M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
20 1 Samaria is besieged. 13 The Lord promiseth the victory to Ahab by a Prophet. 31 The King of Israel made peace with Ben-Hadad, and is reproved therefore by the Prophet.
1 Then Ben-Hadad the king of [a]Aram assembled all his army, and two and thirty [b]kings with him, with horses, and chariots, and went up and besieged [c]Samaria, and fought against it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city,
3 And said unto him, Thus saith Ben-Hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine: also thy women, and thy fair children are mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered, and said, My lord king, according to thy saying, [d]I am thine, and all that I have.
5 And when the messengers came again, they said, Thus commandeth Ben-Hadad, and saith, When I shall send unto thee, and command, thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold, and thy women, and thy children,
6 [e]Or else I will send my servants unto thee by tomorrow this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants: and whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall take it in their hands, and bring it away.
7 Then the King of Israel sent for all the Elders of the land, and said, Take heed, I pray you, and see how he seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I denied him not.
8 And all the Elders, and all the people said to him, Hearken [f]not unto him, nor consent.
9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-Hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first time, that I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him an answer.
10 And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so to me and more also, if the [g]dust of Samaria be enough to all the people that follow me, for every man an handful.
11 And the king of Israel answered, and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth his harness, boast himself, as he that [h]putteth it off.
12 And when he heard that tidings, as he was with the kings drinking in the pavilions, he said unto the servants, [i]Bring forth your engines. And they set them against the city.
13 ¶ And behold, there came a Prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, that thou mayest know, [j]that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? and he said, Thus saith the Lord, By the servants of the princes of the provinces. He said again, Who shall order the battle? and he answered, Thou.
15 ¶ Then he numbered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred, two and thirty: and after them he numbered the whole people of all the children of Israel, even seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon: but Ben-Hadad did drink till he was drunken in the tents, both he and the kings: for two and thirty kings helped him.
17 So the [k]servants of the princes of the provinces went out first: and Ben-Hadad sent out, and they showed him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive: or whether they be come out to fight, take them yet alive.
19 So they came out of the city, to wit, the servants of the princes of the provinces, and the host which followed them.
20 And they slew everyone his [l]enemy: and the [m]Aramites fled, and Israel pursued them: but Ben-Hadad the king of Aram escaped on an horse with his [n]horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and with a great slaughter slew the Aramites.
22 (For there had come a Prophet to the king of Israel, and had said unto him, Go, be of good courage, and consider, and take heed what thou doest: for when the year is gone about, the king of Aram will come up against thee.)
23 ¶ Then the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, Their [o]gods are gods of the mountains, and therefore they overcame us: but let us fight against them in the plain, and doubtless we shall overcome them.
24 And this do, Take the kings away, everyone out of his place, and place captains for them.
25 And number thyself an army, like the army that thou hast lost, with such horses, and such chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and doubtless we shall overcome them: and he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And after the year was gone about, Ben-Hadad numbered the Aramites, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all [p]assembled, and went against them, and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids: but the Aramites filled the country.
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Aramites have said, The Lord is the God of the mountains, and not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that [q]I am the Lord.
29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days, and in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Aramites an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek into the city: and there fell a wall upon seven and twenty thousand men that were left: and Ben-Hadad fled into the city, and came into [r]a secret chamber.
31 ¶ And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard say that the Kings of the house of Israel are merciful Kings: we pray thee, let us put sackcloth about our [s]loins, and ropes about our heads, and go out to the King of Israel: it may be that he will save thy life.
32 Then they girded sackcloth about their loins, and put ropes about their heads, and came to the King of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-Hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live: and he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
33 Now the men took diligent heed, [t]if they could catch anything of him, and made haste, and said, Thy brother [u]Ben-Hadad. And he said, Go, bring him. So Ben-Hadad came out unto him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 And Ben-Hadad said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in [v]Damascus, as my father did in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
35 ¶ Then a certain man of the [w]children of the Prophets said unto his neighbor by the commandment of the Lord, [x]Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.
36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall [y]slay thee. So when he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, and in smiting wounded him.
38 So the Prophet departed, and waited for the King by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39 And when the King came by, he cried unto the King, and said, [z]Thy servant went into the midst of the battle, and behold, there went away a man, whom another man brought unto me, and said, Keep this man: if he be lost, and want, thy life shall go for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And as thy servant had here and there to do, he was gone: And the King of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be: thou hast given sentence.
41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face: and the King of Israel knew him that he was of the Prophets:
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, (A)Because thou hast let go out of thine hands a man whom I appointed to die, thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the King of Israel went to his house heavy and in displeasure, and came to [aa]Samaria.
