M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 14
Jonathan Defeats the Philistines.[a] 1 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let us cross over to the other side to that outpost of Philistines,” but he did not tell his father.
2 Saul had remained in the upper part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree that is in Migron. There were around six hundred men with him. 3 Abijah, the son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, was the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, and he wore an ephod. Now, the people did not know that Jonathan had left.
4 Along the passes through which Jonathan was traveling to go over to the Philistine outpost, there was a rocky cliff on one side and there was a rocky cliff on the other side. They were called Bozez and Seneh. 5 One of them faced the north toward Michmash, and the other faced the south toward Gibeah. 6 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come on, let us cross over to that outpost of uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will be with us, for nothing can keep the Lord from saving, whether it be by many or by few.” 7 His armor-bearer said to him, “Do what you have in mind, my heart is with you.”
8 Jonathan said, “Let us cross over to those men and show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait where you are until we come over to you,’ then we will stay where we are and not go over to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come here to us,’ then we will go, because the Lord has delivered them into our hands, and this is a sign to us.”[b]
11 So the two of them showed themselves to the Philistine force, and the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming up out of the holes in which they have hidden themselves.” 12 Then the men of that force said to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come over to us and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come, follow me, for the Lord has delivered them into Israel’s hands.”
13 Jonathan climbed up using his hands and his feet, and his armor-bearer followed him. They fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer also put them to death after him. 14 That first time Jonathan and his armor-bearer slaughtered about twenty of them, all within half the area an ox could plow.
15 The army in the fields and all the people in the outposts and the raiding parties were seized with panic, and they were shaking so much that even the ground quaked, for it was a tremendous panic.
16 Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. 17 Saul said to the people who were with him, “Take stock and see who has left us.” They took stock, and Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18 Saul said to Abijah, “Bring the Ark of God here” (for the Ark of God was then with the Israelites). 19 While Saul was talking with the priest, the noise that was rising up from the Philistine army kept getting louder. Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled and went into battle. There was great confusion, each man attacking his neighbor with his sword. 21 Furthermore, those Hebrews who had previously sided with the Philistines and who had gone up into their camp changed sides to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 When all of the Israelites who had hid themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they joined them in battle, chasing closely after them. 23 Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day, and the fighting continued on through Beth-haven.
24 Saul’s Oath. The men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul placed the people under an oath which said, “Whoever eats any food before this evening, before I have had the chance to seek vengeance upon my enemies, will be cursed,” Therefore, no one ate anything.
25 All of them entered a woodland, and there was some honey on the ground. 26 When they entered the woods, they saw honey oozing out, but no one put his hand to his mouth because they feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard about the oath with which his father had bound the people, so he stuck out the end of the staff that was in his hand and he dipped it in the honeycomb. He then put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.
28 Jonathan’s Violation of the Oath. One of the men shouted out, “Your father has put the people under an oath saying, ‘Whoever eats food today will be under a curse.’ ” By now, the people were faint. 29 Jonathan said, “My father has brought trouble into the land. Look how my eyes brightened up just because I ate a little bit of this honey. 30 The slaughter among the Philistines has not been all that great. How much larger would it have been today if the people had eaten freely of their enemies’ plunder that they had found?”
31 That day they struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people were very weary. 32 The people rushed upon the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and they slaughtered them upon the ground. The people ate them along with blood.
33 They spoke to Saul saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord for they are eating food with the blood still in it.” He said, “You have acted treacherously. Roll this large rock over toward me.” 34 Saul then said, “Go among the people and say to them, ‘Let each man bring his ox and his sheep to me here. They can slay them here and eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating it with its blood still in it.’ ” Each man brought his ox there, and they slaughtered them there that night. 35 Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first time that he built an altar to the Lord.[c]
36 Jonathan Is Saved from Death. Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night. We can prey upon them until the morning and not leave one of them alive.” They said, “Do whatever you think best,” but the priest approached and said, “Let us inquire of God.” 37 So Saul sought counsel from God asking, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into Israel’s hands?” But he did not answer that day.
38 So Saul said, “Let all of the leaders of the people draw near so that we can know and find out what sin has been committed today. 39 As the Lord who delivers Israel lives, even if it be Jonathan, my son, that man will surely die.” But none of the people answered him.
40 He then said to all of Israel, “You stand on one side, I and Jonathan my son will stand on the other.” The people said to Saul, “Do what you think is best.” 41 Saul then said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give me the complete truth.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen by lot, but the people escaped. 42 Saul said, “Cast lots to choose between me and Jonathan, my son.” Jonathan’s lot was chosen.
43 Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of my staff that was in my hand. Must I now die?” 44 Saul answered, “May God do this to me and even more, for, Jonathan, you must surely die.” 45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, the one who brought about this victory in Israel? Never! As the Lord lives, not one hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” This is how the people rescued Jonathan[d] that day, and he was not put to death.
46 Saul’s Reign Summarized. Saul returned from his pursuit of the Philistines, and the Philistines returned to their homes. 47 [e]Thus Saul established his reign over Israel. He fought against all of his surrounding enemies, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. He punished them on every side. 48 He assembled an army and struck down the Amalekites, delivering Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
49 Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malkishua. The older of his two daughters was named Merab, and the younger was named Michal. 50 His wife’s name was Ahinoam, and she was the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, who was Saul’s uncle. 51 Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were the sons of Abiel.
