M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 14
1 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, ascertained that the king, in his heart, longed for Absalom, 2 so he sent to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her: “Pretend to be a mourner. Dress yourself in mourning garments and do not anoint yourself with oil. Simply pretend to be a woman who has been grieving for the dead for many days. 3 Then go to the king and speak to him as I instruct you.” After that, Joab told her what she was to say.
4 When the woman of Tekoa approached the king, she fell prostrate to the ground in homage and said: “Please help me, O king.” 5 The king asked: “What can I do for you?” She replied: “As you can see I am a widow. My husband is dead. 6 Your servant had two sons, and they fought with one another in the field. There was no one around to separate them, and one of them struck the other and killed him.
7 “Now the entire family has risen against your servant and demanded: ‘Give up the man who killed his brother, so that we can put him to death to atone for the life of the brother whom he killed. Thus we shall get rid of the heir as well.’ Should they do this, they will extinguish my one remaining ember and leave my husband neither name nor posterity on the face of the earth.” 8 The king said to the woman: “Return home. I myself shall issue orders on your behalf.”
9 Then the woman of Tekoa said to the king: “My lord, let the guilt be on me and on my father’s house. The king and his throne will be without guilt.” 10 The king replied: “If anyone says something further that is threatening to you, have him brought to me, and he will never trouble you again.” 11 [a]Then she said: “May the king keep the Lord, your God, in mind so that the avenger of blood will be prevented from killing any further and my son will not be destroyed.” The king swore: “As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
12 The woman continued further; “Please permit your servant to speak a further word to my lord the king.” He replied: “Speak.” 13 She said: “In pronouncing this verdict, has not the king condemned himself by devising something like this against the people of God, since you have refused to bring back your banished son? 14 We all must die. We are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. However, God does not take away a life. Rather, he devises ways that will enable us to avoid being estranged forever from him.
15 “I have dared to speak in this way to your majesty because the people have intimidated me. I thought: ‘Perhaps if I can speak to the king, he will grant the request of his servant. 16 He will surely listen to me and deliver his servant from the hands of those who seek to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’ 17 And I further thought: ‘Perhaps the word of my lord the king will restore my peace of mind, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning between good and evil.’ May the Lord, your God, be with you.”
18 Then in reply the king said to the woman: “Do not be evasive in replying to the question I will now ask you.” The woman answered: “Let my lord the king present his question.” 19 Then the king asked: “Is not the hand of Joab behind you in all this?” The woman asserted: “As you live, my lord the king, no one can avoid being completely truthful in responding to what you ask. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me and taught your servant all the things she was to say. 20 Your servant Joab did this to present the situation in a different light. But my lord has the wisdom of an angel of God and is fully aware of everything that happens in the land.”
21 Absalom’s Return. Then the king said to Joab: “Very well. I grant this request. Go forth and bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 Then Joab fell prostrate to the ground in homage and blessed the king, saying: “My lord the king, today your servant knows that I have found favor with you, since the king has granted his servant’s request.”
23 Then Joab set out immediately for Geshur and brought back Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said: “Let him go to his own house. He shall not come into my presence.” Therefore, Absalom went to his own house and was not received by the king.
25 In all Israel there was no one who was so highly praised for his beauty as Absalom, who did not have a single blemish from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. 26 When he would cut the hair of his head—something he used to do at the close of every year because his hair became too heavy for him—the hair weighed two hundred shekels according to the royal standard. 27 To Absalom three sons were born, and also one daughter whose name was Tamar and who was truly beautiful.[b]
28 Absalom Is Pardoned. Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without coming into the king’s presence. 29 Then Absalom summoned Joab, wishing to send him with a message to the king, but Joab refused to come. He then sent for him a second time, but Joab still refused to come. 30 Then Absalom instructed his servants: “Joab’s field adjoins mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” Therefore, Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab went to Absalom’s house and asked him: “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 Absalom replied: “I sent word to you to come here so that I could send you to the king to give him this message from me: ‘Why did you summon me to come back from Geshur. I believe that I would be better off if I were still there. Let me now appear before the king. If I am guilty of anything, let him kill me.’ ”
33 Joab then went before the king and reported this to him. Thereupon the king summoned Absalom, who came and prostrated himself before him, with his face to the ground. Then the king welcomed Absalom with a kiss.
