M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ziba Meets David
16 When David had passed a short way over the top of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant, met him. Ziba had a row of donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred cakes of raisins, one hundred cakes of figs, and leather bags full of wine. 2 The king asked Ziba, “What are these things for?”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for your family to ride. The bread and cakes of figs are for the servants to eat. And the wine is for anyone to drink who might become weak in the desert.”
3 The king asked, “Where is Mephibosheth?”
Ziba answered him, “Mephibosheth is staying in Jerusalem because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will give my father’s kingdom back to me!’”
4 Then the king said to Ziba, “All right. Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth, I now give to you!”
Ziba said, “I bow to you. I hope I will always be able to please you.”
Shimei Curses David
5 As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out and cursed him. He was from Saul’s family group, and his name was Shimei son of Gera. 6 He threw stones at David and his officers, but the people and soldiers gathered all around David. 7 Shimei cursed David, saying, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you troublemaker. 8 The Lord is punishing you for the people in Saul’s family you killed! You took Saul’s place as king, but now the Lord has given the kingdom to your son Absalom! Now you are ruined because you are a murderer!”
9 Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse you, the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
10 But the king answered, “This does not concern you, sons of Zeruiah! If he is cursing me because the Lord told him to, who can question him?”
11 David also said to Abishai and all his officers, “My own son is trying to kill me! This man is a Benjaminite and has more right to kill me! Leave him alone, and let him curse me because the Lord told him to do this. 12 Maybe the Lord will see my misery and repay me with something good for Shimei’s curses today!”
13 So David and his men went on down the road, but Shimei followed on the nearby hillside. He kept cursing David and throwing stones and dirt at him. 14 When the king and all his people arrived at the Jordan, they were very tired, so they rested there.
15 Meanwhile, Absalom, Ahithophel, and all the Israelites arrived at Jerusalem. 16 David’s friend Hushai the Arkite came to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 Absalom asked, “Why are you not loyal to your friend David? Why didn’t you leave Jerusalem with your friend?”
18 Hushai said, “I belong to the one chosen by the Lord and by these people and everyone in Israel. I will stay with you. 19 In the past I served your father. So whom should I serve now? David’s son! I will serve you as I served him.”
Ahithophel’s Advice
20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Tell us what we should do.”
21 Ahithophel said, “Your father left behind some of his slave women to take care of the palace. Have sexual relations with them. Then all Israel will hear that your father is your enemy, and all your people will be encouraged to give you more support.” 22 So they put up a tent for Absalom on the roof[a] of the palace where everyone in Israel could see it. And Absalom had sexual relations with his father’s slave women.
23 At that time people thought Ahithophel’s advice was as reliable as God’s own word. Both David and Absalom thought it was that reliable.
Help for Fellow Christians
9 I really do not need to write you about this help for God’s people. 2 I know you want to help. I have been bragging about this to the people in Macedonia, telling them that you in Southern Greece have been ready to give since last year. And your desire to give has made most of them ready to give also. 3 But I am sending the brothers to you so that our bragging about you in this will not be empty words. I want you to be ready, as I said you would be. 4 If any of the people from Macedonia come with me and find that you are not ready, we will be ashamed that we were so sure of you. (And you will be ashamed, too!) 5 So I thought I should ask these brothers to go to you before we do. They will finish getting in order the generous gift you promised so it will be ready when we come. And it will be a generous gift—not one that you did not want to give.
6 Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest, but the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. 7 Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything—enough to give to every good work. 9 It is written in the Scriptures:
“He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever.” Psalm 112:9
10 God is the One who gives seed to the farmer and bread for food. He will give you all the seed you need and make it grow so there will be a great harvest from your goodness. 11 He will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will cause many to give thanks to God. 12 This service you do not only helps the needs of God’s people, it also brings many more thanks to God. 13 It is a proof of your faith. Many people will praise God because you obey the Good News of Christ—the gospel you say you believe—and because you freely share with them and with all others. 14 And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you because of the great grace that God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful for words.
Samaria and Jerusalem
23 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, a woman had two daughters. 3 While they were young, they went to Egypt and became prostitutes. They let men touch and hold their breasts. 4 The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became my wives and had sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.[a]
5 “While still my wife, Samaria had sexual relations with other men. She had great sexual desire for her lovers, men from Assyria. The Assyrians were warriors and 6 wore blue uniforms. They were all handsome young captains and lieutenants riding on horseback. 7 Samaria became a prostitute for all the important men in Assyria and made herself unclean with all the idols of everyone she desired. 8 She continued the prostitution she began in Egypt. When she was young, she had slept with men, and they touched her breasts and had sexual relations with her.
9 “So I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians, that she wanted so badly. 10 They stripped her naked and took away her sons and daughters. Then they killed her with a sword. Women everywhere began talking about how she had been punished.
11 “Her sister Jerusalem saw what happened, but she became worse than her sister in her sexual desire and prostitution. 12 She also desired the Assyrians, who were all soldiers in beautiful uniforms—handsome young captains and lieutenants riding horses. 13 I saw that both girls were alike; both were prostitutes.
14 “But Jerusalem went even further. She saw carvings of Babylonian men on a wall. They wore red 15 and had belts around their waists and turbans on their heads. They all looked like chariot officers born in Babylonia. 16 When she saw them, she wanted to have sexual relations with them and sent messengers to them in Babylonia. 17 So these Babylonian men came and had sexual relations with her and made her unclean. After that, she became sick of them. 18 But she continued her prostitution so openly that everyone knew about it. And I finally became sick of her, as I had her sister. 19 But she remembered how she was a young prostitute in Egypt, so she took part in even more prostitution. 20 She wanted men who behaved like animals in their sexual desire. 21 In the same way you desired to do the sinful things you had done in Egypt. There men touched and held your young breasts.
