M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 David said, “The temple of the Lord God must be built right here at this threshing place. And the altar for offering sacrifices will also be here.”
David Prepares To Build the Temple
2 David ordered the foreigners living in Israel to come to Jerusalem. Then he assigned some to cut blocks of stone for building the temple. 3 He got a large supply of iron to make into nails and hinges for the doors, and he provided so much bronze that it could not be weighed. 4 He also brought an endless supply of cedar logs from the cities of Sidon and Tyre.
5 He said, “The temple for the Lord must be great, so that everyone in the world will know about it. But since my son Solomon is young and has no experience, I will make sure that everything is ready for the temple to be built.”
That's why David did all these things before he died.
David Instructs Solomon To Build the Temple
6 David sent for his son Solomon and told him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. 7 (A) He said:
My son, I wanted to build a temple where the Lord my God would be worshiped. 8 But some time ago, he told me, “David, you have killed too many people and have fought too many battles. That's why you are not the one to build my temple. 9 But when your son becomes king, I will give him peace throughout his kingdom. His name will be Solomon, because during his rule I will keep Israel safe and peaceful.[a] 10 Solomon will build my temple. He will be like a son to me, and I will be like a father to him. In fact, one of his descendants will always rule in Israel.”
11 Solomon, my son, I now pray that the Lord your God will be with you and keep his promise to help you build a temple for him. 12 May he give you wisdom and knowledge, so that you can rule Israel according to his Law. 13 (B) If you obey the laws and teachings that the Lord gave Moses, you will be successful. Be strong and brave and don't get discouraged or be afraid of anything.
14 I have all the supplies you'll need to build the temple: You have more than 3,000 tons of gold and over 34,000 tons of silver. There's also plenty of wood, stone, and more bronze and iron than I could weigh. Ask for anything else you need. 15 I have also assigned men who will cut and lay the stone. And there are carpenters and people who are experts in working with 16 gold, silver, bronze, and iron. You have plenty of workers to do the job. Now get started, and I pray that the Lord will be with you in your work.
17 David then gave orders for the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. 18 David said:
The Lord our God has helped me defeat all the people who lived here before us, and he has given you peace from all your enemies. Now this land belongs to the Lord and his people. 19 Obey the Lord your God with your heart and soul. Begin work on the temple to honor him, so that the sacred chest and the things used for worship can be kept there.
Wives and Husbands
3 (A) If you are a wife, you must put your husband first. Even if he opposes our message, you will win him over by what you do. No one else will have to say anything to him, 2 because he will see how you honor God and live a pure life. 3 (B) Don't depend on things like fancy hairdos or gold jewelry or expensive clothes to make you look beautiful. 4 Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet. This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special.
5 Long ago those women who worshiped God and put their hope in him made themselves beautiful by putting their husbands first. 6 For example, Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her true children, if you do right and don't let anything frighten you.
7 (C) If you are a husband, you should be thoughtful of your wife. Treat her with honor, because she isn't as strong as you are, and she shares with you in the gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.
Suffering for Doing Right
8 Finally, all of you should agree and have concern and love for each other. You should also be kind and humble. 9 Don't be hateful and insult people just because they are hateful and insult you. Instead, treat everyone with kindness. You are God's chosen ones, and he will bless you. The Scriptures say,
10 (D) “Do you really love life?
Do you want to be happy?
Then stop saying cruel things
and quit telling lies.
11 Give up your evil ways
and do right,
as you find and follow
the road to peace.
12 The Lord watches over
everyone who obeys him,
and he listens
to their prayers.
But he opposes everyone
who does evil.”
13 Can anyone really harm you for being eager to do good deeds? 14 (E)(F) Even if you have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop being afraid and don't worry about what people might do. 15 Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life.
Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope. 16 Give a kind and respectful answer and keep your conscience clear. This way you will make people ashamed for saying bad things about your good conduct as a follower of Christ. 17 You are better off to obey God and suffer for doing right than to suffer for doing wrong.
18 Christ died once for our sins.
An innocent person died
for those who are guilty.
Christ did this
to bring you to God,
when his body
was put to death
and his spirit
was made alive.
