M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ishbaal Assassinated
4 When Saul’s son Ishbaal[a] heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.(A) 2 Saul’s son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other was Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth, for Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin.(B) 3 (Now the people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and are there as resident aliens to this day.)(C)
4 Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, and in her haste to flee it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.(D)
5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal[b] while he was taking his noonday rest.(E) 6 They came inside the house as though to take wheat,[c] and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped.(F) 7 Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long. 8 They brought the head of Ishbaal[d] to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbaal[e] son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.”(G)
9 David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,(H) 10 when the one who told me, ‘See, Saul is dead,’ thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news.(I) 11 How much more, then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?”(J) 12 So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal[f] they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.(K)
David Anointed King of All Israel
5 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh.(L) 2 For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you, ‘It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’ ”(M) 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.(N) 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.(O) 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.(P)
Jerusalem Made Capital of the United Kingdom
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here; even the blind and the lame will turn you back,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.”(Q) 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. 8 David had said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates.”[g] Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”(R) 9 David occupied the stronghold and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward.(S) 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts[h] was with him.(T)
11 King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees and carpenters and masons who built David a house.(U) 12 David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
13 In Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives, and more sons and daughters were born to David.(V) 14 These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,(W) 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
Philistine Attack Repulsed
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up in search of David, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold.(X) 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.(Y) 19 David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” The Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”(Z) 20 So David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. He said, “The Lord has burst forth against my enemies before me like a bursting flood.” Therefore that place is called Baal-perazim.[i](AA) 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.(AB)
22 Once again the Philistines came up and were spread out in the valley of Rephaim.(AC) 23 When David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear and come upon them opposite the balsam trees.(AD) 24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be on the alert, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”(AE) 25 David did just as the Lord had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.(AF)
The Resurrection of Christ
15 Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news[a] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,(A) 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.(B)
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures(C) 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures(D) 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.(E) 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[b] 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.(F) 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.(G) 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.(H) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.(I) 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.(J) 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died[c] in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.[d](K) 21 For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human,(L) 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23 But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power.(M) 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.(N) 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.(O) 27 For “God[e] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him.(P) 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.(Q)
29 Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
30 And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour?(R) 31 I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord.(S) 32 If I fought with wild animals at Ephesus with a merely human perspective, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”(T)
33 Do not be deceived:
“Bad company ruins good morals.”
34 Sober up, as you rightly ought to, and sin no more, for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.(U)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.(V) 37 And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.(W) 44 It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.(X) 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the physical and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, made of dust; the second man is[f] from heaven.(Y) 48 As one of dust, so are those who are of the dust, and as one of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the one of dust, we will[g] also bear the image of the one of heaven.(Z)
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.(AA) 51 Look, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,[h] but we will all be changed,(AB) 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.(AC) 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When this perishable body puts on imperishability and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”(AD)
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.(AE) 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.(AF)
False Prophets Condemned
13 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying; say to those who prophesy out of their own imaginations: “Hear the word of the Lord!”(A) 3 Thus says the Lord God: Alas for the senseless prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!(B) 4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches or repaired a wall for the house of Israel, so that it might stand in battle on the day of the Lord.(C) 6 They have envisioned falsehood and lying divination; they say, “Says the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word!(D) 7 Have you not seen a false vision or uttered a lying divination when you have said, “Says the Lord,” even though I did not speak?
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have uttered falsehood and envisioned lies, I am against you, says the Lord God. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations; they shall not be in the council of my people nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.(E) 10 Because, in truth, because they have misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a flimsy wall, these prophets[a] smear whitewash on it.(F) 11 Say to those who smear whitewash on it that it shall fall. There will be a deluge of rain,[b] great hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind will break out.(G) 12 When the wall falls, will it not be said to you, “Where is the whitewash you smeared on it?” 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: In my wrath I will make a stormy wind break out, and in my anger there shall be a deluge of rain and hailstones in wrath to destroy it. 14 I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash and bring it to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare; when the city falls, you shall perish within it, and you shall know that I am the Lord.(H) 15 Thus I will spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, “The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it— 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for it when there was no peace, says the Lord God.”(I)
17 As for you, mortal, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imaginations; prophesy against them(J) 18 and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every height, in the hunt for lives! Will you hunt down lives among my people and maintain your own lives?(K) 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death those who should not die and keeping alive those who should not live, by your lies to my people, who listen to lies.(L)
20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I am against your bands with which you hunt lives;[c] I will tear them from your arms and let the lives go free, the lives that you hunt down like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands; they shall no longer be prey in your hands, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not disheartened them, and you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their wicked way and save their lives,(M) 23 therefore you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination; I will save my people from your hand. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(N)
Psalm 52
Judgment on the Deceitful
To the leader. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
1 Why do you boast, O mighty one,
of mischief done against the godly?[a]
All day long(A) 2 you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.(B)
3 You love evil more than good
and lying more than speaking the truth. Selah(C)
4 You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.(D)
5 But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah(E)
6 The righteous will see and fear
and will laugh at the evildoer,[b] saying,(F)
7 “See the one who would not take
refuge in God
but trusted in abundant riches
and sought refuge in wealth!”[c](G)
8 But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.(H)
9 I will thank you forever
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim[d] your name, for it is good.(I)
Psalm 53
Denunciation of Godlessness
To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt; they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.(J)
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.(K)
3 They have all fallen away; they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.(L)
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon God?(M)
5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;[e]
they will be put to shame,[f] for God has rejected them.(N)
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.(O)
Psalm 54
Prayer for Vindication
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “David is in hiding among us.”
1 Save me, O God, by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.(P)
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.(Q)
3 For the insolent have risen against me;
the ruthless seek my life;
they do not set God before them. Selah(R)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.