M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

21 And there standeth up an adversary against Israel, and persuadeth David to number Israel,

² And David saith unto Joab, and unto the heads of the people, `Go, number Israel from Beer-Sheba even unto Dan, and bring unto me, and I know their number.'

³ And Joab saith, `Jehovah doth add to His people as they are a hundred times; are they not, my lord, O king, all of them to my lord for servants? why doth my lord seek this? why is he for a cause of guilt to Israel?'

⁴ And the word of the king [is] severe against Joab, and Joab goeth out, and goeth up and down in all Israel, and cometh in to Jerusalem.

⁵ And Joab giveth the account of the numbering of the people unto David, and all Israel is a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand, each drawing sword, and Judah [is] four hundred and seventy thousand, each drawing sword.

⁶ And Levi and Benjamin he hath not numbered in their midst, for the word of the king was abominable with Joab.

⁷ And it is evil in the eyes of God concerning this thing, and He smiteth Israel,

⁸ and David saith unto God, `I have sinned exceedingly, in that I have done this thing; and now, cause to pass away, I pray Thee, the iniquity of Thy servant, for I have acted very foolishly.'

⁹ And Jehovah speaketh unto Gad, seer of David, saying:

¹⁰ `Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Three -- I am stretching out unto thee; choose for thee one of these, and I do [it] to thee.'

¹¹ And Gad cometh in unto David, and saith to him, `Thus said Jehovah, Take for thee --

¹² either for three years -- famine, or three months to be consumed from the face of thine adversaries, even the sword of thine enemies to overtake, or three days the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and a messenger of Jehovah destroying in all the border of Israel; and now, see; what word do I return to Him who is sending me?'

¹³ And David saith unto Gad, `I am greatly distressed, let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for very many [are] His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.'

¹⁴ And Jehovah giveth a pestilence in Israel, and there fall of Israel seventy thousand men,

¹⁵ and God sendeth a messenger to Jerusalem to destroy it, and as he is destroying Jehovah hath seen, and is comforted concerning the evil, and saith to the messenger who [is] destroying, `Enough, now, cease thy hand.' And the messenger of Jehovah is standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite,

¹⁶ and David lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the messenger of Jehovah standing between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem, and David falleth, and the elders, covered with sackcloth, on their faces.

¹⁷ And David saith unto God, `Did not I -- I say to number the people? Yea, I it [is] who have sinned, and done great evil: and these, the flock, what did they? O Jehovah, my God, let, I pray Thee, Thy hand be on me, and on the house of my father, and not on Thy people -- to be plagued.'

¹⁸ And the messenger of Jehovah spake unto Gad, saying for David, `Surely David doth go up to raise an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.'

¹⁹ And David goeth up by the word of Gad, that he spake in the name of Jehovah.

²⁰ And Ornan turneth back, and seeth the messenger, and his four sons [are] with him, hiding themselves, and Ornan is threshing wheat.

²¹ And David cometh in unto Ornan, and Ornan looketh attentively, and seeth David, and goeth out from the threshing-floor, and boweth himself to David -- face to the earth.

²² And David saith unto Ornan, `Give to me the place of the threshing-floor, and I build in it an altar to Jehovah; for full silver give it to me, and the plague is restrained from the people.'

²³ And Ornan saith unto David, `Take to thee -- and my lord the king doth that which is good in his eyes: see, I have given the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for a present; the whole I have given.'

²⁴ And king David saith to Ornan, `Nay, for I surely buy for full silver; for I do not lift up that which is thine to Jehovah, so as to offer a burnt-offering without cost.'

²⁵ And David giveth to Ornan for the place shekels of gold [in] weight six hundred;

²⁶ and David buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and offereth burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and calleth unto Jehovah, and He answereth him with fire from the heavens on the altar of the burnt-offering.

²⁷ And Jehovah saith to the messenger, and he turneth back his sword unto its sheath.

²⁸ At that time when David seeth that Jehovah hath answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificeth there;

²⁹ and the tabernacle of Jehovah that Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt-offering, [are] at that time in a high place, in Gibeon;

³⁰ and David is not able to go before it to seek God, for he hath been afraid because of the sword of the messenger of Jehovah.

2 Having put aside, then, all evil, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all evil speakings,

² as new-born babes the word's pure milk desire ye, that in it ye may grow,

³ if so be ye did taste that the Lord [is] gracious,

⁴ to whom coming -- a living stone -- by men, indeed, having been disapproved of, but with God choice, precious,

⁵ and ye yourselves, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶ Wherefore, also, it is contained in the Writing: `Lo, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, choice, precious, and he who is believing on him may not be put to shame;'

⁷ to you, then, who are believing [is] the preciousness; and to the unbelieving, a stone that the builders disapproved of, this one did become for the head of a corner,

⁸ and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence -- who are stumbling at the word, being unbelieving, -- to which also they were set;

⁹ and ye [are] a choice race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired, that the excellences ye may shew forth of Him who out of darkness did call you to His wondrous light;

¹⁰ who [were] once not a people, and [are] now the people of God; who had not found kindness, and now have found kindness.

