M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Saul and the Spirit Medium

28 Now it came about in those days that ^(A)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know for certain that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” ² David said to Achish, “Very well, you will learn what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Then I will assuredly make you ^[a]my bodyguard ^(B)for ^[b]life!”

³ Now ^(C)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him ^(D)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the ^(E)mediums and spiritists from the land. ⁴ So the Philistines assembled and came and camped ^(F)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in ^(G)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (H)So Saul inquired of the Lord, but ^(I)the Lord did not answer him, either in ^(J)dreams, or by the ^(K)Urim, or by the prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(L)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(M)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(N)disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(O)Consult the spirit for me, please, and ^(P)bring up for me the one whom I shall ^[c]name for you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(Q)what Saul has done, that he has eliminated the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then setting a trap for my life, to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ So Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!” ¹³ But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[d]divine being coming up from the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “^[e]How does he appear?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(R)he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(S)he bowed with his face to the ground and paid ^[f]homage.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(T)God has abandoned me and ^(U)no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “But why ask me, since the Lord has abandoned you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done ^[g]just ^(V)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ Just as ^(W)you did not ^[h]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Furthermore, the Lord will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow ^(X)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the Lord will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”

²⁰ Then Saul immediately fell full length to the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words; there was no strength in him either, because he had eaten no ^[i]food all day and all night. ²¹ The woman came to Saul and saw that he was utterly horrified, and she said to him, “Behold, your servant has ^[j]obeyed you, and ^(Y)I have ^[k]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. ²² So now you too, please listen to the voice of your servant, and let me serve you a piece of bread, and eat it, so that you will have strength when you go on your way.” ²³ But he refused and said, “^(Z)I will not eat.” ^(AA)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to ^[l]them. So he got up from the ground and sat on ^(AB)the bed. ²⁴ Now the woman had a ^(AC)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; then she ^(AD)took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ She then served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left that night.

Paul’s Use of Freedom

9 Am I not ^(A)free? Am I not an ^(B)apostle? Have I not ^(C)seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^(D)my work in the Lord? ² If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the ^(E)seal of my ^(F)apostleship in the Lord.

³ My defense to those who examine me is this: ^4 [a](G)Do we not have a right to eat and drink? ^5 [b](H)Do we not have a right to take along a ^[c]believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^(I)brothers of the Lord, and ^[d](J)Cephas? ⁶ Or do only ^[e](K)Barnabas and I have no right to refrain from ^[f]working? ⁷ Who at any time serves ^(L)as a soldier at his own expense? Who ^(M)plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not ^[g]consume some of the milk of the flock?

⁸ I am not just asserting these things ^(N)according to human judgment, am I? Or does the Law not say these things as well? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “^(O)You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.” God is not concerned about ^(P)oxen, is He? ¹⁰ Or is He speaking entirely for our sake? Yes, it was written ^(Q)for our sake, because ^(R)the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing in the crops. ^11 (S)If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹² If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^(T)did not use this right, but we endure all things ^(U)so that we will cause no hindrance to the ^(V)gospel of Christ. ^13 (W)Do you not know that those who ^(X)perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ^[h]from the altar? ¹⁴ So also ^(Y)the Lord directed those who proclaim the ^(Z)gospel to ^(AA)get their living from the gospel.

¹⁵ But I have ^(AB)used none of these things. And I have not written these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than that. No one shall make ^(AC)my boast an empty one! ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for ^(AD)I am under compulsion; for woe to me if I do not preach ^(AE)the gospel. ¹⁷ For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^(AF)reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a ^(AG)commission nonetheless. ¹⁸ What, then, is my ^(AH)reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^(AI)without charge, so as ^(AJ)not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹ For though I am ^(AK)free from all people, I have made myself ^(AL)a slave to all, so that I may ^(AM)gain more. ^20 (AN)To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though ^(AO)not being under the Law myself, so that I might gain those who are under the Law; ²¹ to those who are ^(AP)without the Law, I became ^(AQ)as one without the Law, though not being without the law of God but ^(AR)under the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the Law. ²² To the ^(AS)weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I have become ^(AT)all things to all people, ^(AU)so that I may by all means save some. ²³ I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

