M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Healing of Naaman
5 Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram,[a] was a great man in the opinion[b] of his master. He was highly favored, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. Though he was a mighty and valiant man, he was suffering from leprosy. 2 On one of their raids to the territory of Israel, Aram had taken captive a young girl when she was an infant,[c] who had eventually become an attendant to[d] Naaman’s wife. 3 She mentioned to her mistress, “If only my master were to visit the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
4 Later, Naaman[e] went to inform his master and told him something like this: “Thus and so spoke the young woman from the territory of Israel.”
5 The king of Aram replied, “Go now, and I’ll send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he left and took with him ten talents[f] of silver and 6,000 units[g] of gold, along with ten sets[h] of clothing. 6 He also brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read as follows: “…and now as this letter finds its way to you, look! I’ve sent my servant Naaman to you so you may heal him of his leprosy.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes and cried out, “Am I God? Can I kill and give life? Is this man sending me a request[i] to heal a man’s leprosy? Let’s think about this—he’s looking for a reason to start a fight[j] with me!”
8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message[k] to the king and asked, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let the man come visit me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel!”
9 So Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots and stood in front of the door to Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger out to him, who told him, “Go bathe in the Jordan River[l] seven times. Your flesh will be restored for you. Now stay clean!”
11 But Naaman flew into a rage and left, telling himself, “Look! I thought ‘He’s surely going to come out to me, stand still, call out in the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the infection,[m] and cure the leprosy!’ 12 Aren’t the Abana and Pharpar rivers in Damascus better than all of the water in Israel? Couldn’t I just bathe in them and become clean?” So he turned away and left, filled with anger.
13 But then his servants approached him and spoke with him. They said, “My father, had the prophet only asked of you something great, you would have done it, wouldn’t you? Yet he told you, ‘Bathe, and be clean…!’” 14 So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan River[n] seven times, just as the man of God had said, and his flesh rejuvenated like the flesh of a newborn child. And he was clean.
Gehazi’s Greed is Punished
15 Naaman[o] went back to the man of God, along with his entire entourage, and stood before him. “Please look!” he said. “I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel! So please, take a present from your servant.”
16 But Elisha[p] replied, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will not receive anything from you.” Though Naaman[q] urged him to take it, Elisha[r] declined.
17 So Naaman asked, “No? Then please let your servant load two mules with dirt from Israel,[s] because your servant will no longer offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other god but the Lord. 18 In this one area may the Lord pardon your servant: Whenever my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, he will lean on my hand while I bow down in the temple of Rimmon. So may the Lord pardon your servant in this one area.”
19 “Go in peace,” he said. So Naaman[t] left.
After Naaman had gone only a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the attendant to Elisha, the man of God, told himself, “Look how my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman! He declined to take from him what he brought. As the Lord lives, I’m going to run after him and get something from him.” 21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman.
When Naaman noticed someone running after him, he came down from his chariot, greeted him and asked, “Is everything all right?”[u]
22 Gehazi said, “Everything’s all right. My master sent me to tell you, ‘Just now two men from the Guild of Prophets have arrived from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them each a talent[v] of silver bullion and two sets[w] of clothes.’”
23 But Naaman said, “Please accept my invitation to take two talents[x] of silver.” He urged him, binding two talents[y] of silver in two bags, along with two sets of clothes. He placed them in the care of two of his young men, and they went on ahead of Gehazi.[z] 24 When he arrived at the stronghold, Gehazi[aa] took the bags from their custody and hid them away in the house. Then he sent the men away and they left.
25 Later he went to address[ab] his master. Elisha asked him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”
“Your servant went nowhere in particular,” he said.
26 But Elisha[ac] responded, “Didn’t my heart break[ad] as the man was turning from his chariot to greet you? Is now the time to receive money? To receive clothes? And olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, servants, or female attendants? 27 Naaman’s leprosy will plague you and your descendants forever!” As he left Elisha’s presence, he was infected with leprosy that looked like white snow.
Prayer and Submission to Authority
2 First of all, then, I urge you to offer to God[a] petitions, prayers, intercessions, and expressions of thanks for all people, 2 for kings, and for everyone who has authority, so that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life with all godliness and dignity.[b] 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth fully. 5 There is one God. There is also one mediator between God and human beings—a human, the Messiah[c] Jesus. 6 He gave himself as a ransom for everyone, the testimony at the proper time. 7 For this reason I was appointed to be an announcer, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the gentiles. (I am telling you the truth.[d] I am not lying.)
Instructions to Men and Women
8 Therefore, I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without being angry or argumentative. 9 Women, for their part, should display their beauty by dressing modestly and decently in appropriate clothes, not with elaborate hairstyles or by wearing gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, 10 but through good actions. This is proper for women who claim to revere God.
