M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(A)
9 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with riddles. She arrived with a large group of servants, with camels carrying spices, a large quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she talked to him about everything she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions. No question was too difficult for Solomon to answer.
3 When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he built, 4 the food on his table, his officers’ seating arrangement, the organization of his officials and the uniforms they wore, his cupbearers[a] and their uniforms, and the burnt offerings that he sacrificed at Yahweh’s temple, she was breathless. 5 She told the king, “What I heard in my country about your words and your wisdom is true! 6 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. I wasn’t even told about half of the extent of your wisdom. You’ve surpassed the stories I’ve heard. 7 How blessed your men must be! How blessed these servants of yours must be because they are always stationed in front of you and listen to your wisdom! 8 Thank Yahweh your Elohim, who is pleased with you. He has put you on his throne to be king on behalf of Yahweh your Elohim. Because of your Elohim’s love for the people of Israel, he has established them permanently and made you king over them so that you would maintain justice and righteousness.”
9 She gave the king 9,000 pounds of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never was there such a large quantity of spices in Israel as those that the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
10 Huram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir also brought sandalwood and precious stones. 11 With the sandalwood the king made gateways to Yahweh’s temple and the royal palace, and lyres and harps for the singers. No one had ever seen anything like them in Judah.
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba anything she wanted, whatever she asked for, more than what she had brought him. Then she and her servants went back to her country.
Solomon’s Wealth(B)
13 The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed 49,950 pounds, 14 not counting the gold which the merchants and traders brought. All the Arab kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, using 15 pounds of gold on each shield. 16 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold, using 7½ pounds of gold on each shield. The king put them in the hall named the Forest of Lebanon.
17 The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with pure gold. 18 Six steps led to the throne, which had a gold footstool attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat. Two lions stood beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood on six steps, one on each side. Nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
20 All King Solomon’s cups were gold, and all the utensils for the hall named the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. (Silver wasn’t considered valuable in Solomon’s time.) 21 The king had ships going to Tarshish with Huram’s sailors. Once every three years the Tarshish ships would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
22 In wealth and wisdom King Solomon was greater than all the other kings of the world. 23 All the kings of the world wanted to listen to the wisdom that Elohim gave Solomon. 24 So everyone who came brought him gifts: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This happened year after year.
25 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 war horses. He stationed some in chariot cities and others with himself in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled all the kings from the Euphrates River to the country of the Philistines and as far as the Egyptian border. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as fig trees in the foothills. 28 Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all other countries.
Solomon’s Death(C)
29 Aren’t the rest of Solomon’s acts from first to last written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and in Iddo the seer’s[b] visions about Jeroboam (son of Nebat)?
30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years. 31 Solomon lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
Greeting
1 From Jude, a servant of Yeshua Christ and brother of James.
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father, and who are kept safe for Yeshua Christ.
2 May mercy, peace, and love fill your lives!
Warnings about False Teachers
3 Dear friends, I had intended to write to you about the salvation we share. But something has come up. It demands that I write to you and encourage you to continue your fight for the Christian faith that was entrusted to God’s holy people once for all time.
4 Some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. Not long ago they were condemned in writing for the following reason: They are people to whom God means nothing. They use God’s kindness[a] as an excuse for sexual freedom and deny our only Master and Lord, Yeshua Christ.
5 I want to remind you about what you already know: The Lord once saved his people from Egypt. But on another occasion he destroyed those who didn’t believe. 6 He held angels for judgment on the great day. They were held in darkness, bound by eternal chains. These are the angels who didn’t keep their position of authority but abandoned their assigned place. 7 What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them is an example for us of the punishment of eternal fire. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God’s people and the angels did, because they committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities.
8 Yet, in a similar way, the people who slipped in among you are dreamers. They contaminate their bodies with sin, reject the Lord’s authority, and insult his glory. 9 When the archangel Michael argued with the devil, they were arguing over the body of Moses. But Michael didn’t dare to hand down a judgment against the devil. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord reprimand you!”
10 Whatever these people don’t understand, they insult. Like animals, which are creatures of instinct, they use whatever they know to destroy themselves. 11 How horrible it will be for them! They have followed the path of Cain. They have rushed into Balaam’s error to make a profit. They have rebelled like Korah and destroyed themselves.
