M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

10 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. ³ Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house, there was no more spirit in her. ⁶ She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. ⁷ However, I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. ⁸ Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. ⁹ Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” ¹⁰ She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was there such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees^[a] and precious stones. ¹² The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen to this day.

¹³ King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents^[b] of gold, ¹⁵ in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. ¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels^[c] of gold went to one buckler. ¹⁷ He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas^[d] of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. ¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom. ²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. ²² For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²³ So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²⁴ All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁶ Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He kept them in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. ²⁸ The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. ²⁹ A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels^[e] of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ,^[a] to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers^[b] and servants:^{[c] 2} Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ I thank my God whenever I remember you, ⁴ always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy, ⁵ for your partnership^[d] in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now; ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.

⁹ This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹² Now I desire to have you know, brothers,^[e] that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News, ¹³ so that it became evident to the whole palace^[f] guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ, ¹⁴ and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear. ¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ even out of envy and strife, and some also out of good will. ¹⁶ The former insincerely preach Christ from selfish ambition, thinking that they add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷ but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Good News.

¹⁸ What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice. ¹⁹ For I know that this will turn out to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose. ²³ But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. ²⁴ Yet to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sake. ²⁵ Having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and remain with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ that your boasting^[g] may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again.

²⁷ Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News; ²⁸ and in nothing frightened by the adversaries, which is for them a proof of destruction, but to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf, ³⁰ having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, in the same day, Yahweh’s hand was on me, and he brought me there. ² In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south. ³ He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. ⁴ The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I will show you; for you have been brought here so that I may show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

⁵ Behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits^[a] long, of a cubit and a hand width each. So he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

⁶ Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide; and the other threshold, one reed wide. ⁷ Every lodge was one reed long and one reed wide. Between the lodges was five cubits. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

⁸ He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed. ⁹ Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

¹⁰ The side rooms of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side. The three of them were of one measure. The posts had one measure on this side and on that side. ¹¹ He measured the width of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits; ¹² and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the side rooms, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. ¹³ He measured the gate from the roof of the one side room to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door. ¹⁴ He also made posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate. ¹⁵ From the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits. ¹⁶ There were closed windows to the side rooms, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches. Windows were around inward. Palm trees were on each post.

¹⁷ Then he brought me into the outer court. Behold, there were rooms and a pavement made for the court all around. Thirty rooms were on the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.

²⁰ He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces toward the north. ²¹ The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side. Its posts and its arches were the same as the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows, its arches, and its palm trees were the same as the measure of the gate which faces toward the east. They went up to it by seven steps. Its arches were before them. ²³ There was a gate to the inner court facing the other gate, on the north and on the east. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate.

²⁴ He led me toward the south; and behold, there was a gate toward the south. He measured its posts and its arches according to these measurements. ²⁵ There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like the other windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them. It had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts. ²⁷ There was a gate to the inner court toward the south. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate toward the south.

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate according to these measurements; ²⁹ with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts. The ascent to it had eight steps.

³² He brought me into the inner court toward the east. He measured the gate according to these measurements; ³³ with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁵ He brought me to the north gate, and he measured it according to these measurements— ³⁶ its lodges, its posts, and its arches. There were windows in it all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its posts were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁸ A room with its door was by the posts at the gates. They washed the burnt offering there. ³⁹ In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to kill the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. ⁴⁰ On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight tables, on which they killed the sacrifices. ⁴² There were four cut stone tables for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. They laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them. ⁴³ The hooks, a hand width long, were fastened within all around. The meat of the offering was on the tables.

⁴⁴ Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate. They faced toward the south. One at the side of the east gate faced toward the north. ⁴⁵ He said to me, “This room, which faces toward the south, is for the priests who perform the duty of the house. ⁴⁶ The room which faces toward the north is for the priests who perform the duty of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.” ⁴⁷ He measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square. The altar was before the house.

⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side. The width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side. ⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits, even by the steps by which they went up to it. There were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.