11 Let a woman learn with a quiet spirit, and submissively. 12 Moreover, in the area of teaching, I am not allowing a woman to instigate conflict toward a man. Instead, she is to remain calm. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve, 14 and it was not Adam who was deceived. It was the woman who was deceived and became disobedient, 15 even though she will be saved through the birth of the Child,[e] if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, along with good judgment.[f]
Daniel’s Prayer
9 “In the first year of the reign of Darius son of Ahasuerus, a descendant of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans[a]— 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, noted in the Scripture the total years that were assigned[b] by the message from the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem: 70 years.
3 “So I turned my attention to the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, accompanied with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God, confessing and saying:
‘Lord! Great and awesome God, who keeps his[c] covenant and gracious love for those who love him and obey his commandments, 5 we’ve sinned, we’ve practiced evil, we’ve acted wickedly, and we’ve rebelled, turning away from your commands and from your regulations. 6 Furthermore, we haven’t listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, to our officials, to our ancestors, and to all of the people of the land.
7 ‘To you, Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us, open humiliation—even to this day, to the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, both those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the lands to which you drove them because of their unfaithful acts that they committed against you.
8 ‘Open humiliation belongs to us, Lord, to our kings, our officials, and our ancestors, because we’ve sinned against you. 9 But to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we’ve rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws that he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 And all Israel flouted your Law, turning aside from it and not obeying your voice. Because we’ve sinned against him, the curse has been poured upon us, along with the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God.
12 ‘He has confirmed his accusation[d] that he spoke against us and against our rulers who governed us by bringing upon us great calamity, because nowhere in the universe[e] has anything been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 As it’s written in the Law of Moses,[f] all this calamity has befallen us, but we still haven’t sought the Lord our God by turning from our lawlessness to pay attention to your truth. 14 So the Lord watched for the right time to bring the calamity upon us, because the Lord our God is righteous regarding everything he does, but we have not obeyed his voice.
15 ‘And now, Lord our God, who brought your people from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made a name for yourself that remains to this day—we’ve sinned. We’ve acted wickedly. 16 Lord, in view of all your righteous acts, please turn your anger and wrath away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an embarrassment to all of those around us.
17 ‘So now, O[g] God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his requests, and look with favor on your desolate sanctuary, for the sake of the Lord. 18 Turn your ear and listen, O God. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and at the city that is called by your name. We’re not presenting our requests before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great compassion.
19 ‘Lord, listen!
‘Lord, forgive!
‘Lord, take note and take action!
‘For your own sake, don’t delay, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.’”
Gabriel’s Answer: The Seventy Weeks
20 “While I was still speaking in prayer, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and placing my request in the presence of the Lord my God on behalf of the holy mountain of God— 21 while I was still speaking, Gabriel, the man of God whom I had seen in the previous vision, appeared to me about the time of the evening offering. 22 He gave instructions, and this is what he spoke to me:
‘Daniel, I’ve now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 Because you’re highly regarded, the answer was issued when you began your prayer, and I’ve come to tell you. Pay attention to my message and you’ll understand the vision. 24 Seventy weeks[h] have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city: to restrain transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for lawlessness, to establish everlasting righteousness, to conclude vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 So be informed and discern that seven weeks and 62 weeks will elapse[i] from the issuance of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed Commander.[j] The plaza and moat will be rebuilt, though in troubled times. 26 Then after the 62 weeks, the anointed one[k] will be cut down (but not for himself).[l] Then the people of the Coming Commander[m] will destroy both the city and the Sanctuary. Its ending will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war, with desolations having been decreed. 27 He will make a binding covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he will suspend both the sacrifice and grain offerings. Destructive people will cause desolation on the uttermost edge[n] of the Sanctuary[o] until it is complete and what has been decreed is poured out on the desolator.’”
A Call to Praise the Lord
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Exalt him, all you peoples!
2 For great is his gracious love toward us,
and the Lord’s faithfulness is eternal.
Hallelujah!
Thanksgiving to God
118 Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his gracious love is eternal.
2 Let Israel now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
5 I called on the Lord in my distress;
the Lord answered me openly.[a]
6 The Lord is with me.
I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
7 With the Lord beside me as my helper,
I will triumph over those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[b] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter[c] in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
11 They surrounded me, they are around me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
but they will be extinguished like[d] burning thorns.
In the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
13 Indeed, you[e] oppressed me so much that I nearly fell,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and protector,[f]
for he has become my deliverer.[g]
15 There’s exultation[h] for deliverance in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord is victorious![i]
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted!
The right hand of the Lord is victorious!”[j]
17 I will not die, but I will live
to recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord will discipline me severely,
but he won’t hand me over to die.
19 Open for me the righteous gates
so I may enter through them to give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
The righteous will enter through it.
21 I will praise you because you have answered me
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is from the Lord—
it is awesome in our sight.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please Lord, deliver us!
Please Lord, hurry[k] and bring success now!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Let us bless you from the Lord’s house.
27 The Lord is God—he will be our light!
Bind the festival sacrifice with ropes
to the horn at the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his gracious love is eternal.
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