12 These people are a disgrace at the special meals you share with other believers. They eat with you and don’t feel ashamed. They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are dry clouds blown around by the winds. They are withered, uprooted trees without any fruit. As a result, they have died twice. 13 Their shame is like the foam on the wild waves of the sea. They are wandering stars for whom gloomy darkness is kept forever.
14 Furthermore, Enoch, from the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about them. He said, “The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy angels. 15 He has come to judge all these people. He has come to convict all these ungodly sinners for all the ungodly things they have done and all the harsh things they have said about him.”
16 These people complain, find fault, follow their own desires, say arrogant things, and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.
17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Yeshua Christ told you to expect: 18 “In the last times people who ridicule God will appear. They will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are concerned about physical things, not spiritual things.
Final Advice
20 Dear friends, use your most holy faith to grow. Pray with the Holy Spirit’s help. 21 Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua Christ to give you eternal life.
22 Show mercy to those who have doubts. 23 Save others by snatching them from the fire of hell. Show mercy to others, even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives.
24 God can guard you so that you don’t fall and so that you can be full of joy as you stand in his glorious presence without fault. 25 Before time began, now, and for eternity glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to the only God, our Savior, through Yeshua Christ our Lord. Amen.
Zephaniah’s Prophecy
1 This is the word that Yahweh spoke to Zephaniah, who was the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. The Lord spoke his word in the days of Judah’s King Josiah, son of Amon.
The Lord Will Judge the Earth
2 “I will gather everything on the face of the earth
and put an end to it,” declares Yahweh.
3 “I will put an end to humans and animals.
I will put an end to
the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and the sins that make people fall, together with the sinners.
I will remove all people from the face of the earth,” declares Yahweh.
The Lord Will Judge Judah
4 “I will use my power against Judah
and against those who live in Jerusalem.
I will remove the faithful few of Baal from this place
and the names of the pagan priests along with my priests.
5 I will remove those who worship all the stars in the sky on their rooftops
and those who worship by swearing loyalty to Yahweh
while also swearing loyalty to the god Milcom.[a]
6 I will remove those who have turned away from following Yahweh
and those who no longer seek Yahweh or ask him for help.”
7 Be silent in the presence of Adonay Yahweh,
because the day of Yahweh is near.
Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice.
He has invited his special guests.
8 “On the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice I will punish the officials,
the king’s sons, and all who dress in foreign clothing.[b]
9 On that day I will punish all who jump over the doorway
and all who fill their master’s house with violence and deception.
10 On that day a loud cry will come from Fish Gate,
a howling from the Second Part of the city,
and a loud crashing sound from the hills,” declares Yahweh.
11 “Howl, inhabitants of the Mortar,[c]
because all the merchants will be destroyed
and all who handle money will be killed.
12 “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those
who are satisfied with their hardened lifestyle,
who think that Yahweh won’t do anything—good or bad.
13 Their wealth will be looted.
Their homes will be demolished.
They will build houses, but they won’t live in them.
They will plant vineyards, but they won’t drink their wine.”
The Day of the Lord
14 The frightening day of Yahweh is near.
It is near and coming very quickly.
Listen! Warriors will cry out bitterly on the day of Yahweh.
15 That day will be a day of overflowing fury,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of devastation and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and overcast skies,
16 a day of rams’ horns and battle cries
against the fortified cities
and against the high corner towers.
17 “I will bring such distress on humans that they will walk like they are blind,
because they have sinned against Yahweh.”
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their intestines like manure.
18 Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them
on the day of Yahweh’s overflowing fury.
The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery anger,
because he will put an end, a frightening end,
to those who live on earth.
Pilate Questions Jesus(A)
23 Then the entire assembly stood up and took him to Pilate.
2 They began to accuse Yeshua by saying, “We found that he stirs up trouble among our people: He keeps them from paying taxes to the emperor, and he says that he is Christ, a king.”
3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Yes, I am,” Yeshua answered.
4 Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I can’t find this man guilty of any crime.”
