M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ishbosheth murdered
4 When Ishbosheth,[a] Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost his courage,[b] and all Israel was alarmed. 2 Saul’s son had two men who led the raiding parties—one was named Baanah and the other Rechab. Both were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth. (Beeroth was considered part of Benjamin. 3 The people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and even now live there as immigrants.)
4 Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a boy whose feet were crippled. He was only 5 years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and so his nurse snatched him up and fled. But as she hurried to get away, he fell and was injured. His name was Mephibosheth.[c]
5 Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, set out and reached Ishbosheth’s house at the heat of the day, right when he was lying down, taking an afternoon rest. 6 They went straight into his house, as if getting wheat,[d] and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. 7 They had entered the house while Ishbosheth was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed him and killed him, they cut off his head, took it, and traveled all night through the wilderness.
8 They brought Ishbosheth’s head to David at Hebron. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth,” they told the king, “the son of Saul your enemy, who wanted you dead. Today the Lord has avenged our master[e] the king on Saul and his descendants.”
9 David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has rescued me[f] from all kinds of trouble,” he told them, 10 “when someone told me Saul was dead back in Ziklag, thinking he was bringing good news, I grabbed him and killed him. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 What do you think I’ll do when evil people kill a righteous person in his own house on his own bed? Why shouldn’t I demand his blood from your hands and rid the earth of you both?”
12 So David gave the order to his servants, and they killed Rechab and Baanah, cutting off their hands and feet and hanging them up by the pool at Hebron. But they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in the grave of Abner at Hebron.
David becomes king of Israel and Judah
5 All the Israelite tribes came to David at Hebron and said, “Listen: We are your very own flesh and bone. 2 In the past, when Saul ruled over us, you were the one who led Israel out to war and back. What’s more, the Lord told you, You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be Israel’s leader.
3 So all the Israelite elders came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was 30 years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years. 5 He ruled over Judah for seven and a half years in Hebron. He ruled thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is captured
6 The king and his troops marched on Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who inhabited the territory. The Jebusites said to David, “You’ll never get us in here! Even the blind and the lame will beat you back!” “David will never enter here,” they said to each other.[g] 7 But David did capture the fortress of Zion—which became David’s City. 8 “On that day,” David said, “whoever attacks the Jebusites should strike the windpipe because David hates the lame and the blind.”[h] That is why people say, “The blind and the lame will not enter the temple.”[i] 9 David occupied the fortress, so it was renamed David’s City. David built a city around it from the earthen terraces[j] inward.[k] 10 David grew increasingly powerful, and the Lord of heavenly forces was with him.
11 Tyre’s King Hiram sent messengers to David with cedar logs, bricklayers, and carpenters to build David a palace. 12 Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingship was held in great honor for the sake of his people Israel. 13 After he left Hebron, David married more secondary wives in Jerusalem and fathered more sons and daughters. 14 The names of his children in Jerusalem were as follows: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
David defeats the Philistines
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all marched up to find him, but David heard of it and went down to the fortress. 18 The Philistines arrived and spread out over the Rephaim Valley. 19 David asked the Lord, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”
“Attack them,” the Lord replied, “because I will definitely hand the Philistines over to you.”
20 So David arrived at Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. He said, “The Lord has burst out against my enemies, the way water bursts out!” That is why that place is called Baal-perazim.[l] 21 The Philistines left their divine images behind, and David and his men carried them off.
22 Once again the Philistines came up and spread out across the Rephaim Valley. 23 When David asked the Lord, God replied, “Don’t attack them directly. Circle around behind them and come at them from in front of the balsam trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, then attack, for God has attacked in front of you to defeat the Philistine army.” 25 David followed God’s orders exactly, and they defeated the Philistine army from Gibeon all the way to Gezer.
The resurrection
15 Brothers and sisters, I want to call your attention to the good news that I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand. 2 You are being saved through it if you hold on to the message I preached to you, unless somehow you believed it for nothing. 3 I passed on to you as most important what I also received: Christ died for our sins in line with the scriptures, 4 he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the scriptures. 5 He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, 6 and then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once—most of them are still alive to this day, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me, as if I were born at the wrong time. 9 I’m the least important of the apostles. I don’t deserve to be called an apostle, because I harassed God’s church. 10 I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing. In fact, I have worked harder than all the others—that is, it wasn’t me but the grace of God that is with me. 11 So then, whether you heard the message from me or them, this is what we preach and this is what you have believed.
