M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 The queen of Sheba heard how well Solomon was known in all the lands. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She came with many servants and camels carrying spices and much gold and stones of much worth. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her heart. ² And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from him which he could not make clear to her. ³ Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the house he had built. ⁴ She saw the food at his table, and all his captains sitting there. She saw all those who were bringing in the food, and how they were dressed. She saw those who carried the cups, and their clothing. And she saw the burnt gifts that Solomon gave at the house of the Lord. After that, there was no more spirit in her. ⁵ She said to the king, “The news was true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁶ But I did not believe the news until I came and saw it with my own eyes. See, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told to me. You are greater than what I had heard. ⁷ Happy are your men! Happy are your servants who stand in front of you all the time hearing your wisdom! ⁸ Praise be to the Lord your God Who was pleased with you! He set you on His throne as king for the Lord your God. Your God loved Israel and would have them last forever. So He made you king over them to do what is fair and right and good.” ⁹ Then she gave the king gold weighing as much as 120 men, a very large amount of spices, and stones of much worth. There had never been spices like what the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Huram’s servants and Solomon’s servants brought gold from Ophir. They also brought algum trees and stones of much worth. ¹¹ The king used the algum wood to make steps for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house. And he used it to make different kinds of harps for the singers. There were none seen like them before in the land of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she asked for, much more than she had brought to him. Then she returned to her own land with her servants.

King Solomon’s Riches

¹³ The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed as much as 666 men. ¹⁴ Traders and men who buy and sell brought gold also. And all the kings of Arabia and the leaders of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 battle-coverings of beaten gold. The beaten gold he used to make each large covering was as much as 600 gold pieces. ¹⁶ And he made 300 battle-coverings of beaten gold, using as much as 300 gold pieces worth of gold for each covering. The king put them in the House of the Trees of Lebanon.

¹⁷ The king made a great throne of ivory and covered it with pure gold. ¹⁸ There were six steps to the throne, and a part made of gold for his feet was joined to the throne. The throne had arms on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms. ¹⁹ Twelve lions were standing on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made for the king of any other nation. ²⁰ All King Solomon’s cups were made of gold. And all the cups of the House of the Trees of Lebanon were made of pure gold. Silver was not thought of as having much worth in the days of Solomon. ²¹ For the king had ships which went to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²² So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. ²³ And all the kings of the earth wanted to be with Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put into his heart. ²⁴ Every one of them brought his gift. Objects of silver and gold, clothing, objects for battle, spices, horses and donkeys, were brought each year.

²⁵ Solomon had 4,000 rooms for horses and war-wagons, and 12,000 horsemen. He put them in the war-wagon cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the land of Egypt. ²⁷ And the king made silver as easy to find as stones in Jerusalem. He made cedar trees as easy to find as sycamore trees in the valley. ²⁸ And horses were brought in for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.

Death of Solomon

²⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are written in the words of Nathan the man of God. They are written in the holy words of Ahijah the Shilonite. And they are written in the special dreams of Iddo, the man who tells what will happen in the future, about Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ³⁰ Solomon ruled forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. ³¹ When he died he was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam ruled in his place.

¹ This letter is from Jude, a brother of James. I am a servant owned by Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who have been chosen by God the Father. You are kept for Jesus Christ. ² May you have much of God’s loving-kindness and peace and love.

³ Dear friends, I have been trying to write to you about what God did for us when He saved us from the punishment of sin. Now I must write to you and tell you to fight hard for the faith which was once and for all given to the holy people of God. ⁴ Some sinful men have come into your church without anyone knowing it. They are living in sin and they speak of the loving-favor of God to cover up their sins. They have turned against our only Leader and Lord, Jesus Christ. Long ago it was written that these people would die in their sins.

⁵ You already know all this, but think about it again. The Lord saved His people out of the land of Egypt. Later He destroyed all those who did not put their trust in Him. ⁶ Angels who did not stay in their place of power, but left the place where they were given to stay, are chained in a dark place. They will be there until the day they stand before God to be judged. ⁷ Do you remember about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them? The people in those cities did the same things. They were full of sex sins and strong desires for sinful acts of the body. Those cities were destroyed by fire. They still speak to us of the fire of hell that lasts forever.

