ESV: Chronological

Reading: 1 Samuel 25-27 Reading: 1 Samuel 25-27 1 Samuel 25-27 Back to top 1 Samuel 25-27 The Death of Samuel 25 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. David and Abigail Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’” When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. And Nabal answered David's servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.” Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs1 of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David2 and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.” When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal3 is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your

Reading: Psalm 56 Reading: Psalm 120 Reading: Psalm 140-142 Reading: Psalm 56 Psalm 56 Back to top Psalm 56 In God I Trust To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam1 of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. 56   Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;     all day long an attacker oppresses me;   my enemies trample on me all day long,     for many attack me proudly.   When I am afraid,     I put my trust in you.   In God, whose word I praise,     in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.     What can flesh do to me?   All day long they injure my cause;2     all their thoughts are against me for evil.   They stir up strife, they lurk;     they watch my steps,     as they have waited for my life.   For their crime will they escape?     In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!   You have kept count of my tossings;3     put my tears in your bottle.     Are they not in your book?   Then my enemies will turn back     in the day when I call.     This I know, that4 God is for me.   In God, whose word I praise,     in the LORD, whose word I praise,   in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.     What can man do to me?   I must perform my vows to you, O God;     I will render thank offerings to you.   For you have delivered my soul from death,     yes, my feet from falling,   that I may walk before God     in the light of life. Footnotes [1] 56:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 56:5 Or they twist my words [3] 56:8 Or wanderings [4] 56:9 Or because (ESV) Reading: Psalm 120 Psalm 120 Back to top Psalm 120 Deliver Me, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 120   In my distress I called to the LORD,     and he answered me.   Deliver me, O LORD,     from lying lips,     from a deceitful tongue.   What shall be given to you,     and what more shall be done to you,     you deceitful tongue?   A warrior's sharp arrows,     with glowing coals of the broom tree!   Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,     that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!   Too long have I had my dwelling     among those who hate peace.   I am for peace,     but when I speak, they are for war! (ESV) Reading: Psalm 140-142 Psalm 140-142 Back to top Psalms 140-142 Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;     preserve me from violent men,   who plan evil things in their heart     and stir up wars continually.   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,     and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;     preserve me from violent men,     who have planned to trip up my feet.   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,     and with cords they have spread a net;1     beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah   I say to the LORD, You are my God;     give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,     you have covered my head in the day of battle.   Gr

Reading: Psalm 7 Reading: Psalm 27 Reading: Psalm 31 Reading: Psalm 34 Reading: Psalm 52 Reading: Psalm 7 Psalm 7 Back to top Psalm 7 In You Do I Take Refuge A Shiggaion1 of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite. 7   O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;     save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,   lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,     rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.   O LORD my God, if I have done this,     if there is wrong in my hands,   if I have repaid my friend2 with evil     or plundered my enemy without cause,   let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,     and let him trample my life to the ground     and lay my glory in the dust. Selah   Arise, O LORD, in your anger;     lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;     awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.   Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;     over it return on high.   The LORD judges the peoples;     judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness     and according to the integrity that is in me.   Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,     and may you establish the righteous—   you who test the minds and hearts,3     O righteous God!   My shield is with God,     who saves the upright in heart.   God is a righteous judge,     and a God who feels indignation every day.   If a man4 does not repent, God5 will whet his sword;     he has bent and readied his bow;   he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,     making his arrows fiery shafts.   Behold, the wicked man conceives evil     and is pregnant with mischief     and gives birth to lies.   He makes a pit, digging it out,     and falls into the hole that he has made.   His mischief returns upon his own head,     and on his own skull his violence descends.   I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,     and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. Footnotes [1] 7:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me [3] 7:9 Hebrew the hearts and kidneys [4] 7:12 Hebrew he [5] 7:12 Hebrew he (ESV) Reading: Psalm 27 Psalm 27 Back to top Psalm 27 The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation Of David. 27   The LORD is my light and my salvation;     whom shall I fear?   The LORD is the stronghold1 of my life;     of whom shall I be afraid?   When evildoers assail me     to eat up my flesh,   my adversaries and foes,     it is they who stumble and fall.   Though an army encamp against me,     my heart shall not fear;   though war arise against me,     yet2 I will be confident.   One thing have I asked of the LORD,     that will I seek after:   that I may dwell in the house of the LORD     all the days of my life,   to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD     and to inquire3 in his temple.   For he will hide me in his shelter     in the day of trouble;   he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;     he will lift me high upon a rock.   And now my head shall be lifted up     above my e

Reading: 1 Samuel 21-24 Reading: 1 Samuel 21-24 1 Samuel 21-24 Back to top 1 Samuel 21-24 David and the Holy Bread 21  Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen. Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.” And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.” David Flees to Gath And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,   ‘Saul has struck down his thousands,     and David his ten thousands’?” And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” David at the Cave of Adullam 22 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul,1 gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay2 with you, till I know what God will do for me.” And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. Saul Kills the Priests at Nob Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son