Chapter 7
1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from anything that can defile flesh or spirit, and thereby make our holiness perfect in the fear of God.
Trust Reestablished. 2 Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I have already told you that your place in our hearts is secure, so that we will live together and we will die together. 4 I have great confidence in you, and I boast about you with intense pride. Despite all of our afflictions, I am greatly encouraged and overflowing with joy.
5 [a]Even when we arrived in Macedonia, we were unable to rest our bodies, for we were afflicted in every way: conflicts on the outside and fears on the inside. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus— 7 and not merely by his arrival but also by the encouragement he received from you. He told us of your longing for me, your deep regrets, and your zeal for me, all of which cause me even greater joy.
8 Even if I did cause you sorrow with my letter, I do not regret it. I did regret this letter briefly, but, having come to realize that you were sorrowful only for a short time, 9 I now am able to rejoice, not because you were grieved but because your sorrow led to repentance. For you were sorrowful in a godly way and so received no harm because of us. 10 Such godly sorrow results in repentance that leads to salvation and causes no regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death.
11 For see what earnestness this godly sorrow has produced for you, what eagerness to repent, what indignation, what fear, what yearning, what zeal, what desire to see justice done. In every way, you have proved your innocence in this matter.
12 Therefore, even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who committed the offense or on account of the one who was wronged, but rather that you should be fully aware of your zeal for us in the sight of God. 13 In this we have been greatly encouraged.
In addition to being encouraged ourselves, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his mind has been completely refreshed by all of you. 14 Anything I may have said to him in boasting about you has not caused me to feel ashamed. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved equally true. 15 And his affection for you grows even more as he recalls the obedience of all of you and how you welcomed him in fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice because I can rely completely on you.
Chapter 21[a]
The Unsheathed Sword. 1 Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me: 2 Son of man, turn your face in the direction of Jerusalem; preach against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel. 3 Say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am coming against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the upright and the wicked.
4 Because I will cut off from you both the upright and the wicked, my sword shall be unsheathed against everyone from south to north, 5 and all people will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its sheath, and it will never again be sheathed.
Symbols of the City’s Fall. 6 As for you, son of man, groan. With a breaking heart grieve bitterly as they look on. 7 And when they ask you why you are groaning, you shall reply: Because of the news that is about to come. Every heart will melt and every hand will become feeble; every spirit will grow faint and all knees will turn to water. Behold, it is coming now. It will surely take place, says the Lord God.
Song of the Sword. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Prophesy, son of man, and say: Thus says the Lord:
A sword, a sword has been sharpened;
it has also been burnished.
10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
burnished to flash like lightning.
11 The sword has been polished to be wielded
and to be placed in the slayer’s hand.
12 Cry out and wail, son of man,
for it will be wielded against my people.
All of Israel’s princes
will fall by the sword.
And so slap your thigh, my people,
13 for the sword has been tested.
And why should it not be so,
says the Lord God,
since you have spurned the rod?
14 As for you, son of man, prophesy,
and strike your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice,
even three times.
It is a sword for killing,
a sword for great slaughter,
that threatens their enemies on every side.
15 Therefore, make their hearts melt
and cause many to fall.
I have posted at the gates
the sword for slaughter.
The great sword of slaughter
will flash like lightning.
16 Be prepared on the right,
be ready on the left—
wherever your sword is needed.
17 I, too, will strike my hands together
and satisfy my fury.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
18 The King of Babylon at the Crossroads. The following word of the Lord was addressed to me: 19 Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take. Both roads shall begin from the same land. Then put up a signpost for the place where the roads diverge. 20 Indicate the route which the sword should take for Rabbah of the Ammonites, and the one for Judah and the fortress of Jerusalem.
21 For the king of Babylon will stand at the fork where the two roads divide to seek an omen. He will shake the arrows, consult the household gods, and inspect the liver. 22 Into his right hand the arrow marked Jerusalem will fall. Here, then, he will issue the command for slaughter, sound the battle cry, post battering rams at the gates, cast up siege-ramps, and build siege-towers. 23 The inhabitants who have sworn allegiance[b] to him will believe that this is a false omen, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
24 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because your open rebellion has caused us to remember your guilt, in that you have paraded your misdeeds and flaunted your sins in all your deeds, you shall be taken into captivity.
25 As for you,
O vile and wicked ruler of Israel,
the day of your doom is approaching,
the time of your final punishment.
