M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Commissions Solomon to Build the Temple
28 David assembled all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem:(A) the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials, the fighting men,(B) and all the brave warriors. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the Lord’s covenant(C) and as a footstool(D) for our God. I had made preparations to build, 3 but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’(E)
4 “Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s household(F) to be king over Israel forever.(G) For He chose Judah as leader,(H) and from the house of Judah, my father’s household, and from my father’s sons,(I) He was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 And out of all my sons(J)—for the Lord has given me many sons—He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom over Israel.(K) 6 He said to me,(L) ‘Your son Solomon is the one who is to build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he perseveres in keeping My commands and My ordinances as he is today.’(M)
8 “So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and follow all the commands of the Lord your God so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind,(N) for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought.(O) If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.(P) 10 Realize now that the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”(Q)
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans(R) for the portico(S) of the temple and its buildings, treasuries, upper rooms, inner rooms, and a room for the mercy seat.(T) 12 The plans contained everything he had in mind[a](U) for the courts of the Lord’s house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries(V) of God’s house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated. 13 Also included were plans for the divisions of the priests and the Levites; all the work of service in the Lord’s house; all the articles of service of the Lord’s house; 14 the weight of gold for all the articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service; 15 the weight of the gold lampstands(W) and their gold lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the service of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for the rows of the bread of the Presence and the silver for the silver tables; 17 the pure gold for the forks, sprinkling basins, and pitchers; the weight of each gold dish; the weight of each silver bowl; 18 the weight of refined gold for the altar of incense;(X) and the plans for the chariot of[b](Y) the gold cherubim that spread out their wings and cover the ark of the Lord’s covenant.(Z)
19 David concluded, “By the Lord’s hand on me, He enabled me to understand everything in writing, all the details of the plan.”[c]
20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous,(AA) and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you(AB) until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God’s house.(AC) Every willing man of any skill(AD) will be at your disposal for the work, and the leaders and all the people are at your every command.”
The Judgment of False Teachers
2 But there were also false prophets(A) among the people, just as there will be false teachers(B) among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought(C) them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and the way of truth will be blasphemed because of them.(D) 3 They will exploit(E) you in their greed(F) with deceptive words. Their condemnation,(G) pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
4 For if God didn’t spare(H) the angels who sinned but threw them down into Tartarus[a](I) and delivered them to be kept in chains[b] of darkness until judgment;(J) 5 and if He didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah,(K) a preacher of righteousness, and seven others,[c](L) when He brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah(M) to ashes and condemned them to ruin,[d] making them an example to those who were going to be ungodly;[e](N) 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot,(O) distressed by the unrestrained behavior of the immoral 8 (for as he lived among them, that righteous man tormented himself day by day with the lawless deeds he saw and heard(P))— 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue(Q) the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,(R) 10 especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.(S)
Bold, arrogant people! They do not tremble when they blaspheme the glorious ones; 11 however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord.[f] 12 But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—speak blasphemies about things they don’t understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed, 13 suffering harm as the payment for unrighteousness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions[g] as they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery(T) and are always looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!(U) 15 They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path(V) and have followed the path of Balaam,(W) the son of Bosor,[h] who loved the wages of unrighteousness(X) 16 but received a rebuke for his transgression: A donkey that could not talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s irrationality.(Y)
17 These people are springs without water, mists driven by a whirlwind. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.(Z) 18 For by uttering boastful, empty words,(AA) they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped[i] from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.(AB) 20 For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,(AC) they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.(AD) 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness(AE) than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command(AF) delivered(AG) to them.(AH) 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit,(AI)[j] and, “a sow, after washing itself, wallows in the mud.”
From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King
5 [a]Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge(A) of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.
2 [b]Bethlehem Ephrathah,(B)
you are small among the clans of Judah;
One will come from you(C)
to be ruler over Israel for Me.(D)
His origin[c] is from antiquity,(E)
from eternity.[d]
3 Therefore, He will abandon them(F) until the time
when she who is in labor(G) has given birth;
then the rest of His brothers(H) will return
to the people of Israel.(I)
4 He will stand and shepherd them(J)
in the strength of Yahweh,
in the majestic name of Yahweh His God.
They will live securely,
for then His greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.(K)
5 He will be their peace.(L)
When Assyria invades our land,(M)
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
6 They will shepherd(N) the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(O) with a drawn blade.[e]
So He will rescue us(P) from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.
The Glorious and Purified Remnant
7 Then the remnant of Jacob(Q)
will be among many peoples
like dew from the Lord,(R)
like showers on the grass,(S)
which do not wait for anyone
or linger for mankind.
8 Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among the nations, among many peoples,
like a lion among animals of the forest,(T)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples(U) and tears(V) as it passes through,
and there is no one to rescue them.(W)
9 Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,(X)
and all your enemies will be destroyed.
10 In that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will remove your horses from you(Y)
and wreck your chariots.
11 I will remove the cities of your land(Z)
and tear down all your fortresses.(AA)
12 I will remove sorceries from your hands,(AB)
and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.
13 I will remove your carved images(AC)
and sacred pillars from you
so that you will not bow down again
to the work of your hands.
14 I will pull up the Asherah poles(AD) from among you(AE)
and demolish your cities.[f]
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath(AF)
against the nations that have not obeyed Me.
A Sabbath Controversy
14 One Sabbath, when He went to eat[a] at the house of one of the leading Pharisees,(A) they were watching Him closely.(B) 2 There in front of Him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid.[b] 3 In response, Jesus asked the law experts(C) and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”(D) 4 But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 And to them, He said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”(E) 6 To this they could find no answer.
Teachings on Humility
7 He told a parable(F) to those who were invited, when He noticed how they would choose the best places(G) for themselves: 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t recline at the best place, because a more distinguished person(H) than you may have been invited by your host.[c] 9 The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place.
10 “But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ You will then be honored(I) in the presence of all the other guests.(J) 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”(K)
12 He also said to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. 13 On the contrary, when you host a banquet,(L) invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind.(M) 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid(N) at the resurrection of the righteous.”(O)
The Parable of the Large Banquet
15 When(P) one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God(Q) is blessed!”
16 Then He told him: “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
18 “But without exception[d] they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20 “And another said, ‘I just got married,[e](R) and therefore I’m unable to come.’
21 “So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’(S)
22 “‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’
23 “Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet!’”
The Cost of Following Jesus
25 Now(T) great crowds were traveling with Him. So He turned and said to them: 26 “If anyone comes to Me(U) and does not hate(V) his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross(W) and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost(X) to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to make fun of him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to[f] all his possessions(Y) cannot be My disciple.
34 “Now,(Z) salt(AA) is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35 It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”(AB)
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