M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David’s Military Victories(A)
8 Sometime later, David defeated and subdued the Philistines, taking Metheg-ammah away from the Philistines. 2 David also conquered Moab, then measured them with a cord, making them lie down on the ground. He executed everyone measured out in each two lengths’ measurement of the cord, but spared the ones measured out by every third length. Then the Moabites were placed under servitude to David, and made to pay tribute.
3 David also attacked King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah, when he was attempting to restore his hegemony[a] over the Euphrates[b] River. 4 David captured 1,000 of his chariots, 1,700[c] horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses except for enough to supply[d] 100 chariots. 5 When Arameans came from Damascus to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. 6 David erected garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, placing the Arameans under servitude to him,[e] and they paid tribute to him. 7 David also confiscated the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s officers and took them to Jerusalem. 8 He[f] also confiscated a vast quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, cities under Hadadezer’s control.
9 When King Tou of Hamath learned that David had conquered the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 10 Tou sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory over Hadadezer, because he had been at war with Tou. Joram brought articles of silver, gold, and bronze with him, 11 and King David dedicated them to the Lord, along with the silver and gold that had been dedicated from all the nations that he had conquered, 12 including from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and spoil from King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah.
13 David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley. 14 He erected garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subservient to David, while the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
David’s Leaders(B)
15 David reigned over all of Israel, administering[g] justice and equity to every one of his people. 16 Zeruiah’s son Joab served in charge of the army, Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was his personal archivist,[h] 17 Ahitub’s son Zadok and Abiathar’s son Ahimelech were priests, Seraiah[i] was his personal secretary,[j] 18 Jehoida’s son Benaiah supervised the special forces[k] and mercenaries,[l] and David’s sons were priests.[m]
David Shows Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 Later on, David asked, “Is there anyone left alive from Saul’s household to whom I can show gracious love in memory[n] of Jonathan?”
2 A household servant of Saul named Ziba was called to appear before David, and the king asked him, “Are you Ziba?”
“I am your servant,” Ziba replied.
3 At this the king asked, “Isn’t there still someone left from Saul’s household to whom I may show God’s gracious love?”
“There’s Jonathan’s son. He has maimed feet,” Ziba answered.
4 So David asked, “Where is he?”
Ziba responded, “He’s in Lo-debar at the home of Ammiel’s son Makir.”
5 At this, King David sent for him and brought him from the home of Ammiel’s son Makir in Lo-debar. 6 When Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and a grandson of Saul, approached David, he threw himself on his face out of respect.
“Mephibosheth!” David said as he greeted him.
“Hello! I am your servant,” he replied.
7 “Don’t be afraid,” David reassured him, “because I’m going to show gracious love to you in memory[o] of your father Jonathan. I’m going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you’ll always have a place[p] at my table!”
8 Mephibosheth[q] bowed low again and asked, “Who am I, your servant, that you would pay attention to a dead dog like me?”
9 At this, the king called for Saul’s servant Ziba and told him, “I’m restoring to your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your servants are to farm the land on his behalf and bring in the crops in order to provide for your master’s grandson. Meanwhile, Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will always have a place[r] at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and 20 servants.)
11 Later, Ziba told the king, “Your servant will do everything that your majesty the king commands him.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth fathered a son named Mica, and everyone who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 Mephibosheth continued to live in Jerusalem, always eating at the king’s table, since he was maimed in both feet.
Paul’s Painful Visit
2 Now[a] I decided not to pay you another painful visit. 2 After all, if I were to grieve you, who should make me happy but the person I am making sad? 3 This is the very reason I wrote you, so that when I did come I might not be made sad by those who should have made me happy. For I had confidence that all of you would share the joy that I have. 4 I wrote to you out of great sorrow and anguish of heart—along with many tears—not to make you sad but to let you know how much love I have for you.
