M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Nathan Reproves David
12 So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, “Two men were in a certain city; one was rich and the other was poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him. 4 And a visitor came to the rich man, but he was reluctant[a] to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then the anger of David was kindled[b] against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives,[c] the man who has done this deserves to die![d] 6 He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to him, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you the household of your master and the women of your master into your lap. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah; if that had been too little, I would have added to you much more.[e] 9 Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes?[f] Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites![g] 10 So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!’ 11 Thus says Yahweh, ‘Look, I am going to raise up evil against you from within your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives in broad daylight.[h] 12 Though you did this in secret, I will do this thing before all of Israel in broad daylight!’”[i]
David Repents, But the Child Dies
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh!”[j] Nathan said to David, “Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die. 14 But because you have utterly scorned[k] Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you will certainly die.”[l] 15 Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood over him to lift him up from the ground, but he was not willing, and he did not eat any food with them. 18 It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, when the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do something evil.” 19 When David saw that his servants were whispering together, he realized that the child was dead. Then David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20 David stood up from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothing. Then he went to the house of Yahweh and worshiped, and he went to his own house. He asked, so they served him food, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; now that the child has died, you get up and eat food!” 22 He said, “When the child was still alive, I fasted and I wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? Yahweh may have mercy on me that the child will live.’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I be fasting? Am I able to return him again? I am going to him, but he cannot return to me.” 24 David consoled Bathsheba his wife, and he went to her and slept with her. She bore a son, and he called[m] him Solomon, and Yahweh loved him. 25 He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet, so he called him Jedidiah[n] because of Yahweh.
Battle with the Ammonites
26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites,[o] and he captured the royal city.[p] 27 Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, “We have fought against Rabbah, and we captured the city of the waters. 28 So then, gather the remainder of the army and encamp against the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and my name be proclaimed over it.” 29 So David gathered all of the army, and he went to Rabbah and fought against it and captured it. 30 He took the crown of their king from his head. (Now its weight was a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it and it was put on David’s head.) He brought out the plunder of the city in great abundance.[q] 31 He also brought out the people who were in it and put them to the saws and to the iron picks and to the iron axes, and he sent them to the place of the brickmakers. Thus he used to do to all the cities of the Ammonites,[r] and he and all of the army returned to Jerusalem.
Absent from the Body and at Home with the Lord
5 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed, in this house we groan, because we[a] desire to put on our dwelling from heaven, 3 if indeed, even after we[b] have taken it off,[c] we will not be found naked. 4 For indeed we who are in this tent groan, being burdened for this reason, that[d] we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the down payment, the Spirit.
6 Therefore, although we are[e] always confident and know that while we[f] are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we live by faith, not by sight— 8 so we are confident and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore indeed we have as our ambition, whether at home in the body or absent from the body, to be acceptable to him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive back the things through the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Controlled by the Love of Christ
11 Therefore, because we[g] know the fear of the Lord, we are attempting to persuade people, but we are revealed to God, and I hope to be revealed in your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to boast about us, in order that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are out of our senses, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we[h] have concluded this: that one died for all; as a result all died. 15 And he died for all, in order that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.
16 So then, from now on we know no one from a human point of view[i], if indeed we have known Christ from a human point of view[j], but now we know him this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 And all these things are from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as if[k] God were imploring you through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin on our behalf, in order that we could become the righteousness of God in him.
Lament for the Leaders of Israel
19 “And you, raise a lament about[a] the leaders of Israel, 2 and you must say,
‘What a lioness was your mother
among the lions.
She lay down in the midst of young lions,
and she reared her lion cubs.
3 And she raised up one from her cubs;
he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
he ate[b] humans.[c]
4 And nations heard about him;
in their pit he was caught,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 And she saw[d] that she was waiting in vain;
her hope was destroyed,
and she took one from her cubs,
and she made him a fierce lion.
6 And he walked about in the midst of lions;
he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
he ate[e] humans.[f]
7 And he knew their widows,[g]
and he devastated their cities,
and the land was appalled, and everyone in it[h]
at the sound of his roar.
8 And nations set out against him
from the surrounding provinces,[i]
and they spread their net over him,
and he was caught in their pit.
9 And they put him in a collar with hooks,
and they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into[j] a prison,
so that his voice would not be heard any longer[k]
on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like the vine in your vineyard;[l]
planted fruitfully[m] beside water,
and it was full of branches
from many waters.[n]
11 And she produced branches of strength[o]
to[p] scepters of rulers;
its height became tall
between[q] thick foliage,
and it was seen[r] because of its tallness
among the abundance of its branches.
12 But it was uprooted in rage;
it was thrown to the earth,
and the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off,
and its strong branch dried up;
fire consumed it.
13 And now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and thirsty land.[s]
14 And so fire has gone out from the stem of its branches;
its fruit it has consumed,
and there was not in it a strong branch,[t]
a scepter for ruling.’”
This is a lament, and it will be used as a lament.[u]
A Plea for Divine Retribution
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting.
Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots[b] of evildoers,
from the unrest of those who do iniquity,
3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword.
They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 to shoot from[c] their[d] hiding places at the blameless.
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in the evil matter.
They talk of secretly laying snares.
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They carefully plot[e] injustices saying,
“We have perfected the perfect plot!”[f]
Both the inner thought[g] and heart of a man are deep.
7 But God will shoot them;
with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.
8 [h] And they who would cause him[i] to stumble,
their own tongue will be against them.
All who gaze on them will shake.[j]
9 And then[k] all men[l] will fear,
and will declare the working of God,
and will understand his doing.
10 The righteous will rejoice in Yahweh and take refuge in him,
and all the upright in heart will boast.
Thanksgiving for God’s Provision
For the music director. A psalm of David. A song.[m]
65 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,
and to you the vow shall be fulfilled.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities[n] prevail over me.
As for our transgressions, you will forgive[o] them.
4 Blessed is one whom you choose and bring near,
that he may abide in your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness you will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
you who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off seas,
6 who established the mountains by his strength,
the one who is girded with might,
7 who stills the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the commotion of the peoples,
8 so that[p] the inhabitants of the farthest reaches are in awe of your signs.
You make the dawn and sunset sing for joy.
9 You care for[q] the land[r] and water it;
you greatly enrich it.
The stream of God is filled with waters.
You provide their grain,
for so you have established it.
10 You drench its furrows,
penetrating its ridges.
With rains you soften it;
its growth you bless.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,[s]
and your wagon paths drip with richness.[t]
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with joy.
13 The pasturelands put on flocks,
and the valleys clothe themselves with grain.
They shout in triumph;
they even sing.
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