12 So if the message that is preached says that Christ has been raised from the dead, then how can some of you say, “There’s no resurrection of the dead”? 13 If there’s no resurrection of the dead, then Christ hasn’t been raised either. 14 If Christ hasn’t been raised, then our preaching is useless and your faith is useless. 15 We are found to be false witnesses about God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, when he didn’t raise him if it’s the case that the dead aren’t raised. 16 If the dead aren’t raised, then Christ hasn’t been raised either. 17 If Christ hasn’t been raised, then your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins, 18 and what’s more, those who have died in Christ are gone forever. 19 If we have a hope in Christ only in this life, then we deserve to be pitied more than anyone else.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s the first crop of the harvest[a] of those who have died. 21 Since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came through one too. 22 In the same way that everyone dies in Adam, so also everyone will be given life in Christ. 23 Each event will happen in the right order: Christ, the first crop of the harvest,[b] then those who belong to Christ at his coming, 24 and then the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every form of rule, every authority and power to an end. 25 It is necessary for him to rule until he puts all enemies under his feet.[c] 26 Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end, 27 since he has brought everything under control under his feet. When it says that everything has been brought under his control, this clearly means everything except for the one who placed everything under his control. 28 But when all things have been brought under his control, then the Son himself will also be under the control of the one who gave him control over everything so that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what are those who are getting baptized for the dead doing? If the dead aren’t raised, then why are they being baptized for them? 30 And what about us? Why are we in danger all day every day? 31 Brothers and sisters, I swear by the pride I have in you in Christ Jesus our Lord, I’m facing death every day. 32 From a human point of view, what good does it do me if I fought wild animals in Ephesus? If the dead aren’t raised, let’s eat and drink because tomorrow we’ll die.[d] 33 Don’t be deceived, bad company corrupts good character. 34 Sober up by acting like you should and don’t sin. Some of you are ignorant about God—I say this because you should be ashamed of yourselves!
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” 36 Look, fool! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t come back to life unless it dies. 37 What you put in the ground doesn’t have the shape that it will have, but it’s a bare grain of wheat or some other seed. 38 God gives it the sort of shape that he chooses, and he gives each of the seeds its own shape. 39 All flesh isn’t alike. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind of flesh, birds have another kind of flesh, and fish have another kind. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The heavenly bodies have one kind of glory, and the earthly bodies have another kind of glory. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, the moon has another kind of glory, and the stars have another kind of glory (but one star is different from another star in its glory). 42 It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead: a rotting body is put into the ground, but what is raised won’t ever decay. 43 It’s degraded when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in glory. It’s weak when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in power. 44 It’s a physical body when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised as a spiritual body.
If there’s a physical body, there’s also a spiritual body. 45 So it is also written, The first human, Adam, became a living person,[e] and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46 But the physical body comes first, not the spiritual one—the spiritual body comes afterward. 47 The first human was from the earth made from dust; the second human is from heaven. 48 The nature of the person made of dust is shared by people who are made of dust, and the nature of the heavenly person is shared by heavenly people. 49 We will look like[f] the heavenly person in the same way as we have looked like the person made from dust.
50 This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s kingdom. Something that rots can’t inherit something that doesn’t decay. 51 Listen, I’m telling you a secret: All of us won’t die, but we will all be changed— 52 in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the final trumpet. The trumpet will blast, and the dead will be raised with bodies that won’t decay, and we will be changed. 53 It’s necessary for this rotting body to be clothed with what can’t decay, and for the body that is dying to be clothed in what can’t die. 54 And when the rotting body has been clothed in what can’t decay, and the dying body has been clothed in what can’t die, then this statement in scripture will happen:
Death has been swallowed up by a victory.[g]
55 Where is your victory, Death?
Where is your sting, Death?[h]
(56 Death’s sting is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.) 57 Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 As a result of all this, my loved brothers and sisters, you must stand firm, unshakable, excelling in the work of the Lord as always, because you know that your labor isn’t going to be for nothing in the Lord.
Against the prophets
13 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, prophesy to Israel’s prophets who prophesy from their own imaginations. Say, Hear the Lord’s word! 3 The Lord God proclaims: Doom to the foolish prophets who follow their own whims but see nothing. 4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. 5 You haven’t gone up into the breach or reinforced the wall of the house of Israel, so that it might withstand the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They saw worthless visions and performed deceptive divinations. Even though the Lord didn’t send them, they said, “This is what the Lord says” and expected their word to stand. 7 Didn’t you see worthless visions? And didn’t you report deceptive divinations and say, “This is what the Lord says,” even though I didn’t speak?
