M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

7 Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of the Lord. The Lord says, ‘Tomorrow about this time, a basket of fine flour will be sold for one piece of silver in the gate of Samaria. And two baskets of barley will be sold for a piece of silver.’” ² The captain on whose arm the king rested said to the man of God, “See, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Elisha said, “You will see it with your own eyes. But you will not eat of it.”

The Syrians Leave

³ Now there were four men at the city gate with a bad skin disease. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? ⁴ If we go into the city, there is no food there and we will die. And if we sit here, we will die also. So now come, let us go over to the tents of the Syrians. If they do not kill us, we will live. And if they kill us, we will die there.” ⁵ So they got up in the evening to go to the Syrians. When they came to the tents of the Syrians, there was no one there. ⁶ For the Lord had made the Syrian army hear a sound of war-wagons and horses and an army of many soldiers. So they said to one another, “The king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to fight against us.” ⁷ And they ran away in the evening. They left their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left everything just as it was, and ran for their lives. ⁸ Then the men with a bad skin disease came to the tents. They went into one tent and ate and drank. They carried away silver and gold and clothing, and hid them. Then they returned and went into another tent and carried things away from it, and hid them.

⁹ They said to one another, “We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, but we are keeping quiet. We will be punished if we wait until morning. So now let us go and tell those of the king’s house.” ¹⁰ And they came and called the men who watched the city gate. They said to them, “We went to the tents of the Syrians. But there was no one to be seen or heard there. Only the horses and donkeys were tied there. The tents were left just as they were.” ¹¹ So the men at the gate called out, and the news was heard in the king’s house. ¹² The king got up in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. So they have left the tents to hide themselves in the field. They are saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and get into the city.’” ¹³ One of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the horses that are left. Those who are left in the city are not doing better than all those who have died. So let us send men out to see.” ¹⁴ So they took two war-wagons with horses. And the king sent them after the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.” ¹⁵ They went after them to the Jordan. All the way was covered with clothes and objects which the Syrians had thrown away in their hurry. Then the men returned and told the king.

¹⁶ So the people went out and took what the Syrians had left. Then a basket of fine flour was sold for a piece of silver. And two baskets of barley sold for a piece of silver, just as the word of the Lord had said. ¹⁷ Now the king chose the captain on whose arm he rested to watch the gate. But the people stepped on him at the gate. He died just as the man of God had said when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ It happened just as the man of God had told the king, saying, “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two baskets of barley will sell for a piece of silver. And a basket of fine flour will sell for a piece of silver.” ¹⁹ Then the captain had said to the man of God, “See, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And Elisha had said, “You will see it with your own eyes. But you will not eat of it.” ²⁰ So it happened to him. The people stepped on him at the gate, and he died.

False Teaching in the Last Days

4 The Holy Spirit tells us in plain words that in the last days some people will turn away from the faith. They will listen to what is said about spirits and follow the teaching about demons. ² Those who teach this tell it as the truth when they know it is a lie. They do it so much that their own hearts no longer say it is wrong. ³ They will say, “Do not get married. Do not eat some kinds of food.” But God gave these things to Christians who know the truth. We are to thank God for them. ⁴ Everything God made is good. We should not put anything aside if we can take it and thank God for it. ⁵ It is made holy by the Word of God and prayer.

Christians Are to Grow

⁶ If you keep telling these things to the Christians, you will be a good worker for Jesus Christ. You will feed your own soul on these words of faith and on this good teaching which you have followed. ⁷ Have nothing to do with foolish stories old women tell. Keep yourself growing in God-like living. ⁸ Growing strong in body is all right but growing in God-like living is more important. It will not only help you in this life now but in the next life also. ⁹ These words are true and they can be trusted. ¹⁰ Because of this, we work hard and do our best because our hope is in the living God, the One Who would save all men. He saves those who believe in Him.

Paul’s Helpful Words to Young Timothy

¹¹ Tell people that this is what they must do. ¹² Let no one show little respect for you because you are young. Show other Christians how to live by your life. They should be able to follow you in the way you talk and in what you do. Show them how to live in faith and in love and in holy living. ¹³ Until I come, read and preach and teach the Word of God to the church. ¹⁴ Be sure to use the gift God gave you. The leaders saw this in you when they laid their hands on you and said what you should do. ¹⁵ Think about all this. Work at it so everyone may see you are growing as a Christian. ¹⁶ Watch yourself how you act and what you teach. Stay true to what is right. If you do, you and those who hear you will be saved from the punishment of sin.

11 “And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to help him and give him strength.) ² I tell you the truth. Three more kings will rule over Persia. Then a fourth will become much richer than all of them. As soon as he becomes strong because of his riches, he will move everyone against the nation of Greece. ³ Then a powerful king will rise up, and he will rule with power and do as he pleases. ⁴ But as soon as he has risen to power, his nation will be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven. It will not be divided among his own children, or because of his own power. For his power will be taken and given to others besides these.

The Nations of Egypt and Syria

⁵ “Then the king of the South will become strong. But one of his leaders will become stronger than he and will rule with much power. ⁶ After some years they will join together. The daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to make an agreement. But she will not keep her power, and he will not keep his. She will be killed, together with those who brought her, and her father, and the one who helped her. ⁷ But one of her family will become king in his place. He will fight against the army and go into the strong city of the king of the North. He will fight against them and win. ⁸ And he will carry their false gods and objects of silver and gold away to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. ⁹ Then the king of the North will go to fight against the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

¹⁰ “His sons will get ready for war and gather together a very large army. They will come like a flood and pass through, and fight in battle as far as his strong city. ¹¹ The king of the South will be very angry and will go and fight with the king of the North, who will have a very large army. But his army will be given over to the king of the South. ¹² When the army is taken away, the king of the South will become very proud, and he will kill tens of thousands. But his strength will not last. ¹³ For the king of the North will gather together a larger army than before. And after some years he will come with a large army ready to do battle.

¹⁴ “In those times many will fight against the king of the South. Angry men among your people will also go against the king to do what was shown in the special dream, but they will not win. ¹⁵ Then the king of the North will come and build a battle-wall, and take a very strong city. The army of the South will not be able to stand against him, not even their best soldiers. They will not have enough strength. ¹⁶ The king of the North will do as he pleases. No one will be able to stand against him. He will stay for awhile in the Beautiful Land with the power to destroy it. ¹⁷ He will plan to come with the strength of his whole nation and will make a peace agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage to try to destroy his nation. But she will not help him or be on his side. ¹⁸ Then he will turn to the lands beside the sea and take many in battle. But a captain will stop him (king of the North) in his pride, and cause trouble to be put on him. ¹⁹ So he will turn to the strong cities of his own land. But he will lose his step and fall, and will not be seen again.

The Sinful King of Syria

²⁰ “Then one will become king in his place, who will send a man through his great nation to make the people pay taxes. Yet within a short time that king will be killed, but not in anger or in battle. ²¹ A very sinful person will rise to power in his place. He will not be given the honor of being king, but he will come in a time of peace and take over the nation using smooth sounding words and false ways. ²² Armies will be driven away and destroyed in front of him, and also the ruler of the agreement. ²³ And after a peace agreement is made with him, he will use false ways and become strong with a small army. ²⁴ In a time of peace he will go into the richest parts of the land, and do what his fathers and his fathers’ fathers never did. He will divide the things taken in war and things of worth among them, and make plans against strong cities, but only for a time. ²⁵ He will gather all his strength against the king of the South with a large army. So the king of the South will gather together a very large and powerful army for war, but he will not win the battle. Secret plans will be made against him. ²⁶ Those who eat his best food will destroy him. And his army will be driven away and many will be killed. ²⁷ The hearts of both kings will be sinful. They will lie to each other at the same table. But nothing will come of it, for the end will still come at the chosen time. ²⁸ Then the king of the North will return to his land with many things of much worth. But his heart will be set against the holy agreement. He will work against it and then return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the chosen time he will return to the South, but this time it will not be as it was before. ³⁰ For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will be afraid and turn back. He will return in anger and go against the holy agreement. He will come back and show favor to those who have turned away from the holy agreement. ³¹ His armies will come and make the house of God unclean, and put an end to the burnt gifts. Then they will set up the very sinful manmade god. ³² He will speak well of those who sin against the agreement. But the people who know their God will show their strength and stand against him. ³³ Those people who are wise will make many understand. But for many days they will be killed by the sword or by fire, or be taken to prison or robbed. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help. And many will pretend to be their friends. ³⁵ Some of the wise people will be hurt, but this is so they will be made pure through punishment until the time of the end. For the end will still come at the chosen time.