What False Teachers Are Like

⁸ In the same way, these men go on dreaming and sinning against their bodies. They respect no leaders. They speak bad against those who live in the heavens. ⁹ Michael was one of the head angels. He argued with the devil about the body of Moses. But Michael would not speak sharp words to the devil, saying he was guilty. He said, “The Lord speaks sharp words to you.” ¹⁰ But these men speak against things they do not understand. They are like animals in the way they act. By these things they destroy themselves. ¹¹ It is bad for them! They have followed the way of Cain who killed his brother. They have chosen the way of Balaam and think only about making money. They were destroyed as Korah was destroyed who would not show respect to leaders. ¹² When you come together to eat the Christians’ love suppers, these people are like hidden rocks that wreck a ship. They only think of themselves. They are like clouds without rain carried along by the wind and like trees without fruit in the fall of the year. They are pulled out by the roots and are dead now and never can live again. ¹³ They are like the waves of a wild sea. Their sins are like the dirty water along the shore. They look like stars moving here and there. But the darkest place has been kept for them forever.

¹⁴ Enoch was the head of the seventh family born after Adam. He said this about such people, “The Lord comes with many thousands of His holy ones. ¹⁵ He comes to say that all are guilty for all the sin they have done and all the sinful things these sinners have spoken against God.” ¹⁶ These men complain and are never happy with anything. They let their desires lead them into sin. When they talk about themselves, they make it sound as if they are great people. They show respect to people only to get something out of them.

¹⁷ Dear friends, you must remember the words spoken by the missionaries of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said, “In the last days there will be men who will laugh at the truth and will be led by their own sinful desires.” ¹⁹ They are men who will make trouble by dividing people into groups against each other. Their minds are on the things of the world because they do not have the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Dear friends, you must become strong in your most holy faith. Let the Holy Spirit lead you as you pray. ²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God. Wait for life that lasts forever through the loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² Have loving-kindness for those who doubt. ²³ Save some by pulling them out of the fire. Have loving-kindness for others but also fear them. Be afraid of being led into doing their sins. Hate even the clothes that have touched sinful bodies.

²⁴ There is One Who can keep you from falling and can bring you before Himself free from all sin. He can give you great joy as you stand before Him in His shining-greatness. ²⁵ He is the only God. He is the One Who saves from the punishment of sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. May He have shining-greatness and honor and power and the right to do all things. He had this before the world began, He has it now, and He will have this forever. Let it be so.

1 This is the Word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Godaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Day of the Lord Is Near

² “I will take away everything from the earth,” says the Lord. ³ “I will take away man and animal. I will take away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea. I will destroy the sinful. And I will take man from off the earth,” says the Lord. ⁴ “I will put out My hand against Judah and against all the people of Jerusalem. I will destroy from this place the rest of the people who worship Baal, and the names of the religious leaders who worship false gods. ⁵ I will destroy those who bow down on the roofs to the stars of heaven, and those who bow down and make promises to the Lord and yet promise in the name of Milcom. ⁶ I will destroy those who have turned back from following the Lord, and those who have not looked for the Lord or prayed to Him.”

⁷ Be quiet before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has made a gift ready for the altar. He has made holy those whom He has asked to come. ⁸ “On the day of the Lord’s gift, I will punish the leaders, the king’s sons, and all who dress themselves with strange clothes. ⁹ On that day I will punish everyone who is quick to jump through the door, who fill the house of their owner with angry actions and lies. ¹⁰ On that day,” says the Lord, “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate. A cry of sorrow will be heard from the new part of the city, and a loud noise from the hills. ¹¹ Cry in a loud voice, you people who live in the part of the city where people buy and sell. For all the traders of Canaan will be destroyed. All who weigh out silver will be cut off. ¹² At that time I will look through Jerusalem with a light and will punish those who take it easy and do not care what happens. They say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or bad.’ ¹³ Their riches will be taken from them and their houses will be laid waste. They will build houses but not live in them. They will plant grape-fields but not drink their wine.”

¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming soon. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord! The man of war will cry out with a bitter cry. ¹⁵ That day is a day of anger, a day of trouble and suffering, a day when much will be destroyed, a day of darkness, a day of clouds and much darkness. ¹⁶ It is a day of the sound of a horn and the cry of battle against the strong cities and the high towers. ¹⁷ I will bring trouble to men so that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like body waste. ¹⁸ Their silver and gold will not be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s anger. All the earth will be destroyed in the fire of His jealousy. For all at once He will make an end of all the people of the earth.

Jesus Stands in Front of Pilate ^(A)

23 Then all the many people got up and took Jesus to Pilate. ² They began to tell things against Him, saying, “We have found this Man leading the people of our nation in a wrong way. He has been telling them not to pay taxes to Caesar. He has been saying He is Christ, a King.”

³ Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He said, “What you said is true.” ⁴ Then Pilate said to the religious leaders and to the people, “I find nothing wrong in this Man.” ⁵ They became more angry. They said, “He makes trouble among the people. He has been teaching over all the country of Judea, starting in Galilee and now here.”

