M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David and Bathsheba
11 It was spring. It was the time when kings go off to war. So David sent Joab out with the king’s special troops and the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites. They marched to the city of Rabbah. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman taking a bath. She was very beautiful. 3 David sent a messenger to find out who she was. The messenger returned and said, “She is Bathsheba. She’s the daughter of Eliam. She’s the wife of Uriah. He’s a Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him. And he slept with her. Then she went back home. All of that took place after she had already made herself “clean” from her monthly period. 5 Later, Bathsheba found out she was pregnant. She sent a message to David. She said, “I’m pregnant.”
6 So David sent a message to Joab. David said, “Send me Uriah, the Hittite.” Joab sent him to David. 7 Uriah came to David. David asked him how Joab and the soldiers were doing. He also asked him how the war was going. 8 David said to Uriah, “Go home and enjoy some time with your wife.” So Uriah left the palace. Then the king sent him a gift. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. Instead, he slept at the entrance to the palace. He stayed there with all his master’s servants.
10 David was told, “Uriah didn’t go home.” So he sent for Uriah. David said to him, “You have been away for a long time. Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and the army of Israel and Judah are out there in tents. My commander Joab and your special troops are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink? How could I go there and sleep with my wife? I could never do a thing like that. And that’s just as sure as you are alive!”
12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day. Tomorrow I’ll send you back to the battle.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him. David got him drunk. But Uriah still didn’t go home. In the evening he went out and slept on his mat. He stayed there among his master’s servants.
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab. He sent it along with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front. That’s where the fighting is the heaviest. Then pull your men back from him. When you do, the Ammonites will strike him down and kill him.”
16 So Joab attacked the city. He put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest enemy fighters were. 17 The troops came out of the city. They fought against Joab. Some of the men in David’s army were killed. Uriah, the Hittite, also died.
18 Joab sent David a full report of the battle. 19 He told the messenger, “Tell the king everything that happened in the battle. When you are finished, 20 his anger might explode. He might ask you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight against it? Didn’t you know that the enemy soldiers would shoot arrows down from the wall? 21 Don’t you remember how Abimelek, the son of Jerub-Besheth, was killed? A woman dropped a large millstone on him from the wall. That’s how he died in Thebez. So why did you go so close to the wall?’ If the king asks you that, tell him, ‘And your servant Uriah, the Hittite, is also dead.’ ”
22 The messenger started out for Jerusalem. When he arrived there, he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men in the city were more powerful than we were. They came out to fight against us in the open. But we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then those who were armed with bows shot arrows at us from the wall. Some of your special troops were killed. Your servant Uriah, the Hittite, is also dead.”
25 David told the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t get upset over what happened. Swords kill one person as well as another. So keep on attacking the city. Destroy it.’ Tell that to Joab. It will cheer him up.”
26 Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead. She mourned over him. 27 When her time of sadness was over, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife. And she had a son by him. But the Lord wasn’t pleased with what David had done.
A Treasure in Clay Jars
4 So because of God’s mercy, we have work to do. He has given it to us. And we don’t give up. 2 Instead, we have given up doing secret and shameful things. We don’t twist God’s word. In fact, we do just the opposite. We present the truth plainly. In the sight of God, we make our appeal to everyone’s sense of what is right and wrong. 3 Suppose our good news is covered with a veil. Then it is veiled to those who are dying. 4 The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. Christ is the likeness of God. 5 The message we preach is not about ourselves. Our message is about Jesus Christ. We say that he is Lord. And we say that we serve you because of Jesus. 6 God said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” (Genesis 1:3) He made his light shine in our hearts. His light gives us the light to know God’s glory. His glory is shown in the face of Christ.
7 Treasure is kept in clay jars. In the same way, we have the treasure of the good news in these earthly bodies of ours. That shows that the mighty power of the good news comes from God. It doesn’t come from us. 8 We are pushed hard from all sides. But we are not beaten down. We are bewildered. But that doesn’t make us lose hope. 9 Others make us suffer. But God does not desert us. We are knocked down. But we are not knocked out. 10 We always carry around the death of Jesus in our bodies. In that way, the life of Jesus can be shown in our bodies. 11 We who are alive are always in danger of death because we are serving Jesus. This happens so that his life can also be shown in our earthly bodies. 12 Death is at work in us. But life is at work in you.
13 It is written, “I believed, and so I have spoken.” (Psalm 116:10) We have that same spirit of faith. So we also believe and speak. 14 We know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. And he will also raise us up with Jesus. And he will present both you and us to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit. God’s grace is reaching more and more people. So they will become more and more thankful. They will give glory to God.
16 We don’t give up. Our bodies are becoming weaker and weaker. But our spirits are being renewed day by day. 17 Our troubles are small. They last only for a short time. But they are earning for us a glory that will last forever. It is greater than all our troubles. 18 So we don’t spend all our time looking at what we can see. Instead, we look at what we can’t see. That’s because what can be seen lasts only a short time. But what can’t be seen will last forever.
People Will Die Because of Their Own Sins
18 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2 “You people have a proverb about the land of Israel. What do you mean by it? It says,
“ ‘The parents eat sour grapes.
But the children have a bitter taste in their mouths.’
3 “You will not use that proverb in Israel anymore,” announces the Lord and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive. 4 Everyone belongs to me. Parents and children alike belong to me. A person will die because of their own sins.
5 “Suppose there is a godly man
who does what is fair and right.
6 And he does not eat at the mountain temples.
He does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods.
He does not sleep with another man’s wife.
