M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 1 David said, “This is where the Lord God’s Temple will be, along with the altar of burnt offerings for Israel.”
David’s Plan to Build the Temple
2 David subsequently issued orders to conscript the resident aliens who lived in the land of Israel and appointed stonecutters to prepare stones for building a temple for God. 3 David also provisioned abundant supplies of iron for nails to build the doors for gates and to build clamps. Furthermore, he provided so much bronze it wasn’t inventoried, 4 as well as an innumerable amount of cedar logs, since the Sidonians and Tyrians brought vast amounts of cedar to David.
5 David thought, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced. The temple that will be built for the Lord is to be magnificent, well known, and internationally honored, so I will complete preparations for it.” So before his death, David finished providing a great quantity of materials for it.
David Commissions Solomon to Build the Temple
6 Later, David called for his son Solomon and directed him to build a temple to the Lord God of Israel. 7 David addressed Solomon: “I have attempted to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But this message from the Lord came to me, telling me
‘You have shed a lot of blood and fought great battles. You won’t be building a house for my name, since you have shed so much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But look! A son born to you will live comfortably,[a] because I will give him rest from all his enemies that surround him on every side, since his name will be “Solomon”—I will give peace and quiet for Israel during his lifetime. 10 He will build a temple to my name. He will be a son to me, I myself will be a father to him, and I will secure his royal throne in Israel forever.’
11 So now, my son, may the Lord be with you, so that you are successful in constructing the Temple of the Lord your God, just as he has spoken about you.
12 “Only may the Lord give you discretion and understanding as he places you in charge over Israel, so you can keep the Law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will be successful, if you keep on observing the statutes and ordinances that the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong, be courageous, and never give in to fear or dismay. 14 At great effort I have provided for the Temple of the Lord 100,000 gold talents,[b] 1,000,000 silver talents,[c] as well as bronze and iron beyond calculation, since there is so much of it. I’ve also provided timber and stone, but you’ll need to obtain more. 15 You already have plenty of workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and an innumerable group of artisans who are skilled at working in 16 gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 David also issued these orders to all of the leaders of Israel to assist his son Solomon: 18 “Isn’t the Lord your God with you? Hasn’t he surrounded you with comfort? He has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my control, and the land lies subdued both in the Lord’s presence and before his people. 19 So set your minds and hearts to seek the Lord your God, to get up, and to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be stored in a temple built for the name of the Lord.”
Wives and Husbands
3 In a similar way, you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands so that, even if some of them refuse to obey the word, they may be won over without a word through your conduct as wives 2 when they see your pure and reverent lives.
3 Your beauty should not be an external one, consisting of braided hair or the wearing of gold ornaments and dresses. 4 Instead, it should be the inner disposition of the heart, consisting in the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which God values greatly.[a] 5 After all, this is how holy women who set their hope on God used to make themselves beautiful in the past. They submitted themselves to their husbands, 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You have become her daughters by doing good and by not letting anything terrify you.
7 In a similar way, you husbands must live with your wives in an understanding manner, as with a most delicate partner.[b] Honor them as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing may interfere with your prayers.
When You are Wronged
8 Finally, all of you must live in harmony, be sympathetic, love as brothers, and be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not pay others back evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, keep blessing them, because you were called to inherit a blessing.
10 “For the person who wants to love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 He must turn away from evil and do good.
He must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the Lord[c] watches the righteous,[d]
and he pays attention to their prayers.[e]
But the Lord[f] opposes those[g] who do wrong.”[h]
13 Who will harm you if you are devoted to doing what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. “Never be afraid of their threats, and never get upset. 15 Instead, exalt[i] the Messiah”[j] as Lord in your lives.[k] Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have. 16 But do this[l] gently and respectfully, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak evil of your good conduct in the Messiah[m] will be ashamed of slandering you. 17 After all, if it is the will of God, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.
18 For the Messiah[n] also suffered[o] for sins once for all,
an innocent person for the guilty,
so that he could bring you[p] to God.
He was put to death in a mortal body
but was brought to life by the Spirit,
19 in which he went and made a proclamation to those imprisoned spirits 20 who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah, when God waited patiently while the ark was being built. In it a few, that is, eight persons, were saved by water. 21 Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear[q] conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah,[r] 22 who has gone to heaven and is at the right hand of God, where angels, authorities, and powers have been made subject to him.
God’s Coming Judgment
1 This message from the Lord came to Micah[a] of Moresheth during the reigns of[b] the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah concerning the vision he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem:
2 “Listen, people! All of you!
