Quotes and Readings of the Day

1 Samuel 21:1-15

David and the Holy Bread


David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, ‘Why are you alone, and no one with you?’ David said to the priest Ahimelech, ‘The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, “No one must 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 have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.’ The priest answered David, ‘I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.’ David answered the priest, ‘Indeed, 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 a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?’ So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except 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 shepherds.

David said to Ahimelech, ‘Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.’ The priest said, ‘The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one.’ David said, ‘There is none like it; give it to me.’
David Flees to Gath


David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, ‘Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands”?’
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. So he changed his behaviour before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘Look, 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 play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?’

From the New Revised Standard Version. Reprinted with permission from HarperBibles.

TAGS: Bible, Bible Reading, Christianity, 1 Samuel

Numbers 32:20–33:49

Moses said to them, "If you do this, if you go to battle as shock-troops, at the instance of the Lord, and every shock-fighter among you crosses the Jordan, at the instance of the Lord, until He has dispossessed His enemies before Him, and the land has been subdued, at the instance of the Lord, and then you return--you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your holding under the Lord. But if you do not do so, you will have sinned against the Lord; and know that your sin will overtake you. Build towns for your children and sheepfolds for your flocks, but do what you have promised."

The Gadites and the Reubenites answered Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our other livestock will stay behind in the towns of Gilead; while your servants, all those recruited for war, cross over, at the instance of the Lord, to engage in battle--as my lord orders."

Then Moses gave instructions concerning them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them, "If every shock-fighter among the Gadites and the Reubenites crosses the Jordan with you to do battle, at the instance of the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you shall give them the land of Gilead as a holding. But if they do not cross over with you as shock-troops, they shall receive holdings among you in the land of Canaan."

The Gadites and the Reubenites said in reply, "Whatever the Lord has spoken concerning your servants, that we will do. We ourselves will cross over as shock-troops, at the instance of the Lord, into the land of Canaan; and we shall keep our hereditary holding across the Jordan."

So Moses assigned to them--to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph--the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land with its various cities and the territories of their surrounding towns. The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns or as enclosures for flocks. The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, Nebo, Baal-meon--some names being changed--and Sibmah; they gave [their own] names to towns that they rebuilt. The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, dispossessing the Amorites who were there; so Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there. Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, which he renamed Havvoth-jair. And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its dependencies, renaming it Nobah after himself.

These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, in the charge of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded the starting points of their various marches as directed by the Lord. Their marches, by starting points, were as follows: They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. It was on the morrow of the passover offering that the Israelites started out defiantly, in plain view of all the Egyptians. The Egyptians meanwhile were burying those among them whom the Lord had struck down, every first-born--whereby the Lord executed judgment on their gods.

The Israelites set out from Rameses and encamped at Succoth. They set out from Succoth and encamped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. They set out from Etham and turned about toward Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they encamped before Migdol. They set out from Pene-hahiroth and passed through the sea into the wilderness; and they made a three-days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and encamped at Marah. They set out from Marah and came to Elim. There were twelve springs in Elim and seventy palm trees, so they encamped there.

From Parshat Mattot-Masei. From THE TANAKH: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission.

TAGS: Torah, Torah Reading, Judaism, Numbers

With the angels as our daily companions, nature takes on a new meaning. Flowers, trees, birds, and the clouds become our direct connection to the angels. The angels remind us to stop and "smell the roses" and to drink in the peace of the natural world each day.

-Terry Lynn Taylor,
“Angel Days”

From "Angels Around Us." Compiled by Karen Maguire. Reprinted by arrangement with Andrews McMeel Publishing.

TAGS: Angel Quote, Angels, Natural World, Nature, Companions, Meaning, Peace, Birds, Terry Lynn TaylorbrAngel Days

Just like a blossom, bright colored and full of scent: a well-spoken word is fruitful when well carried out.

-Dhammapada 52, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

TAGS: Dhammapada, Dhammapada Quotes, Buddhist Quote, Buddhism, Blossom, Well Spoken

I always wanted to play Joan of Arc. Now I'm thinking, 'Maybe there's a story in Joan of Arc's mother!' If I don't hurry up, her grandmother!

-Ellen Burstyn

TAGS: Entertainment Quote, Dont Hurry, Celebrities, Spiritual, Celebrity Spirituality, Entertainment, Joan Of Arc

I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be.

-Joyce Meyers

TAGS: Evangelical, Evangelical Quote, Christianity

Cut down your shower time to five minutes. You'll reduce your output of water waste and save money on your utilities bill.

TAGS: Eco Tips

Humans are divided into two parts: body and spirit. The body is like a house, but the spirit is like an automobile--always on the move.

-Flannery O’Connor

TAGS: Inspiration Quote, Spirit, Body, Humans, Parts, Automobile, Perspective, Flannery O'connor

Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have remover their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.

-Thomas Jefferson

TAGS: Evangelical, Evangelical Quote, Christianity

Old times never come back and I suppose it's just as well. What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that's better.

-George E. Woodberry

TAGS: Emotional Health Quote, Health Quote

"I got this today," they say; "Tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too. I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity." This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance. Bound by their greed, and entangled in a web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell.

Bhagavad Gita 16:13-16

Excerpted from The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, copyright 1985. Reprinted with permission from Nilgiri Press, www.nilgiri.org. To order the book, please call 1-800-475-2369.

TAGS: Hindu Quote, Bhagavad Gita, Hinduism

Mind is everything. Mind pulls the universe out of a top hat, bows to its own applause, and walks off the stage, grinning.

-Stephen Mitchell

TAGS: Glow, Holistic Living Quote, Spirituality, Holistic Living

There was never a champion who to himself was a good loser.

-Earl Blaik

TAGS: Sports Quote, Motivational Quote, Inspirational Quote, Inspiration Quote, Football, Coach, Motivation, Champion

One who says, "Let good people [and only good people] bless You," is considered to have spoken heresy.

-Mishna Megillah 4:9

As cited in "Jewish Wisdom" by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.

TAGS: Judaism, Jewish Quote

God created the hearts of men to be the homes of His praise, but they have become the homes of lust; nothing but fear and a desire for goodness can purify them. When faith establishes itself within the heart, praise and contentment follow.

-Abu Muhammad bin Khubayq, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

From "The Bounty of Allah," translated by Aneela Khalid Arshed. Copyright 1999. All rights reserved. Used with permission of The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York.

TAGS: Islam, Muslim Quote, Muslim

So long as we love we serve;/ So long as we are loved by others,/ I would almost say that we are indispensable;/ And no one is useless while they have a friend.

-Robert Louis Stevenson

TAGS: Relationships, Relationship Quotes, Loving, Life Long, Value