M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 31
Death of Saul and His Sons. 1 (A)Now the Philistines went to war against Israel, and the Israelites fled before them, and fell, slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons. When the Philistines had struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul,(B) 3 the fury of the battle converged on Saul. Then the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded. 4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through; otherwise these uncircumcised will come and abuse me.” But the armor-bearer, badly frightened, refused, so Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.(C) 5 (D)When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul, his three sons, and his armor-bearer died together on that same day. 7 When the Israelites on the slope of the valley and those along the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in those cities.
8 On the following day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul’s head and stripped him of his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to the temple of their idols and to the people.(E) 10 They put his armor in the temple of Astarte but impaled his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
Burial of Saul. 11 (F)When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their warriors set out and traveled through the night; they removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and, returning to Jabesh, burned them.[a] 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
Chapter 11
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.(A)
IV. Problems in Liturgical Assemblies[a]
2 I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.(B)
A. Women’s Headdresses[b]
Man and Woman. 3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife,[c] and God the head of Christ.(C) 4 [d]Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. 5 But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil.
7 [e]A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.(D) 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;(E) 9 nor was man created for woman, but woman for man;(F) 10 for this reason a woman should have a sign of authority[f] on her head, because of the angels. 11 [g]Woman is not independent of man or man of woman in the Lord.(G) 12 For just as woman came from man, so man is born of woman; but all things are from God.(H)
13 [h]Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears his hair long it is a disgrace to him, 15 whereas if a woman has long hair it is her glory, because long hair has been given [her] for a covering? 16 But if anyone is inclined to be argumentative, we do not have such a custom, nor do the churches of God.
B. The Lord’s Supper[i]
An Abuse at Corinth. 17 In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. 18 First of all, I hear that when you meet as a church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it;(I) 19 there have to be factions among you in order that [also] those who are approved among you may become known.[j] 20 When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, 21 for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. 22 Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and make those who have nothing feel ashamed? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I do not praise you.(J)
Tradition of the Institution. 23 [k]For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,(K) that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, 24 and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”(L) 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.[l] 28 A person should examine himself,[m] and so eat the bread and drink the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment[n] on himself. 30 That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying. 31 If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under judgment; 32 but since we are judged by [the] Lord, we are being disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.(M)
33 Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that your meetings may not result in judgment. The other matters I shall set in order when I come.
Chapter 9
Slaughter of the Idolaters. 1 Then he cried aloud for me to hear: Come, you scourges of the city! 2 And there were six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with a weapon of destruction in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a scribe’s case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.(A) 3 Then the glory of the God of Israel moved off the cherub and went up to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man dressed in linen with the scribe’s case at his waist,(B) 4 (C)and the Lord said to him:[a] Pass through the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark an X on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the abominations practiced within it. 5 To the others he said in my hearing: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not let your eyes spare; do not take pity. 6 Old and young, male and female, women and children—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone marked with the X. Begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.(D) 7 Defile the temple, he said to them, fill its courts with the slain. Then go out and strike in the city.
8 As they were striking, I was left alone. I fell on my face, crying out, “Alas, Lord God! Will you destroy all that is left of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?” 9 He answered me: The guilt of the house of Israel and the house of Judah is too great to measure; the land is filled with bloodshed, the city with lawlessness. They think that the Lord has abandoned the land, that he does not see them. 10 My eye, however, will not spare, nor shall I take pity, but I will bring their conduct down upon their heads.
11 Just then the man dressed in linen with the scribe’s case at his waist made his report: “I have done as you commanded!”
Psalm 48[a]
The Splendor of the Invincible City
1 A psalm of the Korahites.[b] A song.
I
2 Great is the Lord and highly praised
in the city of our God:(A)
His holy mountain,
3 fairest of heights,
the joy of all the earth,(B)
Mount Zion, the heights of Zaphon,[c](C)
the city of the great king.
II
4 God is in its citadel,
renowned as a stronghold.
5 See! The kings assembled,
together they advanced.
6 [d]When they looked they were astounded;
terrified, they were put to flight!(D)
7 Trembling seized them there,
anguish, like a woman’s labor,(E)
8 As when the east wind wrecks
the ships of Tarshish![e]
III
9 [f]What we had heard we have now seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God,
which God establishes forever.
Selah
10 We ponder, O God, your mercy
within your temple
11 Like your name, O God,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.(F)
Your right hand is fully victorious.
12 Mount Zion is glad!
The daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!(G)
IV
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.