M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
8 Sometime later, David won a great victory over the Philistines, gaining superiority over them at Metheg-ammah. 2 He also defeated the army of Moab; and making the captured lie down, he determined that ⅔ of them would be put to death while ⅓ would be allowed to live. As a result, the Moabites became servants to David and paid tribute. 3 David also defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah in southern Aram, when Hadadezer went to restore territory all the way to the Euphrates River. 4 David captured from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 foot soldiers. He retained enough horses to drive 100 chariots and disabled the rest, cutting their leg tendons.
5 When the Arameans came from Damascus to fight alongside King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of their soldiers as well. 6 Then David set up outposts among the Arameans from Damascus, and they became servants of David and paid tribute. The Eternal helped David everywhere he went. 7 David brought the gold shields that had been carried by Hadadezer’s men back to Jerusalem; 8 and he plundered a vast quantity of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns, Betah and Berothai.
9 When King Toi of Hamath (in southern Aram) heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s army, 10 he sent his son Joram to greet King David and to congratulate him on his victories because Toi had also defeated Hadadezer. Joram brought as gifts items of silver, gold, and bronze; 11 David dedicated these to the Eternal, as he had all the silver and gold he had received from those nations he defeated: 12 Aram, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek, including the spoil from Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 David’s exploits improved his reputation. After his return, he went to war with the Edomites,[a] killing 18,000 in the valley of Salt. 14 David set up outposts throughout the land of Edom. All the Edomites became servants of David, and the Eternal One helped David wherever he went.
15 So David was king over a united Israel, ruling justly and fairly. 16 Joab, the son of David’s sister Zeruiah, was his general; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was his recorder; 17 Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, served as priests; Seraiah was his royal secretary; 18 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in charge of the Cherethites and the Pelethites, foreign mercenaries loyal to David; and some of David’s sons served as advisors in David’s kingdom.
9 David: Is anyone from Saul’s family still around that I could honor for the sake of my friend Jonathan?
2 One servant from Saul’s household, Ziba, was still alive, and they brought him to King David.
David: Are you Ziba?
Ziba: At your service, Majesty.
David: 3 Is anyone from Saul’s family still alive to whom I could show the kindness of God?
Ziba: Jonathan has a son who is still alive; he is crippled, unable to use his feet.
David: 4 Where is he?
Ziba: He lives with Machir, son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.
David still remembers his deepest friendship. The loss of Jonathan haunts David, and he desires to show honor to the family of God’s anointed, Saul. David promised his friend Jonathan that if he ever became king, he would treat Jonathan and his descendants with kindness. Their friendship was important to David; and although he thinks all of Saul’s family has been destroyed, he wants to find out if somewhere there might be a relative of Jonathan whom he may honor in gratitude for all Jonathan did for him.
5-6 David sent for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth and had him brought to Jerusalem from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. When he arrived, Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul, laid facedown on the floor and honored the king.
David: Mephibosheth!
Mephibosheth: At your service, my king.
David: 7 There’s no need to be frightened. I intend to treat you kindly for the sake of your father, Jonathan, who was my loyal friend. I will return to you all the territory that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always be welcome at my table.
8 Mephibosheth again prostrated himself before the king.
Mephibosheth: What am I to you that the king should look with favor on a dead dog like me? I am as one of your servants.
9 Then the king summoned Ziba, who had been Saul’s servant.
David: Everything that belonged to his grandfather Saul and his family I have returned to your master’s descendant. 10 You, your sons, and your servants will work on his farms and bring in his produce, so that he and his household will have food. But Mephibosheth will always eat at my table.
Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.
Ziba: 11 I am your servant, and you are my lord and king. Whatever you command I will do.
From then on, Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table as though he were one of David’s own sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son, Mica; and all who lived in the house of Ziba became Mephibosheth’s servants and worked for him. 13 Mephibosheth remained in Jerusalem, where he always ate at the king’s table. He was lame and could not walk on either foot.
The believers in Corinth are exhausting Paul and one another with their negativity and criticism. Nothing destroys the beauty of Christian community more aggressively than these kinds of patterns.
2 I finally determined that I would not come to you again for yet another agonizing visit. 2 If my visits create such pain and sorrow for you, who can cheer me up except for those I’ve caused such grief? 3 This is exactly what I was writing to you about earlier so that when we are face-to-face I will not have to wallow in sadness in the presence of friends who should bring me the utmost joy. For I felt sure that my delight would also become your delight. 4 My last letter to you was covered with tears, composed with great difficulty, and frankly, a broken heart. It wasn’t my intention to depress you or cause you pain; rather, I had hoped you would see it for what it was—a demonstration of the overwhelming love I have for all of you.
