M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Slays Goliath with Sling and Stone
17 Now the Philistines assembled their armies to battle. They were gathered at Socoh of Judah, and camped in Ephes-dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, then lined up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, and Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion stepped out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and a breastplate of scale armor; the weight of the bronze breastplate was 5,000 shekels[a]. 6 He also had bronze shin-guards on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed 600 shekels[b] of iron; and his shield-bearer was marching ahead of him.
8 Then he stood and shouted out to the ranks of Israel saying to them, “Why come out to line up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and aren’t you Saul’s servants? Choose for yourselves a man and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then will we become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then will you become our slaves and serve us.” 10 The Philistine added, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel—give me a man, so we may fight together!”
11 But when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very terrified.
12 Now David was son of a certain Ephrathite man of Beth-lehem of Judah, whose name was Jesse. He had eight sons and during the days of Saul the man was old, advanced in years among men. 13 Now the three oldest sons of Jesse had already left and gone after Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. So the three oldest followed Saul. 15 Now David would go back and forth from Saul to tending his father’s sheep by Beth-lehem.
16 For forty days that Philistine would come out every morning and evening to present himself. 17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now, for your brothers, an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten slices of cheese to the captain of their thousand—and check out the welfare of your brothers and bring back some token from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
20 So David rose up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, took the provisions and went as Jesse had commanded him. When he reached the camp, the army was going out to the battle line shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines, army against army. 22 Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered to check out his brothers’ welfare. 23 But as he was talking with them, behold the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the ranks of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them.
24 Upon seeing him, all the men of Israel fled from him in great fear. 25 All the men of Israel were saying, “Have you seen this man who keeps coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel! The man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, give him his daughter in marriage and make his father’s house tax-free in Israel!”
26 Then David asked the men who were standing by him saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the ranks of the living God?”
27 The people answered him with the same speech saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.” 28 Now when Eliab his oldest brother heard him speaking to the men, Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “So with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart! For you’ve come down here to watch the battle.”
29 “What have I done now?” David said. “It was only a question!” 30 Then he turned away from him toward someone else and asked the same question. So the people gave him the same answer as before.
31 The words that David said were overheard and reported before Saul. So he was taken to him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 Then Saul said to David, “You can’t go fight this Philistine—for you’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb out of its mouth. If it rose up against me, I grabbed him by its fur, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, so this uncircumcised Philistine will become like one of them—since he has defied the ranks of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “Adonai, who has delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
“Go!” said Saul to David, “and may Adonai be with you.”
38 Then Saul clothed David with his own garb, put a bronze helmet on his head, and clothed him in armor. 39 David strapped his sword on his garment and tried to walk, but he was not used to it. So David said to Saul, “I cannot walk in these, for I am not used to them.” So David took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the valley, put them in the pocket of the shepherd’s bag that he had, and with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine drew nearer and approached David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 Now when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was just a ruddy boy with a handsome appearance. 43 Then the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, so I may give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You are coming to me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I am coming to you in the Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day Adonai will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and take your head off you, and I will give the carcasses of the Philistines’ camp today to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth. Then all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and so all this assembly will know that Adonai delivers not with sword and spear—for the battle belongs to Adonai—and He will give you into our hands.”
48 Then when the Philistine rose and began to advance, drawing near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took from it a stone and slung it, striking the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, struck the Philistine down and killed him. Since there was no sword in David’s hand, 51 David ran, stood over the Philistine, picked up his sword, drew it from its sheath, slew him and cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up, shouted and pursued the Philistines all the way to the valley up to the gates of Ekron. The slain Philistines fell down along the way to Shaaraim, even up to Gath and Ekron.
53 When Bnei-Yisrael returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his own tent. 55 Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this boy?”
Abner said, “As your soul lives, your majesty, I don’t know.”
56 So the king said, “Then, find out whose son this young man is.” 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul said to him.
David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.”
15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the powerless and not just please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, for building him up. 3 For even Messiah did not please Himself, but as it is written, “The insults of those who insulted You have fallen on Me.” [a] 4 For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, so that through patience and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. [b] 5 Now may the God of patience and encouragement grant you to be like-minded with one another in the manner of Messiah Yeshua, 6 so that together with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
Salvation for Gentiles Too
7 Therefore accept one another just as Messiah also accepted you, to the glory of God. 8 For I declare that Messiah has become a servant to the circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs 9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy. As it is written,
“For this reason I will give You praise among the Gentiles,
and I will sing to Your name.”[c]
10 And again it says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”[d]
11 And again,
“Praise Adonai all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise Him.”[e]
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“There shall be a shoot of Jesse;
and the One who arises to rule the Gentiles,
in Him shall the Gentiles hope.”[f]
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and shalom in trusting, so you may overflow with hope in the power of the Ruach ha-Kodesh.
14 Now I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and also able to counsel one another. 15 But I have written rather boldly to you on some points as a reminder—because of the grace given to me by God 16 to be a servant of Messiah Yeshua to the Gentiles, in priestly service to the Good News of God—so that the offering up of the Gentiles might be pleasing,[g] made holy by the Ruach ha-Kodesh.
17 So in Messiah Yeshua, I have reason to boast before God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Messiah accomplished through me, to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem and around even to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the Good News of Messiah. 20 In this way I make it my aim to proclaim the Good News not where Messiah was already named, lest I build on another person’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told shall see,
and those who have not heard shall understand.”[h]
Going to the Ends of the Earth
22 For this reason I was often hindered from coming to you. 23 But now with no place in these regions, and since I have had a desire for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you while traveling through when I go to Spain—and to be helped on my journey there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a bit.
