Daily Readings

¹ Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?² And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.³ Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.⁴ And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.⁵ And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.⁶ So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.⁷ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.⁸ And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.⁹ And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.¹⁰ And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.¹¹ And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?¹² And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.¹³ And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.¹⁴ Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?¹⁵ Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

¹ David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.² And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.³ And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.⁴ And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.⁵ And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.⁶ When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)⁷ Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;⁸ That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?⁹ Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.¹⁰ And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.¹¹ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.¹² And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.¹³ And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?¹⁵ Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.¹⁶ And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.¹⁷ And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.²⁰ And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.²¹ And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD's priests.²² And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.²³ Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

¹ I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.² I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;³ A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;⁴ Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;⁵ Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.⁶ Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,⁷ Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.⁸ Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.⁹ And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.¹⁰ And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.¹¹ But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.¹² Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.¹³ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:¹⁴ Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.¹⁵ And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:¹⁶ That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.¹⁷ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.¹⁸ But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.¹⁹ And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.²⁰ There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.²¹ And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.²² They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.²³ They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.²⁴ And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

¹ And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;³ Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;⁴ Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.⁵ These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.⁷ And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.⁹ Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,¹⁰ Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.¹¹ And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.¹² And when ye come into an house, salute it.¹³ And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.¹⁴ And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.¹⁵ Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.¹⁶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.¹⁷ But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;¹⁸ And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.²⁰ For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.²¹ And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.²² And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.²³ But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.²⁴ The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?²⁶ Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.²⁷ What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.²⁸ And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.³¹ Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.³² Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.³³ But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.³⁴ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.³⁶ And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.³⁸ And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.³⁹ He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.⁴⁰ He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.⁴¹ He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.⁴² And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.