M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

3 Then Solomon made a marriage agreement with Pharaoh the king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David. She stayed there until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² The people were still giving their different gifts on altars, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

³ Now Solomon loved the Lord. He walked in the Laws of his father David. But he gave gifts and burned special perfume on different altars. ⁴ The king went to give a gift on the altar in worship at Gibeon, for that was where the most important altar was. Solomon gave a thousand burnt gifts on that altar. ⁵ The Lord came to Solomon in a special dream in Gibeon during the night. God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.” ⁶ Then Solomon said, “You have shown great loving-kindness to Your servant David my father because he was faithful and right and good and pure in heart before You. And You have kept for him this great and lasting love. You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. ⁷ Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child. I do not know how to start or finish. ⁸ Your servant is among Your people which You have chosen. They are many people. There are too many people to number. ⁹ So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and know the difference between good and bad. For who is able to judge Your many people?”

¹⁰ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹ God said to him, “You have asked this, and have not asked for a long life for yourself. You have not asked for riches, or for the life of those who hate you. But you have asked for understanding to know what is right. Because you have asked this, ¹² I have done what you said. See, I have given you a wise and understanding heart. No one has been like you before, and there will be no one like you in the future. ¹³ I give you what you have not asked, also. I give you both riches and honor. So there will be no king like you all your days. ¹⁴ And if you walk in My ways and keep My Laws and Word as your father David did, I will allow you to live a long time.”

¹⁵ Solomon awoke, and saw it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem and stood before the Lord’s special box of the agreement. There he gave burnt gifts and peace gifts, and made a special supper for all his servants.

Solomon’s Wisdom

¹⁶ Then two women who sold the use of their bodies came to the king and stood in front of him. ¹⁷ One of the women said, “O my lord, this woman and I live in the same house. And I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. ¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, this woman gave birth to a child also. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house. There were only the two of us. ¹⁹ This woman’s son died during the night, because she lay on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and her dead son in my arms. ²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I came nearer and looked, I saw that he was not my son who was born to me.” ²² Then the other woman said, “No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman said, “No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son.” They spoke this way in front of the king.

²³ Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one.’ The other says, ‘No! Your son is the dead one. My son is the living one.’” ²⁴ And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king. ²⁵ And the king said, “Divide the living child in two. Give half to the one woman and half to the other.” ²⁶ Then the mother of the living child had much pity for her son and said to the king, “O, my lord, give her the living child. Do not kill him.” But the other woman said, “He will not be mine or yours. Divide him.” ²⁷ Then the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child. Do not kill him. She is his mother.” ²⁸ When all Israel heard how the king had decided, they were afraid of him. For they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do what is right and fair.

1 This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary for Jesus Christ. God wanted me to work for Him. This letter is to those who belong to Christ in the city of Ephesus and to you who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. ² May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Let us honor and thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has already given us a taste of what heaven is like. ⁴ Even before the world was made, God chose us for Himself because of His love. He planned that we should be holy and without blame as He sees us. ⁵ God already planned to have us as His own children. This was done by Jesus Christ. In His plan God wanted this done.

⁶ We thank God for His loving-favor to us. He gave this loving-favor to us through His much-loved Son. ⁷ Because of the blood of Christ, we are bought and made free from the punishment of sin. And because of His blood, our sins are forgiven. His loving-favor to us is so rich. ⁸ He was so willing to give all of this to us. He did this with wisdom and understanding. ⁹ God told us the secret of what He wanted to do. It is this: In loving thought He planned long ago to send Christ into the world. ¹⁰ The plan was for Christ to gather us all together at the right time. If we are in heaven or still on earth, He will bring us together and will be head over all.

¹¹ We were already chosen to be God’s own children by Christ. This was done just like the plan He had. ¹² We who were the first to put our trust in Christ should thank Him for His greatness. ¹³ The truth is the Good News. When you heard the truth, you put your trust in Christ. Then God marked you by giving you His Holy Spirit as a promise. ¹⁴ The Holy Spirit was given to us as a promise that we will receive everything God has for us. God’s Spirit will be with us until God finishes His work of making us complete. God does this to show His shining-greatness.

Paul’s Prayer for the Christians in Ephesus

¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all Christians. ¹⁶ Since then, I always give thanks for you and pray for you. ¹⁷ I pray that the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you the wisdom of His Spirit. Then you will be able to understand the secrets about Him as you know Him better. ¹⁸ I pray that your hearts will be able to understand. I pray that you will know about the hope given by God’s call. I pray that you will see how great the things are that He has promised to those who belong to Him. ¹⁹ I pray that you will know how great His power is for those who have put their trust in Him. ²⁰ It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. This same power put Christ at God’s right side in heaven. ²¹ This place was given to Christ. It is much greater than any king or leader can have. No one else can have this place of honor and power. No one in this world or in the world to come can have such honor and power. ²² God has put all things under Christ’s power and has made Him to be the head leader over all things of the church. ²³ The church is the body of Christ. It is filled by Him Who fills all things everywhere with Himself.

