M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul’s Disobedience
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “(A)The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the [a]words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will [b]punish Amalek (B)for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and (C)utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but (D)put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4 Then Saul summoned the people and [c]numbered them in (E)Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. 5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. 6 Saul said to (F)the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for (G)you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 So (H)Saul [d]defeated the Amalekites, from (I)Havilah as you go to (J)Shur, which is [e]east of Egypt. 8 He captured (K)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and (L)utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people (M)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
Samuel Rebukes Saul
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 “(N)I regret that I have made Saul king, for (O)he has turned back from [f]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and (P)cried out to the Lord all night. 12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to (Q)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on [g]down to (R)Gilgal.” 13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “(S)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel said, “(T)What then is this [h]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the [i]lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for (U)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”
17 Samuel said, “Is it not true, (V)though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, 18 and the Lord sent you on a [j]mission, and said, ‘(W)Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, (X)but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(Y)I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the [k]mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But (Z)the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 Samuel said,
“(AA)Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, (AB)to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 “For rebellion is as the sin of (AC)divination,
And insubordination is as (AD)iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
(AE)He has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(AF)I have sinned; (AG)I have indeed transgressed the [l]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 Now therefore, (AH)please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for (AI)you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go, (AJ)Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “(AK)The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the [m](AL)Glory of Israel (AM)will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; (AN)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, (AO)that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him [n]cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “(AP)As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to (AQ)Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at (AR)Gibeah of Saul. 35 (AS)Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel (AT)grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
Be Subject to Government
13 Every [a](A)person is to be in (B)subjection to the governing authorities. For (C)there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore [c]whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for [d]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also (F)for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 (G)Render to all what is due them: (H)tax to whom tax is due; (I)custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for (J)he who loves [e]his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “(K)You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “(L)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love [f]does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore (M)love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is (N)already the hour for you to (O)awaken from sleep; for now [g]salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 (P)The night is almost gone, and (Q)the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside (R)the deeds of darkness and put on (S)the armor of light. 13 Let us [h](T)behave properly as in the day, (U)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But (V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (W)in regard to its lusts.
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 (A)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was [a](B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of (C)Libnah. 2 He did (D)evil in the sight of the Lord like all that (E)Jehoiakim had done. 3 For through the (F)anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah (G)rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 (H)Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a (I)siege wall all around [b]it. 5 (J)So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the (K)fourth month the (L)famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was (M)broken into, and all the (N)men of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were [c](O)all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and (P)overtook Zedekiah in the [d]plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and (Q)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (R)Riblah in the land of (S)Hamath, and he [e]passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon (T)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the [f]princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he (U)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.
12 (V)Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the (W)nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, (X)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, [g]who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He (Y)burned the house of the Lord, the (Z)king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard (AA)broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard (AB)carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the [h](AC)deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. 16 But (AD)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and [i]plowmen.
17 Now the bronze (AE)pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the (AF)stands and the bronze (AG)sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the (AH)pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the [j]pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took away the (AI)bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the [k]pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under [l]the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was (AJ)beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the (AK)height of each pillar was eighteen [m]cubits, and [n]it was twelve cubits in (AL)circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Now a (AM)capital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and (AN)pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six [o]exposed pomegranates; all (AO)the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.
24 Then the captain of the guard took (AP)Seraiah the chief priest and (AQ)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [p](AR)officers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven [q]of the (AS)king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and (AT)brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon (AU)struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was (AV)led away into exile from its land.
28 These are the people whom (AW)Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the [r]seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, (AX)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.
31 (AY)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that [s]Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, [t](AZ)showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 (BA)Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So [u]Jehoiachin (BB)changed his prison clothes, and [v](BC)had his meals in [w]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 For his allowance, a (BD)regular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have (K)ransomed me, O Lord, (L)God of [c]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)regard [d]vain idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have (P)seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And (W)my [e]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)reproach,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [f](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face to shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [g]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be mute,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of men!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a [h]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made (AV)marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.