Reading: 1 Samuel 18-20 Reading: Psalm 11 Reading: Psalm 59 Reading: 1 Samuel 18-20 1 Samuel 18-20 Back to top 1 Samuel 18-20 David and Jonathan's Friendship 18 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants. Saul's Jealousy of David As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.1 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,   “Saul has struck down his thousands,     and David his ten thousands.” And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” And Saul eyed David from that day on. The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. David Marries Michal Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD's battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife. Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,2 “You shall now be my son-in-law.” And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.’” And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-

Reading: 1 Samuel 15-17 Reading: 1 Samuel 15-17 1 Samuel 15-17 Back to top 1 Samuel 15-17 The Lord Rejects Saul 15 And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction1 all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves2 and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. The word of the LORD came to Samuel: “I regret3 that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.” And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” And Samuel said,   “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,     as in obeying the voice of the LORD?   Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,     and to listen than the fat of rams.   For rebellion is as the sin of divination,     and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.   Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,     he has also rejected you from being king.” Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the LORD.” And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have

Reading: 1 Samuel 13-14 Reading: 1 Samuel 13-14 1 Samuel 13-14 Back to top 1 Samuel 13-14 Saul Fights the Philistines 13 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,1 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince2 over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal3 to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,4 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel5 for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel6 for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.7 So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. Jonathan Defeats the Philistines 14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carrie

Reading: 1 Samuel 9-12 Reading: 1 Samuel 9-12 1 Samuel 9-12 Back to top 1 Samuel 9-12 Saul Chosen to Be King 9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant1 who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel2 of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today's “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel: “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince3 over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen4 my people, because their cry has come to me.” When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?” Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?” Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel s

Reading: 1 Kings 3-4 Reading: 2 Chronicles 1 Reading: Psalm 72 Reading: 1 Kings 3-4 1 Kings 3-4 Back to top 1 Kings 3-4 Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom 3 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem. The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD. Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. Solomon's Wisdom Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king. Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him t

Reading: Psalm 119:1-88 Reading: Psalm 119:1-88 Psalm 119:1-88 Back to top Psalm 119:1-88 Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet Aleph 119   1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,     who walk in the law of the LORD!   Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,     who seek him with their whole heart,   who also do no wrong,     but walk in his ways!   You have commanded your precepts     to be kept diligently.   Oh that my ways may be steadfast     in keeping your statutes!   Then I shall not be put to shame,     having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.   I will praise you with an upright heart,     when I learn your righteous rules.2   I will keep your statutes;     do not utterly forsake me! Beth   How can a young man keep his way pure?     By guarding it according to your word.   With my whole heart I seek you;     let me not wander from your commandments!   I have stored up your word in my heart,     that I might not sin against you.   Blessed are you, O LORD;     teach me your statutes!   With my lips I declare     all the rules3 of your mouth.   In the way of your testimonies I delight     as much as in all riches.   I will meditate on your precepts     and fix my eyes on your ways.   I will delight in your statutes;     I will not forget your word. Gimel   Deal bountifully with your servant,     that I may live and keep your word.   Open my eyes, that I may behold     wondrous things out of your law.   I am a sojourner on the earth;     hide not your commandments from me!   My soul is consumed with longing     for your rules4 at all times.   You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,     who wander from your commandments.   Take away from me scorn and contempt,     for I have kept your testimonies.   Even though princes sit plotting against me,     your servant will meditate on your statutes.   Your testimonies are my delight;     they are my counselors. Daleth   My soul clings to the dust;     give me life according to your word!   When I told of my ways, you answered me;     teach me your statutes!   Make me understand the way of your precepts,     and I will meditate on your wondrous works.   My soul melts away for sorrow;     strengthen me according to your word!   Put false ways far from me     and graciously teach me your law!   I have chosen the way of faithfulness;     I set your rules before me.   I cling to your testimonies, O LORD;     let me not be put to shame!   I will run in the way of your commandments     when you enlarge my heart!5 He   Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;     and I will keep it to the end.6   Give me understanding, that I may keep your law     and observe it with my whole heart.   Lead me in the path of your commandments,     for I delight in it.   Incline my heart to your testimonies,     and not to selfish gain!   Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;     and give me lif

Reading: 1 Kings 1-2 Reading: Psalm 37 Reading: Psalm 71 Reading: Psalm 94 Reading: 1 Kings 1-2 1 Kings 1-2 Back to top 1 Kings 1-2 David in His Old Age 1 Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king and be in his service. Let her lie in your arms,1 that my lord the king may be warm.” So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom. He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. And they followed Adonijah and helped him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and Nathan the prophet and Shimei and Rei and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah. Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent's Stone, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother. Nathan and Bathsheba Before David Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’ Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm2 your words.” So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber (now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king). Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?” She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he has not invited. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.” While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. And they told the king, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, the commanders3 of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not invited. Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your serva

