M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah saw that the king missed Absalom very much. ² So Joab sent for a wise woman from Tekoa, and said to her, “Pretend to be filled with sorrow. Dress as if you were filled with sorrow, and do not pour oil on yourself. Dress like a woman who has been filled with sorrow for the dead many days. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him in this way.” And Joab told her what to say.

⁴ When the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, showing honor, and said, “Help, O king.” ⁵ The king said to her, “What is your trouble?” And she answered, “I am a woman whose husband has died. ⁶ Your woman servant had two sons. But they fought together in the field and there was no one to pull them apart. So one hit the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole family has come against your woman servant. They say, ‘Give us the one who killed his brother. We must put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.’ So I would be without a son to receive what belonged to his parents when I die. They would put out the last of the fire which is left to me. My husband would be left without a name and with no children on the earth.”

⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house. I will say what should be done about your trouble.” ⁹ The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “O my lord the king, the sin is on me and my father’s family. But the king and his throne are without guilt.” ¹⁰ The king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me. And he will not touch you again.” ¹¹ Then she said, “I beg the king to remember the Lord your God, that the one who punishes for blood will stop destroying. Or my son might be destroyed.” And the king said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son will fall to the ground.”

¹² Then the woman said, “Let your woman servant speak to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.” ¹³ The woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in deciding in this way, the king is as one who is guilty. For the king does not bring home his son who has been driven away. ¹⁴ It is sure that we will die. We are like water poured on the ground, which cannot be picked up again. But God does not take away life. He plans ways so that the one who is driven away may not be kept away from Him. ¹⁵ I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your woman servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. It might be that the king will do what his woman servant asks. ¹⁶ For the king will hear and save his woman servant from the man who would destroy both me and my son from the gift of God.’ ¹⁷ Then your woman servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will comfort me. For my lord the king is like the angel of God in understanding what is good and bad. May the Lord your God be with you.’”

¹⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Do not hide anything from me that I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” ¹⁹ So the king said, “Is Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or left from anything my lord the king has said. Yes, it was your servant Joab who told me to do this. It was he who put all these words in the mouth of your woman servant. ²⁰ Your servant Joab has done this to change the way things are now. But my lord is wise like the angel of God, to know all that is on the earth.”

²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “See now, I will do this. Go and bring back the young man Absalom.” ²² And Joab fell on his face to the ground in honor and thanks to the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, O my lord the king. Because the king has done what his servant has asked of him.” ²³ So Joab got up and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king said, “Let him go to his own house. Do not let him see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the king’s face.

David Forgives Absalom

²⁵ Now there was no one in Israel as good looking and as much praised as Absalom. There was nothing wrong with him from the bottom of his foot to the top of his head. ²⁶ At the end of every year he would cut the hair from his head, for it was heavy on him. When he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head. It weighed as much as 200 pieces of silver, by the king’s weight. ²⁷ Three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived two whole years in Jerusalem, and did not see the king’s face. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king. But Joab would not come to him. So he sent for him a second time. But he would not come. ³⁰ He said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants burned the field. ³¹ Then Joab got up and came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants burned my field?” ³² Absalom answered Joab, “I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to say to the king, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would have been better for me to stay there.”’ Now let me see the king’s face. If there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.” ³³ Then Joab went to the king and told him. And he called for Absalom. So he came to the king and put his face to the ground in front of him. And the king kissed Absalom.

7 Since we have these great promises, dear friends, let us turn away from every sin of the body or of the spirit. Let us honor God with love and fear by giving ourselves to Him in every way.

His Love for the Corinthians

² Receive us into your hearts. We have done no wrong to anyone. We have not led anyone in the wrong way. We have not used anyone for our good. ³ I do not say this to tell you that you are wrong. As I have said before, you have a place in our hearts and always will. If we live or die, we will be together. ⁴ I trust you and am proud of you. You give me much comfort and joy even when I suffer.

⁵ When we arrived in the country of Macedonia, we had no rest. We had all kinds of trouble. There was fighting all around us. Our hearts were afraid. ⁶ But God gives comfort to those whose hearts are heavy. He gave us comfort when Titus came. ⁷ Not only did his coming comfort us, but the comfort you had given him made me happy also. He told us how much you wanted to see us. He said that you were sad because of my trouble and that you wanted to help me. This made me happy.

