M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Once Again David Doesn’t Kill Saul When He Has the Chance

26 Some people from Ziph went to Saul at Gibeah. They said, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah. It faces Jeshimon.”

² So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph. He took 3,000 of the best soldiers in Israel with him. They went to the desert to look for David. ³ Saul set up his camp beside the road. It was on the hill of Hakilah facing Jeshimon. But David stayed in the desert. He saw that Saul had followed him there. ⁴ So he sent out scouts. From them he learned that Saul had arrived.

⁵ Then David started out. He went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner were lying down. Saul was lying inside the camp. The army was camped all around him. Abner was commander of the army. He was the son of Ner.

⁶ Then David spoke to Ahimelek, the Hittite. He also spoke to Joab’s brother Abishai, the son of Zeruiah. He asked them, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?”

“I’ll go with you,” said Abishai.

⁷ So that night David and Abishai went into the camp. They found Saul lying asleep inside the camp. His spear was stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.

⁸ Abishai said to David, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you. So let me pin him to the ground. I can do it with one jab of the spear. I won’t even have to strike him twice.”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! No one can do any harm to the Lord’s anointed king and not be guilty. ¹⁰ You can be sure that the Lord lives,” he said. “And you can be just as sure that the Lord himself will strike Saul down. Perhaps he’ll die a natural death. Or perhaps he’ll go into battle and be killed. ¹¹ May the Lord keep me from doing anything to harm his anointed king. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head. Then let’s leave.”

¹² So David took the spear and water jug that were near Saul’s head. Then he and Abishai left. No one saw them. No one knew about what they had done. In fact, no one even woke up. Everyone was sleeping. That’s because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.

¹³ David went across to the other side of the valley. He stood on top of a hill far away from Saul’s camp. There was a wide space between them. ¹⁴ He called out to the army and to Abner, the son of Ner. He said, “Abner! Aren’t you going to answer me?”

Abner replied, “Who is calling out to the king?”

¹⁵ David said, “You are a great soldier, aren’t you? There isn’t anyone else like you in Israel. So why didn’t you guard the king? He’s your master, isn’t he? Someone came into the camp to destroy him. ¹⁶ You didn’t guard him. And that isn’t good. You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that you and your men must die. That’s because you didn’t guard your master. He’s the Lord’s anointed king. Look around you. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were near his head?”

¹⁷ Saul recognized David’s voice. He said, “My son David, is that your voice?”

David replied, “Yes it is, King Saul, my master.” ¹⁸ He continued, “Why are you chasing me? What evil thing have I done? What am I guilty of? ¹⁹ King Saul, please listen to what I’m saying. Was it the Lord who made you angry with me? If it was, may he accept my offering. Was it people who made you angry at me? If it was, may the Lord see them cursed. They have driven me today from my share of the Lord’s land. By doing that, they might as well have said, ‘Go and serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Don’t spill my blood on the ground far away from where the Lord lives. King Saul, you have come out to look for nothing but a flea. It’s as if you were hunting a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, “I have sinned. My son David, come back. Today you thought my life was very special. So I won’t try to harm you again. I’ve really acted like a foolish person. I’ve made a huge mistake.”

²² “Here’s your spear,” David answered. “Send one of your young men over to get it. ²³ The Lord rewards everyone for doing what is right and being faithful. He handed you over to me today. But I wouldn’t harm you. You are the Lord’s anointed king. ²⁴ Today I thought your life had great value. In the same way, may the Lord think of my life as having great value. May he save me from all trouble.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “May the Lord bless you, David my son. You will do great things. You will also have great success.”

So David went on his way. And Saul returned home.

Advice for Those Who Are Married

7 Now I want to deal with the things you wrote me about. Some of you say, “It is good for a man not to sleep with a woman.” ² But since sexual sin is happening, each man should sleep with his own wife. And each woman should sleep with her own husband. ³ A husband should satisfy his wife’s needs. And a wife should satisfy her husband’s needs. ⁴ The wife’s body does not belong only to her. It also belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong only to him. It also belongs to his wife. ⁵ You shouldn’t stop giving yourselves to each other. You might possibly do this when you both agree to it. And you should only agree to it to give yourselves time to pray. Then you should come together again. In that way, Satan will not tempt you when you can’t control yourselves. ⁶ I say those things to you as my advice, not as a command. ⁷ I wish all of you were single like me. But you each have your own gift from God. One has this gift, and another has that one.

⁸ I speak now to those who are not married. I also speak to widows. It is good for you to stay single like me. ⁹ But if you can’t control yourselves, you should get married. It is better to get married than to burn with desire.

¹⁰ I give a command to those who are married. It is a direct command from the Lord, not from me. A wife must not leave her husband. ¹¹ But if she does, she must not get married again. Or she can go back to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹² I also have something to say to everyone else. It is from me, not a direct command from the Lord. Suppose a brother has a wife who is not a believer. If she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And suppose a woman has a husband who is not a believer. If he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ The unbelieving husband has been made holy through his wife. The unbelieving wife has been made holy through her believing husband. If that were not the case, your children would not be pure and “clean.” But as it is, they are holy.

¹⁵ But if the unbeliever leaves, let that person go. In that case, the believer does not have to stay married to the unbeliever. God wants us to live in peace. ¹⁶ Wife, how do you know if you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know if you will save your wife?

