M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon’s administration
4 King Solomon became king of all Israel.
2 These were his officials: the priest Azariah, Zadok’s son; 3 the scribes Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha; Jehoshaphat, the recorder, Ahilud’s son; 4 the general Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son; the priests Zadok and Abiathar; 5 Azariah, Nathan’s son, who was in charge of the officials; Zabud, Nathan’s son, a priest and royal friend; 6 Ahishar, who was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram, Abda’s son, who was supervisor of the work gangs.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel. They supplied the king and his palace with food. Each would provide the supplies for one month per year. 8 Here are their names:
Ben-hur in the highlands of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan;
10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth, who had Socoh and all the land of Hepher;
11 Ben-abinadab in all of Naphath-dor (Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, was his wife);
12 Baana, Ahilud’s son, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean beside Zarethan and below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and over to the region opposite Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead, who controlled the villages of Jair, Manasseh’s son, which were in Gilead, and who had the Argob region that was in Bashan—sixty large walled cities with bronze bars;
14 Ahinadab, Iddo’s son, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali, who also took Solomon’s daughter Basemath as his wife;
16 Baana, Hushai’s son, in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat, Paruah’s son, in
Issachar;
18 Shimei, Ela’s son, in Benjamin;
19 Geber, Uri’s son, in the land of Gilead, the land of the Amorite king Sihon and of King Og of Bashan;
and there was a single officer who was in the land of Judah.[a]
20 Judah and Israel grew numerous like the sand alongside the sea. They ate, drank, and celebrated.
21 [b] Solomon ruled over all the states from the Euphrates River through the Philistines’ land and as far as the border of Egypt. These areas brought tribute to Solomon and served him all the days of his life. 22 Solomon’s food requirements for a single day included thirty kors[c] of refined flour; sixty kors of flour; 23 ten head of grain-fattened cattle; twenty head of pastured cattle; one hundred sheep; as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and the best of fowl. 24 He ruled over all the lands west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all sides. 25 The people of Judah and Israel from Dan all the way to Beer-sheba lived securely under their vines and fig trees throughout the days of Solomon.
26 Solomon had forty thousand horse stalls for his chariots and twelve thousand additional horses. 27 The officials provided King Solomon and all who joined him at the royal table with monthly food rations. They left out nothing. 28 Each brought their share of barley and straw for the horses and for the chariot horses, bringing it to its proper place. 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding—insight as long as the seashore itself. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than all the famous Easterners, greater even than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone, more wise than Ethan the Ezrahite or Mahol’s sons: Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His reputation was known throughout the region. 32 Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs and one thousand five songs. 33 He described the botany of trees, whether the cedar in Lebanon or the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He also described cattle, birds, anything that crawls on the ground, and fish. 34 People came from everywhere to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; even the earth’s kings who had heard about his wisdom came!
Wood and stone for the temple
5 [d] Because King Hiram[e] of Tyre was loyal to David throughout his rule, Hiram sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had become king after his father. 2 Solomon sent the following message to Hiram: 3 “You know that my father David wasn’t able to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God. This was because of the enemies that fought him on all sides until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 Now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side, without enemies or misfortune. 5 So I’m planning to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord indicated to my father David, ‘I will give you a son to follow you on your throne. He will build the temple for my name.’ 6 Now give the order and have the cedars of Lebanon cut down for me. My servants will work with your servants. I’ll pay your servants whatever price you set, because you know we have no one here who is skilled in cutting wood like the Sidonians.”
7 Hiram was thrilled when he heard Solomon’s message. He said, “Today the Lord is blessed because he has given David a wise son who is in charge of this great people.” 8 Hiram sent word back to Solomon: “I have heard your message to me. I will do as you wish with the cedar and pinewood. 9 My servants will bring the wood down the Lebanon Mountains to the sea. I’ll make rafts out of them and float them on the sea to the place you specify. There I’ll dismantle them, and you can carry them away. Now, as for what you must do for me in return, I ask you to provide for my royal house.”
