M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Absalom Pursues David
17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men and leave tonight to go after David. 2 I’ll attack him while he’s tired and weak, and I’ll cause him to panic. All the people with him will flee, but I’ll kill only him. 3 I’ll return all the people to you as a bride is returned to her husband. Since you will be seeking the life of only one man,[a] all the people will have peace.” 4 Absalom and all the leaders of Israel approved this plan.
5 Absalom said, “Please call Hushai, who is descended from Archi’s family, and let us hear what he, too, has to say.”
6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has told us his plan. Should we do what he says? If not, tell us.”
7 “This time Ahithophel’s advice is no good,” Hushai said to Absalom. 8 “You know your father and his men. They are warriors as fierce as a wild bear whose cubs have been stolen. Your father is an experienced soldier. He will not camp with the troops tonight. 9 He has already hidden in one of the ravines or some other place. If some of our soldiers are killed in the initial attack, others will definitely hear about it and say, ‘The troops that support Absalom have been defeated.’ 10 Even the bravest man with a heart like a lion would lose his courage, because all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and the men with him are brave. 11 So my advice is to gather all Israel’s troops from Dan to Beersheba, since they are as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Lead them into battle yourself. 12 Then we’ll attack him wherever we find him. We’ll fall on him as dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. 13 If he retreats into a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city and drag it into a valley so that not even a pebble will be found there.”
14 Absalom and all the people of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai from Archi’s family is better than Ahithophel’s advice.” (Yahweh had commanded Ahithophel’s good advice to be defeated in order to ruin Absalom.)
15 Then Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the leaders of Israel to do one thing, but I advised them to do something else. 16 Now send messengers quickly to tell David, ‘Don’t rest tonight in the river crossings in the desert, but make sure you cross the river, or Your Majesty and all the troops with him will be wiped out.’”
17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En Rogel. They could not risk being seen coming into the city, so a servant girl was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David. 18 But a young man saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz and told Absalom. So both of them left quickly and came to the home of a man in Bahurim who had a cistern in his courtyard, and they went down into it. 19 The man’s wife took a cover, spread it over the top of the cistern, and scattered some grain[b] over it so that no one could tell it was there.
20 Absalom’s servants came to the woman at her home. “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” they asked.
The woman said, “They’ve crossed the stream.”
The servants looked for them but did not find them. So Absalom’s servants returned to Jerusalem.
21 After Absalom’s servants left, both men came out of the cistern and went and told King David. “Leave right away,” they told David. “Cross the river quickly because this is what Ahithophel has advised against you. . . .”
22 David and all the troops with him left to cross the Jordan River. When the dawn came, everyone had crossed the Jordan River.
23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice hadn’t been followed, he saddled his donkey, left, and went home to his own city. He gave instructions to his family. Then he hanged himself, died, and was buried in his father’s tomb.
24 David had already come to Mahanaim by the time Absalom and all the men of Israel with him crossed the Jordan River. 25 Absalom appointed Amasa to take Joab’s place as commander of the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, a descendant of Ishmael.[c] His mother was Abigail,[d] the daughter of Nahash and sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.) 26 The Israelites and Absalom camped in the region of Gilead.
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah in Ammon, and Machir, son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai from Rogelim in Gilead 28 brought supplies and food for David and his troops: bedding, bowls, pots, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,[e] 29 honey, buttermilk, sheep, and calves. They brought these things because they thought, “The troops in the desert are hungry, exhausted, and thirsty.”
Paul’s Authority to Speak Forcefully
10 I, Paul, make my appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ. I’m the one who is humble when I’m with you but forceful toward you when I’m not with you. 2 I beg you that when I am with you I won’t have to deal forcefully with you. I expect I will have to because some people think that we are only guided by human motives. 3 Of course we are human, but we don’t fight like humans. 4 The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments 5 and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ. 6 We are ready to punish every act of disobedience when you have become completely obedient.
7 Look at the plain facts! If anyone is confident he belongs to Christ, he should take note that we also belong to Christ. 8 So, if I brag a little too much about the authority which the Lord gave us, I’m not ashamed. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt you.
9 I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 I know that someone is saying that my letters are powerful and strong, but that I’m a weakling and a terrible speaker. 11 The person who is saying those things should take note of this fact: When we are with you we will do the things that we wrote about in our letters when we weren’t with you.
Paul’s Reason for Bragging
12 We wouldn’t put ourselves in the same class with or compare ourselves to those who are bold enough to make their own recommendations. Certainly, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves to themselves, they show how foolish they are.
13 How can we brag about things that no one can evaluate? Instead, we will only brag about what God has given us to do—coming to the city of Corinth where you live. 14 It’s not as though we hadn’t already been to Corinth. We’re not overstating the facts. The fact is that we were the first to arrive in Corinth with the Good News about Christ. 15 How can we brag about things done by others that can’t be evaluated?