Forgive the Person who Sinned
5 But if anyone has caused grief, he didn’t cause me any grief. To some extent—I don’t want to emphasize this too much—it has affected[b] all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is severe enough for such a man. 7 So forgive and comfort him, or else he will drown in his excessive grief. 8 That’s why I’m urging you to assure him of your love. 9 I had also written to you to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in every way. 10 When you forgive someone, I do, too. Indeed, what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I did[c] in the presence of the Messiah[d] for your benefit, 11 so that we may not be outsmarted by Satan. After all, we are not unaware of his intentions.
Paul’s Anxiety and Relief
12 When I went to Troas on behalf of the gospel of the Messiah,[e] the Lord opened a door for me, 13 but my spirit could not find any relief, because I couldn’t find Titus, my brother. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah[f] and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him. 15 To God we are the aroma of the Messiah[g] among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. 16 To some people we are a deadly fragrance,[h] while to others we are a living fragrance.[i] Who is qualified for this? 17 At least we are not commercializing God’s word like so many others. Instead, we speak with sincerity in the Messiah’s[j] name,[k] like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God.[l]
A Prophecy Confronting Jerusalem
16 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of Man, make known to Israel her detestable practices. 3 You are to declare, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: “Your birth place[a] was the territory that belonged to the Canaanites. Your father was an Ammonite and your mother was a Hittite. 4 Now as to your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord wasn’t cut. You weren’t washed with water to clean you, and nobody rubbed you with salt. And it’s certain that you weren’t wrapped in strips of cloth. 5 Nobody pitied you to do any of these things for you, and nobody showed you any compassion. You were tossed outside on the ground, because you[b] were detested from the day you were born.
6 “‘“When I passed by you, I saw you kicking around, covered in your own blood. That’s when I told you, ‘Live!’—while you were wallowing in your blood. I commanded you to live, even as you lay there in your own blood. 7 I made you increase like sprouting grain[c] in the field. As a result, you multiplied greatly. Eventually, you reached the age when young women start wearing jewelry. Your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were still bare and naked.”’”
God’s Betrothal to Jerusalem
8 “When I passed by you again, I looked at you, and noticed that it was your proper time for love. I spread my cloak[d] over you to cover your nakedness. I made a solemn promise to you and entered into a covenant with you,” declares the Lord God. “You belong to me. 9 I bathed you with water, rinsed your own blood from you, and anointed you with oil. 10 Then I covered you with embroidered clothing, clothed your feet with leather sandals, wrapped[e] you with fine linen, and dressed you in silk. 11 I adorned you with jewels, placing bracelets on your hand and necklaces on your neck. 12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a crown encrusted with jewels on your head. 13 You were adorned with gold, silver, clothing of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate food made from the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, attaining royal status. 14 Your fame[f] spread throughout the nations because of your beauty. You were perfectly beautiful due to my splendor with which I endowed you,” declares the Lord God.
Jerusalem’s Arrogant Unfaithfulness
15 “But you trusted in your beauty. You did what whores do, as a result of your fame. You passed out your sexual favors[g] to anyone who passed by, giving yourself to anyone. 16 You took some of your clothes and made gaily-colored high places and prostituted yourself all around them—something which had never happened before nor will ever happen again.
17 “You also took your fine jewelry—including my gold and my silver that I had given you. Then you made for yourself male images and had sex with them! 18 You took your embroidered gowns and made clothes to cover them. Then you offered my olive oil and incense to them.
19 “Not only that, you took the food I gave you—my fine flour, olive oil, and honey with which I fed you, and you offered[h] them to those gods[i] in order to appease them.[j] That’s exactly what happened,” says the Lord God. 20 “Then you took your sons and daughters whom you bore for me and sacrificed them for your idols to eat. As though your prostitutions were an insignificant thing, 21 you also slaughtered my sons and offered them to idols, incinerating them in fire.[k] 22 Throughout all of your detestable practices and immorality, you never did remember your earlier life when you were bare, naked, and wallowing in your own blood.”