Interpersonal relationships are often filled with disagreements and tensions. It’s common to hear someone long for the “good old days” of the New Testament when things were simpler and people were holier. But Paul’s ministry proves the first-century churches were no different. They were just as full of fights, tensions, and power plays as modern churches are. We should seek to be loving but also firm when the situation demands it. We should be quick to offer forgiveness to and seek reconciliation with those who turn back from their divisive actions. That’s what Paul did.
5 But if anyone has caused harm, he has not so much harmed me as he has—and I don’t think I’m exaggerating here—harmed all of you. 6 In my view, the majority of you have punished him well enough. 7 So instead of continuing to ostracize him, I encourage you to offer him the grace of forgiveness and the comfort of your acceptance. Otherwise, if he finds no welcome back to the community, I’m afraid he will be overwhelmed with extreme sorrow and lose all hope. 8 So I urge you to demonstrate your love for him once again. 9 I wrote these things to you with a clear purpose in mind: to test whether you are willing to live and abide by all my counsel. 10 If you forgive anyone, I forgive that one as well. Have no doubt, anything that I have forgiven—when I do forgive—is done ultimately for you in the presence of the Anointed One. 11 It’s my duty to make sure that Satan does not win even a small victory over us, for we don’t want to be naïve and then fall prey to his schemes.
12 When I arrived at Troas, bringing the good news of the Anointed, the Lord opened a door there for me. 13 Yet my spirit was restless because I could not find my brother Titus. Eventually I told them good-bye and set out for Macedonia.
14 Yet I am so thankful to God, who always marches us to victory under the banner of the Anointed One; and through us He spreads the beautiful fragrance of His knowledge to every corner of the earth. 15 In a turbulent world where people are either dying or being rescued, we are the sweet smell of the Anointed to God our Father. 16 To those who are dying, they smell the stench of death in us. And to those being rescued, we are the unmistakable scent of life. Who is worthy of this calling? 17 For we are nothing like the others who sell the word of God like a commodity. Do not be mistaken; our words come from God with the utmost sincerity, always spoken through the Anointed in the presence of God.
16 The word of the Eternal came to me with a message for Jerusalem.
In Scripture marriage is often used to depict God’s covenant with His people. In this oracle God is described as Israel’s faithful husband, while Jerusalem is His faithless wife.
2 My Lord commanded me, the son of man, to confront Jerusalem, condemn her shocking actions, 3 and tell her what He says to Jerusalem.
Eternal One: You won’t be able to shake your pagan heritage. Your ancestors were Canaanites, and you were born among the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 When you were born, no one cut your umbilical cord. No one took care of you: you were not washed with water and purified, nor were you rubbed with salt and wrapped for warmth. 5 No one felt sorry for you or had compassion on you or did anything to help you. Instead, your parents abandoned you, tossed you out into an open field. For on the day you were born, people looked upon you with deep contempt.
6 Then I passed by and saw you squirming around in your blood. As you lay there in your own blood, I said to you, “Live!” Again, I insisted, “Live!” 7 And that’s exactly what you did. I helped you flourish like plants in the field. In time you grew, became a tall, beautiful young woman:[a] your breasts developed and your hair grew thick and long. But you were still naked and bare. 8 I passed by you again and saw you were old enough to love and to be loved, so I offered Myself to you in marriage. I wrapped my garment over you to cover your nakedness. Then I gave you My divine promise to always be your Beloved, and I entered the sacred covenant of marriage with you. I wed you, and you became Mine. 9 I bathed you with pure water and washed away the old blood from your skin, and then I anointed you with fragrant oils. 10 I dressed you in an embroidered gown and put the finest leather sandals on your feet. I gave you the most luxurious linens and exquisite garments. 11 I decorated you with the most expensive jewelry: bracelets for your wrists and a necklace for your neck, 12 a nose ring, costly earrings, and a stunning crown for your head. 13 I adorned you with everything a woman could wish for: gold and silver, the finest clothes of linen, silk, and embroidery. You dined on elegant meals made with fine flour, honey, and olive oil. You became a beautiful woman and carried yourself as a queen! 14 You became famous among the nations for your extraordinary beauty—beauty that flourished only because I lavished My splendor on you.
So said the Eternal Lord.
Eternal One: 15 But you trusted in your own beauty and used your fame to become a whore. You slept with every man who was simply passing by. 16 You made shrines for your idols out of the luxurious linens I gave to you and gave yourself to play the harlot there. Such things should never have happened and must not ever again. 17 Then you took all of the expensive gold and silver jewelry and precious stones I gave to you, and you created male images so that you could play the harlot with them! 18-19 You took the embroidered gown I gave you to clothe your male images. Then you took other gifts I had given to you—oil, incense, bread, fine flour, and honey—and you offered them all as a pleasing aroma to your idols. This is what happened, I, the Eternal Lord proclaim. 20 Then you took your sons and daughters—the ones you bore to Me—and slaughtered them, sacrificing your precious children to your idols to be consumed! Wasn’t your prostitution enough? 21 You killed My children and sacrificed them to breathless idols as burnt offerings! 22 Not once during all this prostitution and other shocking deeds did you remember your youth when I found you naked and bare, squirming in your own blood!
