M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
16 They brought the Ark of God and put it inside the tent that David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God. 2 When David had finished giving the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He gave a loaf of bread, some dates, and raisins to every Israelite man and woman.
4 Then David appointed some of the Levites to serve before the Ark of the Lord. They had the job of leading the worship and giving thanks and praising the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph, who played the cymbals, was the leader. Zechariah was second to him. The other Levites were Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They played the lyres and harps. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel were priests who blew the trumpets regularly before the Ark of the Agreement with God. 7 That day David first gave Asaph and his relatives the job of singing praises to the Lord.
David’s Song of Thanks
8 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about all his miracles.
10 Be glad that you are his;
let those who seek the Lord be happy.
11 Depend on the Lord and his strength;
always go to him for help.
12 Remember the miracles he has done,
his wonders, and his decisions.
13 You are the descendants of his servant, Israel;
you are the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
14 He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
15 He will keep his agreement forever;
he will keep his promises always.
16 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and the promise he made to Isaac.
17 He made it a law for the people of Jacob;
he made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.
18 He said, “I will give the land of Canaan to you,
to belong to you.”
19 Then God’s people were few in number,
and they were strangers in the land.
20 They went from one nation to another,
from one kingdom to another.
21 But he did not let anyone hurt them;
he warned kings not to harm them.
22 He said, “Don’t touch my chosen people,
and don’t harm my prophets.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Every day tell how he saves us.
24 Tell the nations about his glory;
tell all peoples the miracles he does.
25 The Lord is great; he should be praised.
He should be respected more than all the gods.
26 All the gods of the nations are only idols,
but the Lord made the skies.
27 He has glory and majesty;
he has power and joy in his Temple.
28 Praise the Lord, all nations on earth.
Praise the Lord’s glory and power;
29 praise the glory of the Lord’s name.
Bring an offering and come to him.
Worship the Lord because he is holy.
30 Tremble before him, everyone on earth.
The earth is set, and it cannot be moved.
31 Let the skies rejoice and the earth be glad.
Let people everywhere say, “The Lord is king!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it shout;
let the fields and everything in them rejoice.
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing
for joy before the Lord.
They will sing because he is coming to judge the world.
34 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
35 Say to him, “Save us, God our Savior,
and bring us back and save us from other nations.
Then we will thank you
and will gladly praise you.”
36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He always was and always will be.
All the people said “Amen” and praised the Lord.
37 Then David left Asaph and the other Levites there in front of the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord. They were to serve there every day. 38 David also left Obed-Edom and sixty-eight other Levites to serve with them. Hosah and Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun were guards.
39 David left Zadok the priest and the other priests who served with him in front of the Tent of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon. 40 Every morning and evening they offered burnt offerings on the altar of burnt offerings, following the rules written in the Teachings of the Lord, which he had given Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun and other Levites. They were chosen by name to sing praises to the Lord because his love continues forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun also had the job of playing the trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments when songs were sung to God. Jeduthun’s sons guarded the gates.
43 Then all the people left. Each person went home, and David also went home to bless the people in his home.
Controlling the Things We Say
3 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all make many mistakes. If people never said anything wrong, they would be perfect and able to control their entire selves, too. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can control their whole bodies. 4 Also a ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship, making it go wherever the pilot wants. 5 It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about great things.
A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. 6 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. The tongue is set on fire by hell, and it starts a fire that influences all of life. 7 People can tame every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have tamed them, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil and full of deadly poison. 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself. 10 Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. 11 Do good and bad water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives, or can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
True Wisdom
13 Are there those among you who are truly wise and understanding? Then they should show it by living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, do not brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God but from the world. It is not spiritual; it is from the devil. 16 Where jealousy and selfishness are, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. It is always fair and honest. 18 People who work for peace in a peaceful way plant a good crop of right-living.
The Lord Will Punish the Edomites
1 This is the vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Lord God says about Edom:[a]
We have heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Attack! Let’s go attack Edom!”
The Lord Speaks to the Edomites
2 “Soon I will make you the smallest of nations.
You will be greatly hated by everyone.
3 Your pride has fooled you,
you who live in the hollow places of the cliff.
Your home is up high,
you who say to yourself,
‘No one can bring me down to the ground.’
4 Even if you fly high like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.
5 “You will really be ruined!
If thieves came to you,
if robbers came by night,
they would steal only enough for themselves.
If workers came and picked the grapes from your vines,
they would leave a few behind.
6 But you, Edom, will really lose everything!
People will find all your hidden treasures!
7 All the people who are your friends
will force you out of the land.
The people who are at peace with you
will trick you and defeat you.
Those who eat your bread with you now
are planning a trap for you,
and you will not notice it.”
8 The Lord says, “On that day
I will surely destroy the wise people from Edom,
and those with understanding from the mountains of Edom.
9 Then, city of Teman, your best warriors will be afraid,
and everyone from the mountains of Edom will be killed.
10 You did violence to your relatives, the Israelites,
so you will be covered with shame
and destroyed forever.
11 You stood aside without helping
while strangers carried Israel’s treasures away.
When foreigners entered Israel’s city gate
and threw lots to decide what part of Jerusalem they would take,
you were like one of them.
Commands That Edom Broke
12 “Edom, do not laugh at your brother Israel in his time of trouble
or be happy about the people of Judah when they are destroyed.
Do not brag when cruel things are done to them.
13 Do not enter the city gate of my people
in their time of trouble
or laugh at their problems
in their time of trouble.
Do not take their treasures
in their time of trouble.
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
to destroy those who are trying to escape.
Do not capture those who escape alive and turn them over to their enemy
in their time of trouble.
The Nations Will Be Judged
15 “The Lord’s day of judging is coming soon
to all the nations.
The same evil things you did to other people
will happen to you;
they will come back upon your own head.
16 Because you drank in my Temple,
all the nations will drink on and on.
They will drink and drink
until they disappear.
17 But on Mount Zion some will escape the judgment,
and it will be a holy place.
The people of Jacob will take back their land
from those who took it from them.
18 The people of Jacob will be like a fire
and the people of Joseph[b] like a flame.
But the people of Esau[c] will be like dry stalks.
The people of Jacob will set them on fire and burn them up.
There will be no one left of the people of Esau.”
This will happen because the Lord has said it.
19 Then God’s people will regain southern Judah from Edom;
they will take back the mountains of Edom.
They will take back the western hills
from the Philistines.
They will regain the lands of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will take over Gilead.
20 People from Israel who once were forced to leave their homes
will take the land of the Canaanites,
all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah who once were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad
will take back the cities of southern Judah.
21 Powerful warriors will go up on Mount Zion,
where they will rule the people living on Edom’s mountains.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Jesus’ First Followers
5 One day while Jesus was standing beside Lake Galilee, many people were pressing all around him to hear the word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon,[a] and asked him to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat.
4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into deep water, and put your nets in the water to catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, and we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water, so I will.” 6 When the fishermen did as Jesus told them, they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. 7 They called to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they were almost sinking.
8 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” 9 He and the other fishermen were amazed at the many fish they caught, as were 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people.” 11 When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
12 When Jesus was in one of the towns, there was a man covered with a skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he bowed before him and begged him, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” Immediately the disease disappeared. 14 Then Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest[b] and offer a gift for your healing, as Moses commanded.[c] This will show the people what I have done.”
15 But the news about Jesus spread even more. Many people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses, 16 but Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
17 One day as Jesus was teaching the people, the Pharisees and teachers of the law from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were there. The Lord was giving Jesus the power to heal people. 18 Just then, some men were carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and put him down before Jesus. 19 But because there were so many people there, they could not find a way in. So they went up on the roof and lowered the man on his mat through the ceiling into the middle of the crowd right before Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Jewish teachers of the law and the Pharisees thought to themselves, “Who is this man who is speaking as if he were God? Only God can forgive sins.”
22 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why are you thinking these things? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home.”
25 At once the man stood up before them, picked up his mat, and went home, praising God. 26 All the people were fully amazed and began to praise God. They were filled with much respect and said, “Today we have seen amazing things!”
Levi Follows Jesus
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
29 Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus at his house. Many tax collectors and other people were eating there, too. 30 But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to Jesus’ followers, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to invite good people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”
Jesus Answers a Question
33 They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often fast[d] for a certain time and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
36 Jesus told them this story: “No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. Otherwise, he ruins the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat will not be the same as the old cloth. 37 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the new wine will break the bags, the wine will spill out, and the leather bags will be ruined. 38 New wine must be put into new leather bags. 39 No one after drinking old wine wants new wine, because he says, ‘The old wine is better.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.