M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David’s Charge to Solomon
2 As David’s [a](A)time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “(B)I am going the way of all the earth. (C)Be strong, therefore, and [b]show yourself a man. 3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, (D)according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that (E)you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 so that (F)the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘(G)If your sons are careful of their way, (H)to walk before Me in [c]truth with all their heart and with all their soul, [d](I)you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
5 “Now you also know what Joab the (J)son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to (K)Abner the son of Ner, and to (L)Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also [e]shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt [f]about his waist, and on his sandals [g]on his feet. 6 (M)So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to [h]Sheol in peace. 7 But (N)show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and (O)let them be among those who eat at your table; (P)for they [i]assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 Behold, (Q)there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a [j]violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when (R)he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, (S)for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to [k]Sheol with blood.”
Death of David
10 Then (T)David slept with his fathers and was buried in (U)the city of David. 11 (V)The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: (W)seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 12 And (X)Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “(Y)Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” 14 Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” 15 So he said, “You know that (Z)the kingdom was mine and (AA)that all Israel [l]expected me to be king; (AB)however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, (AC)for it was his from the Lord. 16 Now I am making one request of you; do not [m]refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” 17 Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not [n]refuse you, that he may give me (AD)Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”
Adonijah Executed
19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he (AE)had a throne set for the king’s mother, and (AF)she sat on his right. 20 Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; (AG)do not [o]refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not [p]refuse you.” 21 So she said, “(AH)Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” 22 King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you asking Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? (AI)Ask for him also the kingdom—(AJ)for he is my older brother—even for him, for (AK)Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has (AL)not spoken this word against his own [q]life. 24 Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father and (AM)who has made me a house as He promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death today.” 25 So King Solomon (AN)sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him so that he died.
26 Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “(AO)Go to Anathoth to your own field, (AP)for you [r]deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this time, because (AQ)you carried the ark of the Lord [s]God before my father David, and because (AR)you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill (AS)the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
Joab Executed
28 Now the news came to Joab, (AT)for Joab had followed Adonijah, (AU)although he had not followed Absalom. And Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and (AV)took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and behold, he is beside the altar. Then Solomon (AW)sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “(AX)Go, fall upon him.” 30 So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “Thus the king has said, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus spoke Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 The king said to him, “(AY)Do as he has spoken and fall upon him and bury him, (AZ)that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without cause. 32 (BA)The Lord will return his blood on his own head, (BB)because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know it: (BC)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and (BD)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. 33 (BE)So shall their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his [t]descendants forever; but to David and his [u]descendants and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” 34 Then (BF)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house (BG)in the wilderness. 35 (BH)The king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed (BI)Zadok the priest (BJ)in the place of Abiathar.
Shimei Executed
36 Now the king sent and called for (BK)Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place. 37 For on the day you go out and (BL)cross over the [v]brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you shall surely die; (BM)your blood shall be on your own head.” 38 Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
39 But it came about at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away (BN)to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” 40 Then Shimei arose and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to look for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. 41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. 42 So the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘You will know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word which I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I [w]have laid on you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “(BO)You know all the evil which [x]you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore (BP)the Lord shall return your evil on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and (BQ)the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” 46 (BR)So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him so that he died.
(BS)Thus the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.
Bear One Another’s Burdens
6 (A)Brethren, even if [a]anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are (B)spiritual, (C)restore such a one (D)in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 (E)Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill (F)the law of Christ. 3 For (G)if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must (H)examine his own work, and then he will have reason for (I)boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. 5 For (J)each one will bear his own load.
6 (K)The one who is taught (L)the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 (M)Do not be deceived, (N)God is not mocked; for (O)whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 (P)For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap (Q)corruption, but (R)the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 (S)Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we (T)do not grow weary. 10 So then, [b](U)while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the (V)household of (W)the faith.
11 See with what large letters I [c]am writing to you (X)with my own hand. 12 Those who desire (Y)to make a good showing in the flesh try to (Z)compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they (AA)will not be persecuted [d]for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who [e]are circumcised do not even (AB)keep [f]the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may (AC)boast in your flesh. 14 But (AD)may it never be that I would boast, (AE)except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, (AF)through [g]which the world has been crucified to me, and (AG)I to the world. 15 For (AH)neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a (AI)new [h]creation. 16 And those who will [i]walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the (AJ)Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the (AK)brand-marks of Jesus.
