M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Absalom’s Conspiracy

15 Now it came about after this that ^(A)Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. ² Absalom used to rise early and ^(B)stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a suit to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “See, ^(C)your ^[a]claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” ⁴ Moreover, Absalom would say, “^(D)Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him justice.” ⁵ And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and ^(E)kiss him. ⁶ In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^(F)so Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ Now it came about at the end of ^[b]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to the Lord, in ^(G)Hebron. ⁸ For your servant ^(H)vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘^(I)If the Lord shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” ⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘^(J)Absalom is king in Hebron.’” ¹¹ Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^(K)who were invited and ^(L)went ^[c]innocently, and they did not know anything. ¹² And Absalom sent for ^(M)Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city ^(N)Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^(O)the people increased continually with Absalom.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ Then a messenger came to David, saying, “^(P)The hearts of the men of Israel are ^[d]with Absalom.” ¹⁴ David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “^(Q)Arise and let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go in haste, or he will overtake us quickly and bring down calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” ¹⁵ Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.” ¹⁶ So the king went out and all his household ^[e]with him. But ^(R)the king left ten concubines to keep the house. ¹⁷ The king went out and all the people ^[f]with him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸ Now all his servants passed on beside him, ^(S)all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites and all the Gittites, ^(T)six hundred men who had come ^[g]with him from Gath, passed on before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(U)Ittai the Gittite, “Why will you also go with us? Return and remain with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile; return to your own place. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander with us, while ^(V)I go where I will? Return and take back your brothers; ^(W)mercy and ^[h]truth be with you.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely ^(X)wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.” ²² Therefore David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. ²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people passed over. The king also passed over ^(Y)the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward ^(Z)the way of the wilderness.

²⁴ Now behold, ^(AA)Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him ^(AB)carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(AC)Abiathar came up until all the people had finished passing from the city. ²⁵ The king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then ^(AD)He will bring me back again and show me both it and ^(AE)His habitation. ²⁶ But if He should say thus, ‘^(AF)I have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am, ^(AG)let Him do to me as seems good ^[i]to Him.” ²⁷ The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Are you not ^(AH)a seer? Return to the city in peace and your ^(AI)two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I am going to wait ^(AJ)at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ Therefore Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰ And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and ^(AK)his head was covered and he walked ^(AL)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his head and went up weeping as they went. ³¹ Now someone told David, saying, “^(AM)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, ^(AN)make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”

³² It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the ^(AO)Archite met him with his ^[j]coat torn and ^[k]dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you pass over with me, then you will be ^(AP)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city, and ^(AQ)say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I will now be your servant,’ then you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So it shall be that ^(AR)whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Behold ^(AS)their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and ^(AT)by them you shall send me everything that you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AU)David’s friend, came into the city, and ^(AV)Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Great Generosity

8 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been ^(A)given in the churches of ^(B)Macedonia, ² that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the ^(C)wealth of their liberality. ³ For I testify that ^(D)according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, ⁴ begging us with much urging for the ^(E)favor ^[a]of participation in the ^[b](F)support of the ^[c]saints, ⁵ and this, not as we had ^[d]expected, but they first ^(G)gave themselves to the Lord and to us by ^(H)the will of God. ⁶ So we ^(I)urged ^(J)Titus that as he had previously ^(K)made a beginning, so he would also complete in you ^(L)this gracious work as well.

⁷ But just as you ^(M)abound ^(N)in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the ^[e]love we inspired in you, see that you ^(O)abound in this gracious work also. ⁸ I ^(P)am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. ⁹ For you know ^(Q)the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(R)though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ I ^(S)give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin ^(T)a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ But now finish ^[f]doing it also, so that just as there was the ^(U)readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. ¹² For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable ^(V)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— ¹⁴ at this present time your abundance being a supply for ^(W)their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for ^(X)your need, that there may be equality; ¹⁵ as it is written, “^(Y)He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

¹⁶ But ^(Z)thanks be to God who ^(AA)puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of ^(AB)Titus. ¹⁷ For he not only accepted our ^(AC)appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. ¹⁸ We have sent along with him ^(AD)the brother whose fame in the things of the ^(AE)gospel has spread through ^(AF)all the churches; ^19 (AG)and not only this, but he has also been ^(AH)appointed by the churches to travel with us in ^(AI)this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our ^(AJ)readiness, ^20 [g]taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; ²¹ for we ^(AK)have regard for what is honorable, not only in ^(AL)the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. ²² We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for ^(AM)Titus, he is my ^(AN)partner and fellow worker ^[h]among you; as for our ^(AO)brethren, they are ^[i](AP)messengers of the churches, ^(AQ)a glory to Christ. ²⁴ Therefore ^[j]openly before the churches, ^[k]show them the proof of your love and of our ^(AR)reason for boasting about you.

The Sins of Israel

22 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations. ³ You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord ^[a]God, “A city ^(A)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement! ⁴ You have become ^(B)guilty by ^[b]the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your ^[c]day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(C)reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of ^(D)turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the ^(E)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[d]power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have ^(F)treated father and mother lightly within you. The ^(G)alien they have oppressed in your midst; the ^(H)fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you. ⁸ You have ^(I)despised My holy things and ^(J)profaned My sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(K)committed acts of lewdness. ¹⁰ In you ^[e]they have ^(L)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was ^(M)unclean in her menstrual impurity. ¹¹ One has committed abomination with his ^(N)neighbor’s wife and another has lewdly defiled his ^(O)daughter-in-law. And another in you has ^(P)humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² In you they have ^(Q)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^(R)interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by ^(S)oppression, and you have ^(T)forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I smite My hand at your ^(U)dishonest gain which you have acquired and at ^[f]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can ^(V)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? ^(W)I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ I will ^(X)scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will ^(Y)consume your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(Z)know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^(AA)dross to Me; all of them are ^(AB)bronze and tin and iron and lead in the ^(AC)furnace; they are the dross of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the ^(AD)furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have ^(AE)poured out My wrath on you.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is ^(AF)not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵ There is a ^(AG)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^(AH)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(AI)widows in the midst of her. ²⁶ Her ^(AJ)priests have done violence to My law and have ^(AK)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(AL)distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(AM)unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and ^(AN)destroying lives in order to get ^(AO)dishonest gain. ²⁸ Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing ^(AP)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced ^(AQ)oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have ^(AR)oppressed the sojourner without justice. ³⁰ I ^(AS)searched for a man among them who would ^(AT)build up the wall and ^(AU)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^[g]no one. ³¹ Thus I have poured out My ^(AV)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; ^(AW)their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.

A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.

For the choir director; according to ^[a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.