Pilate Sends Jesus to Herod
5 The priests and the crowd became more forceful. They said, “He stirs up the people throughout Judea with his teachings. He started in Galilee and has come here.”
6 When Pilate heard that, he asked if the man was from Galilee. 7 When Pilate found out that he was, he sent Yeshua to Herod. Herod ruled Galilee and was in Jerusalem at that time.
8 Herod was very pleased to see Yeshua. For a long time he had wanted to see him. He had heard about Yeshua and hoped to see him perform some kind of miracle. 9 Herod asked Yeshua many questions, but Yeshua wouldn’t answer him. 10 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings stood there and shouted their accusations against Yeshua.
11 Herod and his soldiers treated Yeshua with contempt and made fun of him. They put a colorful robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12 So Herod and Pilate became friends that day. They had been enemies before this.
13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people. 14 He told them, “You brought me this man as someone who turns the people against the government. I’ve questioned him in front of you and haven’t found this man guilty of the crimes of which you accuse him. 15 Neither could Herod. So he sent this man back to us. This man hasn’t done anything to deserve the death penalty. 16 So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”[a]
The Crowd Rejects Jesus(B)
18 The whole crowd then shouted, “Take him away! Free Barabbas for us.” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for his involvement in a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder.)
20 But because Pilate wanted to free Yeshua, he spoke to the people again.
21 They began yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 A third time Pilate spoke to them. He asked, “Why? What has he done wrong? I haven’t found this man deserving of the death penalty. So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”
23 But the crowd pressured Pilate. They shouted that Yeshua had to be crucified, and they finally won. 24 Pilate decided to give in to their demand. 25 He freed Barabbas, who had been put in prison for rioting and murdering, because that’s what they wanted. But he let them do what they wanted to Yeshua.
Jesus Is Led Away to Be Crucified
26 As the soldiers led Yeshua away, they grabbed a man named Simon, who was from the city of Cyrene. Simon was coming into Jerusalem. They laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Yeshua.
27 A large crowd followed Yeshua. The women in the crowd cried and sang funeral songs for him. 28 Yeshua turned to them and said, “You women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me! Rather, cry for yourselves and your children! 29 The time is coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the women who couldn’t get pregnant, who couldn’t give birth, and who couldn’t nurse a child.’ 30 Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 If people do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry one?”
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be executed with him.
The Crucifixion(C)
33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him. The criminals were also crucified, one on his right and the other on his left.
34 Then Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”[b]
Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.
35 The people stood there watching. But the rulers were making sarcastic remarks. They said, “He saved others. If he’s the Messiah that God has chosen, let him save himself!” 36 The soldiers also made fun of him. They would go up to him, offer him some vinegar, 37 and say, “If you’re the king of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 A written notice was placed above him. It said, “This is the king of the Jews.”
Criminals Talk to Jesus
39 One of the criminals hanging there insulted Yeshua by saying, “So you’re really the Messiah, are you? Well, save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal scolded him: “Don’t you fear God at all? Can’t you see that you’re condemned in the same way that he is? 41 Our punishment is fair. We’re getting what we deserve. But this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you enter your kingdom.”
43 Yeshua said to him, “I can guarantee this truth: Today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus Dies on the Cross(D)
44 Around noon darkness came over the entire land and lasted until three in the afternoon. 45 The sun had stopped shining. The curtain in the temple was split in two.
46 Yeshua cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” After he said this, he died.
47 When an army officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly, this man was innocent!” 48 Crowds had gathered to see the sight. But when all of them saw what had happened, they cried and returned to the city. 49 All his friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched everything.
Jesus Is Placed in a Tomb(E)
50 There was a good man who had God’s approval. His name was Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish council, 51 but he had not agreed with what they had done. He was from the Jewish city of Arimathea, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshua. 53 After he took it down from the cross, he wrapped it in linen. Then he laid the body in a tomb cut in rock, a tomb in which no one had ever been buried. 54 It was Friday, and the day of worship was just beginning.
55 The women who had come with Yeshua from Galilee followed closely behind Joseph. They observed the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went back to the city and prepared spices and perfumes. But on the day of worship they rested according to the commandment.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.