He does not have sex with his own wife
during her monthly period.
7 He does not treat anyone badly.
Instead, he always returns things he takes
to make sure loans are paid back.
He does not steal.
Instead, he gives his food to hungry people.
He provides clothes for those who are naked.
8 He does not charge interest when he lends money to them.
He does not make money from them.
He keeps himself from doing what is wrong.
He judges cases fairly.
9 He obeys my rules.
He is faithful in keeping my laws.
He always does what is right.
You can be sure he will live,”
announces the Lord and King.
10 “But suppose he has a mean son who harms other people. The son commits murder. Or he does some other things that are wrong. 11 Suppose he does these things even though his father never did.
“Suppose the son eats at the mountain temples.
And he sleeps with another man’s wife.
12 He treats poor and needy people badly.
He steals.
He does not pay back what he owes.
He worships statues of gods.
He does other things I hate.
13 He charges interest when he lends money to poor people. He makes money from them.
Will a man like that live? He will not! He must be put to death. And what happens to him will be his own fault. He did many things I hate.
14 “But suppose this son has a son of his own. And the son sees all the sins his father commits. He sees them, but he does not do them.
15 “Suppose he does not eat at the mountain temples.
And he does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods.
He does not sleep with another man’s wife.
16 He does not treat anyone badly.
He does not make people give him something
to prove they will pay back what they owe him.
He does not steal.
Instead, he gives his food to hungry people.
He provides clothes for those who are naked.
17 He keeps himself from committing sins.
He does not charge interest when he lends money to poor people.
He does not make money from them.
He keeps my laws and obeys my rules.
He will not die because of his father’s sin. You can be sure he will live. 18 But his father will die because of his own sin. He got rich by cheating others. He robbed his relatives. He also did what was wrong among his people.
19 “But you still ask, ‘Is the son guilty along with his father?’ No! The son did what was fair and right. He was careful to obey all my rules. So you can be sure he will live. 20 A person will die because of their own sins. A child will not be guilty because of what their parent did. And a parent will not be guilty because of what their child did. The right things a godly person does will be added to their account. The wrong things a sinful person does will be charged against them.
21 “But suppose a sinful person turns away from all the sins they have committed. And they obey all my rules. They do what is fair and right. Then you can be sure they will live. They will not die. 22 None of the sins they have committed will be held against them. Because of the godly things they have done, they will live. 23 When sinful people die, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King. “But when they turn away from their sins and live, that makes me very happy.
24 “Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they sin. They do the same evil things a sinful person does. They do things I hate. Then they will not live. I will not remember any of the right things they have done. They have not been faithful to me. They have also committed many other sins. So they are guilty. They will die.
25 “But you say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ Listen to me, you Israelites. What I do is always fair. What you do is not. 26 Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they sin. Then they will die because of it. They will die because of the sin they have committed. 27 But suppose a sinful person turns away from the evil things they have done. And they do what is fair and right. Then they will save their life. 28 They think about all the evil things they have done. And they turn away from them. So you can be sure they will live. They will not die. 29 But the Israelites still say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ People of Israel, what I do is always fair. What you do is not.
30 “So I will judge you Israelites. I will judge each of you in keeping with what you have done,” announces the Lord and King. “Turn away from your sins! Turn away from all the evil things you have done. Then sin will not bring you down. 31 Get rid of all the evil things you have done. Let me give you a new heart and a new spirit. Then you will be faithful to me. Why should you die, people of Israel? 32 When anyone dies, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King. “So turn away from your sins. Then you will live!
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
62 It is surely true that I find my rest in God.
He is the God who saves me.
2 It is surely true that he is my rock. He is the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me. I will always be secure.
3 How long will you enemies attack me?
Will all of you throw me down?
I’m like a leaning wall.
I’m like a fence about to fall.
4 Surely my enemies only want to pull me down
from my place of honor.
They take delight in telling lies.
They bless me with what they say.
But in their hearts they ask for bad things to happen to me.
5 Yes, I must find my rest in God.
He is the God who gives me hope.
6 It is surely true that he is my rock and the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me, so I will always be secure.
7 I depend on God to save me and to honor me.
He is my mighty rock and my place of safety.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people.
Tell him all your troubles.
God is our place of safety.
9 Surely ordinary people are only a breath.
Important people are not what they seem to be.
If they were weighed on a scale, they wouldn’t amount to anything.
Together they are only a breath.
10 Don’t trust in money you have taken from others.
Don’t put false hope in things you have stolen.
Even if your riches grow,
don’t put your trust in them.
11 God, I have heard you say two things.
One is that power belongs to you, God.
12 The other is that your love, Lord, never ends.
You will reward everyone
in keeping with what they have done.
A psalm of David when he was in the Desert of Judah.
63 God, you are my God.
I seek you with all my heart.
With all my strength I thirst for you
in this dry desert
where there isn’t any water.
2 I have seen you in the sacred tent.
There I have seen your power and your glory.
3 Your love is better than life.
So I will bring glory to you with my lips.
4 I will praise you as long as I live.
I will call on your name when I lift up my hands in prayer.
5 I will be as satisfied as if I had eaten the best food there is.
I will sing praise to you with my mouth.
6 As I lie on my bed I remember you.
I think of you all night long.
7 Because you have helped me,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I hold on to you tightly.
Your powerful right hand takes good care of me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed.
They will go down into the grave.
10 They will be killed by swords.
They will become food for wild dogs.
11 But the king will be filled with joy because of what God has done.
All those who make promises in God’s name will be able to brag.
But the mouths of liars will be shut.
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