19 Christ then preached to the spirits that were being kept in prison. 20 (G)(H) They had disobeyed God while Noah was building the boat, but God had been patient with them. Eight people went into that boat and were brought safely through the flood.
21 Those flood waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death. 22 Christ is now in heaven, where he sits at the right side[a] of God. All angels, authorities, and powers are under his control.
1 (A) I am Micah from Moresheth.[a] And this is the message about Samaria and Jerusalem[b] that the Lord gave to me when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah[c] were the kings of Judah.
Judgment on Samaria
2 Listen, all of you!
Earth and everything on it,
pay close attention.
The Lord God accuses you
from his holy temple.[d]
3 And he will come down
to crush underfoot
every pagan altar.
4 Mountains will melt
beneath his feet
like wax beside a fire.
Valleys will vanish like water
rushing down a ravine.
5 This will happen because of
the terrible sins of Israel,
the descendants of Jacob.
Samaria has led Israel to sin,
and pagan altars at Jerusalem
have made Judah sin.
6 So the Lord will leave Samaria
in ruins—
merely an empty field
where vineyards are planted.
He will scatter its stones
and destroy its foundations.
7 Samaria's idols will be smashed,
and the wages
of temple prostitutes[e]
will be destroyed by fire.
Silver and gold from those idols
will then be used by foreigners
as payment for prostitutes.
Judah Is Doomed
8 Because of this tragedy,[f]
I go barefoot and naked.
My crying and weeping
sound like howling wolves
or ostriches.
9 The nation is fatally wounded.
Judah is doomed.
Jerusalem will fall.
10 Don't tell it in Gath!
Don't even cry.
Instead, roll in the dust
at Beth-Leaphrah.[g]
11 Depart naked and ashamed,
you people of Shaphir.[h]
The town of Bethezel[i] mourns
because no one from Zaanan[j]
went out to help.[k]
12 Everyone in Maroth[l]
hoped for the best,
but the Lord sent disaster
down on Jerusalem.
The Work of the Seventy-Two Followers
10 Later the Lord chose 72[a] other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go. 2 (A) He said to them:
A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in. 3 (B) Now go, but remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. 4 (C) Don't take along a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals. And don't waste time greeting people on the road.[b] 5 As soon as you enter a home, say, “God bless this home with peace.” 6 If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you. 7 (D) Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because workers are worth what they earn. Don't move around from house to house.
8 If the people of a town welcome you, eat whatever they offer. 9 Heal their sick and say, “God's kingdom will soon be here!”[c]
10 (E) But if the people of a town refuse to welcome you, go out into the street and say, 11 “We are shaking the dust from our feet[d] as a warning to you. And you can be sure that God's kingdom will soon be here!”[e] 12 (F) I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than the people of that town!
The Unbelieving Towns
(Matthew 11.20-24)
13 (G) You people of Chorazin are in for trouble! You people of Bethsaida are also in for trouble! If the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have turned to God long ago. They would have dressed in sackcloth and put ashes on their heads.[f] 14 On the day of judgment the people of Tyre and Sidon will get off easier than you will. 15 (H) People of Capernaum, do you think you will be honored in heaven? Well, you will go down to hell!
16 (I) My followers, whoever listens to you is listening to me. Anyone who says “No” to you is saying “No” to me. And anyone who says “No” to me is really saying “No” to the one who sent me.
The Return of the Seventy-Two
17 When the 72[g] followers returned, they were excited and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!”
18 Jesus told them:
I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 (J) I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you. 20 But don't be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!
Jesus Thanks His Father
(Matthew 11.25-27; 13.16,17)
21 At that same time, Jesus felt the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit,[h] and he said:
My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.
22 (K) My Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who really knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to tell others about the Father, so they can know him too.
23 Jesus then turned to his disciples and said to them in private, “You are really blessed to see what you see! 24 Many prophets and kings were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you they did not see or hear.”
The Good Samaritan
25 (L) An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”
27 (M) The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’ ”
28 (N) Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”
29 But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”
30 Jesus replied:
As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Later a temple helper[i] came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.
33 (O) A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him 34 and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine[j] and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”
36 Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”
37 The expert in the Law of Moses answered, “The one who showed pity.”
Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”
Martha and Mary
38 (P) The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. 40 Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn't it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”
41 The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, 42 but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.”
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