M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel right by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, so that I can have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it, or if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money.”
3 Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
4 Ahab returned home angry and depressed because of the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had given him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed and sulked and would not eat any bread.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said, “Why is your spirit so sad that you refuse to eat bread?”
6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”
7 Jezebel his wife said to him, “Are you not the governor of the kingdom of Israel? Get up and eat bread, and let your heart be happy, for I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in the city where Naboth lived. 9 In the letters she wrote,
“Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people, 10 and set two men, sons of Belial,[a] before him, to bear witness against him, saying, ‘You blasphemed God and the king.’ And then carry him out and stone him, so that he will die.”
11 The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 Two men, children of Belial, came in and sat in front of him, and the men of Belial witnessed against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth blasphemed God and the king.” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to sell to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
The Lord Condemns Ahab
17 The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. He is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to possess it. 19 You shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Have you killed and also taken possession?” And you shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your own blood!”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 ‘See, I will bring disaster upon you and will take away your posterity and will cut off all your males, both free and slave, who are left in Israel, 22 and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.’
23 “The Lord also spoke of Jezebel, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
24 “Those from Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by birds of the air.”
25 But there were none compared to Ahab, who sold himself to evil deeds in the sight of the Lord, which Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 He performed the most abominable act in following idols like the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
27 When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked meekly.
28 The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “See how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, but during his son’s lifetime I will bring the disaster on his household.”
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally, brothers, we urge and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as you have learned from us how you ought to walk and to please God, you should excel more and more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality, 4 that each one of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in the lust of depravity, even as the Gentiles who do not know God, 6 and that no man take advantage of and defraud his brother in any matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. 8 Therefore he that despises does not despise man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
9 As concerning brotherly love, you do not need me to write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 And indeed, you do have love for all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, that you increase more and more. 11 Learn to be calm, and to conduct your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 so that you may walk honestly toward those who are outsiders and that you may lack nothing.
The Lord’s Coming
13 But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and arose again, so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be forever with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The Image of Gold
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits.[a] He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the officials, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the officials, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you should fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever. 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music should fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded you. They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that god who can deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But even if He does not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Protection in the Fiery Furnace
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded the most mighty men in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their trousers, their coats, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 He answered and said, “But I see four men loose and walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!”
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!”
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire. 27 The officials, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They have defied the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other God who can deliver in this way.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
BOOK FIVE
Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
1 Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,
for His mercy endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord speak out,
whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 and gathered them from the lands,
from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness on a deserted path;
they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 He led them on a level road,
that they might go to a city to live in.
8 Let them praise the Lord for His goodness
and for His wonderful works to the people!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul
and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Some sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
being prisoners in affliction and irons,
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and rejected the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore He brought down their hearts with hard labor;
they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them out of their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
and broke apart their bonds.
15 Let them praise the Lord for His goodness
and for His wonderful works to the people!
16 For He has broken the gates of bronze
and cut the bars of iron in two.
17 Some were fools because of their transgressions,
and because of their iniquities they are afflicted.
18 They loathed all manner of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and He saved them out of their distress.
20 He sent His word and healed them
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them praise the Lord for His goodness
and for His wonderful works to the people!
22 And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare His works with rejoicing.
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
to do business in the vast waters;
24 they saw the works of the Lord
and His wonders in the deep water.
25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
which lifts up the sea waves.
26 The sailors went up to the sky, they came down to the depths;
their strength melted because of the great danger.
27 They reeled to and fro and staggered like drunken men,
and were completely confused.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He saved them out of their distress.
29 He made the storm calm,
and the sea waves were still.
30 They were glad because the waters were quiet,
so He brought them to their desired harbor.
31 Let them praise the Lord for His goodness
and for His wonderful works to the people!
32 Let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
water springs into dry ground,
34 a fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of those living there.
35 He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
a parched ground into springs of water.
36 There He makes the hungry dwell,
and they prepare a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards,
and yield a fruitful harvest.
38 He blesses them, so that they are greatly multiplied,
and He does not let their livestock decrease.
39 But when they are diminished and brought down
through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
40 He pours contempt upon princes,
and causes them to wander in a wilderness with no road;
41 yet He raises up the poor from affliction
and cares for their families like flocks of sheep.
42 The righteous shall see it and rejoice,
and all evil people shall stop their mouth.
43 Whoever is wise let him observe these things;
let them consider the lovingkindness of the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.