3 1 To show his affection towards them, he sendeth Timothy unto them: 6 He is so moved by the report of their prosperous state, 9 that he cannot give sufficient thanks, 11 and therefore he breaketh out into prayer.
1 Wherefore since we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to remain at Athens alone,
2 (A)And have sent Timothy our brother and minister of God, and our labor fellow in the Gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you touching your faith,
3 That no man should be moved with these afflictions: [a]for ye yourselves know, that we are appointed thereunto.
4 For verily when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulations, even as it came to pass, and ye know it.
5 Even for this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent him that I might know of your faith, lest the tempter had tempted you in any sort, and that our labor had been in vain.
6 [b]But now lately when Timothy came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring to see us, as we also do you,
7 Therefore brethren, we had consolation in you, in all our affliction and necessity through your faith.
8 For now are we [c]alive, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
9 For what thanks can we recompense to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we rejoice for your sakes before our God,
10 Night and day, (B)praying exceedingly, that we might see your face, and might [d]accomplish that which is lacking in your faith?
11 Now God himself, even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, guide our journey unto you.
12 [e]And the Lord increase you, and make you abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
13 (C)To make your hearts stable and unblameable in holiness before God even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints.
2 1 The dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. 13 The king commandeth all the wise men of Babylon to be slain, because they could not interpret his dream. 16 Daniel requireth time to solute the question. 24 Daniel is brought unto the king, and showeth him his dream, and the interpretation thereof. 44 Of the everlasting kingdom of Christ.
1 And in the [a]second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed [b]dreams wherewith his spirit was [c]troubled, and his [d]sleep was upon him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the enchanters, and the astrologians, and the sorcerers, and the [e]Chaldeans for to show the king his dreams: so they came and stood before the King.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in the [f]Aramite’s language, O king, live forever: show thy servants thy dream, and we shall show the interpretation.
5 And the King answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me. If ye will not make me understand the dream with the interpretation thereof, ye [g]shall be drawn in pieces, and your houses shall be made a jakes.
6 But if ye declare the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards, and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation of it.
7 They answered again, and said, Let the king show [h]his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation thereof.
8 Then the king answered, and said, I know certainly that ye [i]would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not declare me the dream, there is but one judgment for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words, to speak before me till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, that I may know, if ye can declare me the interpretation thereof.
10 Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon earth that can declare the king’s matter: yea, there is neither King nor Prince nor lord that asked such things at an enchanter, or astrologian, or Chaldean.
11 For it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can declare it before the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and in great fury, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babel.
13 ¶ And when sentence was given, the wise men were slain: and they [j]sought Daniel and his fellows to be put to death.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the king’s [k]chief steward, which was gone forth to put to death the wise men of Babel.
15 Yea, he answered and said unto Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the sentence so hasty from the king? Then Arioch declared the thing to Daniel.
16 So Daniel went and desired the king that he would give him leisure, and that he would show the king the interpretation thereof.
17 ¶ Then Daniel went to his house, and showed the matter to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah his companions,
18 That they should beseech the God of heaven for grace in this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babel.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision by night: therefore Daniel praised the God of heaven.
20 And Daniel answered and said, (A)The Name of God be praised forever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his.
21 And he changeth the times and seasons: he taketh away kings: he setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and understanding to those that understand.
22 He discovereth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in darkness, and the [l]light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my [m]fathers, that thou hast given me wisdom and [n]strength, and hast showed me now the thing that we desired of thee: for thou hast declared unto us the king’s matter.
24 ¶ Therefore Daniel went unto Arioch, whom the King had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babel: he went and said thus unto him, Destroy not [o]the wise men of Babel, but bring me before the king, and I will declare unto the king the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought Daniel before the king in all haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of Judah that were brought captives, that will declare unto the king the interpretation.
26 Then answered the king, and said unto Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to show me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, can neither the wise, the astrologians, the enchanters, nor the soothsayers declare unto the king.
28 But there is a God in [p]heaven that revealeth secrets, and showeth the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the things which thou hast seen in thine head upon thy bed, is this:
29 O king, when thou wast in thy bed, thoughts came into thy mind, what should come to pass hereafter, and he that revealeth secrets, telleth thee what shall come.
30 As [q]for me, this secret is not showed me for any wisdom that I have more than any other living, but only to show the king the interpretation, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thine heart.
31 O king, thou sawest, and behold, there was a great image: this great image whose glory was so excellent, stood before thee, and the form therefore was terrible.
32 This image’s head was of fine [r]gold, his breast, and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron, and his feet were part of iron, and part of clay.
34 Thou beheldest it till a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken all together, and became like the chaff of the summer flowers, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream, and we will declare before the king the interpretation thereof.