25 But now I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the kedoshim. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. 27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are under obligation to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they also ought to serve them in material blessings. 28 So when I have finished delivering the collection safely to them, I will head for Spain by way of you. 29 Now I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Messiah.
30 Now I urge you, brethren, through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and through the love of the Ruach, to press on together with me—with prayers to God on my behalf. 31 Pray that I might be rescued from the unbelieving Judeans, and that my service for Jerusalem might be acceptable to the kedoshim. 32 Then, God willing, I may come to you in joy, and together with you find rest.
33 Now may the God of shalom be with you all. Amen.
Lament for Zion
2 How my Lord has clouded over
the daughter of Zion in His anger!
He hurled down the splendor of Israel
from heaven to earth.
He has not remembered His footstool
in the day of His anger.
2 My Lord has mercilessly swallowed up
all the dwellings of Jacob.
He threw down the strongholds
of the daughter of Judah in His fury.
He knocked to the ground and humiliated
the kingdom and its princes.
3 In fierce anger He has cut off
every horn of Israel.
He has withdrawn His right hand
from before the enemy.
He blazed against Jacob like raging fire,
devouring everything around.
4 He bent His bow like an enemy,
set His right hand like a foe,
and killed all those pleasant to the eye.
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has poured out His wrath like fire.
5 My Lord is like an enemy.
He has swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all her citadels,
destroyed her fortifications
and multiplied mourning and moaning
for the daughter of Judah.
6 Like the garden He laid waste His dwelling,
destroyed His appointed meeting place.
Adonai has caused moed and Shabbat
to be forgotten in Zion.
In the indignation of His anger
He spurned king and kohen.
7 The Lord rejected His altar,
despised His Sanctuary.
He has delivered the walls of her citadels
into the hand of the enemy.
They raised a shout in the house of Adonai
as if it were the day of a moed.
8 Adonai resolved to destroy
the wall of the daughter of Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line.
He did not withdraw His hand from destroying.
He caused rampart and wall to lament—
together they languished away.
9 Her gates sank into the ground.
Her bars He destroyed and shattered.
Her king and princes are among nations.
There is no more Torah.
Also her prophets find
no vision from Adonai.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit upon the ground in silence.
They threw dust on their heads
and girded themselves with sackcloth.
The maidens of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes are filled with tears.
My stomach is in torment.
My heart[a] is poured out on the ground
over the destruction of the daughter of my people—
as young children and infants
languish in the city squares.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is grain and wine?”
as they faint like a wounded soldier
in the city squares,
as their lives ebb away
in their mothers’ bosom.
13 How can I admonish you?
To what can I compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you, so that I might console you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For your wound is as deep as the sea!
Who can heal you?
14 Your prophets have seen for you
false and worthless visions.
They did not expose your iniquity,
so as to restore your captivity.
Rather, they have seen for you
false and worthless oracles.
15 All who pass your way
clap their hands at you.
They hiss and shake their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem.
“Is this the city of which they said,
‘The perfection of beauty,’
‘the joy of the whole earth’?”
16 All your enemies
opened their mouth wide against you;
they hissed and gnashed their teeth,
and say, “We have swallowed her up!
Surely this is the day we have waited for;
we have lived to see it!”
17 Adonai has done what He planned;
He has fulfilled His word
that He commanded from days of old.
He has overthrown you without pity,
He enabled the enemy to gloat over you.
He has exalted the horn of your foes.
18 Their heart cried out to the Lord:
O wall of the daughter of Zion,
let tears run down
like a river day and night.
Give yourself no relief,
your eyes no rest.
19 Arise! Cry out in the night
at the beginning of the watches!
Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to Him
for the life of your children
who faint from hunger
at the head of every street.
20 Look, Adonai, and consider
with whom You have dealt so severely!
Should women eat their offspring,
their healthy newborn infants?
Should kohen and prophet be slain
in the Sanctuary of the Lord?
21 On the ground in the streets
lie both young and old.
My maidens and my young men
have fallen by the sword.
You slew them in the day of Your anger.
You slaughtered them without pity.
22 As on a moed day, You summon
against me terrors on every side.
On the day of the wrath of Adonai
no one escaped or survived.
Those whom I bore and raised
my enemy has destroyed.
All Creation Praise the Creator
Psalm 33
1 Sing for joy to Adonai, you righteous.
Praise is fitting for the upright.
2 Praise Adonai with the harp.
Sing praises to Him with a ten string lyre.
3 Sing to Him a new song![a]
Play skillfully amid shouts of joy.
4 For the word of Adonai is upright
and all His work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice.
The earth is full of the love of Adonai.
6 By Adonai’s word were the heavens made,
and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together in a heap.
He lays up deep waters in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear Adonai.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it came to be.
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 Adonai foils the purpose of the nations.
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The plan of Adonai stands forever,
the purposes of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is Adonai,
the people He chose for His own inheritance.
13 Adonai looks down from heaven.
He observes all humanity.
14 From His dwelling place He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 He who fashions the hearts of all,
who discerns all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by his great army,
no warrior is delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory,
nor can its great strength save.
18 Behold, the eyes of Adonai are on those who fear Him,
waiting for His love,
19 to deliver their souls from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for Adonai—
He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in Him,
because we trusted in His holy Name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, Adonai,
be upon us, as we have waited for You.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.