Earth! Pay attention, and all you inhabitants of it!
May the Lord God be a witness against you—
the Lord from his holy Temple.
3 Look here! The Lord is coming from his place!
He will come down
and will trample down the high places[c] throughout the land.
4 The mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax in the presence of fire
and like water gushing down a steep incline.
5 All this comes about due to the transgression of Jacob,
and due to the sins of the house of Israel.
What is Jacob’s sin? It’s Samaria, isn’t it?
And what’s Judah’s high place?[d] It’s Jerusalem, isn’t it?
6 “So I will turn Samaria into a mound of dirt in a field,
a place to plant vineyards.
And I will dump her building stones into the valley,
uncovering her foundation.
7 All of her carved images will be crushed to pieces,
all the earnings of her prostitution will be burned up,
and I will destroy all her idols;
because she collected the wages of prostitution,
and to the wages of prostitution they will return.”
The Coming Destruction
8 “Therefore I will cry out and grieve loudly;
I will walk around stripped and naked.
I will cry out like a jackal
and mourn like a company of ostriches.
9 For Samaria’s[e] injury is fatal,
reaching all the way to Judah,
extending even to the gate of my people—to Jerusalem.”
10 “Don’t discuss it in Gath![f]
Don’t cry bitterly in Akim![g]
Roll in the ashes, Beth-leaphrah!
11 Run away, you residents of Shaphir,
displaying your shameful nakedness.
Don’t come out, you residents of Zaanan![h]
Your firm standing will disappear as Beth-ezel mourns.
12 Even though the inhabitants of Maroth long for success,
nevertheless evil descended from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 “You inhabitants of Lachish, harness your chariot to your swiftest steed—
the daughter of Zion has begun to sin—
because within you the transgressions of Israel were revealed.
14 Therefore give your gifts to Moresheth-gath;
that is, the houses of Achzib as a deceitful symbol[i] to the kings of Israel.
15 Nevertheless, I will deliver an heir to you, inhabitants of Mareshah—
to Adullam the glory of Israel will come.
16 “Shave your head
and cut off your locks as you mourn your beloved children.
Make yourself bald as an eagle,
because they will go from you into exile!”
The Mission of the Seventy
10 After this, the Lord appointed 70[a] other disciples[b] and was about to send them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place that he intended to go. 2 So he instructed them, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest. 3 Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t greet anyone on the way.
5 “Whatever house you go into, first say, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting of peace will remain with him. But if that’s not the case, your greeting[c] will come back to you. 7 Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don’t move from house to house.
8 “Whenever you go into a town and the people[d] welcome you, eat whatever they serve you, 9 heal the sick that are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you!’ 10 But whenever you go into a town and people[e] don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We’re wiping off your town’s dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I tell you, on the last[f] day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!”
Jesus Denounces Unrepentant Cities(A)
13 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 It will be easier for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you!
15 And you, Capernaum! You won’t be lifted up to heaven, will you? You’ll go down to Hell![g] 16 The person who listens to you listens to me, and the person who rejects you rejects me. The person who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
The Return of the Seventy
17 The 70[h] disciples[i] came back and joyously reported, “Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”
18 He told them, “I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning. 19 Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy[j] all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you. 20 However, stop rejoicing because the spirits are submitting to you. Instead, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Praises the Father(B)
21 At that moment, the Holy Spirit[k] made Jesus[l] extremely joyful, so Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you. 22 All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows[m] who the Father is except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to his disciples in private, he told them, “How blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 Because I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them, and to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”
The Good Samaritan
25 Just then an expert in the Law stood up to test Jesus.[n] He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus[o] answered him, “What is written in the Law? What do you read there?”
27 He answered, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.[p] And you must love[q] your neighbor as yourself.”[r]
28 Jesus[s] told him, “You have answered correctly. ‘Do this, and you will live.’”[t]
29 But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 After careful consideration, Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of bandits. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man,[u] he went by on the other side. 32 Similarly, a descendant of Levi came to that place. When he saw the man,[v] he also went by on the other side. 33 But as he was traveling along, a Samaritan came across the man.[w] When the Samaritan[x] saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took out two denarii[y] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll repay you when I come back.’
36 “Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the bandits?”
37 He said, “The one who showed mercy to him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do what he did.”
Jesus Visits Mary and Martha
38 Now as they were traveling along, Jesus[z] went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and kept listening to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, you do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don’t you? Then tell her to help me.”
41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. 42 But there’s only[aa] one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better,[ab] and it is not to be taken away from her.”
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