Jesus Is Sent to Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard the word, Galilee, he asked, “Is the Man from Galilee?” ⁷ As soon as Pilate knew Jesus belonged in the country where Herod was king, he sent Him to Herod. Herod was in Jerusalem at that time also.

⁸ Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus because he had wanted to see Him for a long time. He had heard many things about Him and had hoped to see Him do some powerful work. ⁹ Herod talked to Jesus and asked many things. But Jesus said nothing. ¹⁰ The religious leaders and the teachers of the Law were standing there. They said many false things against Him.

¹¹ Then Herod and his soldiers were very bad to Jesus and made fun of Him. They put a beautiful coat on Him and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Pilate and Herod became friends. Before that they had worked against each other.

¹³ Pilate called the religious leaders and the leaders of the people and the people together. ¹⁴ He said to them, “You brought this Man to me as one that leads the people in the wrong way. I have asked Him about these things in front of you. I do not find Him guilty of the things you say against Him. ¹⁵ Herod found nothing wrong with Him because he sent Him back to us. There is no reason to have Him put to death. ¹⁶ I will punish Him and let Him go free.”

Jesus or Barabbas Is to Go Free ^(B)

¹⁷ *Every year at the time of the special supper, Pilate would let one person who was in prison go free. ¹⁸ They all cried out together with a loud voice, “Take this Man away! Let Barabbas go free.” ¹⁹ Barabbas had killed some people and had made trouble against the leaders of the country. He had been put in prison.

²⁰ Pilate wanted to let Jesus go free so he talked to them again. ²¹ But they cried out, “Nail Him to a cross! Nail Him to a cross!” ²² Pilate said to them the third time, “Why, what bad thing has He done? I have found no reason to put Him to death. I will punish Him and let Him go free.”

²³ But they kept on crying out with loud voices saying that He must be nailed to a cross. Their loud voices got what they wanted. ²⁴ Then Pilate said that it should be done as they wanted. ²⁵ Pilate let the man go free who had made trouble against the leaders of the country and who had killed people. He gave Jesus over to them to do with as they wanted.

Jesus on the Cross ^(C)

²⁶ They led Jesus away. A man named Simon was coming in from the country of Cyrene and they made him carry the cross following behind Jesus.

²⁷ Many people followed Jesus. There were women who cried and had sorrow for Him. ²⁸ Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem do not cry for Me. Cry for yourselves and your children. ²⁹ Listen! The days are coming when they will say, ‘Those who have never had children are happy. Those whose bodies have never given birth are happy. Those who have never fed babies are happy.’ ³⁰ They will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us.’ They will say to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ If they do these things to a green tree, what will they do when it is dry?”

³² Two other men were led away with Jesus to be put to death also. These men had done things making them guilty of death. ³³ When they came to the place called Calvary, they nailed Jesus to a cross. The other two men were nailed to crosses also. One was on the right side of Jesus and the other was on His left side. ³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His clothes by drawing names.

³⁵ The people stood around looking on. The leaders were there with them making fun of Jesus. They said, “He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the Chosen One of God!” ³⁶ The soldiers made fun of Him also. They put sour wine before Him. ³⁷ They said, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” ³⁸ These words were written in the Greek and Latin and Hebrew languages above His head: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

The Two Robbers ^(D)

³⁹ One of the men who was guilty of death who was on a cross beside Jesus spoke bad words to Him. He said, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” ⁴⁰ But the other man on a cross spoke sharp words to the one who made fun of Jesus. He said, “Are you not afraid of God? You are also guilty and will be punished. ⁴¹ We are suffering and we should, because of the wrong we have done. But this Man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your holy nation.” ⁴³ Jesus said to him, “For sure, I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

The Death of Jesus ^(E)

⁴⁴ It was dark over all the earth from noon until three o’clock. ⁴⁵ The sun did not shine. In the house of God the curtain was torn in two pieces.

⁴⁶ Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I give My spirit.” When He said this, He died.

⁴⁷ When the soldier saw what had happened, he thanked God. He said, “For sure, He was a good man.” ⁴⁸ All the many people who came together to see the things that were done, went away beating themselves on their chests. ⁴⁹ All His friends and the women who had come with Him from Galilee stood a long way off watching these things.

The Grave of Jesus ^(F)

⁵⁰ There was a man named Joseph who belonged to the court. He was a good man and one who did right. ⁵¹ This man did not agree with what the court did. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews. He was looking for the holy nation of God to come. ⁵² Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁵³ Then he took it down and put it in linen cloth. It was laid in a grave which had been cut out in the side of a rock. This grave had never been used.

⁵⁴ It was time to get ready for the Day of Rest which was about to begin. ⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed behind. They saw the grave and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ They went back and got some spices and perfumes ready. But they rested on the Day of Rest as the Law said to do.