M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Adonijah Tries to Become King
1 At this time King David was very old, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm. 2 They said to him, “We will look for a young woman to care for you. She will lie close to you and keep you warm.” 3 After searching everywhere in Israel for a beautiful young woman, they found a girl named Abishag from Shunam and brought her to the king. 4 The girl was very beautiful, and she cared for the king and served him. But the king did not have sexual relations with her.
5 Adonijah was the son of King David and Haggith, and he was very proud. “I will be the king,” he said. So he got chariots and horses for himself and fifty men for his personal bodyguard. 6 Now David had never interfered with Adonijah by questioning what he did. Born next after Absalom, Adonijah was a very handsome man.
7 Adonijah spoke with Joab son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest, and they agreed to help him. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and King David’s special guard did not join Adonijah.
9 Then Adonijah killed some sheep, cows, and fat calves for sacrifices at the Stone of Zoheleth near the spring of Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the other sons of King David, to come, as well as all the men of Judah. 10 But Adonijah did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, his father’s special guard, or his brother Solomon.
11 When Nathan heard about this, he went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. “Have you heard that Adonijah, Haggith’s son, has made himself king?” Nathan asked. “Our real king, David, does not know it. 12 I strongly advise you to save yourself and your sons. 13 Go to King David and tell him, ‘My master and king, you promised that my son Solomon would be king and would rule on your throne after you. Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 While you are still talking to the king, I will come in and tell him that what you have said about Adonijah is true.”
15 So Bathsheba went in to see the aged king in his bedroom, where Abishag, the girl from Shunam, was caring for him. 16 Bathsheba bowed and knelt before the king. He asked, “What do you want?”
17 She answered, “My master, you made a promise to me in the name of the Lord your God. You said, ‘Your son Solomon will become king after me, and he will rule on my throne.’ 18 But now, unknown to you, Adonijah has become king. 19 He has killed many cows, fat calves, and sheep for sacrifices. And he has invited all your sons, as well as Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he did not invite Solomon, who serves you. 20 My master and king, all the Israelites are watching you, waiting for you to decide who will be king after you. 21 As soon as you die, Solomon and I will be treated as criminals.”
22 While Bathsheba was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. 23 The servants told the king, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So Nathan went to the king and bowed facedown on the ground before him.
24 Nathan said, “My master and king, have you said that Adonijah will be the king after you and that he will rule on your throne? 25 Today he has sacrificed many cows, fat calves, and sheep, and he has invited all your other sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him. They are saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he did not invite me, your own servant, or Zadok the priest, or Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your son Solomon. 27 Did you do this? Since we are your servants, why didn’t you tell us who should be king after you?”
David Makes Solomon King
28 Then the king said, “Tell Bathsheba to come in!” So she came in and stood before the king.
29 Then the king made this promise, “The Lord has saved me from all trouble. As surely as he lives, 30 I will do today what I have promised you in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. I promised that your son Solomon would be king after me and rule on my throne in my place.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed facedown on the ground and knelt before the king and said, “Long live my master King David!”
32 Then King David said, “Tell Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada to come in.” When they came before the king, 33 he said to them, “Take my servants with you and put my son Solomon on my own mule. Take him down to the spring called Gihon. 34 There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet should pour olive oil on him and make him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Then come back up here with him. He will sit on my throne and rule in my place, because he is the one I have chosen to be the ruler over Israel and Judah.”
36 Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! This is what the Lord, the God of my master, has declared! 37 The Lord has always helped you, our king. May he also help Solomon and make King Solomon’s throne an even greater throne than yours.”
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada left with the Kerethites and Pelethites.[a] They put Solomon on King David’s mule and took him to the spring called Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest took the container of olive oil from the Holy Tent and poured the oil on Solomon’s head to show he was the king. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 All the people followed Solomon into the city. Playing flutes and shouting for joy, they made so much noise the ground shook.
41 At this time Adonijah and all the guests with him were finishing their meal. When he heard the sound from the trumpet, Joab asked, “What does all that noise from the city mean?”
42 While Joab was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in! You are an important man, so you must be bringing good news.”