52 There was bitter fighting against the Philistines all throughout the days of Saul. Whenever Saul saw a strong or brave man, he took him into his service.
The Need for Faith in Daily Life[a]
Chapter 12
The New Life and the True Worship. 1 Therefore, brethren, I implore you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God—a spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Right Use of the Gifts of the One Body. 3 Through the grace that God has bestowed upon me, I advise every one of you not to think of yourself too highly, but to regard yourself objectively, based on the measure of faith that God has granted. 4 For just as in one body we have many parts, and the parts do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, make up one body in Christ,[b] and individually we are all parts of one another.
6 We all have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If it is a gift of prophecy, we should exercise it in proportion to our faith. 7 If it is a gift of ministry, we should engage in serving others. If it is a gift of teaching, we should teach. 8 If it is a gift of exhortation, we should encourage. Whoever gives alms should do so generously; whoever leads should do so conscientiously; whoever performs acts of mercy should do so cheerfully.
A Truly Sincere Love. 9 Let your love be sincere. Loathe what is evil and hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with genuine affection. Esteem others more highly than yourself. 11 Do not be lacking in zeal, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. 12 Be joyful in your hope. Be patient in times of affliction. Persevere in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, and practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless them and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not consider yourself to be better than others, but associate with the lowly, and never be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Rather, be concerned about doing what is good in the eyes of all. 18 As much as possible, and to the extent of your ability, live in peace with everyone.
19 Dearly beloved, never seek revenge. Leave that to the time of retribution. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay.” 20 On the contrary,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
By doing this,
you will heap burning coals[c] on his head.”
21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Chapter 51
Another Prophecy against Babylon
1 Thus says the Lord:
Against Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldea
I will rouse a destructive wind.
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon
to winnow her and lay waste her land.
They will besiege her from all sides
on the day of disaster.
3 Let no archer draw his bow
or array himself in his coat of armor.
Do not spare her young men;
completely destroy her entire army.
4 Let them be slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
lying mortally wounded in her streets.
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Lord of hosts,
although their land is full of guilt
that will not be ignored by the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee from Babylon!
Save your lives, each one of you!
Do not perish for her guilt.
This is the time of vengeance for the Lord;
he will exact full recompense for their deeds.
7 Babylon was a golden cup
in the hand of the Lord,
and she made the entire earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine,
and now they have gone mad.
8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is shattered.
Wail for her.
Fetch balm for her wounds;
perhaps she can be cured.
9 We tried to heal Babylon,
but she cannot be healed.
Leave her and let us depart,
each one to his own land.
For her judgment reaches up to heaven
and touches the clouds.
10 The Lord has made clear our vindication.
Come, let us proclaim in Zion
what the Lord, our God, has done.
11 Sharpen the arrows;
fill the quivers.
The Lord has stirred up
the spirit of the kings of the Medes
because he is determined to destroy Babylon.
This will be the vengeance of the Lord,
vengeance for his temple.
12 Raise the standard against the walls of Babylon.
Strengthen the watch.
Post sentinels and prepare ambushes,
for the Lord has both planned and will carry out
his threat against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 You lands that lie on the shores of abundant waters
and are rich in treasures,
your end has now come,
the cessation of your power.
14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself,
“I will fill you with enemies
as numerous as a swarm of locusts,
and they will raise a shout of victory over you.”
15 By his power, he made the earth;
by his wisdom, he established the world;
by his discernment, he stretched out the heavens.
16 When he thunders,
there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he causes the clouds to rise
from the farthest ends of the earth.
He sends forth lightning with the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
17 Everyone is stupid and lacking in knowledge;
goldsmiths are put to shame by their idols,
for the images they cast are a sham,
with no breath of life in them.
18 They devise worthless objects of mockery;
at the time of judgment, they will perish.
19 Not like these is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the Creator of all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
20 You are my war club,
my weapon in battle.
With you I shatter nations,
with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 With you I crush horse and rider,
with you I crush chariot and charioteer.
22 With you I crush man and woman,
with you I crush old and young,
with you I crush youth and maiden.
23 With you I crush shepherd and flock,
with you I crush the plowman and his team,
with you I crush governors and magistrates.
24 Thus will I repay Babylon
and all the inhabitants of Chaldea
for all the wrongs that they have done in Zion
before your very eyes, says the Lord.
25 I am against you, O mountain of destruction,
destroyer of the entire earth, says the Lord.
I will stretch forth my hand against you,
send you tumbling down from the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.
26 No rock will be taken from you
to be used for a cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be forever desolate,
says the Lord.
27 Raise a standard throughout the earth.
Blow the trumpet among the nations.
Consecrate nations for war against her.
Summon against her these kingdoms:
Ararat,[a] Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander against her.
Bring forward horses bristling like locusts.
28 Consecrate nations for war against her:
the kings of Media,
its governors and magistrates,
and all the lands under their rule.