¹¹ Beloved, I call upon [you], as strangers and sojourners, to keep from the fleshly desires, that war against the soul,

¹² having your behaviour among the nations right, that in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, of the good works having beheld, they may glorify God in a day of inspection.

¹³ Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the Lord, whether to a king, as the highest,

¹⁴ whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good;

¹⁵ because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men;

¹⁶ as free, and not having the freedom as the cloak of the evil, but as servants of God;

¹⁷ to all give ye honour; the brotherhood love ye; God fear ye; the king honour ye.

¹⁸ The domestics! be subjecting yourselves in all fear to the masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the cross;

¹⁹ for this [is] gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;

²⁰ for what renown [is it], if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure [it]? but if, doing good and suffering [for it], ye do endure, this [is] gracious with God,

²¹ for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,

²² who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,

²³ who being reviled -- was not reviling again, suffering -- was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously,

²⁴ who our sins himself did bear in his body, upon the tree, that to the sins having died, to the righteousness we may live; by whose stripes ye were healed,

²⁵ for ye were as sheep going astray, but ye turned back now to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

4 And it is grievous unto Jonah -- a great evil -- and he is displeased at it;

² and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and he saith, `I pray Thee, O Jehovah, is not this my word while I was in mine own land -- therefore I was beforehand to flee to Tarshish -- that I have known that Thou [art] a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, and repenting of evil?

³ And now, O Jehovah, take, I pray Thee, my soul from me, for better [is] my death than my life.'

⁴ And Jehovah saith, `Is doing good displeasing to thee?'

⁵ And Jonah goeth forth from the city, and sitteth on the east of the city, and maketh to himself there a booth, and sitteth under it in the shade, till that he seeth what is in the city.

⁶ And Jehovah God appointeth a gourd, and causeth it to come up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head, to give deliverance to him from his affliction, and Jonah rejoiceth because of the gourd [with] great joy.

⁷ And God appointeth a worm at the going up of the dawn on the morrow, and it smiteth the gourd, and it drieth up.

⁸ And it cometh to pass, about the rising of the sun, that God appointeth a cutting east wind, and the sun smiteth on the head of Jonah, and he wrappeth himself up, and asketh his soul to die, and saith, `Better [is] my death than my life.'

⁹ And God saith unto Jonah: `Is doing good displeasing to thee, because of the gourd?' and he saith, `To do good is displeasing to me -- unto death.'

¹⁰ And Jehovah saith, `Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou didst not labour, neither didst thou nourish it, which a son of a night was, and a son of a night perished,

¹¹ and I -- have not I pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than twelve myriads of human beings, who have not known between their right hand and their left -- and much cattle!'

9 And having called together his twelve disciples, he gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure sicknesses,

² and he sent them to proclaim the reign of God, and to heal the ailing.

³ And he said unto them, `Take nothing for the way, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats each;

⁴ and into whatever house ye may enter, there remain, and thence depart;

⁵ and as many as may not receive you, going forth from that city, even the dust from your feet shake off, for a testimony against them.'

⁶ And going forth they were going through the several villages, proclaiming good news, and healing everywhere.

⁷ And Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things being done by him, and was perplexed, because it was said by certain, that John hath been raised out of the dead;

⁸ and by certain, that Elijah did appear, and by others, that a prophet, one of the ancients, was risen;

⁹ and Herod said, `John I did behead, but who is this concerning whom I hear such things?' and he was seeking to see him.

¹⁰ And the apostles having turned back, declared to him how great things they did, and having taken them, he withdrew by himself to a desert place of a city called Bethsaida,

¹¹ and the multitudes having known did follow him, and having received them, he was speaking to them concerning the reign of God, and those having need of service he cured.

¹² And the day began to decline, and the twelve having come near, said to him, `Let away the multitude, that having gone to the villages and the fields round about, they may lodge and may find provision, because here we are in a desert place.'

¹³ And he said unto them, `Give ye them to eat;' and they said, `We have no more than five loaves, and two fishes: except, having gone, we may buy for all this people victuals;'

¹⁴ for they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, `Cause them to recline in companies, in each fifty;'

¹⁵ and they did so, and made all to recline;

¹⁶ and having taken the five loaves, and the two fishes, having looked up to the heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and was giving to the disciples to set before the multitude;

¹⁷ and they did eat, and were all filled, and there was taken up what was over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets.