43 But Jonathan answered, “No! Our master King David has made Solomon the new king. 44 King David sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and all the king’s bodyguards with him, and they have put Solomon on the king’s own mule. 45 Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet poured olive oil on Solomon at Gihon to make him king. After that they went into the city, shouting with joy. Now the whole city is excited, and that is the noise you hear. 46 Solomon has now become the king. 47 All the king’s officers have come to tell King David that he has done a good thing. They are saying, ‘May your God make Solomon even more famous than you and an even greater king than you.’” Jonathan continued, “And King David bowed down on his bed to worship God, 48 saying, ‘Bless the Lord, the God of Israel. Today he has made one of my sons the king and allowed me to see it.’”
49 Then all of Adonijah’s guests were afraid, and they left quickly and scattered. 50 Adonijah was also afraid of Solomon, so he went and took hold of the corners of the altar.[b] 51 Then someone told Solomon, “Adonijah is afraid of you, so he is at the altar, holding on to its corners. He says, ‘Tell King Solomon to promise me today that he will not kill me.’”
52 So Solomon answered, “Adonijah must show that he is a man of honor. If he does that, I promise he will not lose even a single hair from his head. But if he does anything wrong, he will die.” 53 Then King Solomon sent some men to get Adonijah. When he was brought from the altar, he came before King Solomon and bowed down. Solomon told him, “Go home.”
Keep Your Freedom
5 We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. So stand strong. Do not change and go back into the slavery of the law. 2 Listen, I Paul tell you that if you go back to the law by being circumcised, Christ does you no good. 3 Again, I warn every man: If you allow yourselves to be circumcised, you must follow all the law. 4 If you try to be made right with God through the law, your life with Christ is over—you have left God’s grace. 5 But we have the true hope that comes from being made right with God, and by the Spirit we wait eagerly for this hope. 6 When we are in Christ Jesus, it is not important if we are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.
7 You were running a good race. Who stopped you from following the true way? 8 This change did not come from the One who chose you. 9 Be careful! “Just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.” 10 But I trust in the Lord that you will not believe those different ideas. Whoever is confusing you with such ideas will be punished.
11 My brothers and sisters, I do not teach that a man must be circumcised. If I teach circumcision, why am I still being attacked? If I still taught circumcision, my preaching about the cross would not be a problem. 12 I wish the people who are bothering you would castrate[a] themselves!
13 My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love. 14 The whole law is made complete in this one command: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[b] 15 If you go on hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.
The Spirit and Human Nature
16 So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. 17 Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please. 18 But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law.
19 The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, 20 worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, 21 feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God’s kingdom. 22 But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. 25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. 26 We must not be proud or make trouble with each other or be jealous of each other.
A Funeral Song
32 It was in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, sing a funeral song about the king of Egypt. Say to him:
‘You are like a young lion among the nations.
You are like a crocodile in the seas.
You splash around in your streams
and stir up the water with your feet,
making the rivers muddy.
3 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will spread my net over you,
and I will use a large group of people
to pull you up in my net.
4 Then I will throw you on the land
dropping you onto the ground.
I will let the birds of the sky rest on you
and all the animals of the earth eat you until they are full.
5 I will scatter your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys with what is left of you.
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood
as far as the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your flesh.
7 When I make you disappear,
I will cover the sky and make the stars dark.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine.
8 I will make all the shining lights in the sky
become dark over you;
I will bring darkness over your land,
says the Lord God.
9 I will cause many people to be afraid
when I bring you as a captive into other nations,
to lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many people to be shocked about you.
Their kings will tremble with fear because of you
when I swing my sword in front of them.
They will shake every moment
on the day you fall;
each king will be afraid for his own life.
11 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
The sword of the king of Babylon
will attack you.
12 I will cause your people to fall
by the swords of mighty soldiers,
the most terrible in the world.
They will destroy the pride of Egypt
and all its people.
13 I will also destroy all Egypt’s cattle
which live alongside much water.
The foot of a human will not stir the water,
and the hoofs of cattle will not muddy it anymore.
