M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon Builds the Temple(A)
3 So Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, at the place that David established on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build in the second month[a] on the second day during the fourth year of his reign.[b]
3 These are the foundation measurements that Solomon used for building the house of God. The cubit[c] length in the former standard measure was sixty cubits and the width twenty cubits.[d] 4 The porch vestibule that was in front of the nave hall had its length, like the width of the house, as twenty cubits,[e] and its height was one hundred and twenty cubits;[f] and he overlaid the inside with pure gold.
5 And he paneled the great house with cypress trees and then covered it with fine gold. Then he decorated it with palm trees and chain work. 6 And he overlaid the house with precious stones for decoration, and the gold was from Parvaim. 7 And he covered the house—its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors—with gold, and he engraved cherubim on the walls.
8 Then he made the dwelling of the Most Holy Place. Its length was as the width of twenty cubits, and its width also twenty cubits; and he covered it with fine gold, six hundred talents[g] worth. 9 And the weight in gold for the nails was fifty shekels.[h] And he covered the upper chamber in gold.
10 Then in the dwelling of the Most Holy Place, he made two cherubim that were cast metal and overlaid them with gold. 11 And the wings of the cherubim were the length of twenty cubits. The wing of one cherub was five cubits, reaching the wall of the house, and the wing of the other was five cubits,[i] reaching to the wing of the other cherub. 12 And the wing of this cherub was five cubits, reaching to the other wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the first cherub. 13 So the wings of these cherubim spread out were twenty cubits; they were upright on their feet facing inward toward the house.
14 Then he made the curtain of violet, purple, crimson, and blue thread, and he wove cherubim into it.
15 And he made two pillars in front of the house thirty-five cubits[j] high, with a five cubit capital on the top of the pillar. 16 Then he made ornamental chain work, like in the Most Holy Place, and set it on the top of the pillars. Then he designed a hundred pomegranates and set them on the chain work. 17 He then raised the pillars in front of the temple, with one on the right to the south and the other on the left to the north, and the pillar to the south he called Jakin, and the pillar to the north he called Boaz.
The Furnishings of the Temple(B)
4 Then he made a bronze altar that was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits[k] high. 2 And he made a cast metal sea as a water basin. It was round and ten cubits from edge to edge, five cubits high,[l] and a line of thirty cubits[m] measured its circumference. 3 Figures like oxen were underneath it, going all the way around the sea basin, ten cubits[n] on each side.[o] There were two rows of oxen that were poured as cast metal.
4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and their back sides were facing inward. 5 The thickness of the sea was a palm,[p] and its brim was like the brim of a cup, as the flower of a lily. It held three thousand baths[q] securely.
6 Then he made ten water basins, and he set five on the southern right side and five on the northern left side to rinse off in them the instruments of the burnt offering. And the sea basin was for the priests to wash in.
7 And he made ten lampstands of gold according to the specifications, and he set them in the temple, five on the southern, right side and five on the northern, left side.
8 Then he made ten tables and put them in the temple, five on the southern, right side and five on the northern, left side; and he made a hundred basins of gold.
9 Then he made the court of the priests and the great enclosure and the doors for the enclosure, and he overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 And he set the sea basin at the southeast side, opposite the southern side of the house.
11 And Huram made the pots, shovels, and bowls.
So Huram completed the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two pieces of grating, with two rows of pomegranates for each screen grate that covered the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars. 14 And he made the supporting stands and the basins on top of the stands, 15 and the sea basin and the twelve oxen underneath it; 16 the pots, shovels, utensils, and all the vessels from polished bronze, Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.
17 The king cast these vessels in the district of the Jordan in earthen foundries between Sukkoth and Zeredatha.[r] 18 And Solomon made all of these items in a great abundance such that they did not consider the weight of the bronze.
19 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the gold altar and the tables displaying the showbread, 20 and the finely hammered lampstands with their lamps to burn before the Most Holy Place as prescribed; 21 the golden flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, of purest gold; 22 the snuffers, basins, ladles, and fire pans, of pure gold. As for the entrance to the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.
3 Consider how much love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Whoever practices sin breaks the law, for sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He was revealed to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever remains in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has not seen Him and does not know Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. 8 Whoever practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed remains in him. And he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Whoever does not live in righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Love One Another
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 not like Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s works were righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love his brother remains in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
16 By this we know the love of God: that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 Whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, but closes his heart of compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him? 18 My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
Confidence Before God
19 By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall reassure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, then we have confidence before God. 22 And whatever we ask, we will receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He commanded us. 24 Now the one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He remains in us, through the Spirit whom He has given us.
The Fall of Nineveh
2 He who scatters has come to you.
Guard the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Prepare yourself,
and strengthen yourself!
2 For the Lord is restoring the prominence of Jacob,
even the prominence of Israel,
for others have certainly
laid waste their vines.
3 The shields of his mighty men are soaked red,
even the mighty men are clad in red.
In the day he prepares the chariots,
they are like a fire of iron.
The cypress spears are ready.
4 The chariots run wildly through the streets,
they rush to and fro in the open areas;
their appearance is like torches,
they dash to and fro like lightning.
5 He remembers his officers
as they stumble about on the road;
they hurry on to the wall
as the siege tower is set up.
6 The holding gates are opened wide,
and the palace washes away.
7 It is decreed:
She is uncovered and led away captive;
her handmaidens shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
beating their chests.
8 Nineveh is like a pool
whose waters run away.
“Halt! Halt!” they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 “Plunder the silver!
Plunder the gold!
There is no limit to the treasure,
or to the wealth of every precious thing.”
10 She is desolate, empty, and waste!
Hearts melt away, and knees shake;
pain is in all the loins, and all their faces grow pale.
11 Where is the den of the lions,
and the feeding place of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowl,
and the lion’s cub goes, with no one to disturb them?
12 The lion tore enough food for his cubs,
and strangled prey for his lionesses;
he has filled his caves with prey,
and his dens with flesh.
13 I am against you,
says the Lord of Hosts,
and I will burn your chariots in smoke,
and the sword will devour your lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the voice of your messengers
will be heard no more.
The Parable of the Widow and the Judge
18 He told them a parable to illustrate that it is necessary always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said: “In a city there was a judge who did not fear God or regard man. 3 And a widow was in that city. She came to him, saying, ‘Avenge me against my adversary.’
4 “He would not for a while. Yet afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I do not fear God or respect man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she will weary me.’ ”
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge says. 7 And shall not God avenge His own elect and be patient with them, who cry day and night to Him? 8 I tell you, He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves, as though they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed these things about himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I tithe of all that I earn.’
13 “But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but struck his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Little Children Blessed(A)
15 They also brought infants to Him that He might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Permit the little children to come to Me, and do not hinder them. For to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will in no wise enter it.”
The Rich Ruler(B)
18 A certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother.[a]”
21 He said, “All these I have kept since my youth.”
22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “Yet you lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”
23 When he heard this he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 When Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 He said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
28 Peter said, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”
29 He said to them, “Truly, I tell you, there is no man who has left his home or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection a Third Time(C)
31 Taking the twelve, He said, “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished, 32 for He will be handed over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and put Him to death, and on the third day He will rise again.”
34 They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what was spoken.
The Healing of a Blind Beggar Near Jericho(D)
35 As He was drawing near Jericho, a certain blind man sat along the way begging. 36 Hearing a crowd passing by, he asked what it meant. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
38 He cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who went in front rebuked him, so that he would keep quiet. But he cried out much more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought to Him. When he came near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, grant that I may receive my sight.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. When all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.