M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Gatekeepers

26 As for the divisons of the gatekeepers: of the Ko′rahites, Meshelemi′ah the son of Ko′re, of the sons of Asaph. ² And Meshelemi′ah had sons: Zechari′ah the first-born, Jedi′a-el the second, Zebadi′ah the third, Jath′ni-el the fourth, ³ Elam the fifth, Jehoha′nan the sixth, Eli-e-ho-e′nai the seventh. ⁴ And O′bed-e′dom had sons: Shemai′ah the first-born, Jeho′zabad the second, Jo′ah the third, Sachar the fourth, Nethan′el the fifth, ⁵ Am′miel the sixth, Is′sachar the seventh, Pe-ul′lethai the eighth; for God blessed him. ⁶ Also to his son Shemai′ah were sons born who were rulers in their fathers’ houses, for they were men of great ability. ⁷ The sons of Shemai′ah: Othni, Reph′a-el, Obed, and Elza′bad, whose brethren were able men, Eli′hu and Semachi′ah. ⁸ All these were of the sons of O′bed-e′dom with their sons and brethren, able men qualified for the service; sixty-two of O′bed-e′dom. ⁹ And Meshelemi′ah had sons and brethren, able men, eighteen. ¹⁰ And Hosah, of the sons of Merar′i, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the first-born, his father made him chief), ¹¹ Hilki′ah the second, Tebali′ah the third, Zechari′ah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

¹² These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their chief men, had duties, just as their brethren did, ministering in the house of the Lord; ¹³ and they cast lots by fathers’ houses, small and great alike, for their gates. ¹⁴ The lot for the east fell to Shelemi′ah. They cast lots also for his son Zechari′ah, a shrewd counselor, and his lot came out for the north. ¹⁵ O′bed-e′dom’s came out for the south, and to his sons was allotted the storehouse. ¹⁶ For Shuppim and Hosah it came out for the west, at the gate of Shal′lecheth on the road that goes up. Watch corresponded to watch. ¹⁷ On the east there were six each day,^[a] on the north four each day, on the south four each day, as well as two and two at the storehouse; ¹⁸ and for the parbar^[b] on the west there were four at the road and two at the parbar. ¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the Ko′rahites and the sons of Merar′i.

The Treasurers, Officers, and Judges

²⁰ And of the Levites, Ahi′jah had charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated gifts. ²¹ The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers’ houses belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehi′eli.^[c]

²² The sons of Jehi′eli, Zetham and Jo′el his brother, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the Lord. ²³ Of the Am′ramites, the Iz′harites, the He′bronites, and the Uz′zielites— ²⁴ and Sheb′uel the son of Gershom, son of Moses, was chief officer in charge of the treasuries. ²⁵ His brethren: from Elie′zer were his son Rehabi′ah, and his son Jeshai′ah, and his son Joram, and his son Zichri, and his son Shelo′moth. ²⁶ This Shelo′moth and his brethren were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts which David the king, and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and the officers of the thousands and the hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. ²⁷ From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the house of the Lord. ²⁸ Also all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah had dedicated—all dedicated gifts were in the care of Shelo′moth^[d] and his brethren.

²⁹ Of the Iz′harites, Chenani′ah and his sons were appointed to outside duties for Israel, as officers and judges. ³⁰ Of the He′bronites, Hashabi′ah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred men of ability, had the oversight of Israel westward of the Jordan for all the work of the Lord and for the service of the king. ³¹ Of the He′bronites, Jeri′jah was chief of the He′bronites of whatever genealogy or fathers’ houses. (In the fortieth year of David’s reign search was made and men of great ability among them were found at Jazer in Gilead.) ³² King David appointed him and his brethren, two thousand seven hundred men of ability, heads of fathers’ houses, to have the oversight of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manas′sites for everything pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.

