M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David’s Victory over His Enemies

18 And it happened that after David struck the Philistines and subdued them, he captured Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines. ² And he struck Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bearing tribute. ³ And David struck Hadadezer, king of Zobah-Hamath, as he set up his monument at the Euphrates River. ⁴ And David captured from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left one hundred of them to remain for chariots. ⁵ And when the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah-Hamath, David struck down twenty-two thousand men of Aram. ⁶ Then David set up garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bearing tribute. And Yahweh delivered David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took small round shields of gold that were upon the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David captured very much bronze. Solomon made the bronze sea with it along with the columns and objects of bronze.

⁹ And when Tou the king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer the king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent Hadoram his son to King David to ask him for peace and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou had been at war^[a] with Hadadezer. And he brought with him all the objects of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹ King David dedicated these also to Yahweh, along with the silver and gold that he had taken from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek.

¹² And Abishai son of Zeruiah defeated eighteen thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ And he put garrisons in Edom, and all Edom became servants to David. And Yahweh delivered David wherever he went.

David’s Administration

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice^[b] and righteousness to all his people. ¹⁵ And Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder. ¹⁶ And Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was secretary. ¹⁷ And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and the Pelethites. And the sons of David were chief officials under the hand of the king.

Woes on the Rich Who Oppress Others

5 Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! ² Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. ⁴ Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵ You have lived self-indulgently on the earth^[a] and have lived luxuriously. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person; he does not resist you.

Exhortation to Patience

⁷ Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains. ⁸ You also be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Brothers, do not complain against one another, in order that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the doors! ¹⁰ Brothers, take as an example of perseverance and endurance the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. ¹² Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.

The Effective Prayer of Faith

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the elders of the church and they should pray over him, anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins he will be forgiven^[b]. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being^[c] with the same nature as us, and he prayed fervently^[d] for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you should wander away from the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰ he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save that person’s^[e] soul from death, and will cover over a great number of sins.

2 And Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the belly of the fish ² and said,

¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land.

A Centurion’s Slave Healed

7 After he had finished all his statements in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum. ² Now a certain centurion’s slave, who was esteemed by him, was sick^[a] and^[b] was about to die. ³ So when he^[c] heard about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come and^[d] cure his slave. ⁴ And when they^[e] came to Jesus, they began imploring^[f] him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you grant this for him, ⁵ because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us.” ⁶ So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, and^[g] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. ⁷ For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”^[h]

⁹ And when^[i] Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning around to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!” ¹⁰ And when they^[j] returned to the house, those who had been sent found the slave healthy.

A Widow’s Son Raised

¹¹ And it happened that on the next day he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. ¹² And as he approached the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when^[k] the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep!” ¹⁴ And he came up and^[l] touched the bier, and those who were carrying it^[m] stopped. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ And fear seized them all, and they began to glorify^[n] God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has visited to help his people!” ¹⁷ And this report about him went out in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

A Question from John the Baptist

¹⁸ And his disciples reported to John about all these things. And summoning a certain two of his disciples, John ¹⁹ sent them^[o] to the Lord,^[p] saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ²⁰ And when^[q] the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” ²¹ In that hour he healed many people of diseases and suffering and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people. ²² And he answered and^[r] said to them, “Go and^[s] tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear;^[t] the dead are raised, the poor have good news announced to them.^{[u] 23} And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”

²⁴ And when^[v] the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are in splendid clothing and luxury are in the royal palaces. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! ²⁷ It is this man about whom it is written:

²⁸ I tell you, there is no one greater among those born of women than John, but the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. ²⁹ (And all the people, when they^[x] heard this^[y]—even the tax collectors—affirmed the righteousness of God, because they^[z] had been baptized with the baptism of John, ³⁰ but the Pharisees and the legal experts rejected the purpose of God for themselves, because they^[aa] had not been baptized by him.)

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, who say,

³³ For John the Baptist has come not eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ And wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he entered into the house of the Pharisee and^[ab] reclined at the table. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she^[ac] learned that he was dining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of perfumed oil, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and was wiping them^[ad] with the hair of her head and was kissing his feet and anointing them^[ae] with the perfumed oil. ³⁹ Now when^[af] the Pharisee who invited him saw this,^[ag] he spoke to himself, saying, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and^[ah] said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say it.”^{[ai] 41} “There were two debtors who owed a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. ⁴² When^[aj] they were not able to repay him,^[ak] he forgave the debts^[al] of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and^[am] said, “I suppose that it is the one to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them^[an] with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but from the time I entered, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with olive oil, but she anointed my feet with perfumed oil. ⁴⁷ For this reason^[ao] I tell you, her sins—which were many—have been forgiven, for she loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ And those who were reclining at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”