M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David’s Successes(A)
18 After this, David defeated and crushed the Philistines. He took Gath and its surrounding villages from them.
2 He also defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s subjects and paid taxes to him.
3 When David went to establish his control over the territory along the Euphrates River, he defeated King Hadadezer at Hamath. 4 David took 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. David also disabled all but 100 of their horses so that they couldn’t pull chariots.
5 When the Arameans from Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. 6 David put troops in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became his subjects and paid taxes to him. Everywhere David went, Yahweh gave him victories.
7 David took the gold shields that Hadadezer’s servants carried, and he brought them to Jerusalem. 8 David also took a large quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer’s cities. (Later Solomon used it to make the pool, pillars, and utensils for the temple.)
9 When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Zobah’s King Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to greet King David and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. (There had often been war between Hadadezer and Tou.) 11 King David dedicated all the articles of gold, silver, and bronze to Yahweh, along with the silver and gold he had taken from other nations—from Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek.
12 Zeruiah’s son Abishai killed 18,000 Edomites in the Dead Sea region. 13 He put troops in Edom, and all its people became David’s subjects. Everywhere David went, Yahweh gave him victories.
14 So David ruled all Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people. 15 Zeruiah’s son Joab was in charge of the army. Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was the royal historian. 16 Ahitub’s son Zadok and Abiathar’s son Abimelech[a] were priests. Shavsha was the royal scribe. 17 Jehoiada’s son Benaiah was commander of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And David’s sons were his main officials.
Advice to Rich People
5 Pay attention to this if you’re rich. Cry and moan about the misery that is coming to you. 2 Your riches have decayed, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you. Like fire, it will destroy your body.
You have stored up riches in these last days. 4 The wages you refused to pay the people who harvested your fields shout to God against you. The Lord of Armies has heard the cries of those who gather the crops. 5 You have lived in luxury and pleasure here on earth. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered people who have God’s approval, even though they didn’t resist you.
Be Patient
7 Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes again. See how farmers wait for their precious crops to grow. They wait patiently for fall and spring rains. 8 You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here. 9 Brothers and sisters, stop complaining about each other, or you will be condemned. Realize that the judge is standing at the door.
10 Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They were patient when they suffered unjustly. 11 We consider those who endure to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance. You saw that the Lord ended Job’s suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Don’t Take Oaths
12 Above all things, my brothers and sisters, do not take an oath on anything in heaven or on earth. Do not take any oath. If you mean yes, say yes. If you mean no, say no. Do this so that you won’t be condemned.
Prayer Is Powerful
13 If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms. 14 If you are sick, call for the church leaders. Have them pray for you and anoint you with olive oil[a] in the name of the Lord. 15 (Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them.) If you have sinned, you will be forgiven. 16 So admit your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you will be healed.
Prayers offered by those who have God’s approval are effective. 17 Elijah was human like us. Yet, when he prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell on the ground for three-and-a-half years. 18 Then he prayed again. It rained, and the ground produced crops.
Help Those Who Have Wandered Away from the Truth
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders from the truth, someone can bring that person back. 20 Realize that whoever brings a sinner back from the error of his ways will save him from death, and many sins will be forgiven.
Jonah’s Prayer inside the Fish
2 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to Yahweh his Elohim.
2 Jonah prayed:
“I called to Yahweh in my distress,
and he answered me.
From the depths of my watery grave I cried for help,
and you heard my cry.
3 You threw me into the deep, into the depths of the sea,
and water surrounded me.
All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.
4 “Then I thought,
‘I have been banished from your sight.
Will I ever see your holy temple again?’
5 “Water surrounded me, threatening my life.
The deep sea covered me completely.
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I sank to the foot of the mountains.
I sank to the bottom,
where bars held me forever.
But you brought me back from the pit, O Yahweh, my Elohim.
7 “As my life was slipping away, I remembered Yahweh.
My prayer came to you in your holy temple.
8 Those who hold on to worthless idols abandon their loyalty to you.
9 But I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving.
I will keep my vow.