The Unfaithfulness of God’s People
23 “How terrible! How terrible it will be for all of your wickedness!” declares the Lord God. 24 “You built raised mounds and high places for yourself on every plaza. 25 At every street corner you made your beauty abhorrent when you made yourself available for sex to[l] anyone who was passing by. By doing this, you kept on committing more and more immorality. 26 Then you committed immorality with your neighbors, the Egyptians,[m] with perverted lust,[n] and by doing so you fornicated even more, provoking me to anger.
27 “Therefore, look out! I’ve reached out to oppose you. I withdrew your rations and delivered you[o] to those Philistine women who hate you. Even they were embarrassed at your wicked ways! 28 You committed immorality with the Assyrians,[p] because you still weren’t satisfied. You committed immorality with them, but you still weren’t satisfied. 29 You committed even more immorality with that land of the merchants, the Chaldeans. But you weren’t satisfied even with these!
30 “How weak is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “when you committed all of these deeds, the acts of an imperious whore! 31 When you built your mound on every street corner and constructed your high place at every plaza, you weren’t like a common prostitute, in that you’ve insulted the wages of a prostitute 32 who commits adultery, preferring a stranger over her husband!
33 “All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give your gifts to all your lovers, then you bribe them to come to you from everywhere to get your sexual favors![q] 34 You’re different from other women when you commit immorality—no one can match you in that![r] After all, you pay fees, but no fee is given to you. You’re certainly different!”
The Coming Punishment
35 “Therefore listen to this message from the Lord, you whore! 36 This is what the Lord God says: ‘Because your lust has been poured out and your nakedness has been uncovered by your acts of fornication with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your sons, whom you offered to them, 37 therefore, watch out! I’m about to gather all your lovers from whom you’ve received your pleasure, everyone whom you’ve loved, and those whom you’ve hated. I’ll gather them together to oppose you from every side, and they’ll uncover your nakedness in their presence. Then they’ll see you completely naked. 38 I’ll judge you with the same standards by which I issue verdicts against a woman who commits adultery and murder.[s] I’ll avenge the blood you’ve shed with impassioned wrath.[t]
39 “I’ll also deliver you into their control, and they’ll break down your mounds, tear down your high places, strip off your clothes, remove your fine jewels, and then they’ll leave you stark naked! 40 They’ll bring a mob against you to stone you to death[u] and cut you into pieces with their swords. 41 Then they’ll burn your houses and carry out my sentence[v] against you in the sight of many women.
“That’s how I’ll make you stop your prostitution so you won’t pay any prostitute’s fees anymore. 42 I’ll stop being angry with you, and I’ll cease being jealous.[w] I’ll be calm and not be indignant anymore. 43 Because you didn’t remember the time when you were young, but instead you provoked me to anger because of all these things, watch out! I’m going to bring your behavior back to haunt[x] you!” declares the Lord God. “Didn’t you do this wicked thing, in addition to all your other[y] detestable practices?”
Like Mother, Like Daughter
44 “Now, everyone who likes proverbs will quote this proverb about you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You’re the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You’re the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children.
“Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your elder sister was Samaria. She and her daughters lived in the north,[z] while your younger sister who lived in the south[aa] with her daughters was Sodom. 47 It wasn’t just that you lived like they did and committed their detestable practices, but in just a little while your behavior led you to become more corrupt than they were!”
Sins of Sodom
48 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “your sister Sodom and her daughters didn’t do what you and your daughters have done. 49 Look! This was the sin of your sister Sodom and her daughters: Pride, too much food, undisturbed peace, and failure to help[ab] the poor and needy. 50 In their arrogance, they committed detestable practices in my presence, so when I saw it, I removed them. 51 Samaria didn’t commit half of your sins—you practiced more detestable deeds than they did! You’ve caused your sister to be more righteous than you, because of the detestable practices that you’ve committed. 52 So now, bear your own shame as you mediate for your sisters. The sins that you’ve committed are more detestable than theirs. That makes them more righteous than you. Indeed, be ashamed and bear your reproach, because you’ve made your sisters to be more righteous than you.”