The Shepherds of Israel

34 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, “It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock. ⁴ You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity. ⁵ They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field. ⁶ My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them.”’”

⁷ So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “My flock has been killed and become food for wild animals because they had no shepherd. My shepherds did not look for My flock. They fed themselves, but have not fed My flock.” ⁹ So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. ¹⁰ The Lord God says, “I am against the shepherds, and I will ask them for My sheep. I will stop them from feeding the sheep, so they will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will save my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.”

The Good Shepherd

¹¹ For the Lord God says, “I Myself will look for My sheep and find them. ¹² As a shepherd looks for his sheep when they are not together, so I will look for My sheep. And I will save them from all the places where they were spread out on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good field. The ground they eat upon will be on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good field and feed on good grass on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My sheep, and give them rest,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will look for the lost, bring back those that have gone away, help those who have been hurt, and give strength to the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with punishment.

¹⁷ “As for you, My flock, the Lord God says, ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to eat in the good field? Must you crush under foot the rest of your fields? Is it not enough for you to drink of the clear waters? Must your feet fill the rest with mud? ¹⁹ Must My flock eat what you have crushed with your feet, and drink what you have made dirty with your feet?’”

²⁰ So the Lord God says to them, “I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the weak sheep. ²¹ Because you push with your side and shoulder and run against all the weak with your horns until you have driven them away, ²² I will save My flock. They will no longer be hurt. And I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be their leader. I, the Lord, have spoken.

²⁵ “I will make a peace agreement with them and take away wild animals from the land. Then they will be safe as they live in the desert and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will bring good to them and to the places around My hill. I will give them rain when they need it. Good will rain down upon them. ²⁷ The trees of the field will give their fruit and the earth will give its food. They will be safe in their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the load from their backs and have saved them from those who made servants of them. ²⁸ They will no longer be under the power of the nations. And the wild animals of the earth will not eat them. But they will be safe, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will give them a land well known for its fields of food. They will never suffer with hunger again, and will no longer be put to shame by the nations. ³⁰ Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God. ³¹ “You, My sheep, the sheep of My field, are people, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

A Prayer for Israel

83 O God, do not keep quiet. Do not be quiet, O God, and do not hold Your peace. ² For, look, those who hate You are making much noise. Those who fight against You have honored themselves. ³ They make bad plans against Your people. They plan against those You care for. ⁴ They say, “Come, let us destroy them as a nation. Let the name of Israel be remembered no longer.” ⁵ For they plan together with one mind. They make an agreement against You: ⁶ The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarites; ⁷ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with those who live in Tyre; ⁸ Assyria has joined them also. They help the children of Lot.

⁹ Do to them as You did to Midian, and to Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon. ¹⁰ They were destroyed at Endor. They were spread over the field. ¹¹ Make their respected men like Oreb and Zeeb. Make their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, ¹² who said, “Let us take for ourselves the fields of God.”

¹³ O my God, make them like dust turning in the wind, like parts of the grass that have no worth and are blown away. ¹⁴ As the fire that burns up the trees and spreads over the mountains, ¹⁵ so go behind them with Your storm. Make them afraid with Your storm. ¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame, so they will look to Your name, O Lord. ¹⁷ Let them be ashamed and afraid forever. Let them be put to shame and lost. ¹⁸ Then they may know that You alone, Whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.

A Desire for God’s House

84 How beautiful are the places where You live, O Lord of all! ² My soul wants and even becomes weak from wanting to be in the house of the Lord. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. ³ Even the bird has found a home. The swallow has found a nest for herself where she may lay her young at Your altars, O Lord of all, my King and my God. ⁴ How happy are those who live in Your house! They are always giving thanks to You.

⁵ How happy is the man whose strength is in You and in whose heart are the roads to Zion! ⁶ As they pass through the dry valley of Baca, they make it a place of good water. The early rain fills the pools with good also. ⁷ They go from strength to strength. Every one of them stands before God in Zion.

⁸ O Lord God of all, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. ⁹ Look upon our safe-covering, O God. And look upon the face of Your chosen one. ¹⁰ For a day in Your house is better than a thousand outside. I would rather be the one who opens the door of the house of my God, than to live in the tents of the sinful. ¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and a safe-covering. The Lord gives favor and honor. He holds back nothing good from those who walk in the way that is right. ¹² O Lord of all, how happy is the man who trusts in You!