God’s Judgment on Jerusalem
22 “So, Jerusalem, this is what the Lord God says: You are tired of your lovers. So now I will make them angry with you and have them attack you from all sides. 23 Men from Babylon and all Babylonia and men from Pekod, Shoa, and Koa will attack you. All the Assyrians will attack you: handsome young captains and lieutenants, all of them important men and all riding horses. 24 Those men will attack with great armies and with their weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will surround you with large and small shields and with helmets. And I will give them the right to punish you, and they will give you their own kind of punishment. 25 Then you will see how strong my anger can be when they punish you in their anger. They will cut off your noses and ears. They will take away your sons and daughters, and those who are left will be burned. 26 They will take off your clothes and steal your jewelry. 27 I will put a stop to the sinful life you began when you were in Egypt so that you will not desire it or remember Egypt anymore.
28 “This is what the Lord God says: You became tired of your lovers, but I am going to hand you over to those men you now hate. 29 They will treat you with hate and take away everything you worked for, leaving you empty and naked. Everyone will know about the sinful things you did. Your sexual sins 30 have brought this on you. You have had sexual relations with the nations and made yourselves unclean by worshiping their idols. 31 You did the same things your sister did, so you will get the same punishment, like a bitter cup to drink.
32 “This is what the Lord God says:
You will drink the same cup your sister did,
and that cup is deep and wide.
Everyone will make fun of you,
because the cup is full.
33 It will make you miserable and drunk.
It is the cup of fear and ruin.
It is the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will drink everything in it,
and then you will smash it
and tear at your breasts.
I have spoken, says the Lord God.
35 “So this is what the Lord God says: You have forgotten me and turned your back on me. So you will be punished for your sexual sins.”
Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem
36 The Lord said to me: “Human, will you judge Samaria and Jerusalem, showing them their hateful acts? 37 They are guilty of adultery and murder. They have taken part in adultery with their idols. They even offered our children as sacrifices in the fire to be food for these idols. 38 They have also done this to me: They made my Temple unclean at the same time they dishonored my Sabbaths. 39 They sacrificed their children to their idols. Then they entered my Temple at that very time to dishonor it. That is what they did inside my Temple!
40 “They even sent for men from far away, who came after a messenger was sent to them. The two sisters bathed themselves for them, painted their eyes, and put on jewelry. 41 They sat on a fine bed with a table set before it, on which they put my incense and my oil.
42 “There was the noise of a reckless crowd in the city. Common people gathered, and drunkards were brought from the desert. They put bracelets on the wrists of the two sisters and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said about the one who was worn out by her acts of adultery, ‘Let them continue their sexual sins with her. She is nothing but a prostitute.’ 44 They kept going to her as they would go to a prostitute. So they continued to go to Samaria and Jerusalem, these shameful women. 45 But men who do right will punish them as they punish women who take part in adultery and who murder people, because they are guilty of adultery and murder.
46 “This is what the Lord God says: Bring together a mob against Samaria and Jerusalem, and hand them over to be frightened and robbed. 47 Let the mob kill them by throwing stones at them, and let them cut them down with their swords. Let them kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses down.
48 “So I will put an end to sexual sins in the land. Then all women will be warned, and they will not do the sexual sins you have done. 49 You will be punished for your sexual sins and the sin of worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.”
A Cry for God to Help Quickly
For the director of music. A psalm of David. To help people remember.
70 God, come quickly and save me.
Lord, hurry to help me.
2 Let those who are trying to kill me
be ashamed and disgraced.
Let those who want to hurt me
run away in disgrace.
3 Let those who make fun of me
stop because of their shame.
4 But let all those who worship you
rejoice and be glad.
Let those who love your salvation
always say, “Praise the greatness of God.”
5 I am poor and helpless;
God, hurry to me.
You help me and save me.
Lord, do not wait.
An Old Person’s Prayer
71 In you, Lord, is my protection.
Never let me be ashamed.
2 Because you do what is right, save and rescue me;
listen to me and save me.
3 Be my place of safety
where I can always come.
Give the command to save me,
because you are my rock and my strong, walled city.
4 My God, save me from the power of the wicked
and from the hold of evil and cruel people.
5 Lord, you are my hope.
Lord, I have trusted you since I was young.
6 I have depended on you since I was born;
you helped me even on the day of my birth.
I will always praise you.
7 I am an example to many people,
because you are my strong protection.
8 I am always praising you;
all day long I honor you.
9 Do not reject me when I am old;
do not leave me when my strength is gone.
10 My enemies make plans against me,
and they meet together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has left him.
Go after him and take him,
because no one will save him.”
12 God, don’t be far off.
My God, hurry to help me.
13 Let those who accuse me
be ashamed and destroyed.
Let those who are trying to hurt me
be covered with shame and disgrace.
14 But I will always have hope
and will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell how you do what is right.
I will tell about your salvation all day long,
even though it is more than I can tell.
16 I will come and tell about your powerful works, Lord God.
I will remind people that only you do what is right.
17 God, you have taught me since I was young.
To this day I tell about the miracles you do.
18 Even though I am old and gray,
do not leave me, God.
I will tell the children about your power;
I will tell those who live after me about your might.
19 God, your justice reaches to the skies.
You have done great things;
God, there is no one like you.
20 You have given me many troubles and bad times,
but you will give me life again.
When I am almost dead,
you will keep me alive.
21 You will make me greater than ever,
and you will comfort me again.
22 I will praise you with the harp.
I trust you, my God.
I will sing to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
23 I will shout for joy when I sing praises to you.
You have saved me.
24 I will tell about your justice all day long.
And those who want to hurt me
will be ashamed and disgraced.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.