23 To top off all your wickedness—how bad it will be for you, I, the Eternal Lord, promise you— 24 you built yourselves sacred sites and put lofty shrines in every public square. 25 You put them on every street corner and degraded your priceless beauty, opening yourself up wide to every man who passed by to add yet another lover. 26 Then you started whoring with your well-endowed Egyptian neighbors, and I became more and more angry with your escalating promiscuity. 27 Finally, I reached out and struck you, decreasing your territory. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, to do with you as they pleased. Even they were embarrassed by your lascivious behavior! 28 You even started whoring it up with the Assyrians because your lust could not be satisfied. But even after you prostituted yourself, you still weren’t satisfied! 29 So you prostituted yourself to Chaldea, the land of merchants, but that still wasn’t enough to satisfy you.
30 How sick is your heart as you instigate all these vile perversions, the deeds of a brazen harlot? 31 When you built your shrines in every public square and constructed lofty shrines on every street corner, you were different from most prostitutes because you wouldn’t take money for your favors. 32 Adulterous wife! You would rather sleep with a stranger than your own husband! 33 Whores are glad to accept fees from their customers, but you are the one paying fees and giving gifts to bribe strangers to come to you. 34 So you are the perverse opposite of all other whores. No one solicits your services, and you pay instead of taking their money! This is why you are so different.
To understand the comparison of Jerusalem to a harlot, knowledge of the city’s political history in the eighth, seventh, and sixth centuries b.c. is helpful. Two political powers dominate Judah and much of the ancient Near East in this period: Egypt in the south and Assyria (which is later replaced by Babylonia) in the north and east. Jerusalem is caught between these empires—geographically, politically, and economically. Over the centuries, power in the region shifts back and forth, and Jerusalem aligns herself with whichever country offers the most protection. But this protection is not free; Jerusalem has to pay for it. In accepting foreign protection instead of trusting in God, Jerusalem prostitutes herself to the highest bidder, giving up everything that is valuable and sacred in exchange for eventual exile and slavery.
Eternal One: 35 Therefore, harlot, listen to My word! 36 Because you wasted the gifts I gave to you, spent your lust, and exposed your body in promiscuous acts with countless lovers; and because you devoted yourselves to despicable idols; and because you gave your children as burnt sacrifices to these breathless effigies, 37 I am going to round up all of your lovers—all those you have seduced into mutual pleasures, those you have loved and those you have hated. I will gather them from every corner of the earth and set them against you. I will strip you naked before the assembly of your lovers, and they will see every part of you exposed. 38 Then I will condemn you to the punishment of an adulterous or murderous woman! I will bring on you the blood of My fury and jealousy. 39 Then I will give you over to your lovers, and they will destroy your sacred sites and lofty shrines. They will rip off your fine garments and expensive jewelry, and they will leave you naked and bare, just as I found you when you were a baby. 40 They will bring an angry mob against you, and the mob will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses in a fiery blaze and punish you in the sight of many women! You will be ashamed. I will put an end to your perverted prostitution, and you will no longer bribe lovers to come to your bed! 42 Then My fury and jealousy will be satisfied, and I will be at peace and not angry with you any longer. 43 Because you failed to remember the days of your youth but instead you infuriated Me with countless perverted love affairs, I will pay you back for every ounce of indecency you instigated. I, the Eternal Lord, proclaim this.
Did you not add vulgar acts to your streak of shocking sins? 44 Everyone who likes to quote proverbs will certainly be quoting this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You truly are the daughter of your pagan mother, who loathed her husband and despised her children. You truly are a sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and despised their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister is Samaria, who lives to the north with her daughters. Your younger sister, Sodom, lives to the south with her daughters. 47 Not only did you imitate the ways and follow the shocking actions of your sisters, but soon you became even more corrupt than they ever were. 48 As surely as I live, your sister, Sodom, and her daughters never acted as badly as you and your daughters have acted. 49 This was the sin of your warped sister, Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, gluttonous, and lazy. She never gave help to the poor and needy. 50 They were prideful, and they did abhorrent things right in front of Me, shamelessly and without remorse! As you already know, I put an end to Sodom and her daughters when I saw their behavior. 51 And don’t forget Samaria! She didn’t sin half as much as you. You have committed far more shocking deeds than they ever did. With all the detestable things you have done, you make your sister seem righteous. 52 Face your humiliation; your sisters will fare better in judgment in light of your wickedness. Compared with your despicable deeds, they are more righteous than you. You should be ashamed of yourself! You have to live with your disgrace; for compared to you, your sisters seem righteous!