^24 (AV)Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives ^(AW)the prize? ^(AX)Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵ Everyone who ^(AY)competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable ^(AZ)wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I ^(BA)run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as ^[i]to avoid ^(BB)hitting air; ²⁷ but I strictly discipline ^(BC)my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Punishment for Wickedness Foretold

7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, this is what the Lord ^[a]God says to the land of Israel: ‘An ^(A)end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end is upon you, for I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and ^[b]bring all your abominations upon you. ⁴ And My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will ^[c](B)bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will ^(C)know that I am the Lord!’

⁵ “This is what the Lord ^[d]God says: ‘A ^(D)disaster, a unique disaster, behold, it is coming! ⁶ An end ^[e]is coming; the end has come! It has ^(E)awakened against you; behold, it has come! ⁷ Your ^[f]doom has come to you, you inhabitant of the land. The ^(F)time has come, the ^(G)day is near—panic rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Now I will shortly ^(H)pour out My wrath on you and expend My anger against you; I will ^(I)judge you according to your ways and ^[g]bring on you all your abominations. ⁹ My eye will have no pity nor will I spare you. I will ^[h]repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the Lord, am striking.

¹⁰ ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your ^[i]doom has gone forth; the ^(J)rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. ¹¹ Violence ^[j]has grown into a rod of ^(K)wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their ^[k]people, none of their ^(L)wealth, nor anything eminent among them. ¹² The ^(M)time has come, the day has arrived. Let neither the ^(N)buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for ^(O)wrath is against all their multitude. ¹³ Indeed, the seller will not ^[l](P)regain ^[m]what he sold as long as ^[n]they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not ^[o]be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his wrongdoing.

¹⁴ ‘They have ^(Q)blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all ^[p]their multitude. ¹⁵ The ^(R)sword is outside the city and the plague and the famine are within. Anyone who is in the field will die by the sword, while famine and the plague will consume those in the city. ¹⁶ Even when their survivors ^(S)escape, they will be on the mountains like ^(T)doves of the valleys, all of them ^(U)moaning, each over his own wrongdoing. ¹⁷ All ^(V)hands will hang limp, and all ^[q]knees will drip with water. ¹⁸ They will ^(W)put on sackcloth and ^(X)shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces, and a ^[r](Y)bald patch on all their heads. ¹⁹ They will ^(Z)fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their ^(AA)silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their ^[s]appetite, nor can they fill their stomachs, because their wrongdoing has become a cause of stumbling.

The Temple Profaned

²⁰ Moreover, they transformed the splendor of His jewels into pride, and ^(AB)they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. ²¹ And I will hand it over to the ^(AC)foreigners as plunder, and to the wicked of the earth as spoils; and they will profane it. ²² I will also turn My ^(AD)face away from them, and they will profane My treasure; then robbers will enter and profane it.

²³ ‘^(AE)Make the ^[t]chain, for the land is full of ^[u](AF)bloody crimes, and the city is ^(AG)full of violence. ²⁴ Therefore, I will bring the worst of the ^(AH)nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will also put an end to the ^(AI)pride of the strong ones, and their ^(AJ)holy places will be profaned. ²⁵ When anguish comes, they will seek ^(AK)peace, but there will be none. ^26 (AL)Disaster will come upon disaster and ^(AM)rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a ^(AN)vision from a prophet, but the ^(AO)Law will be lost from the priest, and ^(AP)counsel from the elders. ²⁷ The king will mourn, the prince will be ^(AQ)clothed in horror, and the hands of the people of the land will ^[v]tremble. I will deal with them because of their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”

A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

For the music director; according to the ^[a]Shoshannim. A ^[b]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.