14 So I will let the Egyptians’ water become clear.
I will cause their rivers to run as smoothly as olive oil,
says the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt empty
and take everything that is in the land,
when I destroy all those who live in Egypt,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
16 “This is the funeral song people will sing for Egypt. The women of the nations will sing it; they will sing a funeral song for Egypt and all its people, says the Lord God.”
Egypt to Be Destroyed
17 It was in the twelfth year of our captivity, on the fifteenth day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 18 “Human, cry for the people of Egypt. Bring down Egypt, together with the women of the powerful nations; bring them down to the place of the dead below the earth to join those who go to the place of the dead. 19 Say to them: ‘Are you more beautiful than others? Go lie down in death with those who are unclean.’ 20 The Egyptians will fall among those killed in war. The sword is ready; the enemy will drag Egypt and all her people away. 21 From the place of the dead the leaders of the mighty ones will speak about the king of Egypt and the nations which help him: ‘The unclean, those killed in war, have come down here and lie dead.’
22 “Assyria and all its army lie dead there. The graves of their soldiers are all around. All were killed in war, 23 and their graves were put in the deepest parts of the place of the dead. Assyria’s army lies around its grave. When they lived on earth, they frightened people, but now all of them have been killed in war.
24 “The nation of Elam is there with all its army around its grave. All of them were killed in war. They had frightened people on earth and were unclean, so they went down to the lowest parts of the place of the dead. They must carry their shame with those who have gone down to the place of the dead. 25 A bed has been made for Elam with all those killed in war. The graves of her soldiers are all around her. All Elam’s people are unclean, killed in war. They frightened people when they lived on earth, but now they must carry their shame with those who have gone down to the place of the dead. Their graves are with the rest who were killed.
26 “Meshech and Tubal are there with the graves of all their soldiers around them. All of them are unclean and have been killed in war. They also frightened people when they lived on earth. 27 But they are not buried with the other soldiers who were killed in battle long ago, those who went with their weapons of war to the place of the dead. These soldiers had their swords laid under their heads and their shields on their bodies. These mighty soldiers used to frighten people when they lived on earth.
28 “You, king of Egypt, will be broken and lie among those who are unclean, who were killed in war.
29 “Edom is there also, with its kings and all its leaders. They were mighty, but now they lie in death with those killed in war, with those who are unclean, with those who have gone down to the place of the dead.
30 “All the rulers of the north and all the Sidonians are there. Their strength frightened people, but they have gone down in shame with those who were killed. They are unclean, lying with those killed in war. They carry their shame with those who have gone down to the place of the dead.
31 “The king of Egypt and his army will see these who have been killed in war. Then he will be comforted for all his soldiers killed in war, says the Lord God. 32 I made people afraid of the king of Egypt while he lived on earth. But he and all his people will lie among those who are unclean, who were killed in war, says the Lord God.”
A Prayer to Bring Israel Back
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies of the Agreement.” A psalm of Asaph.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us.
You lead the people of Joseph like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the gold creatures with wings.
Show your greatness 2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Use your strength,
and come to save us.
3 God, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
4 Lord God All-Powerful,
how long will you be angry
at the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed your people with tears;
you have made them drink many tears.
6 You made those around us fight over us,
and our enemies make fun of us.
7 God All-Powerful, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
8 You brought us out of Egypt as if we were a vine.
You forced out other nations and planted us in the land.
9 You cleared the ground for us.
Like a vine, we took root and filled the land.
10 We covered the mountains with our shade.
We had limbs like the mighty cedar tree.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and our shoots went to the Euphrates River.
12 So why did you pull down our walls?
Now everyone who passes by steals from us.
13 Like wild pigs they walk over us;
like wild animals they feed on us.
14 God All-Powerful, come back.
Look down from heaven and see.
Take care of us, your vine.
15 You planted this shoot with your own hands
and strengthened this child.
16 Now it is cut down and burned with fire;
you destroyed us by your angry looks.
17 With your hand,
strengthen the one you have chosen for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call to you for help.
19 Lord God All-Powerful, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.