M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules of War
20 “When you go to war against your enemies and observe more horses, chariots, and soldiers[a] than you have, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you. 2 As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to the army.[b] 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen, Israel! You’re about to go into battle today against your enemies. Don’t be faint-hearted. Don’t be afraid, don’t panic, and don’t be terrified to face them. 4 For the Lord your God will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you victory.’
5 “Furthermore, let the officials ask the army, ‘Is there a man here[c] who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it. 6 And is there a man here[d] who has planted a vineyard and not yet benefited from it? Let him go home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man use it. 7 And is there a man here[e] who is engaged to a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man marry her.’
8 “Let the officials also speak to the army, ‘Is there a man here[f] who is afraid and faint-hearted? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may demoralize his fellow soldier.’[g]
9 “When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops.”
Rules of Peace
10 “When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. 11 If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. 12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. 13 The Lord your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. 14 The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God will give you. 15 Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations.”
Destruction of the Canaanites
16 “You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the Lord your God commanded you, 18 so they won’t teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will sin against the Lord your God.”
Preservation of Fruit Trees
19 “When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? 20 However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit[h] you know isn’t edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls.”
BOOK V (Psalms 107-150)
Gratitude for God’s Deliverance
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His gracious love exists forever.
2 Let those who have been redeemed by the Lord declare it—
those whom he redeemed
from the power[a] of the enemy,
3 those whom he gathered from other lands—
from the east, west, north, and south.[b]
4 They wandered in desolate wilderness;
they found no road to a city where they could live.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their spirits[c] failed.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them in a straight way
to find a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his gracious love
and his awesome deeds for mankind.
9 He has satisfied the one who thirsts,
filling the hungry with what is good.
10 Some sat in deepest darkness,
shackled with cruel iron,
11 because they had rebelled against the command of God,
despising the advice of the Most High.
12 He humbled them[d] through suffering,
as they stumbled without a helper.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he delivered them from their distress.
14 And he[e] brought them out from darkness and the shadow of death,[f]
shattering their chains.
15 Let them give[g] thanks to the Lord for his gracious love,
and for his awesome deeds to mankind.
16 For he shattered bronze gates
and cut through iron bars.
17 Because of their rebellious ways,
fools suffered for their iniquities.
18 They[h] loathed all food,
and even reached the gates of death.
19 Yet when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
he delivered them from certain destruction.
20 He issued his command[i] and healed them;
he delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his gracious love,
and for his awesome deeds for mankind.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and talk about his works with shouts of joy.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who work in the great waters,
24 witnessed the works of the Lord—
his awesome deeds in the ocean’s depth.
25 He spoke and stirred up a windstorm
that made its waves surge.
26 The people[j] ascended skyward and descended to the depths,
their courage[k] melting away in their peril.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
as all their wisdom became useless.
28 Yet when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
the Lord brought them out of their distress.
29 He calmed the storm
and its waves[l] quieted down.
30 So they rejoiced that the waves[m] became quiet,
and he led them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his gracious love
and for his awesome deeds on behalf of mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the counsel of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into dry ground,
34 and a fruitful land into a salty waste,
due to the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
dry land into springs of water.
36 There he settled the hungry,
where they built a city to live in.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a productive harvest.
38 Then he blessed them, and they became numerous;
he multiplied their cattle.[n]
39 But they became few in number, and humiliated
by continued oppression, agony, and sorrow.
40 Having poured contempt on their nobles,
causing them to err aimlessly in the way.
41 Yet he lifted the needy from affliction
and made them families like a flock.
42 The upright see it and rejoice,
but the mouth of an evil person is shut.
43 Let whoever is wise observe these things,
that they may comprehend the gracious love of the Lord.
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Come down and sit in the dust,
Virgin Daughter of Babylon.
Sit on[a] the ground without a chair,
Daughter of the Chaldeans!
For no longer will they call you
tender and attractive.
2 Take millstones and grind flour.
Remove your veil,
strip off your robes,[b]
bare your legs,
and wade through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness will be[c] exposed,
and your disgrace will also be seen.
I’ll take vengeance,
and I will spare no mortal.
4 “Our Redeemer—
the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit silent,[d] and enter into the darkness,
you daughter of the Chaldeans;
for no more will they call you
Queen of Kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people,
and[e] I desecrated my heritage,
and gave them into your control.
You showed them no mercy;
even on the aged you laid your yoke most heavily.
7 You said, ‘I will always continue—Queen forever!’
You didn’t take these things into your thinking,
nor did you think about their consequences.[f]
8 “Now hear this, you wanton creature,
lounging with no cares,
and saying to herself:
‘I am the one, and there will be none besides me;
I won’t live as a widow,
nor will I see[g] the loss of children.’
9 Both of these things will overtake you
suddenly on a single day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure,
despite the multitude of your incantations
and the great power of your spells.”
Self-Deception of the Babylonians
10 “You trusted in your own knowledge.[h]
You said, ‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and knowledge have misled you.
You said in your heart,
‘I am the one, and there will be none besides me.’
11 “But disaster will come[i] upon you,
and[j] you will not know how to charm it away.
A calamity will befall you
that you will not be able to[k] ward off;
and devastation will come upon you suddenly,
and[l] you won’t anticipate it.
12 “But[m] stand up now with your spells
and your many incantations,
at which you have labored from your childhood until today,[n]
13 according to[o] your multiple schemes.
Let them stand up now—
those who conjure[p] the heavens
and[q] gaze at the stars,
predicting at the new moons—
and save you from what is about to happen to them.[r]
14 “See, they are just like stubble;
fire burns them up.
They could not[s] even save themselves
from the power of the flame.
There will be no coals for warming oneself,
no fire to sit by.
15 So will they be to you—those with whom you toiled
and did business since your childhood—
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is not one who can save you.
The Vision of Babylon the Great
17 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and told me, “Come, I will show you how the notorious prostitute who sits on many waters will be judged. 2 The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those living on earth became drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
3 Then the angel[a] carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was controlled by blasphemy.[b] It had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothes and was adorned with gold, gems, and pearls. In her hand she was holding a gold cup filled with detestable things and the impurities of her immorality. 5 On her forehead was written a secret name:
Babylon the Great,
the Mother of Prostitutes
and Detestable Things of the Earth
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. I was very surprised when I saw her.
7 “Why are you surprised?” The angel asked me. “I will tell you the secret of the woman and the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw existed once, but is no longer, and is going to crawl out of the bottomless pit[c] and then proceed to its destruction. Those living on earth, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be surprised when they see the beast because it was, is no longer, and will come again. 9 This calls for a mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is sitting. They are also seven kings. 10 Five of them have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must remain in power[d] for a little while. 11 The beast that was and is no longer is the eighth king,[e] but it belongs with the seven kings[f] and goes to its destruction. 12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom. They will receive authority to rule[g] as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 They have one purpose: to give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the lamb, but the lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those who are called, chosen, and faithful are with him.”
15 The angel[h] also told me, “The bodies of water you saw, on which the prostitute is sitting, are people, multitudes, nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her abandoned and naked. They will eat her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has placed within them a desire to carry out his purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
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