53 However, I am going to restore the fortunes of your sisters—Sodom and her daughters, Samaria and her daughters—and I’ll restore your fortunes too. 54 You still must live with your disgrace and bear the shame for what you have done, for your two sisters will be comforted in comparison with your wickedness. 55 You and your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all of your daughters will become again what you once were. 56 In the days when you were prideful, you looked down upon your sister, Sodom. You wouldn’t even say her name. 57 But that was before your evil was exposed! Now you are looked down upon by everyone! The daughters of Syria[b] and all of her neighbors and the daughters of Philistia despise you! 58 But you must live with the consequences of your indecent and shocking behavior. I, the Eternal Lord, proclaim this.
59 You will get what you deserve from Me because you have despised My oath and broken our sacred covenant. 60 But I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish with you a new covenant which will last forever! 61 Then you will remember your evil ways and be filled with remorse when you receive back your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of our covenant. 62 I will securely establish My covenant with you, and you will know I am the Eternal One. 63 You will remember your wretched past and shut your mouth because of the deep sense of shame within you when I forgive you for all the evil you have done. I, the Eternal Lord, proclaim this.
Psalm 58
For the worship leader. A prayer[a] of David to the tune “Do Not Destroy.”[b]
1 Can you, panel of judges, get anything right?
When you judge people, do you tell the truth and pursue justice?
2 No, your real selves have been revealed. You have wickedness in your heart,
and many people have suffered by your hands.
3 Evildoers are naturally offensive, wayward at birth!
They were born telling lies and willfully wandering from the truth.
4 Their bite is painful; their venom is like the deadly poison of a snake;
they are like a cobra that closes up its ears
5 To escape the voice of the charmers,
no matter how enchanting the spells may be.
6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths!
Render the young lions harmless; break out their fangs, O Eternal One.
7 Let them run off like the waters of a flood,
and though they aim their arrows, let them fly without their heads.
8 Let them melt like a snail that oozes along;
may they be like a stillborn that never catches its first breath, never sees the sun.
9 Before your cook pots know the furious flame of a fire of thorns—
whether green or burning—He will blow the wicked away.
10 Cheers will rise as the right-living watch Him settle the score,
their feet washed in the blood after the onslaught of the wicked.
11 And it will be heard, “Those who seek justice will be rewarded.
Indeed, there is a God who brings justice to the earth!”
Psalm 59
For the worship leader. A prayer[c] of David to the tune “Do Not Destroy,”[d] when Saul sent assassins to David’s house.
Psalm 59 was inspired by the time there was a plan to kill David that was thwarted by David’s wife, Michal, who was Saul’s own daughter. She warned her husband, lowered him out of a window, and then deceived her father’s officers into believing David was bedridden with illness (1 Samuel 19:11–17).
1 Rescue me! Save me, O my God, from my enemies;
set me in a safe place, far above any who come to attack me.
2 Rescue me from those malicious people,
and save me from blood-thirsty murderers.
3 They have staked out my life; they are going to ambush me!
Those brutes are aligned, ready to attack me
For no good cause, my Eternal One.
I have not crossed them.
4 I’ve done nothing wrong, yet they rush ahead to start the assault.
I beg You to help me; come and see for Yourself!
5 I plead with You, Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, True God of Israel,
to get up and punish these people;
do not let any betrayer off the hook; show no mercy to malicious evildoers!
[pause][e]
6 Treacherous souls return to the city in the evening;
they prowl about,
howling like dogs.
7 Watch them! Snarling, dribbling their malicious insults.
Their words cut loose from their lips like swords,
and in their backstabbing they say, “Who’s listening anyway?”
8 But You, O Eternal One, laugh at them;
You make fun of all the nations.
9 I will watch for You, for You keep me strong.
God, You are my security!
10 My God is one step ahead of me with His mercy;
He will show me the victory I desire over my enemies.
11 Don’t wipe them out, or my people may one day forget.
Instead, use Your power to scatter and bring them to ruin.
O Lord, You are our protection.
12 Sin pours from their mouths, cruel words from their lips.
May they be caught in their pride.
For their foul curses and lies,
13 devour them with Your wrath,
eat them up, leave no one alive.
Then people will surely know that the one True God rules over Jacob,
even to the far ends of the earth.
[pause]
14 Treacherous souls return to the city in the evening;
they prowl about,
howling like dogs.
15 They search through the city, scavenging for meat
as they growl and grumble in dissatisfaction.
16 But me? I will sing of Your strength.
I will awake with the sun to sing of Your loving mercy
Because in my most troubled hour,
You defended me. You were my shelter.
17 I will lift my voice to sing Your praise, O my Strength—
for You came to my defense.
O God, You have shown me Your loving mercy.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.