29 The earth trembles and writhes
as the Lord’s plan against Babylon is carried out,
turning the land of Babylon into a desert waste.
30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased to fight;
they remain in their strongholds.
Their courage has failed;
they are now like women.
Their buildings have been set on fire,
and their gates are shattered.
31 One courier appears after another,
and one messenger follows another,
to inform the king of Babylon
that his entire city has been taken.
32 The river crossings have been seized,
the marshes have been set afire,
and the soldiers are overcome with terror.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time it is being trodden.
Yet it will only be a short while
before the time of her harvest will come.
34 “King Nebuchadnezzar has devoured us;
he has routed us
and set us aside like an empty dish.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us,
filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then spewed us out.
35 May our torn flesh be avenged on Babylon,”
the inhabitants of Zion say.
“May my blood be avenged
on the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem says.
36 Therefore, thus says the Lord:
I will take up your cause
and ensure that you will be avenged.
I will dry up her sea[b]
and cause her springs to run dry.
37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,
where no one lives.
38 Like lions they roar together
and growl like lion cubs.
39 But when they are afflicted with fever,
I will set a drink before them
and cause them to become drunk
so that they will sink into an unending sleep,
never to awaken again, says the Lord.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.
41 Babylon has been seized and conquered,
she who was the pride of the entire world.
What an object of horror
has Babylon become among the nations.
42 The sea has surged over Babylon,
covering her with its roaring waves.
43 Her cities have become desert wastelands,
nothing more than parched and arid land,
an area in which no one lives
and through which no one passes.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon
and compel him to spew out what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him;
the wall of Babylon has fallen.
45 Leave her, my people.
Save your lives, each one of you,
from the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 Do not become faint-hearted or fearful
at various rumors that are heard in the land.
One year a certain rumor will spread,
the next year another one,
with rumors of possible violence in the land
and of conflicts between rulers.
47 But behold, the days are coming
when I will punish the idols of Babylon;
her entire territory will be put to shame,
and all her slain warriors
will lie fallen within her borders.
48 The heavens and the earth
and all that are in them
will shout for joy in regard to Babylon,
for marauders will descend from the north
and attack her, says the Lord.
49 Babylon, too, must fall
because of the slain of Israel,
just as the slain of all the earth
have fallen at the hands of Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword,
leave and do not linger.
Remember the Lord from afar,
and let Jerusalem remain in your thoughts.
51 We have been put to shame
because of the insults we have endured.
Our faces were covered in confusion
because foreigners have dared to enter
the holy places of the Lord’s house.
52 However, the days are surely coming,
says the Lord,
when I will punish her idols,
and the wounded will groan
throughout all her land.
53 Even if Babylon were to scale the heavens
and reinforce her inaccessible citadel,
I would send forth destroyers,
and they would come to her.
54 Agonized cries can be heard from Babylon,
and sounds of great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans.
55 For the Lord is laying waste to Babylon
and stilling her loud cries of anguish.
Massive waves of enemies will roar like mighty waters,
and their clamor will be heard from afar.
56 A destroying force is moving against Babylon;
her warriors are captured,
and their bows are broken.
For the Lord is a God of retribution,
and he never fails to repay in full.
57 I will make her princes and her wise men drunk,
as well as her governors,
her prefects and her warriors.
They will sink into an unending sleep,
never to awaken again,
says the King whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58 [c]Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,
and her lofty gates will be destroyed by fire.
Thus the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,
and the nations weary themselves only for the flames.
59 Destruction of Babylon Foretold. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to the quartermaster Seraiah,[d] the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of his reign.
60 Jeremiah had enumerated on a scroll all of the disasters that would befall Babylon—everything that had been recorded in regard to Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you reach Babylon, make sure that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, ‘O Lord, you yourself declared your firm resolve to destroy this place so that neither man nor beast will ever live here again; it will be a desolate waste forever.’
63 “When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the middle of the Euphrates. 64 Then say, ‘In the same way will Babylon sink, never again to rise because of the disaster I intend to inflict upon her.’ ”
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Psalm 30[a]
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David.
2 I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you have raised me out of the depths[b]
and have not let my enemies exult over me.
3 O Lord, my God,
I called to you and you healed me.[c]
4 O Lord, you lifted me up from the netherworld;[d]
you saved me from sinking into the pit.
5 Sing praise to the Lord, O you his saints;[e]
give thanks to his holy name.
6 For his anger lasts for only a moment,
while his goodwill endures for a lifetime.
Weeping may last throughout the night,[f]
but at daybreak there is rejoicing.
7 In time of good fortune, I said,
“Nothing can ever sway me.”[g]
8 O Lord, in your goodness
you established me as an impregnable mountain;
however, when you hid your face,
I was filled with terror.
9 [h]To you, O Lord, I cried out,
and I implored my God for mercy:
10 “What advantage would my death provide
if I descend into the pit?
Can the dust praise you?
Can it proclaim your faithfulness?
11 Listen, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
O Lord, be my helper.”
12 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken away my sackcloth[i]
and clothed me with joy.
13 My heart[j] will therefore sing
in unceasing praise to you;
O Lord, my God,
I will praise you forever.
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