M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 15
Preparations for Moving the Ark. 1 David built houses for himself in the City of David and prepared a place for the ark of God, pitching a tent for it there. 2 At that time he said, “No one may carry the ark of God except the Levites, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.”(A) 3 Then David assembled all Israel to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it.(B) 4 David also convened the sons of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel, their chief, and one hundred and twenty of his brothers; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah, their chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brothers; 7 of the sons of Gershon, Joel, their chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brothers; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, their chief, and two hundred of his brothers; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel, their chief, and eighty of his brothers; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab, their chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brothers.
11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab,(C) 12 and said to them: “You heads of the levitical houses, sanctify yourselves along with your brothers to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place which I have prepared for it.(D) 13 Because you were not with us the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, for we did not seek him aright.”(E) 14 Accordingly, the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.(F)
16 David commanded the commanders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers and to play on musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, to make a loud sound of rejoicing.(G) 17 Therefore the Levites appointed Heman, son of Joel, and, among his brothers, Asaph, son of Berechiah; and among the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan, son of Kushaiah;(H) 18 and, together with these, their brothers of the second rank: the gatekeepers Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, sounded brass cymbals. 20 Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played on harps set to “Alamoth.”[a] 21 But Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel led the song on lyres set to “sheminith.” 22 Chenaniah was the chief of the Levites in the singing; he directed the singing, for he was skillful.(I) 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers before the ark. 24 The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, sounded the trumpets before the ark of God.(J) Obed-edom and Jeiel were also gatekeepers before the ark.
The Ark Comes to Jerusalem. 25 (K)Thus David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joy from the house of Obed-edom. 26 While God helped the Levites to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.(L) 27 David was vested in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah, the leader of song; David was also wearing a linen ephod.(M) 28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, to the sound of horns, trumpets, and cymbals, and the music of harps and lyres. 29 But as the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal, daughter of Saul, looked down from her window, and when she saw King David leaping and dancing, she despised him in her heart.(N)
Chapter 2
Sin of Partiality.[a] 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?[b]
5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor[c] in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?(A) 6 But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?(B) 8 However, if you fulfill the royal[d] law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.(C) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.(D) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it.(E) 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not kill.”(F) Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 (G)So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom.[e] 13 For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(H)
Faith and Works.[f] 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?(I) 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?(J) 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?(K) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”(L) 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?(M) 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Chapter 9
Fifth Vision: The Destruction of the Sanctuary
1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar. And he said:
Strike the capitals
so that the threshold shakes!
Break them off on the heads of them all!
Those who are left I will slay with the sword.
Not one shall get away,
no survivor shall escape.[a](A)
2 Though they dig down to Sheol,
even from there my hand shall take them;
Though they climb to the heavens,
even from there I shall bring them down.(B)
3 Though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
there too I will hunt them down and take them;
Though they hide from my gaze at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent[b] to bite them.(C)
4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
I will fix my gaze upon them
for evil and not for good.
5 The Lord God of hosts,
Who melts the earth with his touch,
so that all who dwell on it mourn,
So that it will all rise up like the Nile,
and subside like the river of Egypt;(D)
6 Who has built his upper chamber in heaven,
and established his vault over the earth;
Who summons the waters of the sea
and pours them upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.(E)
7 Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
O Israelites?—oracle of the Lord—
Did I not bring the Israelites from the land of Egypt
as I brought the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Arameans[c] from Kir?
8 See, the eyes of the Lord God are on this sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth—
But I will not destroy the house of Jacob completely—
oracle of the Lord.
9 For see, I have given the command
to sift the house of Israel among all the nations,
As one sifts with a sieve,
letting no pebble fall to the ground.
10 All sinners among my people shall die by the sword,
those who say, “Disaster will not reach or overtake us.”(F)
VI. Epilogue: Restoration Under a Davidic King
11 [d]On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,(G)
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom,
and all nations claimed in my name—
oracle of the Lord, the one who does this.
13 Yes, days are coming—
oracle of the Lord—
When the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps
and the vintager, the sower of the seed;
The mountains shall drip with the juice of grapes,
and all the hills shall run with it.(H)
14 I will restore my people Israel,
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink[e] the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.(I)
15 I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them—
the Lord, your God, has spoken.
Chapter 4
The Temptation of Jesus.[a] 1 (A)Filled with the holy Spirit,[b] Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert 2 for forty days,[c] to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.(B) 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”(C) 5 Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. 6 The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish.(D) 7 All this will be yours, if you worship me.” 8 Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written:
‘You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.’”(E)
9 [d]Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written:
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’(F)
11 and:
‘With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”(G)
12 Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”(H) 13 [e]When the devil had finished every temptation,(I) he departed from him for a time.
IV. The Ministry in Galilee
The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry. 14 (J)Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread[f] throughout the whole region.(K) 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
The Rejection at Nazareth.[g](L) 16 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom[h] into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,[i]
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.(M)
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
20 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”[j] 22 And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”(N) 23 He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”[k] 24 And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. 25 [l]Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.(O) 26 [m]It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath(P) in the land of Sidon. 27 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”(Q) 28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
The Cure of a Demoniac. 31 [n]Jesus then went down to Capernaum,(R) a town of Galilee.(S) He taught them on the sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.(T) 33 In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,(U) and he cried out in a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?[o] I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”(V) 35 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 37 And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
The Cure of Simon’s Mother-in-Law. 38 (W)After he left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.[p] Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. 39 He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.
Other Healings.(X) 40 At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 [q]And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”(Y) But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Messiah.
Jesus Leaves Capernaum.(Z) 42 [r]At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.”(AA) 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.[s]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.