⁸ I am not sorry now if my letter made you sad. I know it made you sad, but it was only for awhile. ⁹ I am happy now. It is not because you were hurt by my letter, but because it turned you from sin to God. God used it and you were not hurt by what we did. ¹⁰ The sorrow that God uses makes people sorry for their sin and leads them to turn from sin so they can be saved from the punishment of sin. We should be happy for that kind of sorrow, but the sorrow of this world brings death. ¹¹ See how this sorrow God allowed you to have has worked in you. You had a desire to be free of that sin I wrote about. You were angry about it. You were afraid. You wanted to do something about it. In every way you did what you could to make it right. ¹² I sent this. It was not written only because of the man who did the wrong or because of the one who suffered. ¹³ All this has given us comfort. More than this, we are happy for the joy Titus has. His spirit has been made stronger by all of you. ¹⁴ I told him how proud I was of you. You did not make me ashamed. What we said to Titus proved to be true. ¹⁵ He loves you all the more. He remembers how all of you were ready to obey and how you respected him. ¹⁶ I am happy that I can have complete trust in you.

Babylon Is God’s Sword

21 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and speak against the holy places. Speak against the land of Israel. ³ Tell the land of Israel, ‘The Lord says, “See, I am against you. I will take My sword out of its holder and destroy from you both the good and the sinful. ⁴ Because I will destroy from you both the good and the sinful, My sword will go out against everyone from south to north. ⁵ Then all people will know that I, the Lord, have taken out My sword. It will not be put back into its holder again.”’ ⁶ As for you, son of man, cry in sorrow in front of them, as if your heart is breaking. ⁷ And when they ask you, ‘Why are you crying?’ tell them, ‘Because of the news that is coming, every heart will melt and all hands will be weak. Every spirit will lose its strength, and all knees will be as weak as water. It is coming, and it will happen,’ says the Lord God.”

⁸ Again the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁹ “Son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘The Lord says, “A sword, a sharp and shining sword! ¹⁰ It is made sharp to kill, and shined to look like lightning! Shall we have joy? It hates the special stick of My son, as it does all wood. ¹¹ The sword is being shined to make it ready to use. It is made sharp and shiny, to be put into the hand of the killer. ¹² Cry out in a loud voice, son of man, for the sword is against My people. It is against all the leaders of Israel. They are going to be killed with My people, so beat your upper leg in sorrow. ¹³ They will be put to the test. If they do not turn from their sinful ways, these things will happen,” says the Lord God.’

¹⁴ “So speak in My name, son of man, and clap your hands together. Let the sword that kills hit two, even three times. It is the sword that kills and is all around them, ¹⁵ so that they will lose their strength of heart, and many will be killed at all their gates. I have sent the shining sword. It is made to shine like lightning, and is ready to kill. ¹⁶ O sharp sword, cut to the left and to the right. Cut wherever you have been sent. ¹⁷ I will also clap My hands, and My anger will be gone. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

¹⁸ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁹ “Son of man, make two ways for the king of Babylon to come with his sword. Both of them will come from the same land. Mark the way where the road divides and goes to the city. ²⁰ Mark a way for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah into the strong city of Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands where the road divides in two to use strange secret powers. He shakes the arrows and speaks with false gods, and looks at the liver. ²² In his right hand is the arrow marked for Jerusalem. It tells him to set up objects to knock down the city walls, to call out the battle cry, to set up objects to break down the gates, and to build a wall of dirt and battle towers. ²³ The people who promised to obey him will not believe this. But he will make them remember their guilt so that they may be taken. ²⁴ So the Lord God says, ‘You have made your guilt to be remembered. Your sins are no longer covered, and everyone has seen the bad things you have done and remembers them. So you will be taken in battle. ²⁵ And you, O bad and sinful one, the leader of Israel, the day of your punishment has come. Your sin will end.’ ²⁶ The Lord God says, ‘Take off the head-covering. Take off the crown. Things will not stay as they are. Honor that which is low. And bring down that which is honored. ²⁷ A waste, a waste. I will lay the city waste. It will be no more, until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