37 ¶ O king, thou art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And in all places where the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all: thou art [s]this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall rise another kingdom, [t]inferior to thee, of silver, and another [u]third kingdom shall be of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for as iron breaketh in pieces, and subdueth all things, and as iron bruiseth all these things, so shall it break in [v]pieces, and bruise all.
41 Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron: the kingdom shall be [w]divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, as thou sawest the iron mixed with the clay, and earth.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so shall the kingdom be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with clay and earth, they shall mingle themselves with [x]the seed of men: but they shall not join one with another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which [y]shall never be destroyed: and this kingdom shall not be given to another people, but it shall break, and destroy all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
45 Whereas thou sawest, that the [z]stone was cut of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold: so the great God hath showed the king, what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof is sure.
46 ¶ Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and [aa]bowed himself unto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meat offerings, and sweet odors unto him.
47 Also the King answered unto Daniel, and said, I know of a truth that your [ab]God is a God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and the revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest open this secret.
48 So the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many and great [ac]gifts. He made him governor over the whole province of Babel, and chief of the rulers, and above all the wise men of Babel.
49 Then Daniel [ad]made request to the King, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the charge of the province of Babel: but Daniel sat in the [ae]gate of the king.
106 1 The people dispersed under Antiochus, do magnify the goodness of God among the just and repentant: 4 Desiring to be brought again into the land by God’s merciful visitation. 8 And after the manifold marvels of God wrought in their deliverance forth of Egypt, And the great ingratitude of the people rehearsed. 47 They do pray and desire to be gathered from among the heathen, to the intent that they may praise the Name of the God of Israel.
Praise ye the Lord.
1 Praise [a]ye the Lord because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever.
2 Who can express the noble acts of the Lord, or show forth all his praise?
3 Blessed are they that [b]keep judgment, and do righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Lord, with the [c]favor of thy people: visit me with thy salvation,
5 That I may see the felicity of thy chosen, and rejoice in the joy of thy people, and glory with thine inheritance.
6 We have [d]sinned with our fathers: we have committed iniquity, and done wickedly.
7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt, neither remembered they the multitude of thy mercies, but rebelled at the Sea, even at the red sea.
8 Nevertheless he [e]saved them for his Name’s sake, that he might make his power to be known.
9 And he rebuked the red sea, and it was dried up, and he led them in the deep, as in the wilderness.
10 And he saved them from the adversary’s hand, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
11 (A)And the waters covered their oppressors: not one of them was left.
12 Then [f]believed they his words, and sang praise unto him.
13 But incontinently they forgat his works, they waited not for his [g]counsel,
14 But lusted with concupiscence in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
15 Then he gave them their desire: but he sent [h]leanness into their soul.
16 They envied Moses also in the tents, and Aaron the holy one of the Lord.
17 Therefore the earth opened and [i]swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18 And the fire was kindled in their assembly: the flame burnt up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
20 Thus they turned their [j]glory into the similitude of a bullock, that eateth grass.
21 They forgat God their Savior, which had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and fearful things by the red sea.
23 Therefore he minded to destroy them, had [k]not Moses his chosen stood in the breach before him to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
24 Also they contemned [l]that pleasant land, and believed not his word,
25 But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore [m]he lifted up his hand against them, to destroy them in the wilderness,
27 And to destroy their seed among the nations, and to scatter them throughout the countries.
28 They joined themselves also unto [n]Baal of Peor, and did eat the offerings of the [o]dead.
29 Thus they [p]provoked him unto anger with their own inventions, and the plague brake in upon them.
30 But [q]Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, and the plague was stayed.
31 (B)And it was [r]imputed unto him for righteousness from generation to generation forever.
32 They angered him also at the waters of (C)Meribah, so that [s]Moses was punished for their sakes,
33 Because they vexed his Spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
34 Neither destroyed they the people, as the Lord had commanded them,
35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works,
36 And served their idols, which were their ruin.
37 Yea, they offered their [t]sons, and their daughters unto devils,
38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons, and of their daughters whom they offered unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood.
39 Thus were they stained with their own works, and went [u]a whoring with their own inventions.
40 Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and he abhorred his own inheritance.
41 And he gave them into the hand of the heathen: and they that hated them were lords over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were humbled under their hand.
43 Many [v]a time did he deliver them, but they provoked him by their counsels: therefore they were brought down by their iniquity.
44 Yet he saw when they were in affliction, and he heard their cry.
45 And he remembered his covenant toward them, and [w]repented according to the multitude of his mercies,
46 And gave them favor in the sight of all them that led them captives.
47 Save us, O Lord our God, and [x]gather us from among the heathen, that we may praise thine holy Name, and glory in thy praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel forever and ever, and let all the people say, So be it. Praise ye the Lord.
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