¹⁸ And it came to pass, as he is praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he questioned them, saying, `Who do the multitudes say me to be?'

¹⁹ And they answering said, `John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and others, that a prophet, one of the ancients, was risen;'

²⁰ and he said to them, `And ye -- who do ye say me to be?' and Peter answering said, `The Christ of God.'

²¹ And having charged them, he commanded [them] to say this to no one,

²² saying -- `It behoveth the Son of Man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and the third day to be raised.'

²³ And he said unto all, `If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me;

²⁴ for whoever may will to save his life, shall lose it, and whoever may lose his life for my sake, he shall save it;

²⁵ for what is a man profited, having gained the whole world, and having lost or having forfeited himself?

²⁶ `For whoever may be ashamed of me, and of my words, of this one shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he may come in his glory, and the Father's, and the holy messengers';

²⁷ and I say to you, truly, there are certain of those here standing, who shall not taste of death till they may see the reign of God.'

²⁸ And it came to pass, after these words, as it were eight days, that having taken Peter, and John, and James, he went up to the mountain to pray,

²⁹ and it came to pass, in his praying, the appearance of his face became altered, and his garment white -- sparkling.

³⁰ And lo, two men were speaking together with him, who were Moses and Elijah,

³¹ who having appeared in glory, spake of his outgoing that he was about to fulfil in Jerusalem,

³² but Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep, and having waked, they saw his glory, and the two men standing with him.

³³ And it came to pass, in their parting from him, Peter said unto Jesus, `Master, it is good to us to be here; and we may make three booths, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,' not knowing what he saith:

³⁴ and as he was speaking these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them, and they feared in their entering into the cloud,

³⁵ and a voice came out of the cloud saying, `This is My Son -- the Beloved; hear ye him;'

³⁶ and when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone; and they were silent, and declared to no one in those days anything of what they have seen.

³⁷ And it came to pass on the next day, they having come down from the mount, there met him a great multitude,

³⁸ and lo, a man from the multitude cried out, saying, `Teacher, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only begotten;

³⁹ and lo, a spirit doth take him, and suddenly he doth cry out, and it teareth him, with foaming, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him,

⁴⁰ and I besought thy disciples that they might cast it out, and they were not able.'

⁴¹ And Jesus answering said, `O generation, unstedfast and perverse, till when shall I be with you, and suffer you? bring near hither thy son;'

⁴² and as he is yet coming near, the demon rent him, and tore [him] sore, and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the youth, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God, and while all are wondering at all things that Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,

⁴⁴ `Lay ye to your ears these words, for the Son of Man is about to be delivered up to the hands of men.'

⁴⁵ And they were not knowing this saying, and it was veiled from them, that they might not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

⁴⁶ And there entered a reasoning among them, this, Who may be greater of them?

⁴⁷ and Jesus having seen the reasoning of their heart, having taken hold of a child, set him beside himself,

⁴⁸ and said to them, `Whoever may receive this child in my name, doth receive me, and whoever may receive me, doth receive Him who sent me, for he who is least among you all -- he shall be great.'

⁴⁹ And John answering said, `Master, we saw a certain one in thy name casting forth the demons, and we forbade him, because he doth not follow with us;'

⁵⁰ and Jesus said unto him, `Forbid not, for he who is not against us, is for us.'

⁵¹ And it came to pass, in the completing of the days of his being taken up, that he fixed his face to go on to Jerusalem,

⁵² and he sent messengers before his face, and having gone on, they went into a village of Samaritans, to make ready for him,

⁵³ and they did not receive him, because his face was going on to Jerusalem.

⁵⁴ And his disciples James and John having seen, said, `Sir, wilt thou [that] we may command fire to come down from the heaven, and to consume them, as also Elijah did?'

⁵⁵ and having turned, he rebuked them, and said, `Ye have not known of what spirit ye are;

⁵⁶ for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save;' and they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ And it came to pass, as they are going on in the way, a certain one said unto him, `I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go, sir;'

⁵⁸ and Jesus said to him, `The foxes have holes, and the fowls of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may recline the head.'

⁵⁹ And he said unto another, `Be following me;' and he said, `Sir, permit me, having gone away, first to bury my father;'

⁶⁰ and Jesus said to him, `Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, and thou, having gone away, publish the reign of God.'

⁶¹ And another also said, `I will follow thee, sir, but first permit me to take leave of those in my house;'

⁶² and Jesus said unto him, `No one having put his hand on a plough, and looking back, is fit for the reign of God.'