Victory belongs to Yahweh!”
10 Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it spit Jonah out onto the shore.
A Believing Army Officer(A)
7 When Yeshua had finished everything he wanted to say to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 There a Roman army officer’s valuable slave was sick and near death. 3 The officer had heard about Yeshua and sent some Jewish leaders to him. They were to ask Yeshua to come and save the servant’s life. 4 They came to Yeshua and begged, “He deserves your help. 5 He loves our people and built our synagogue at his own expense.”
6 Yeshua went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell Yeshua, “Sir, don’t bother. I don’t deserve to have you come into my house. 7 That’s why I didn’t come to you. But just give a command, and let my servant be cured. 8 As you know, I’m in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
9 Yeshua was amazed at the officer when he heard these words. He turned to the crowd following him and said, “I can guarantee that I haven’t found faith as great as this in Israel.”
10 When the men who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant healthy again.
Jesus Brings a Widow’s Son Back to Life
11 Soon afterward, Yeshua went to a city called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he came near the entrance to the city, he met a funeral procession. The dead man was a widow’s only child. A large crowd from the city was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. He said to her, “Don’t cry.”
14 He went up to the open coffin, took hold of it, and the men who were carrying it stopped. He said, “Young man, I’m telling you to come back to life!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Yeshua gave him back to his mother.
16 Everyone was struck with fear and praised God. They said, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and “God has taken care of his people.” 17 This news about Yeshua spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.
John Sends Two Disciples(B)
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Then John called two of his disciples 19 and sent them to ask the Lord, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?”
20 The men came to Yeshua and said, “John the Baptizer sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?’”
21 At that time Yeshua was curing many people who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits. Also, he was giving back sight to many who were blind.
22 Yeshua answered John’s disciples, “Go back, and tell John what you have seen and heard: Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean,[a] deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News. 23 Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed.”
Jesus Speaks about John(C)
24 When John’s messengers had left, Yeshua spoke to the crowds about John. “What did you go into the desert to see? Tall grass swaying in the wind? 25 Really, what did you go to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Those who wear splendid clothes and live in luxury are in royal palaces. 26 Really, what did you go to see? A prophet? Let me tell you that he is far more than a prophet. 27 John is the one about whom Scripture says,
‘I am sending my messenger ahead of you
to prepare the way in front of you.’
28 I can guarantee that of all the people ever born, no one is greater than John. Yet, the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.
29 “All the people, including tax collectors, heard John. They admitted that God was right by letting John baptize them. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings rejected God’s plan for them. They refused to be baptized.
31 “How can I describe the people who are living now? What are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other,
‘We played music for you,
but you didn’t dance.
We sang a funeral song,
but you didn’t cry.’
33 John the Baptizer has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘There’s a demon in him!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He’s a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
35 “Yet, wisdom is proved right by all its results.”
A Sinful Woman Receives Forgiveness
36 One of the Pharisees invited Yeshua to eat with him. Yeshua went to the Pharisee’s house and was eating at the table.
37 A woman who lived a sinful life in that city found out that Yeshua was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she took a bottle of perfume 38 and knelt at his feet. She was crying and washed his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them over and over again, and poured the perfume on them.
39 The Pharisee who had invited Yeshua saw this and thought, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner.”
40 Yeshua spoke up, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Simon replied, “Teacher, you’re free to speak.”
41 So Yeshua said, “Two men owed a moneylender some money. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. 42 When they couldn’t pay it back, he was kind enough to cancel their debts. Now, who do you think will love him the most?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the largest debt canceled.”
Yeshua said to him, “You’re right!” 44 Then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “You see this woman, don’t you? I came into your house. You didn’t wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You didn’t give me a kiss. But ever since I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn’t put any olive oil on my head. But she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 That’s why I’m telling you that her many sins have been forgiven. Her great love proves that. But whoever receives little forgiveness loves very little.”
48 Then Yeshua said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 The other guests thought, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
50 Yeshua said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace!”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.