²⁸ “And you, son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says about the sons of Ammon and about their shame.’ Tell them, ‘A sword is pulled out ready to kill! It is made to shine like lightning! ²⁹ Even with the false dreams about you, and the lies spoken about you by using secret ways, you will be laid on the necks of the sinful who are killed, whose day has come for their last punishment. ³⁰ Put your sword back into its holder. I will punish you in the place where you were made, in the land of your birth. ³¹ I will be angry with you. I will blow on you with the fire of My anger. And I will give you over to men who show no pity, who have been taught to destroy. ³² You will be destroyed by fire. You will be killed in your land, and you will not be remembered. For I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

The God of Israel at Sinai

68 May God rise up. May those who hate Him be divided. And may they run away from Him. ² Drive them away like smoke in the wind. Let the sinful be destroyed before God like a candle melts by the fire. ³ But let those who are right and good be glad. Let them be happy before God. Yes, let them be full of joy. ⁴ Sing to God. Sing praises to His name. Make a road for Him Who goes through the deserts. The Lord is His name. Be full of joy before Him.

⁵ God in His holy house is a father to those who have no father. And He keeps the women safe whose husbands have died. ⁶ God makes a home for those who are alone. He leads men out of prison into happiness and well-being. But those who fight against Him live in an empty desert.

⁷ O God, when You went out before Your people, when You walked through the desert, ⁸ the earth shook. The heavens poured down rain before God. And Sinai shook before God, the God of Israel. ⁹ You sent a heavy rain, O God. You brought life back to Your promised land when it was dry. ¹⁰ Your people made it their home. O God, You gave the poor what they needed because You are good.

¹¹ The Lord gives the Word. And the women who tell the good news are many. ¹² The kings of armies run. They run away. And she who stays at home divides the riches. ¹³ When you lie down among the sheep, you are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the end of its wings with shining gold. ¹⁴ When the All-powerful divided the kings there, snow was falling in Zalmon.

¹⁵ A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan. A mountain of many high tops is the mountain of Bashan. ¹⁶ O mountains of many high tops, why do you look with jealousy at the mountain which God has chosen for His home? For sure, the Lord will live there forever. ¹⁷ The war-wagons of God are 20,000, even thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, as at Sinai, in the holy place. ¹⁸ You have gone up on high. You have taken those who were held with You. You have received gifts of men, even among those who fought against You. So the Lord God may live there with them.

¹⁹ Honor and thanks be to the Lord, Who carries our heavy loads day by day. He is the God Who saves us. ²⁰ Our God is a God Who sets us free. The way out of death belongs to God the Lord. ²¹ But God will break the head of those who hate Him, the hair-covered head of him who goes on in his sins. ²² The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the bottom of the sea. ²³ So your feet may crush them in blood. And the tongue of your dogs may have a share of those who hate you.”

²⁴ They have seen Your people walking together, O God. They have seen the people of my God and King walking into the holy place. ²⁵ Those who sing are in front. Those who play music are behind. And young women who beat timbrels are between. ²⁶ Give thanks to God in the meetings of worship. Give thanks to the Lord, you who are of the family of Israel. ²⁷ There is young Benjamin leading them. The rulers of Judah are among the people, and the rulers of Zebulun, and the rulers of Naphtali.

²⁸ Your God has called for your strength. Show Your strength, O God, Who has acted for us. ²⁹ Kings will bring gifts to You because of Your holy house at Jerusalem. ³⁰ Speak sharp words to the wild animals in the tall grass by the river, the group of bulls with the calves of the people. Walk on those who desire pieces of silver. Divide the people who have joy in war. ³¹ Princes will come from Egypt. Ethiopia will hurry to put her hands out to God.

³² Sing to God, O nations of the earth. Sing praises to the Lord. ³³ Sing to Him Who sits upon the heavens, the heavens of old. Listen, He sends out His voice, His powerful voice. ³⁴ Tell of the power of God. His great power is over Israel and His strength is in the sky. ³⁵ O God, You are honored with fear as You come from Your holy place. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Honor and thanks be to God!