10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pinewood that he wanted. 11 In return, Solomon gave an annual gift to Hiram of twenty thousand kors[f] of wheat to eat, and twenty thousand kors of pure oil for his palace use. 12 Now the Lord made Solomon wise, just as he had promised. Solomon and Hiram made a covenant and had peace.
13 King Solomon called up a work gang of thirty thousand workers from all over Israel. 14 He sent ten thousand to work in Lebanon each month. Then they would spend two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the work gang. 15 Solomon had 70,000 laborers and 80,000 stonecutters in the highlands. 16 This doesn’t include Solomon’s 3,300 supervisors in charge of the work, who had oversight over the laborers. 17 At the king’s command, they quarried huge stones of the finest quality in order to lay the temple’s foundation with carefully cut stone. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram, along with those of Byblos, prepared the timber and the stones for the construction of the temple.
Saved from sin to life
2 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. 2 You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. 3 At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else.
4-5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! 6 And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. 7 God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.
8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith.[a] This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.
The reconciliation of God’s people
11 So remember that once you were Gentiles by physical descent, who were called “uncircumcised” by Jews who are physically circumcised. 12 At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God. 13 But now, thanks to Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. 15 He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. 16 He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God.
17 When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. 18 We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit. 19 So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household. 20 As God’s household, you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 The whole building is joined together in him, and it grows up into a temple that is dedicated to the Lord. 22 Christ is building you into a place where God lives through the Spirit.
Against Edom
35 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, face Mount Seir, and prophesy against it. 3 Say to it, The Lord God proclaims:
I’m against you, Mount Seir!
I will use my power against you.
I will make you into a desolate wasteland,
4 I will turn your cities into ruins,
and you will become a desolation.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 Because you nursed an ancient grudge, you handed the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their distress, during their final punishment. 6 So now the Lord God proclaims: As surely as I live, I will prepare you for blood, and blood will pursue you. Because you don’t hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate wasteland, when I cut off from it both passerby and homecomer. 8 I will fill its highlands—your hills and your valleys, and all your ravines—with its slain. Those who are slain by the sword will fall on them. 9 I will turn you into an eternal desolation. Your cities won’t be inhabited, and you will know that I am the Lord.
10 You said, “These two nations and these two territories are mine. We will take possession of them even if the Lord is there.” 11 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: As surely as I live, I will act according to the anger and zeal you displayed when you dealt with them so hatefully. When I judge you, I will make myself known to them, 12 and you will know that I am the Lord. I’ve heard the lies and libels that you uttered against Israel’s highlands when you said, “They are laid waste. They’ve been given to us to consume.” 13 With your mouths you exalted yourselves against me and spoke your words against me. I myself heard it!
14 The Lord God proclaims: As the whole world rejoices, I will turn you into a desolation. 15 Just as you rejoiced over the house of Israel’s inheritance because it became desolate, so I will deal with you. Mount Seir, you will become a desolation, with all of Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Psalm 85
For the music leader. Of the Korahites. A psalm.
85 Lord, you’ve been kind to your land;
you’ve changed Jacob’s circumstances for the better.
2 You’ve forgiven your people’s wrongdoing;
you’ve covered all their sins. Selah
3 You’ve stopped being furious;
you’ve turned away from your burning anger.
4 You, the God who can save us, restore us!
Stop being angry with us!
5 Will you be mad at us forever?
Will you prolong your anger from one generation to the next?
6 Won’t you bring us back to life again
so that your people can rejoice in you?
7 Show us your faithful love, Lord!
Give us your salvation!
8 Let me hear what the Lord God says,
because he speaks peace to his people and to his faithful ones.
Don’t let them return to foolish ways.
9 God’s salvation is very close to those who honor him
so that his glory can live in our land.
10 Faithful love and truth have met;
righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth springs up from the ground;
righteousness gazes down from heaven.
12 Yes, the Lord gives what is good,
and our land yields its produce.
13 Righteousness walks before God,
making a road for his steps.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible