Daily Readings

¹ Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.² And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.³ Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?⁴ And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?⁵ Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?⁶ Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.⁷ Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.⁸ And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?⁹ And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.¹⁰ Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.¹¹ So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

¹ And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;² And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.³ So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.⁴ Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.⁵ And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.⁶ And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.⁸ And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.¹¹ And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;¹² And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.¹³ And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.¹⁴ We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.¹⁵ And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.¹⁶ And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.¹⁷ And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.¹⁸ And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.¹⁹ And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.²⁰ And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.²¹ And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.²² Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.²³ Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.²⁴ For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.²⁵ And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.²⁶ And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;²⁷ To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,²⁸ And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,²⁹ And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,³⁰ And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,³¹ And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

¹ Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.² And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.³ O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.⁴ Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.⁵ I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.⁶ Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.⁷ How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.⁸ They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.⁹ Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?¹⁰ Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's.¹¹ For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.¹² They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:¹³ And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.¹⁴ Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.¹⁵ Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.¹⁶ Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.¹⁷ And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.¹⁸ Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.¹⁹ And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not your's.²⁰ Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,²¹ Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:²² Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?²³ But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.²⁴ Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.²⁵ Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.²⁶ For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.²⁷ As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.²⁸ They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.²⁹ Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?³⁰ A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

¹ The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.² He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.³ And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.⁵ And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.⁶ Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.⁸ Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?⁹ Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?¹⁰ Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?¹¹ How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?¹² Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.¹³ When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?¹⁴ And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.¹⁵ He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?¹⁶ And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.¹⁸ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.¹⁹ And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.²⁰ Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.²¹ From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.²² Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.²³ But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.²⁴ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.²⁶ For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?²⁷ For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.²⁸ Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.