention:
to whom have you been so ruthless?
Must women eat their own offspring,[j]
the very children they have borne?
Are priest and prophet to be slain
in the sanctuary of the Lord?(L)
21 They lie on the ground in the streets,
young and old alike;
Both my young women and young men
are cut down by the sword;
You killed them on the day of your wrath,
slaughtered without pity.(M)
22 You summoned as to a feast day
terrors on every side;
On the day of the Lord’s wrath,
none survived or escaped.
Those I have borne and nurtured,
my enemy has utterly destroyed.”(N)
Psalm 33[a]
Praise of God’s Power and Providence
I
1 Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord;
praise from the upright is fitting.(A)
2 Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.(B)
3 Sing to him a new song;
skillfully play with joyful chant.
4 For the Lord’s word is upright;
all his works are trustworthy.
5 He loves justice and right.
The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.(C)
II
6 By the Lord’s word the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.[b](D)
7 [c]He gathered the waters of the sea as a mound;
he sets the deep into storage vaults.(E)
III
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all who dwell in the world show him reverence.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be,
commanded, and it stood in place.(F)
10 The Lord foils the plan of nations,
frustrates the designs of peoples.
11 But the plan of the Lord stands forever,
the designs of his heart through all generations.(G)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people chosen as his inheritance.(H)
IV
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and observes the children of Adam,(I)
14 From his dwelling place he surveys
all who dwell on earth.
15 The One who fashioned together their hearts
is the One who knows all their works.
V
16 A king is not saved by a great army,
nor a warrior delivered by great strength.
17 Useless is the horse for safety;
despite its great strength, it cannot be saved.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
upon those who count on his mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive through famine.
VI
20 Our soul waits for the Lord,
he is our help and shield.(J)
21 For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
22 May your mercy, Lord, be upon us;
as we put our hope in you.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.