M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Goliath Challenges Israel
17 Now (A)the Philistines gathered their camps for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between (B)Socoh and (C)Azekah, in (D)Ephes-dammim. 2 But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in (E)the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines. 3 Now the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines named (F)Goliath, from (G)Gath, whose height was [a]six cubits and a [b]span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, and the weight of that scale-armor was five thousand [c]shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze [d]greaves on his legs and a (H)bronze [e]javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 (I)And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; (J)his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 And he stood and called out to the [f]battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Philistine and you (K)slaves of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 (L)If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you shall become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “(M)I openly [g]reproach the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 Now David was (N)the son of [h]the (O)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and (P)he had eight sons. And [i]Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 And the three older sons of Jesse had gone. They had gone after Saul to the battle. And (Q)the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 (R)But David was the youngest. Now the three oldest had gone after Saul, 15 (S)but David went back and forth from Saul (T)to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem.
16 Then the Philistine approached, morning and evening, for forty days and took his stand.
17 Then Jesse said to David his son, “(U)Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 (V)You shall also bring these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, (W)and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back [j]a token from them. 19 And Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and carried the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the (X)circle of the camp while the military force was going out in battle lines shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines arranged themselves in battle lines, battle line [k]against battle line. 22 Then David left his (Y)baggage in the [l]care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23 As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines, and he spoke (Z)these same words; and David heard them.
24 Now all the men of Israel saw the man, and they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to [m]reproach Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who strikes him down with great riches and (AA)will give him his daughter and make his father’s house [n]free in Israel.”
26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and takes away (AB)the reproach from Israel? For who is this (AC)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should [o](AD)reproach the battle lines of (AE)the living God?” 27 And the people spoke to him in accord with this word, saying, “(AF)Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.”
28 Then Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and (AG)Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your arrogance and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a word?” 30 Then he turned [p]away from him to another and (AH)said the same word; and the people responded to him with the same word as [q]before.
David Puts Goliath to Death
31 Then the words which David spoke were heard. And they told them [r]to Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “(AI)Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; (AJ)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Then Saul said to David, “(AK)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, 35 and I would go out after it and strike it and (AL)rescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death. 36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has [s]reproached the battle lines of the living God.” 37 And David said, “(AM)Yahweh, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “(AN)Go, and may Yahweh be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them [t]off. 40 Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and (AO)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
41 Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And the Philistine looked and saw David. And (AP)he despised him; for he was but a youth and (AQ)ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “(AR)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And (AS)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh (AT)to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, (AU)but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have [u]reproached. 46 This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the (AV)dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, (AW)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that (AX)Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; (AY)for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that (AZ)David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David sent his hand down into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.
50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and put him to death; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and (BA)took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and put him to death and cut off his head with it. (BB)Then the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, so they fled. 52 But the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines [v]as far as the valley and to the gates of (BC)Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay fallen along the way to (BD)Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54 And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
55 Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is (BE)this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and (BF)brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “(BG)I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Bearing the Weaknesses of Others
15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of (A)those without strength and not just please ourselves. 2 Each of us is to (B)please his neighbor [a]for his good, to his (C)building up. 3 For even (D)Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “(E)The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 4 For (F)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now may the (G)God of perseverance and encouragement grant you (H)to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one [b]voice glorify (I)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ, the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
7 Therefore, (J)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted [c]us to the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to (K)the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm (L)the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for (M)the Gentiles to (N)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,
10 And again he says,
“(P)Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again,
12 And again Isaiah says,
“(R)There shall come (S)the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
(T)In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all (U)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope (V)by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Ministry Plans
14 But I myself am also convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of (W)goodness, having been filled with (X)all knowledge and being able also to admonish one another. 15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of (Y)the grace that was given me [f]by God 16 for me to be (Z)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the (AA)gospel of God, so that my (AB)offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore in Christ Jesus I have (AC)reason for boasting in (AD)things pertaining to God. 18 For I will not be bold to speak of anything [g]except what (AE)Christ has brought about through me, [h]leading to the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of [i](AF)signs and wonders, (AG)in the power of the Spirit; so that (AH)from Jerusalem and all around as (AI)far as Illyricum I have [j]fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And in this way I make it my ambition to (AJ)proclaim the gospel, not where Christ was already named, (AK)so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; 21 but as it is written,
“(AL)They who had no declaration of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard shall understand.”
22 For this reason (AM)I have often been prevented from coming to you; 23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I (AN)have had for many years a longing to come to you 24 whenever I (AO)go to Spain—for I hope, passing through, to see you, and to be (AP)helped on my way there by you, when I have first (AQ)enjoyed your company [k]for a while. 25 But now (AR)I am going to Jerusalem to (AS)serve the [l]saints. 26 For (AT)Macedonia and (AU)Achaia were pleased to [m]share with the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For (AV)if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have completed this and (AW)have [n]put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will (AX)go on by way of you to Spain. 29 And I know that when (AY)I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
30 Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by (AZ)the love of the Spirit, to (BA)strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be (BB)rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my (BC)service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the [o](BD)saints; 32 so that (BE)I may come to you in joy by (BF)the will of God and find rest in your company. 33 Now may (BG)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
The Anger of Yahweh
Aleph
2 How the Lord has (A)covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He has (B)cast from heaven to earth
The (C)beauty of Israel,
And has not remembered the (D)footstool of His feet
In the day of His anger.