³⁶ “Then the king will do as he pleases. He will honor himself more than every god, and will say very bad things against the God of gods. Everything will go well for him until the time of anger is finished. For what has been planned will be done. ³⁷ He will not care about the gods of his fathers or for the one that women like. He will not care about any other god, for he will honor himself more than any of them. ³⁸ Instead he will honor a god of strong cities, a god his fathers did not know. He will honor him with gold, silver, stones of much worth, and riches. ³⁹ And he will fight against the strongest cities with the help of a strange god. He will give great honor to those who follow him, and will let them rule over many people. And he will divide the land for a price.

⁴⁰ “At the time of the end the king of the South will go against him. And the king of the North will fight against him with war-wagons, horsemen, and many ships. He will come into countries like a flood and pass through. ⁴¹ He will also come into the Beautiful Land and many countries will be taken. But Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be saved from his power. ⁴² Then he will fight against other countries, and Egypt will be taken. ⁴³ He will get the hidden riches of gold and silver and all the things of great worth in Egypt. And the people of Libya and Ethiopia will follow behind him. ⁴⁴ But news from the East and from the North will trouble him, and he will go with much anger to kill and destroy many people. ⁴⁵ He will set up his tents made for kings between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

²⁵ My soul is laid in the dust. Give me new life because of Your Word. ²⁶ I have told about my ways, and You have answered me. Teach me Your Law. ²⁷ Make me understand the way of Your Law so I will talk about Your great works. ²⁸ My soul cries because of sorrow. Give me strength because of Your Word. ²⁹ Take the false way from me. Show Your loving-favor by giving me Your Law. ³⁰ I have chosen the faithful way. I have set Your Law in front of me. ³¹ I hold on to Your Law, O Lord. Do not put me to shame. ³² I will run the way of Your Law, for You will give me a willing heart.

³³ O Lord, teach me the way of Your Law and I will obey it to the end. ³⁴ Give me understanding. Then I will listen to Your Word and obey it with all my heart. ³⁵ Make me walk in the path of Your Word, for I find joy in it. ³⁶ Turn my heart toward Your Law, so I will not earn money in a wrong way. ³⁷ Turn my eyes away from things that have no worth, and give me new life because of Your ways. ³⁸ Keep Your promise to Your servant, the promise You made to those who fear and worship You. ³⁹ Turn away the shame that I do not want to come to me, for Your Law is good. ⁴⁰ O, how I desire Your Law! Give me new life because of Your right and good way.

⁴¹ May Your loving-kindness also come to me, O Lord. May You save me as Your Word says. ⁴² Then I will have an answer for the one who puts me to shame, for I trust in Your Word. ⁴³ Do not take the word of truth out of my mouth, for I hope in Your Law. ⁴⁴ I will always obey Your Law, forever and ever. ⁴⁵ I will walk as a free man, for I look for Your Law. ⁴⁶ I will speak of Your Law in front of kings and will not be ashamed. ⁴⁷ I will be glad in Your Law, which I love. ⁴⁸ I will lift up my hands to Your Word, which I love, and I will think about Your Law.