Reading: Psalm 102-104 Reading: Psalm 102-104 Psalm 102-104 Back to top Psalms 102-104 Do Not Hide Your Face from Me A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD. 102   Hear my prayer, O LORD;   let my cry come to you!   Do not hide your face from me     in the day of my distress!   Incline your ear to me;     answer me speedily in the day when I call!   For my days pass away like smoke,     and my bones burn like a furnace.   My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;     I forget to eat my bread.   Because of my loud groaning     my bones cling to my flesh.   I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,     like an owl1 of the waste places;   I lie awake;     I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.   All the day my enemies taunt me;     those who deride me use my name for a curse.   For I eat ashes like bread     and mingle tears with my drink,   because of your indignation and anger;     for you have taken me up and thrown me down.   My days are like an evening shadow;     I wither away like grass.   But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;     you are remembered throughout all generations.   You will arise and have pity on Zion;     it is the time to favor her;     the appointed time has come.   For your servants hold her stones dear     and have pity on her dust.   Nations will fear the name of the LORD,     and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.   For the LORD builds up Zion;     he appears in his glory;   he regards the prayer of the destitute     and does not despise their prayer.   Let this be recorded for a generation to come,     so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:   that he looked down from his holy height;     from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,   to hear the groans of the prisoners,     to set free those who were doomed to die,   that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,     and in Jerusalem his praise,   when peoples gather together,     and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.   He has broken my strength in midcourse;     he has shortened my days.   “O my God,” I say, “take me not away     in the midst of my days—   you whose years endure     throughout all generations!”   Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,     and the heavens are the work of your hands.   They will perish, but you will remain;     they will all wear out like a garment.   You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,     but you are the same, and your years have no end.   The children of your servants shall dwell secure;     their offspring shall be established before you. Bless the Lord, O My Soul Of David. 103   Bless the LORD, O my soul,     and all that is within me,     bless his holy name!   Bless the LORD, O my soul,     and forget not all his benefits,   who forgives all your iniquity,     who heals all your diseases,   who redeems your life from the pit,     who crowns you with

Reading: 1 Chronicles 7-10 Reading: 1 Chronicles 7-10 1 Chronicles 7-10 Back to top 1 Chronicles 7-10 Descendants of Issachar 7 The sons1 of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. The son2 of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy. Descendants of Benjamin The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher. Descendants of Naphtali The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah. Descendants of Manasseh The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer and Mahlah. The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Descendants of Ephraim The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.3 His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Nun4 his son, Joshua his son. Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; also in possession of the Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. Descendants of Asher The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. The sons of Jether:

Reading: Psalm 81 Reading: Psalm 88 Reading: Psalm 92-93 Reading: Psalm 81 Psalm 81 Back to top Psalm 81 Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.1 Of Asaph. 81   Sing aloud to God our strength;     shout for joy to the God of Jacob!   Raise a song; sound the tambourine,     the sweet lyre with the harp.   Blow the trumpet at the new moon,     at the full moon, on our feast day.   For it is a statute for Israel,     a rule2 of the God of Jacob.   He made it a decree in Joseph     when he went out over3 the land of Egypt.   I hear a language I had not known:   “I relieved your4 shoulder of the burden;     your hands were freed from the basket.   In distress you called, and I delivered you;     I answered you in the secret place of thunder;     I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah   Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!     O Israel, if you would but listen to me!   There shall be no strange god among you;     you shall not bow down to a foreign god.   I am the LORD your God,     who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.     Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.   “But my people did not listen to my voice;     Israel would not submit to me.   So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,     to follow their own counsels.   Oh, that my people would listen to me,     that Israel would walk in my ways!   I would soon subdue their enemies     and turn my hand against their foes.   Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,     and their fate would last forever.   But he would feed you5 with the finest of the wheat,     and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Footnotes [1] 81:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 81:4 Or just decree [3] 81:5 Or against [4] 81:6 Hebrew his; also next line [5] 81:16 That is, Israel; Hebrew him (ESV) Reading: Psalm 88 Psalm 88 Back to top Psalm 88 I Cry Out Day and Night Before You A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil1 of Heman the Ezrahite. 88   O LORD, God of my salvation;     I cry out day and night before you.   Let my prayer come before you;     incline your ear to my cry!   For my soul is full of troubles,     and my life draws near to Sheol.   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;     I am a man who has no strength,   like one set loose among the dead,     like the slain that lie in the grave,   like those whom you remember no more,     for they are cut off from your hand.   You have put me in the depths of the pit,     in the regions dark and deep.   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,     and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah   You have caused my companions to shun me;     you have made me a horror2 to them.   I am shut in so that I cannot escape;     my eye grows dim through sorrow.   Every day I call upon you, O LORD;     I spread out my hands to you.   Do you work wonders for the dead?     Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,     or your faithfulness in Abaddon? &nb

Reading: 1 Chronicles 6 Reading: 1 Chronicles 6 1 Chronicles 6 Back to top 1 Chronicles 6 Descendants of Levi 6 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, and Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum, Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; and Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. The sons of Samuel: Joel1 his firstborn, the second Abijah.2 The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son. These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of Samuel, son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God. But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pas