M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Anointed King of Judah
2 Now it happened afterwards that (A)David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And Yahweh said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “(B)To Hebron.” 2 So David went up there, and (C)his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 3 And (D)David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came and there (E)anointed David king over the house of Judah.
And they told David, saying, “It was (F)the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” 5 And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “(G)May you be blessed of Yahweh because you have [a]shown this lovingkindness with your lord, with Saul, and have buried him. 6 So now, (H)may Yahweh [b]show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will [c]show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. 7 So now, let your hands be strong and be [d]valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel
8 Now (I)Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken [e]Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to (J)Mahanaim. 9 And he made him king over (K)Gilead, over the (L)Ashurites, over (M)Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. 10 Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. 11 (N)And the [f]time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
Abner Defeated Before David
12 Now Abner the son of Ner, went out from Mahanaim to (O)Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul. 13 And (P)Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met [g]them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, [h]one on the one side of the pool and [i]the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Now let the young men arise and [j](Q)hold a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 So they arose and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each one of them seized his [k]opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his [l]opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called [m]Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 17 And that day the battle was very severe, and (R)Abner and the men of Israel were [n]defeated before the servants of David.
18 Now (S)the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel; and Asahel was (T)as [o]swift-footed as one of the gazelles which is in the field. 19 And Asahel pursued Abner and did not [p]turn to the right or to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner turned to look behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” 21 So Abner said to him, “[q]Turn to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his spoil.” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him. 22 And Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn [r]aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? (U)How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” 23 However, he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died on the spot. And it happened that all who came to the place where (V)Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.
24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. Now the sun was going down, and they came to the hill of Ammah, which is in front of Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one band, and they stood on the top of a certain hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long will you [s]refrain from telling the people to turn back from following their brothers?” 27 And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then the people would have only gone away in the morning, each from following his brother.” 28 So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no longer, (W)nor did they continue to fight anymore. 29 But Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to (X)Mahanaim.
30 Now Joab returned from following Abner. And he had gathered all the people together, and [t]nineteen of David’s servants besides Asahel were missing. 31 But the servants of David had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner’s men, so that 360 men died. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him (Y)in his father’s tomb which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men went all night until the day [u]dawned at Hebron.
The Excellence of Love
13 If I speak with the (A)tongues of men and of (B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a (C)clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of (D)prophecy, and know all (E)mysteries and all (F)knowledge; and if I have (G)all faith, so as to (H)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I (I)give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I (J)surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love (K)is patient, love is kind, (L)is not jealous, does not brag, is not (M)puffed up; 5 it does not act unbecomingly, (N)does not seek its own, is not provoked, (O)does not take into account a wrong suffered; 6 (P)it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but (Q)rejoices with the truth; 7 [b](R)it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails, but if there are gifts of [c](S)prophecy, they will be done away; if there are (T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we (U)know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the [d]perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I [e]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we (V)see in a mirror [f]dimly, but then (W)face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also (X)have been fully known. 13 But now abide faith, hope, love—these three; but the [g]greatest of these is (Y)love.
Judgment on Evil Counselors
11 Moreover, the (A)Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of Yahweh which faced eastward. And behold, at the entrance of the gate, there were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and (B)Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. 2 He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wickedness and (C)give evil counsel in this city, 3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. [a]This (D)city is the pot, and we are the flesh.’ 4 Therefore, (E)prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy!”
5 Then the Spirit of Yahweh fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “So you say, house of Israel, for (F)I know what comes up in your (G)spirit. 6 You have (H)multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with [b]them.” 7 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Your (I)slain whom you have laid in the midst of [c]the city are the flesh, and this city is the pot; but [d]I will (J)bring you out of it. 8 You have (K)feared a sword; so a sword I will (L)bring upon you,” Lord Yahweh declares. 9 “And I will bring you out of the midst of [e]the city and give you into the hands of (M)strangers and (N)execute judgments against you. 10 You will (O)fall by the sword. I will judge you to the (P)border of Israel; so you shall know that I am Yahweh. 11 This city will (Q)not be a pot for you, nor will you be flesh in the midst of it, but I will judge you to the border of Israel. 12 Thus you will know that I am Yahweh; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you (R)executed My judgments, but have executed according to the judgments of the (S)nations around you.”’”
13 Now it happened as I prophesied, that (T)Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “(U)Alas, Lord Yahweh! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to complete destruction?”
Yahweh Will Gather the Exiles
14 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brothers, your [f]relatives, [g]your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from Yahweh; this land has been given to (V)us as a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a (W)sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will (X)gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ 18 When they come there, they will (Y)remove all its (Z)detestable things and all its abominations from it. 19 And I will (AA)give them one heart and give within [h]them a new spirit. And I will take the (AB)heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a (AC)heart of flesh, 20 that they may (AD)walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them. Then they will be (AE)My people, and I shall be their God. 21 [i]But as for those whose hearts walk after their (AF)detestable things and abominations, I will (AG)give what is due for their way on their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh.
The Glory of Yahweh Leaves Jerusalem
22 Then the cherubim (AH)lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and (AI)the glory of the God of Israel [j]hovered over them. 23 The (AJ)glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city and (AK)stood over the mountain which is east of the city. 24 Now the (AL)Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in [k]Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen (AM)went up and away from me. 25 Then I (AN)told the exiles all the things that Yahweh had shown me.
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,
And called the earth (B)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone forth.
3 May our God (E)come and not be silent;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And (G)a storm whirls around Him.
4 He (H)calls the heavens above,
And the earth, to render justice to His people:
5 “Gather My (I)holy ones to Me,
Those who have cut a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. [b]Selah.
7 “(N)Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify [c]against you;
I am God, (O)your God.
8 I do (P)not reprove you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I shall take no (Q)young bull out of your house
Nor male goats out of your folds.
10 For (R)every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every (S)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [d]Mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the (T)world is Mine, as well as its fullness.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [e](U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer to God (V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (W)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (X)Call upon Me in the day of distress;
I shall (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to recount My statutes
And to take (AA)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you (AB)hate discipline,
And you (AC)cast My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you [f](AD)are pleased with him,
And [g]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 You [h](AF)let your mouth loose in evil
And you harness your (AG)tongue for deceit.
20 You sit and (AH)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and (AI)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
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