A Change in Circumstances
53 “I’ll bring them back from their captivity—that is, from the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, along with the captivity of Samaria and her daughters and the captivity of your captives among them. 54 But you’ll continue to bear your own reproach and be humiliated for everything that you’ve done. You’ll be a comfort to them. 55 Your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status. Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status. Then you and your daughters will be restored to your former status.
56 “When you were being so arrogant, you never once mentioned your sister Sodom 57 before your wickedness was revealed. Now you’ve become an object of derision to the inhabitants[ac] of Aram and its neighbors, including the Philistines[ad]—all those around you who despise you. 58 You are to bear the punishment of your wickedness and detestable practices,” declares the Lord, 59 “since the Lord God says, ‘I’ll deal with you according to what you’ve done, when you despised your oath by breaking the covenant.
60 “‘Meanwhile, as for me, I’ll remember my covenant with you from when you were young, because I’ll establish an eternal covenant with you. 61 Then you’ll remember your behavior and be ashamed when you greet your sisters—your elder sister and your younger sister. I’ll give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you. 62 I’ll establish my covenant with you, and then you’ll know that I am the Lord. 63 Then you will remember, be ashamed, and you won’t open your mouth anymore due to humiliation when I will have made atonement for you for everything that you’ve done,’ declares the Lord God.”
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[a] to the tune of[b] “Do Not Destroy”.
A Prayer for Justice
58 How is it that by remaining silent you can speak righteously?
How can you judge people fairly?
2 As a matter of fact, in your heart you plan iniquities!
In the land your hands are violent!
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they go astray, telling lies even from birth.
4 Their venom is like a poisonous snake;
even like a deaf serpent that shuts its ears,
5 refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmer,
the cunning enchanter.
6 God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
Lord, break the fangs of the young lions!
7 May they flow away like rain water that runs off,
may they become like someone who shoots broken arrows.
8 May they be like a snail that dries up as it crawls;
like a woman’s stillborn baby, who never saw the sun.
9 Before your clay pots are placed on a fire of burning[c] thorns—
whether green or ablaze—
wrath will sweep them away like a storm.
10 The righteous person will rejoice when he sees your[d] vengeance;
when he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 A person will say,
“Certainly, the righteous are rewarded;
certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[e] to the tune of[f] “Do Not Destroy,” when Saul sent men to watch the house in order to kill him.
A Prayer for Deliverance and Justice
59 Save me from my enemies, my God!
Keep me safe from those who rise up against me.
2 Save me from those who practice evil;
deliver me from bloodthirsty men.
3 Look, they lie in ambush for my life;
these violent men gather together against me,
but not because of any transgression or sin of mine, Lord.
4 Without any fault on my part,
they rush together and prepare themselves.
Get up!
Come help me!
Pay attention!
5 You, Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, God of Israel,
stir yourself up to punish all the nations.
Show no mercy to those wicked transgressors.
6 At night they return like howling dogs;
they prowl around the city.
7 Look what pours out of their mouths!
They use their lips like swords,
saying[g] “Who will hear us?”
8 But you, Lord, will laugh at them;
you will mock all the nations.
9 My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
10 My God of Gracious Love will meet me;
God will enable me to see what happens[h] to my enemies.
11 Don’t kill them!
Otherwise, my people may forget.
By your power make them stumble around;
bring them down low,
Lord, our Shield.
12 The sin of their mouth is the word on their lips.
They will be caught in their own conceit;
for they speak curses and lies.
13 Go ahead and destroy them in anger!
Wipe them out,
and they will know to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.[i]
14 At night they return like howling dogs;
they prowl around the city.
15 They scavenge for food.
If they find nothing,
they become hungry and growl.
16 But I will sing of your power
and in the morning I will shout for joy about your gracious love.
For you have been a fortress for me;
and a refuge when I am distressed.[j]
17 My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, God of Gracious Love, are my fortress.
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