The Military Divisions

27 This is the list of the people of Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all matters concerning the divisions that came and went, month after month throughout the year, each division numbering twenty-four thousand:

² Jasho′be-am the son of Zab′di-el was in charge of the first division in the first month; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ³ He was a descendant of Perez, and was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month. ⁴ Dodai the Aho′hite^[e] was in charge of the division of the second month; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁵ The third commander, for the third month, was Benai′ah, the son of Jehoi′ada the priest, as chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁶ This is the Benai′ah who was a mighty man of the thirty and in command of the thirty; Ammiz′abad his son was in charge of his division.^{[f] 7} As′ahel the brother of Jo′ab was fourth, for the fourth month, and his son Zebadi′ah after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸ The fifth commander, for the fifth month, was Shamhuth, the Iz′rahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹ Sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira, the son of Ikkesh the Teko′ite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰ Seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pel′onite, of the sons of E′phraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹ Eighth, for the eighth month, was Sib′becai the Hu′shathite, of the Ze′rahites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹² Ninth, for the ninth month, was Abi-e′zer of An′athoth, a Benjaminite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³ Tenth, for the tenth month, was Ma′harai of Netoph′ah, of the Ze′rahites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴ Eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benai′ah of Pir′athon, of the sons of E′phraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵ Twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netoph′athite, of Oth′ni-el; in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Leaders of Tribes

¹⁶ Over the tribes of Israel, for the Reubenites Elie′zer the son of Zichri was chief officer; for the Simeonites, Shephati′ah the son of Ma′acah; ¹⁷ for Levi, Hashabi′ah the son of Kemu′el; for Aaron, Zadok; ¹⁸ for Judah, Eli′hu, one of David’s brothers; for Is′sachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹ for Zeb′ulun, Ishma′iah the son of Obadi′ah; for Naph′tali, Jer′emoth the son of Az′ri-el; ²⁰ for the E′phraimites, Hoshe′a the son of Azazi′ah; for the half-tribe of Manas′seh, Jo′el the son of Peda′iah; ²¹ for the half-tribe of Manas′seh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechari′ah; for Benjamin, Ja-asi′el the son of Abner; ²² for Dan, Az′arel the son of Jero′ham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. ²³ David did not number those below twenty years of age, for the Lord had promised to make Israel as many as the stars of heaven. ²⁴ Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah began to number, but did not finish; yet wrath came upon Israel for this, and the number was not entered in the chronicles of King David.

Other Civic Officials

²⁵ Over the king’s treasuries was Az′maveth the son of Ad′i-el; and over the treasuries in the country, in the cities, in the villages and in the towers, was Jonathan the son of Uzzi′ah; ²⁶ and over those who did the work of the field for tilling the soil was Ezri the son of Chelub; ²⁷ and over the vineyards was Shim′e-i the Ra′mathite; and over the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. ²⁸ Over the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephe′lah was Ba′al-ha′nan the Gede′rite; and over the stores of oil was Jo′ash. ²⁹ Over the herds that pastured in Sharon was Shitrai the Shar′onite; over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai. ³⁰ Over the camels was Obil the Ish′maelite; and over the she-asses was Jehde′iah the Meron′othite. Over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. ³¹ All these were stewards of King David’s property.

³² Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, being a man of understanding and a scribe; he and Jehi′el the son of Hach′moni attended the king’s sons. ³³ Ahith′ophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend. ³⁴ Ahith′ophel was succeeded by Jehoi′ada the son of Benai′ah, and Abi′athar. Jo′ab was commander of the king’s army.

Salutation

1 Simeon^[a] Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:^[b]

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

The Christian’s Call and Election

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to^[c] his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. ⁵ For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; ¹¹ so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² Therefore I intend always to remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this body,^[d] to arouse you by way of reminder, ¹⁴ since I know that the putting off of my body^[e] will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ¹⁵ And I will see to it that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Eyewitnesses of Christ’s Glory

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,^[f] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸ we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹ And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.^[g]

Peace and Security through Obedience

Restoration Promised after Exile

Repent or Perish

13 There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? ³ I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Silo′am fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. ⁹ And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

¹⁰ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹ And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹² And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” ¹³ And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. ¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” ¹⁷ As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

¹⁸ He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast

²⁰ And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Door

²² He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ ²⁸ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

The Lament over Jerusalem

³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” ³² And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. ³³ Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ ³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! ³⁵ Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”