M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 And Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.
2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead;
3 and come to the king, and speak after this manner to him. And Joab put the words into her mouth.
4 And the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, Save, O king!
5 And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead.
6 And thy bondmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.
7 And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.
8 And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.
9 And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.
10 And the king said, Whoever speaks to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
11 Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they cut off my son. And he said, [As] Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
12 And the woman said, Let thy bondmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.
13 And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against God's people? and the king in saying this thing, is as one guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.
14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and God has not taken away his life, but devises means that the banished one be not expelled from him.
15 And now that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy bondmaid said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid.
16 For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.
17 And thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.
18 And the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
19 And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid:
20 in order to turn the appearance of the thing has thy servant Joab done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.
21 And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: so go, bring back the young man Absalom.
22 And Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and blessed the king; and Joab said, To-day thy servant knows that I have found favour in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.
23 And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. And Absalom withdrew to his own house, and saw not the king's face.
25 But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26 And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
27 And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a beautiful countenance.
28 So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and did not see the king's face.
29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him; and he sent again the second time, but he would not come.
30 Then he said to his servants, See, Joab's allotment is near mine and he has barley there: go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the allotment on fire.
31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom to [his] house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my allotment on fire?
32 And Absalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it would have been better for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him slay me.
33 And Joab came to the king, and told him. And he called Absalom, and he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.
7 Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God's fear.
2 Receive us: we have injured no one, we have ruined no one, we have made gain of no one.
3 I do not speak for condemnation, for I have already said that ye are in our hearts, to die together, and live together.
4 Great [is] my boldness towards you, great my exulting in respect of you; I am filled with encouragement; I overabound in joy under all our affliction.
5 For indeed, when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but [we were] afflicted in every way; without combats, within fears.
6 But he who encourages those that are [brought] low, [even] God, encouraged us by the coming of Titus;
7 and not by his coming only, but also through the encouragement with which he was encouraged as to you; relating to us your ardent desire, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I the more rejoiced.
8 For if also I grieved you in the letter, I do not regret [it], if even I have regretted it; for I see that that letter, if even [it were] only for a time, grieved you.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye have been grieved, but that ye have been grieved to repentance; for ye have been grieved according to God, that in nothing ye might be injured by us.
10 For grief according to God works repentance to salvation, never to be regretted; but the grief of the world works death.
11 For, behold, this same thing, your being grieved according to God, how much diligence it wrought in *you*, but [what] excusing [of yourselves], but [what] indignation, but [what] fear, but [what] ardent desire, but [what] zeal, but [what] vengeance: in every way ye have proved yourselves to be pure in the matter.
12 So then, if also I wrote to you, [it was] not for the sake of him that injured, nor for the sake of him that was injured, but for the sake of our diligent zeal for you being manifested to you before God.
13 For this reason we have been encouraged. And we the rather rejoiced in our encouragement more abundantly by reason of the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
14 Because if I boasted to him anything about you, I have not been put to shame; but as we have spoken to you all things in truth, so also our boasting to Titus has been [the] truth;
15 and his affections are more abundantly towards you, calling to mind the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
16 I rejoice that in everything I am confident as to you.
21 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Jerusalem, and drop [words] against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4 Seeing that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south to the north;
5 and all flesh shall know that I Jehovah have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more.
6 Sigh then, thou son of man; with breaking of the loins, and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore dost thou sigh? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall languish, and all knees shall melt into water: behold, it cometh; it is here, saith the Lord Jehovah.
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished.
10 It is sharpened for sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter. Shall we then make mirth, [saying,] The sceptre of my son contemneth all wood?
11 And he hath given it to be furbished that it may be handled. The sword,—it is sharpened, and it is furbished to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh.
13 For the trial [is made]; and what if even the contemning sceptre shall be no [more]? saith the Lord Jehovah.
14 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; for [the strokes of] the sword shall be doubled the third time: it is the sword of the slain, the sword that hath slain the great one, which encompasseth them privily.
15 In order that the heart may melt, and the stumbling-blocks be multiplied, I have set the threatening sword against all their gates: ah! it is made glittering, it is whetted for the slaughter.
16 Gather up [strength], go to the right hand, turn thee, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is appointed.
17 And I myself will smite my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I Jehovah have spoken [it].
18 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
19 And thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come—out of one land shall they both come—and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city.
20 Appoint a way for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah at the fenced [city] of Jerusalem.
21 For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh [his] arrows, he inquireth of the teraphim, he looketh in the liver.
22 In his right hand is the lot of Jerusalem to appoint battering-rams, to open the mouth for bloodshed, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering-rams against the gates, to cast mounds, to build siege-towers.
23 And this shall be a false divination in their sight, for them that have sworn oaths; but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye make your iniquity to be remembered in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
25 And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end,
26 —thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre and take off the crown; what is shall be no [more]. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it! This also shall be no [more], until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to him].
28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus speaketh the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, A sword, a sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it furbished, that it may consume, that it may glitter:
29 whilst they see vanity for thee, whilst they divine a lie unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are slain, whose day is come at the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 Restore [it] to its sheath. I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth.
31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow upon thee the fire of my wrath, and give thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.
32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt not be remembered: for I Jehovah have spoken.
To the chief Musician. Of David. A Psalm: a Song.
68 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered, and let them that hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven, thou wilt drive them away; as wax melteth before the fire, the wicked shall perish at the presence of God.
3 But the righteous shall rejoice: they shall exult before God and be glad with joy.
4 Sing unto God, sing forth his name; cast up a way for him that rideth in the deserts: his name is Jah; and rejoice before him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God maketh the solitary into families; those that were bound he bringeth out into prosperity: but the rebellious dwell in a parched [land].
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness—(Selah)—
8 The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God, yon Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Thou, O God, didst pour a plentiful rain upon thine inheritance, and when it was weary thou strengthenedst it.
10 Thy flock hath dwelt therein: thou hast prepared in thy goodness, for the afflicted, O God!
11 The Lord gives the word: great the host of the publishers.
12 Kings of armies flee; they flee, and she that tarrieth at home divideth the spoil.
13 Though ye have lain among the sheepfolds, [ye shall be as] wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with green gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it became snow-white as Zalmon.
15 [As] mount Bashan is the mount of God, a many-peaked mountain, [as] mount Bashan.
16 Why do ye look with envy, ye many-peaked mountains, upon the mount that God hath desired for his abode? yea, Jehovah will dwell [there] for ever.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them: it is a Sinai in holiness.
18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts in Man, and even [for] the rebellious, for the dwelling [there] of Jah Elohim.
19 Blessed be the Lord: day by day doth he load us [with good], the God who is our salvation. Selah.
20 Our God is the God of salvation; and with Jehovah, the Lord, are the goings forth [even] from death.
21 Verily God will smite the head of his enemies, the hairy scalp of him that goeth on still in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring [them] again from the depth of the sea;
23 That thou mayest dip thy foot in blood: the tongue of thy dogs has its portion from enemies.
24 They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before, the players on stringed instruments after, in the midst of maidens playing on tabrets.
26 In the congregations bless ye God, the Lord,—[ye] from the fountain of Israel.
27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler; the princes of Judah, their company; the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
30 Rebuke the beast of the reeds, the assembly of the strong, with the calves of the peoples: [every one] submitteth himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples that delight in war.
31 Great ones shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall quickly stretch out her hands unto God.
32 Ye kingdoms of the earth, sing unto God; sing psalms of the Lord, (Selah,)
33 Of him that rideth upon the heavens, the heavens which are of old: lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
35 Terrible art thou, O God, out of thy sanctuaries,—the God of Israel! He it is that giveth strength and might unto the people. Blessed be God!
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