8 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: Because you spoke worthless things and had false visions, I’m against you. This is what the Lord God says! 9 I’ll wield my power against the prophets, those seers of nothingness and diviners of lies. They won’t be included in my people’s council, or recorded in the house of Israel’s official records, or enter Israel’s fertile land. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 Without a doubt, they led my people astray, saying “Peace” when there was no peace, and “He is building a wall” when they were the ones who laid on the plaster. 11 Say to those who laid on the plaster that it will fall. When the flooding rains appear and I send hailstones, it will collapse, and the storm winds will break it apart. 12 The wall will certainly fall. Won’t it be said about you, “Where is your plaster now?”
13 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: In my fury I will make a storm wind break out, and in my anger there will be flooding rains and hailstones in consuming wrath. 14 I will tear down the wall on which you laid plaster. I will raze it to the ground and expose its foundation. When it falls, you will be destroyed with it, and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will exhaust my fury on the wall and on those who laid plaster on it. Then I will say to you, “Where is the wall?”[a] and “Where are those who plastered it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and envisioned peace when there was no peace?” This is what the Lord God says!
17 You, human one, face the daughters of your people, those women who prophesy from their imaginations. Prophesy against them 18 and say, The Lord God proclaims: Doom to the women who sew bands on every wrist and make veils for heads of all sizes to entrap human lives. Will you ensnare my people’s lives but preserve your own? 19 When you degrade me to my people for handfuls of barley and bread crumbs, you mislead my gullible people, and you bring about the death of those who shouldn’t die and keep alive those who shouldn’t live.
20 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: I’m against the bands that you use to trap human lives.[b] I will tear them from your arms, and I will set free the lives that you’ve trapped like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and snatch my people out of your clutches. They will be prey in your clutches no longer. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22 You hurt the righteous with slander—I didn’t wound them!—and you strengthened the hands of the wicked so that they survived without changing their evil ways! 23 Therefore, you will no longer see empty visions or perform divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and you will know that I am the Lord.
Psalm 52
For the music leader. A maskil[a] of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has gone to Ahimelech’s house.”
52 Hey, powerful person!
Why do you brag about evil?
God’s faithful love lasts all day long.
2 Your tongue devises destruction:
it’s like a sharpened razor, causing deception.
3 You love evil more than good;
you love lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all destructive words;
you love the deceiving tongue.
5 But God will take you down permanently;
he will snatch you up,
tear you out of your tent,
and uproot you from the land of the living! Selah
6 The righteous will see and be in awe;
they will laugh at those people:
7 “Look at them! They didn’t make God their refuge.
Instead, they trusted in their own great wealth.
They sought refuge in it—to their own destruction!”
8 But I am like a green olive tree in God’s house;
I trust in God’s faithful love forever and always.
9 I will give thanks to you, God, forever,
because you have acted.
In the presence of your faithful people,
I will hope in your name because it’s so good.
Psalm 53
For the music leader, according to the mahalath. A maskil[b] of David.
53 Fools say in their hearts, There’s no God.
They are corrupt and do horrible deeds;
not one of them does anything good.
2 God looks down from heaven on humans
to see if anyone is wise,
to see if anyone seeks God.
3 But all have turned away.
Everyone is corrupt.
No one does good—
not even one person!
4 Are they dumb—these evildoers—
devouring my people like they are eating bread
but never calling on God?
5 There, where there was nothing to fear,
they will be in utter panic
because God will scatter the bones
of those who attacked you.
You will put them to shame
because God has rejected them.
6 Let Israel’s salvation come out of Zion!
When God changes
his people’s circumstances for the better,
Jacob will rejoice;
Israel will celebrate!
Psalm 54
For the music leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil[c] of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Isn’t David hiding among us?”
54 God! Save me by your name;
defend me by your might!
2 God! Hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth!
3 The proud have come up against me;
violent people want me dead.
They pay no attention to God. Selah
4 But look here: God is my helper;
my Lord sustains my life.
5 He will bring disaster on my opponents.
By your faithfulness, God, destroy them!
6 I will sacrifice to you freely;
I will give thanks to your name, Lord,
because it’s so good,
7 and because God has delivered me
from every distress.
My eyes have seen my enemies’ defeat.[d]
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible