M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Birth of Samuel
1 There was a man from Ramathaim of the Zuphites in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives. One was named Hannah, and the other was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 Every year this man went up from his city to worship and to offer sacrifices to the Lord of Armies[a] at Shiloh. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were serving there as priests of the Lord.
4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he gave portions of food to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had kept her from having children.[b]
6 Hannah’s rival kept taunting her to make her miserable, because the Lord had kept Hannah from having children. 7 Year after year, when Hannah went up to the Lord’s house, her rival taunted her, so Hannah would weep and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why is your heart so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 Once, when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple. 10 Hannah’s spirit was very distressed, and as she prayed to the Lord, she sobbed and wept many tears. 11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of Armies, if you will carefully consider the misery of your servant and remember me, and if you do not forget your servant but give your servant a male child,[c] then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli was looking at her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking silently from her heart. Although her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get away from your wine!”
15 Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman with a very troubled spirit. I have not been drinking wine or beer, but I have poured out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless, wicked woman. I have been speaking like this because of my great misery and because of how I have been grieved.”[d]
17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked for.”
18 She said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way. She ate, and her face no longer looked sad.
19 They got up early in the morning and worshipped the Lord. They then returned to their home at Ramah.
Elkanah was intimate with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel[e] because she said, “I asked for him from the Lord.”
21 When this man Elkanah and his entire household went up to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go up with them, because she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned. Then I will bring him, so that he can appear before the Lord and remain there permanently.”
23 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do whatever you think is best. Wait until you have weaned him. Yes, then the Lord will establish his word.”
So the woman stayed at home, and she nursed her son until she was ready to wean him. 24 When she had weaned him, she took him up with her. She also took a three-year-old bull,[f] twenty-five pounds[g] of flour, and a container of wine, and she brought him to the House of the Lord in Shiloh. The boy was ⎣with them. And they brought him before the Lord, and his father killed the sacrifice as he regularly did before the Lord, and he brought⎦ the boy.[h] 25 When they had killed the bull, they presented the child to Eli. 26 She said, “Excuse me, my lord. As your soul lives,[i] my lord, I am the woman who stood here next to you, praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked for. 28 So now I have also dedicated him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is dedicated to the Lord.” So he worshipped the Lord there.
Greeting
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised in advance through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. 3 This gospel is about his Son—who in the flesh[a] was born a descendant of David, 4 who in the spirit[b] of holiness was declared to be God’s powerful Son by his resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ, our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and the call to be an apostle on behalf of his name, to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, 6 including you, who were called by Jesus Christ.
7 To all those loved by God who are in Rome, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Desire to Come to Rome
8 First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 To be sure, God, whom I serve with my spirit by proclaiming the gospel of his Son, is my witness to how constantly I make mention of you. In all my prayers, 10 I always ask if perhaps at last a way might be opened, if God wills, for me to come to you. 11 I certainly long to see you, in order that I may deliver some spiritual gift to you, so that you are strengthened— 12 that is, when I am with you, that we will be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, yours and also mine.
13 I do not want you to be unaware of the fact, brothers,[c] that I have often planned to come to you but have been prevented from doing so until now. I wanted to have some fruit among you in the same way as I did among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I have an obligation both to Greeks and non-Greeks,[d] to the wise and to the foolish. 15 That is why I am eager to proclaim the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
The Power of the Gospel
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed by faith, for faith,[e] just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”[f]
God’s Anger on All Who Reject Him
18 Indeed, God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who try to suppress the truth by unrighteousness. 19 This happens because what can be known about God is evident among them, because God made it evident among them. 20 In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made. As a result, people are without excuse, 21 because, even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.
22 Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human, or like birds, four-footed animals, and crawling things. 24 So, as they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves. 25 Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God handed them over to disgraceful passions. Even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 And, in the same way, their males, after abandoning natural sexual relations with females, were consumed by their lust for one another. Males perform indecent acts with males and receive in themselves the penalty that is fitting for their perversion.
28 And since they did not consider it worthwhile to hold on to the true knowledge of God, God handed them over to a corrupted mind to do things that should never be done. 29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and malice. They are gossipers, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent mockers, arrogant boasters, and loudmouths. They dream up evil things. They disobey their parents. 31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and merciless. 32 Even though they know God’s righteous decree that those who do these things are worthy of death, such people not only continue to do them, but also approve of others who continue to commit such sins.
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city wall. 3 All the officers of the king of Babylon entered and sat down in the middle gate: Nergal Sharezer the staff officer,[a] Nebo Sarsekim a chief officer,[b] Nergal Sharezer a high official,[c] and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls. Then they went toward the Arabah.
5 But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains by Jericho. After they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath and passed judgment on him. 6 The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons in front of his eyes at Riblah, and he also killed the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles and sent him to Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans burned down the king’s palace and the houses of the people. They also broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[d] carried into exile the rest of the people who remained in the city, along with those who had deserted, as well as the rest of the people. 10 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing, and he then gave them vineyards and fields.
Jeremiah Is Released
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders to Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, concerning Jeremiah. He said, 12 “Take him, look after him, and do him no harm. Do for him whatever he wants.”
13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the chief officer,[e] Nergal Sharezer a high official,[f] and all the other officials of the king of Babylon 14 sent for Jeremiah and had him taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to take him to his house. So he remained among his people.
15 While Jeremiah had still been imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord had come to him: 16 “Go and tell Ebed Melek the Cushite that this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says. Watch, I am going to fulfill my words against this city for evil and not for good. They are going to be fulfilled before your eyes. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you will not be handed over to those you fear. 18 I will certainly save you. You will not fall by the sword. You will escape with your life, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.”
Psalm 13
How Long, O Lord?
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
Anguished Questions
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I experience worries in my soul,
sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy tower over me?
An Urgent Prayer
3 Look at me. Answer me, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes
so I do not sleep in death,
4 so my enemy does not say, “I have overcome him,”
so my foes do not rejoice when I fall.
A Solid Answer
5 But I trust in your mercy.
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has accomplished his purpose for me.
Psalm 14
The Fool
(Psalm 53)
Heading
For the choir director. By David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God.
3 Every one of them has turned away.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t any of these evildoers understand,
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on the Lord.
5 There they are! They are terrified
because God is present in the circle of the righteous.
6 You try to put the plans of the poor to shame,
but the Lord is their refuge.
Closing Prayer
7 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[a]
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.