M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David and the Holy Bread

21 ^[a]David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?”^{(A) 2} David said to the priest Ahimelech, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment^[b] with the young men for such and such a place. ³ Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever is here.” ⁴ The priest answered David, “I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”^{(B) 5} David answered the priest, “Indeed, women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?”^{(C) 6} So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.^(D)

⁷ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.^(E)

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, “Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me because the king’s business required haste.” ⁹ The priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one.” David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”^(F)

David Flees to Gath

¹⁰ David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath. ¹¹ The servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,

¹² David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath.^{(H) 13} So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence.^[c] He scratched marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. ¹⁴ Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David and His Followers at Adullam

22 David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; when his brothers and all his father’s house heard of it, they went down there to him.^{(I) 2} Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him, and he became captain over them. Those who were with him numbered about four hundred.^(J)

³ David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. He said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come to you, until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ He left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. ⁵ Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; leave and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.^(K)

Saul Slaughters the Priests at Nob

⁶ Saul heard that David and those who were with him had been located. Saul was sitting at Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?^{(L) 8} Is that why all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse; none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait, as he is doing today.”^{(M) 9} Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s servants, answered, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub;^{(N) 10} he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”^(O)

¹¹ The king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.” ¹³ Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword and by inquiring of God for him, so that he has risen against me to lie in wait, as he is doing today?”

¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is so faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law and is quick^[d] to do your bidding and is honored in your house.^{(P) 15} Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? By no means! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any member of my father’s house, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” ¹⁶ The king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” ¹⁷ The king said to the guard who stood around him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David; they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not raise a hand to attack the priests of the Lord.^{(Q) 18} Then the king said to Doeg, “You, Doeg, turn and attack the priests.” Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen ephod.^{(R) 19} Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword.

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.^{(S) 21} Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²² David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible^[e] for the lives of all your father’s house.^{(T) 23} Stay with me, and do not be afraid, for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me.”^(U)

On Divisions in the Corinthian Church

3 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people but rather as fleshly, as infants in Christ.^{(A) 2} I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready,^{(B) 3} for you are still fleshly. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling^[a] among you, are you not fleshly and behaving according to human inclinations?^{(C) 4} For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not all too human?^(D)

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and each will receive wages according to their own labor.^{(E) 9} For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.^(F)

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Let each builder choose with care how to build on it.^{(G) 11} For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.^{(H) 12} Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ the work of each builder will become visible, for the day^[b] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.^{(I) 14} If the work that someone has built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a wage. ¹⁵ If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?^{[c](J) 17} If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise.^{(K) 19} For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

²⁰ and again,

²¹ So let no one boast about people.^[d] For all things are yours,^{(M) 22} whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³ and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.^(N)

The Vision of the Chariot

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the River Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.^{(A) 2} On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin),^{(B) 3} the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar, and the hand of the Lord was on him there.

⁴ As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually and in the middle of the fire something like gleaming amber.^{(C) 5} In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form.^{(D) 6} Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.^{(E) 7} Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot, and they sparkled like burnished bronze.^{(F) 8} Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus:^{(G) 9} their wings touched one another; each of them moved straight ahead, without turning as they moved. ¹⁰ As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle;^{(H) 11} such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.^{(I) 12} Each moved straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. ¹³ In the middle of^[a] the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire.^{(J) 14} The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.^(K)

¹⁵ As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.^{[b](L) 16} As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl, and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel.^{(M) 17} When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved.^{(N) 18} Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.^{(O) 19} When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.^{(P) 20} Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for a living spirit was in the wheels.^{(Q) 21} When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for a living spirit was in the wheels.^(R)

²² Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like a dome, shining like crystal,^[c] spread out above their heads.^{(S) 23} Under the dome their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another, and each of the creatures had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the thunder of the Almighty,^[d] a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stopped, they let down their wings.^{(T) 25} And there came a voice from above the dome over their heads; when they stopped, they let down their wings.

²⁶ And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire,^[e] and seated above the likeness of the throne was something that seemed like a human form.^{(U) 27} Upward from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all around, and downward from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendor all around.^{(V) 28} Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.^(W)

Psalm 37

Exhortation to Patience and Trust

Of David.