Beth
2 The Lord has (E)swallowed up; He has not spared
All the habitations of Jacob.
In His wrath He has (F)pulled down
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
He has (G)brought them down to the ground;
He has (H)profaned the kingdom and its princes.
Gimel
3 In [a]hot anger He has cut in pieces
[b]All the (I)strength of Israel;
He has (J)turned back His right hand
From before the enemy.
And He has (K)burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
Devouring round about.
Daleth
4 He has bent His (L)bow like an enemy;
He has set His right hand like an adversary
And killed all that were (M)desirable to the eye;
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has (N)poured out His wrath like fire.
He
5 The Lord has become like an (O)enemy.
He has (P)swallowed up Israel;
He has swallowed up all its (Q)palaces;
He has brought its strongholds to ruin
And (R)multiplied in the daughter of Judah
Mourning and moaning.
Vav
6 And He has violently treated His [c]tabernacle like a garden booth;
He has (S)brought His appointed [d]meeting place to ruin.
Yahweh has (T)caused to be forgotten
The appointed time and sabbath in Zion,
And He has (U)spurned king and priest
In the indignation of His anger.
Zayin
7 The Lord has (V)rejected His altar;
He has abandoned His sanctuary;
He (W)has delivered into the hand of the enemy
The walls of her palaces.
They have made a (X)noise in the house of Yahweh
As in the day of an appointed time.
Heth
8 Yahweh [e]determined to bring to ruin
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has (Y)stretched out a line;
He has not turned His hand back from swallowing up,
And He has (Z)caused rampart and wall to mourn;
They have languished together.
Teth
9 Her (AA)gates have sunk into the ground;
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her princes are among the nations;
The (AB)law is no more.
Also, her prophets find
(AC)No vision from Yahweh.
Yodh
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
(AD)Sit on the ground; they (AE)are silent.
They have thrown (AF)dust up on their heads;
They have girded themselves with (AG)sackcloth.
The (AH)virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads down to the ground.
Kaph
11 My (AI)eyes fail because of tears;
My [f](AJ)inmost being is greatly disturbed;
My [g](AK)heart is poured out on the earth
(AL)Because of the [h]destruction of the daughter of my people,
When (AM)infants and nursing babies faint
In the open squares of the city.
Lamedh
12 They say to their mothers,
“(AN)Where is grain and wine?”
As they faint like a wounded man
In the open squares of the city,
As their (AO)life is poured out
On their mothers’ bosom.
Mem
13 What shall I testify about you?
To what (AP)shall I equate you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
To what shall I liken you as I comfort you,
O (AQ)virgin daughter of Zion?
For your [i]destruction is as vast as the sea;
Who can (AR)heal you?
Nun
14 Your (AS)prophets have beheld for you
Worthless and ineffective visions;
And they have not (AT)uncovered your iniquity
So as to [j]return you from captivity,
But they have (AU)beheld for you worthless and misleading [k]oracles.
Samekh
15 All who pass along the way
(AV)Clap their hands in derision at you;
They (AW)hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem,
“Is this the city of which they said,
‘(AX)The perfection of beauty,
(AY)The joy of the whole earth’?”
Pe
16 All (AZ)your enemies
Have opened their mouths wide against you;
They hiss and (BA)gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have (BB)swallowed her up!
Surely this is the (BC)day for which we have hoped;
We have found it, we have seen it.”
Ayin
17 Yahweh has (BD)done what He purposed;
He has completed His word
Which He commanded from days of old.
He has pulled down (BE)without sparing,
And He has caused the enemy to (BF)be glad over you;
He has (BG)exalted the [l]might of your adversaries.
Tsadhe
18 Their (BH)heart cried out to the Lord,
“O (BI)wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let your (BJ)tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Let [m]your eyes not be still.
Qoph
19 Arise, cry aloud in the (BK)night
At the head of the night watches;
(BL)Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him
For the (BM)life of your infants
Who are (BN)faint because of hunger
At the head of every street.”
Resh
20 See, O Yahweh, and look!
With (BO)whom have You dealt thus?
Should women (BP)eat their [n]offspring,
The infants who were [o]born healthy?
Should (BQ)priest and prophet be killed
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
Shin
21 On the ground in the streets
Lie (BR)young and old;
My (BS)virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword.
You have killed them in the day of Your anger;
You have slaughtered, (BT)not sparing.
Tav
Yahweh Is Our Help and Our Shield
33 (A)Sing for joy in Yahweh, O righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to Yahweh with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a loud shout.
4 For the word of Yahweh (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of Yahweh.
6 By the (K)word of Yahweh the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear Yahweh;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was;
He commanded, and it [b]stood.
10 Yahweh (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the thoughts of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of Yahweh stands forever,
The (T)thoughts of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is Yahweh,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 Yahweh (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)the place of His habitation He gazes
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)forms [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for salvation;
Nor does it provide escape to anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)is patient for Yahweh;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart is glad in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, be upon us,
As we wait for You.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.