We have confidence that as your faith grows, you will think enough of us to give us the help we need to carry out our assignment— 16 spreading the Good News in the regions far beyond you. We won’t brag about things already accomplished by someone else.
17 “Whoever brags should brag about what the Lord has done.” 18 It isn’t the person who makes his own recommendation who receives approval, but the person whom the Lord recommends.
Judah Is Compared to a Boiling Pot
24 On the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year, Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, 2 “Son of man, write down today’s date. The king of Babylon has surrounded Jerusalem this very day. 3 Tell these rebellious people a story. Tell them, ‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says:
Put the pot on the fire; put it on.
Pour water in it.
4 Cut the meat into pieces,
all the best pieces, the thigh and shoulder.
Fill the pot with the meatiest bones
5 selected from the best sheep.
Pile wood under the pot.
Bring the mixture in the pot to a boil.
Cook the bones that are in it well.
6 “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says:
How horrible it will be for that city of murderers,
for that tarnished pot.
Its tarnish will not come off.
Empty the meat out of it piece by piece
without choosing any particular piece.
7 Blood is still in that city.
The blood was poured on a bare rock.
It wasn’t poured on the ground where dust would cover it.
8 In order to stir up my fury so that I would pay that city back,
I put the blood of its victims on a bare rock.
Now that blood can’t be covered.
9 “‘This is what Adonay Yahweh says:
How horrible it will be for that city of murderers.
I, too, will pile the wood high.
10 Pile it high, and light the fire.
Cook the meat thoroughly, stir the mixture,
and let the bones burn.
11 Then set the empty pot on the coals
so that it gets hot and its copper glows.
Its impurities will melt away,
and its tarnish will burn off.
12 “‘I have worn myself out trying to clean this pot. Even the fire can’t take away its thick tarnish. 13 I tried to clean you of your filthy lust, but you wouldn’t clean yourself from your filth. You will never be clean until I unleash my fury on you. 14 I, Yahweh, have spoken. It will happen, and I will do it. I will not ignore you, pity you, or change my plans. I will punish you because of the way you lived and because of everything you have done,’” declares Adonay Yahweh.
Ezekiel’s Silent Sorrow over the Destruction of Jerusalem
15 Then Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, 16 “Son of man, with one blow I’m going to take away from you the person you love the most. But you must not mourn, cry, or let tears run down your face. 17 Groan silently. Don’t grieve for the person who dies. Tie on your turban, and put on your sandals. Don’t cover your face or eat the food that mourners eat.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I was ordered.
19 The people asked me, “Tell us, what do these things that you are doing mean to us?”
20 I told them, “Yahweh spoke his word to me. He said, 21 ‘Tell the nation of Israel, “This is what Adonay Yahweh says: I’m going to dishonor my holy place. You brag that my holy place gives you strength. It’s the thing you love the most. It’s your hearts’ desire. So the sons and daughters that you left behind will die in battle. 22 Then you must do as I did. Don’t cover your faces or eat the food that mourners eat. 23 Leave your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. Don’t grieve or cry! You will waste away because of your guilt and groan to one another. 24 Ezekiel is a sign to you. You will do everything he has done. Then you will know that I am Adonay Yahweh.” ’
25 “Son of man, on that day I will take their stronghold away from them. It makes them happy and proud. It is their hearts’ desire and the thing they love the most. I will also take away their sons and daughters. 26 On that day a refugee will come to you to tell you the news. 27 On that very day your mouth will be opened, and you will talk to the refugee. You will speak and not be silent anymore. You will be a sign to them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”
Psalm 72
By Solomon.
1 O Elohim, give the king your justice
and the king’s son[a] your righteousness
2 so that he may judge your people with righteousness
and your oppressed people with justice.
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he grant justice to the people who are oppressed.
May he save the children of needy people
and crush their oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine—
throughout every generation.
6 May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass,
like showers that water the land.
7 May righteous people blossom in his day.
May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer shines.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 May the people of the desert kneel in front of him.
May his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings from Tarshish and the islands bring presents.
May the kings from Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11 May all kings worship him.
May all nations serve him.
12 He will rescue the needy person who cries for help
and the oppressed person who has no one’s help.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy
and will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight.
15 May he live long.
May the gold from Sheba be given to him.
May the people pray for him continually.
May they praise him all day long.
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land.
May it wave in the breeze on the mountaintops,
its fruit like the treetops of Lebanon.
May those from the city flourish like the grass on the ground.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name continue as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
18 Thank Yahweh Elohim, the Elohim of Israel,
who alone does miracles.
19 Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
20 The prayers by David, son of Jesse, end here.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.