Stay as You Were When God Chose You

¹⁷ But each believer should live in whatever situation the Lord has given them. Stay as you were when God chose you. That’s the rule all the churches must follow. ¹⁸ Was a man already circumcised when God chose him? Then he should not become uncircumcised. Was he uncircumcised when God chose him? Then he should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Being circumcised means nothing. Being uncircumcised means nothing. Doing what God commands is what counts. ²⁰ Each of you should stay as you were when God chose you.

²¹ Were you a slave when God chose you? Don’t let it trouble you. But if you can get your master to set you free, do it. ²² The person who was a slave when the Lord chose them is now the Lord’s free person. The one who was free when God chose them is now a slave of Christ. ²³ Christ has paid the price for you. Don’t become slaves of human beings. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each person is accountable to God. So each person should stay as they were when God chose them.

Advice for Those Who Are Not Married

²⁵ Now I want to say something about virgins. I have no direct command from the Lord. But I give my opinion. Because of the Lord’s mercy, I give it as one who can be trusted. ²⁶ Times are hard for you right now. So I think it’s good for a man to stay as he is. ²⁷ Are you engaged to a woman? Then don’t try to get out of it. Are you free from such a promise? Then don’t look for a wife. ²⁸ But if you do marry someone, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries someone, she has not sinned. But those who marry someone will have many troubles in this life. I want to save you from this.

²⁹ Brothers and sisters, what I mean is that the time is short. From now on, those who have a husband or wife should live as if they did not. ³⁰ Those who mourn should live as if they did not. Those who are happy should live as if they were not. Those who buy something should live as if it were not theirs to keep. ³¹ Those who use the things of the world should not become all wrapped up in them. The world as it now exists is passing away.

³² I don’t want you to have anything to worry about. A single man is concerned about the Lord’s matters. He wants to know how he can please the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the matters of this world. He wants to know how he can please his wife. ³⁴ His concerns pull him in two directions. A single woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s matters. She wants to serve the Lord with both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the matters of this world. She wants to know how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I’m saying those things for your own good. I’m not trying to hold you back. I want you to be free to live in a way that is right. I want you to give yourselves completely to the Lord.

³⁶ Suppose someone is worried that he is not acting with honor toward the virgin he has promised to marry. Suppose his desires are too strong, and he feels that he should marry her. He should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. ³⁷ But suppose the man has decided not to marry the virgin. And suppose he has no compelling need to get married and can control himself. If he has made up his mind not to get married, he also does the right thing. ³⁸ So then, the man who marries the virgin does the right thing. But the man who doesn’t marry her does a better thing.

³⁹ A woman has to stay married to her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she wants to. But the one she marries must belong to the Lord. ⁴⁰ In my opinion, she is happier if she stays single. And I also think that I am led by the Spirit of God in saying this.

God’s Judgment Will Be Like a Barber’s Razor

5 “Son of man, get a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor. Shave your head and beard with it. Then get a set of scales and weigh the hair. Separate it into three piles. ² Burn up a third of the hair inside the city. Do this when you stop attacking the model of Jerusalem. Next, get another third of the hair. Strike it with a sword all around the city. Then scatter the last third to the winds. That is because I will chase the people with a sword that is ready to strike them down. ³ But save a few hairs. Tuck them away in the clothes you are wearing. ⁴ Next, get a few more hairs. Throw them into the fire. Burn them up. The fire will spread to all the people of Israel.”

⁵ The Lord and King says, “What you do with the hair stands for what I will do with Jerusalem’s people. I have placed that city in the center of the nations. Countries are all around it. ⁶ But its people are sinful. They have refused to obey my laws and rules. They have turned their backs on my laws. They have not followed my rules. These people are worse than the nations and countries around them.”

⁷ The Lord and King continues, “You people have been worse than the nations around you. You have not lived by my rules or kept my laws. You have not even lived up to the standards of the nations around you.”

⁸ The Lord and King continues, “Jerusalem, I myself am against you. I will punish you in the sight of the nations. ⁹ I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. That is because you worship statues of gods. I hate them. ¹⁰ So parents will eat their own children inside the city. And children will eat their parents. I will punish you. And I will scatter to the winds anyone who is left alive. ¹¹ You have made my temple ‘unclean.’ You have set up statues of all your evil gods. You have done other things I hate. So I will cut you off just like Ezekiel cut off his hair. I will not spare you or feel sorry for you. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King. ¹² A third of your people will die of the plague inside your walls. Or they will die of hunger there. Another third will be killed by swords outside your walls. And I will scatter the last third of your people to the winds. I will chase them with a sword that is ready to strike them down.

¹³ “Then I will not be angry anymore. My great anger against them will die down. And I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I have spoken with strong feelings. And my great anger toward them will come to an end. I am the Lord.

¹⁴ “I will destroy you. I will bring shame on you in the sight of the nations around you. All those who pass by will see it. ¹⁵ You will be put to shame. The nations will make fun of you. You will serve as a warning to others. They will be shocked when they see you. So I will punish you because I am very angry with you. You will feel the sting of my warning. I have spoken. I am the Lord. ¹⁶ I will shoot at you with my deadly, destroying arrows of hunger. I will shoot to kill. I will bring more and more hunger on you. I will cut off your food supply. ¹⁷ I will send hunger and wild animals against you. They will destroy all your children. Plague and murder will sweep over you. And I will send swords to kill you. I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

Book II

Psalms 42–72

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.