18 (AL)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be (AM)with your spirit, (AN)brethren. Amen.
The Watchman’s Duty
33 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the (A)sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and (B)blows on the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and (C)does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his (D)blood will be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have (E)delivered his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is (F)taken away [a]in his iniquity; but his (G)blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’
7 “Now as for you, son of man, I have [b](H)appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a [c]message from My mouth and give them (I)warning from Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will (J)surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. 9 But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he (K)does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have (L)delivered your life.
10 “Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have spoken, saying, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are (M)rotting away in them; (N)how then can we [d]survive?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘(O)As I live!’ declares the Lord [e]God, ‘I take (P)no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked (Q)turn from his way and live. (R)Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ 12 And you, son of man, say to [f]your fellow citizens, ‘The (S)righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will (T)not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live [g]by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ 13 When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he (U)commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die. 14 But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and he (V)turns from his sin and practices (W)justice and righteousness, 15 if a wicked man restores a pledge, (X)pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the (Y)statutes [h]which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 (Z)None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.
17 “Yet [i]your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right. 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and (AA)commits iniquity, then he shall die in [j]it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. 20 Yet you say, ‘(AB)The way of the Lord is not right.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.”
Word of Jerusalem’s Capture
21 Now (AC)in the (AD)twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the [k]refugees from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “(AE)The city has been [l]taken.” 22 Now the (AF)hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the [m]refugees came. And He (AG)opened my mouth [n]at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was (AH)opened and I was no longer [o]speechless.
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 24 “Son of man, they who (AI)live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘(AJ)Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to (AK)us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You eat meat with the (AL)blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. (AM)Should you then possess the land? 26 You [p](AN)rely on your sword, you commit abominations and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”’ 27 Thus you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “As I live, surely those who are in the waste places will (AO)fall by the sword, and whoever is in the [q]open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the (AP)caves will die of pestilence. 28 I will (AQ)make the land a desolation and a waste, and the (AR)pride of her power will cease; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’
30 “But as for you, son of man, [r]your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘(AS)Come now and hear what the [s]message is which comes forth from the Lord.’ 31 They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their (AT)mouth, and their heart goes after their (AU)gain. 32 Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a (AV)beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. 33 So when it (AW)comes to pass—[t]as surely it will—then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.”
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Waywardness.
For the choir director; [a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.
81 (A)Sing for joy to God our (B)strength;
Shout (C)joyfully to the (D)God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song, strike (E)the timbrel,
The sweet sounding (F)lyre with the (G)harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the (H)new moon,
At the full moon, on our (I)feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he [b](J)went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard a (K)language that I did not know:
6 “I [c](L)relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the [d]basket.
7 “You (M)called in trouble and I rescued you;
I (N)answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the (O)waters of Meribah. [e]Selah.
8 “(P)Hear, O My people, and I will [f]admonish you;
O Israel, if you (Q)would listen to Me!
9 “Let there be no (R)strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 “(S)I, the Lord, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
(T)Open your mouth wide and I will (U)fill it.
11 “But My people (V)did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not [g]obey Me.
12 “So I (W)gave [h]them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
13 “Oh that My people (X)would listen to Me,
That Israel would (Y)walk in My ways!
14 “I would quickly (Z)subdue their enemies
And (AA)turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 “(AB)Those who hate the Lord would (AC)pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 “[i]But I would feed you with the [j](AD)finest of the wheat,
And with (AE)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Unjust Judgments Rebuked.
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes His (AF)stand in [k]His own congregation;
He (AG)judges in the midst of the [l](AH)rulers.
2 How long will you (AI)judge unjustly
And (AJ)show partiality to the wicked? [m]Selah.
3 (AK)Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 (AL)Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They (AM)do not know nor do they understand;
They (AN)walk about in darkness;
All the (AO)foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 [n]I (AP)said, “You are gods,
And all of you are (AQ)sons of the Most High.
7 “Nevertheless (AR)you will die like men
And fall like any (AS)one of the princes.”
8 (AT)Arise, O God, (AU)judge the earth!
For it is You who (AV)possesses all the nations.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.