M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Yahweh’s Covenant with David
17 And as David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh is under tent curtains.” 2 And Nathan said to David, “Whatever is in your heart, do, for God is with you.”
3 And it happened that same night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and say to David my servant, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You are not to build a house for me to live in, 5 for I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought out Israel unto this day. I have been from tent to tent and from tabernacle to tabernacle. 6 In every place I have moved about, did I say one word with the judges of Israel I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for me a house of cedar?’”’ 7 So now, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you went and have cut down your enemies from before you and will make a name for you, like the name of the great ones on the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them,[a] and they[b] shall dwell in their[c] place and be in anguish no longer. And wicked men will no longer wear them down as before, 10 from the day that I commanded judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue your enemies, and I declare to you that Yahweh will build for you a house.[d] 11 And it shall be that when your days are fulfilled to go and sleep with your ancestors,[e] then I will raise up your seed after you, who will be one of your sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He himself will build for me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I myself will be a father to him, and he himself will be a son to me. And I will not remove my steadfast love from him as I took it away from whoever was before you. 14 And I will establish him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.”’” 15 According to all these words and according to all this revelation, thus did Nathan speak to David.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went and sat before Yahweh and said, “Who am I, O Yahweh God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far? 17 And this was a small matter in your eyes, O God. And you have spoken concerning the house of your servant for a long time and have shown me future generations to come,[f] O Yahweh God. 18 What more[g] can David do to you for honoring your servant? Now you know your servant. 19 O Yahweh, for the sake of your servant and according to your heart you have done all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 20 O Yahweh, there is none like you, and there is no God except you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation upon earth whom God went to redeem for himself, to establish for you a reputation[h] for great and awesome things, to drive out nations from before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 And you made your people Israel an everlasting nation for yourself. And you, O Yahweh, became their God. 23 So now, O Yahweh, let the word that you spoke to your servant and to his house be established forever, that you might do what you have spoken. 24 And let your name be established and be magnified forever, saying, ‘Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God, and may the house of David your servant be established before you.’ 25 For you, my God, have informed[i] your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore, your servant has found courage to pray before you. 26 So now, O Yahweh, you yourself are God, and you have spoken to your servant this good thing. 27 And now may you begin to bless the house of your servant to continue forever[j] before you, for you, O Yahweh, have blessed. And it will be blessed forever.”
Subject Yourselves to God
4 From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members? 2 You desire and do not have; you murder and are filled with envy, and are not able to obtain; you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”?[a] 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[b]
7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your[c] joy to gloominess. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of the law.[d] 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your[e] neighbor?
Arrogant Boasting About the Future
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit,” 14 you who do not know what will happen tomorrow[f], what your life will be like[g]. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears. 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Jonah Disobeys Yahweh
1 And the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Get up! Go to the great city Nineveh and cry out against her, because their evil has come up before me.”[a] 3 But Jonah set out to flee toward Tarshish from the presence of[b] Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from the presence of[c] Yahweh.
4 And Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea, and it was a great storm on the sea, and the merchant ship was in danger of breaking up.[d] 5 And the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they threw the contents[e] that were in the merchant ship into the sea to lighten it for them. And meanwhile Jonah went down into the hold of the vessel and lay down and fell asleep. 6 And the captain[f] of the ship approached him and said to him, “Why are you sound asleep?[g] Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god[h] will take notice of us and we won’t perish!” 7 And they said to one another,[i] “Come, let us cast lots so that we may know on whose account this disaster has come on us!” And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they said to him, “Please tell us whoever is responsible that this disaster has come upon us! What is your occupation? And from where do you come? What is your country? And from which people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were greatly afraid,[j] and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” because they[k] knew that he was fleeing from the presence of[l] Yahweh (because he had told them). 11 So they said to him, “What shall we do to you so that the sea may quiet down for us?” because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous.[m] 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea so that the sea may quiet down for you, because I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you all.” 13 But the men rowed hard to bring the ship[n] back to the dry land, and they could not do so because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous[o] against them. 14 So they cried out to Yahweh, and they said, “O Yahweh! Please do not let us perish because of this man’s life, and do not make us guilty of innocent blood,[p] because you, O Yahweh, did what you wanted.” 15 And they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 So the men feared Yahweh greatly,[q] and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made[r] vows.
Jonah Is Swallowed by a Fish and Prays to Yahweh
17 [s] And Yahweh provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
6 Now it happened that on a Sabbath he went through the grain fields, and his disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them[a] in their[b] hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath? 3 And Jesus answered and[c] said to them, “Have you not read this, what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry— 4 how he entered into the house of God and took the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests alone), and[d] ate it[e] and gave it[f] to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
A Man with a Withered Hand Healed
6 Now it happened that on another Sabbath he entered into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there, and his right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and the Pharisees were watching closely[g] to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, in order that they could find a reason[h] to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up and stand in the middle,” and he got up and[i] stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”[j] 10 And after[k] looking around at them all, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand,” and he did, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury, and began discussing[l] with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The Selection of the Twelve Apostles
12 Now it happened that in these days he went away to the mountain to pray, and was spending the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he summoned his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon (whom he also named Peter) and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
The Sermon on the Plain: The Beatitudes
17 And he came down with them and[m] stood on a level place, and a large crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all of Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast district of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were cured. 19 And the whole crowd was seeking to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes to his disciples and[n] said,
“Blessed are the poor,
because yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are those who are hungry now,
because you will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who weep now,
Because you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to do the same things to the prophets.
The Sermon on the Plain: Woes
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
because you have received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are satisfied now,
because you will be hungry.
Woe, you who laugh now,
because you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe whenever all people speak well of you,
for their fathers used to do the same things to the false prophets.
The Sermon on the Plain: Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic also. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from the one who takes away your things, do not ask for them back.[o] 31 And just as you want people to do[p] to you, do the same[q] to them.
32 “And if you love those who love you, what kind of credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if[r] you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of credit is that to you? Even the sinners do the same! 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive back, what kind of credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal amount! 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting back nothing, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful![s]
The Sermon on the Plain: On Judging Others
37 “And do not judge, and you will never be judged. And do not condemn, and you will never be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure—pressed down, shaken, overflowing—they will pour out into your lap. For with the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you in return.”
39 And he also told them a parable: “Surely a blind person cannot lead the blind, can he?[t] Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not superior to his[u] teacher, but everyone, when he[v] is fully trained, will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam of wood that is in your own eye? 42 How are you able to say to your brother, “Brother, allow me to remove the speck that is in your eye,” while[w] you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye!
The Sermon on the Plain: Trees and Their Fruit
43 “For there is no good tree that produces bad fruit, nor on the other hand a bad tree that produces good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn plants, nor are grapes harvested from thorn bushes. 45 The good person out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good, and the evil person out of his[x] evil treasury[y] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 “And why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?[z]
The Sermon on the Plain: Two Houses and Two Foundations
47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them—I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when[aa] a flood came, the river burst against that house and was not able to shake it, because it had been built well. 49 But the one who hears my words[ab] and does not do them[ac] is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, which the river burst against, and immediately it collapsed—and the collapse of that house was great!”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software