26 Thus says the Lord:
Remove your diadem; take off your crown;
everything is destined to be changed.
The lowly will be exalted
and the exalted will be brought low.
27 A ruin! A ruin!
I will make it all a ruin
until the rightful ruler comes.
28 The Ammonites’ Punishment. As for you, son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord in regard to the Ammonites and their insults:
A sword, a sword, drawn for slaughter,
burnished to consume and to flash like lightning.
29 In spite of false visions about you
as well as lying divinations,
that sword will be laid on the necks
of the wicked who are to be slain—
those whose day has come,
the hour of final punishment.
30 Return it to its sheath.
I will judge you
in the place where you were created,
in the land of your origin.
31 I will pour forth my wrath upon you
with the fire of my blazing anger.
I will hand you over to barbarous men
who are skilled in the art of destruction.
32 You will serve as fuel for the fire,
and your blood shall flow throughout the land.
You shall remember no more,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.
Psalm 68[a]
Song of Victory
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David. A song.
2 [c]May God rise up, and his enemies be scattered;
may his foes flee before him.
3 As smoke is blown away in the wind,
so will they be blown away.
As wax melts away before a flame,
so will the wicked perish before God.
4 But those who are righteous will rejoice;
they will exult before God,
crying out with great delight.
5 [d]Sing to God, sing praise to his name;[e]
exalt him who rides upon the clouds.
Rejoice in the presence of this God
whose name is the Lord.
6 [f]The Father of orphans and the defender of widows:
such is God in his holy dwelling place.
7 He gives a home to those who are forsaken
and leads out prisoners amid chants of exultation,
while rebels are forced to live in an arid land.
8 [g]O God, when you set out at the head of your people,
when you went marching through the wilderness, Selah
9 the earth quaked,[h]
and rain poured down from the heavens,
at the presence of God, the One of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
10 [i]You poured down rain in abundance, O God,
and revived your exhausted inheritance.
11 It was there that your people settled;
and in your great goodness, O God,
you provided for those who were needy.
12 [j]The Lord issues the word,[k]
and a vast army proclaims good tidings:
13 “Kings and their armies are beating a hasty retreat;
even those who remained in camp are dividing up the spoils.
14 “While you linger by the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove are covered[l] with silver,
its feathers brilliant with shining gold.”
15 When the Almighty[m] routed the kings there,
it was like snow fallen upon Zalmon.
16 [n]The mountains of Bashan are God’s mountains;
the mountains of Bashan are mighty peaks.
17 Why, O rugged mountains, do you gaze enviously
at the mountain[o] that God has chosen as his abode,
where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
18 The chariots of God[p] are myriad,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord has come down from Sinai
and entered into the holy place.
19 You ascended on high,
leading captives in your train;
you accepted slaves as tribute,
so that even rebels might dwell with the Lord God.[q]
20 [r]Blessed be the Lord, day after day,
the God of our salvation, who carries our burden. Selah
21 Our God is a God who saves;
the Lord God delivers from death.[s]
22 God himself will smite the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who persist in their sins.
23 The Lord has said:
“I will bring them back even from Bashan,
I will bring them back even from the depths of the sea,[t]
24 so that you may bathe your feet in the blood of your foes
and the tongues of your dogs may have their share.”[u]
25 [v]Your procession, O God, comes into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
26 The singers enter first,
with musicians trailing behind them,
while in their midst are the maidens playing tambourines.[w]
27 Bless God in the assembly;
the Lord, the source of Israel.
28 In the lead is Benjamin, the smallest in number,
with the princes of Judah in a council,
as well as the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali.
29 [x]Marshal your power once again, O God,
the power of God that you have often wielded for us.
30 For to your temple in Jerusalem
kings will come to you bearing gifts.[y]
31 Rebuke those wild beasts of the reeds,[z]
the herd of mighty bulls, the calves of nations,
who bring bars of silver and prostrate themselves;
rout the nations that delight in war.
32 Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God.[aa]
33 [ab]Sing to God, all you kingdoms of the earth;
sing the praises of the Lord, Selah
34 who rides the ancient heavens above[ac]
and speaks with his voice of thunder.
35 Acknowledge the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel
and whose power is in the skies.
36 Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel, who gives power and strength to his people.[ad]
Blessed be God!
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