M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
19 ¶ And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom.
2 And that day the salvation was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day how the king was grieved for his son.
3 And the people entered by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
5 And Joab entering into the house of the king, said unto him, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy slaves, who this day have saved thy life and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines,
6 by loving those who hate thee and hating thy friends. For thou hast declared this day that thou dost not regard thy princes nor thy slaves. For this day I perceive that if Absalom had lived and we had all died today, then this would be right in thine eyes.
7 Now, therefore, arise, go forth and speak unto the heart of thy slaves, for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, not one of them will abide with thee tonight and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that has come upon thee from thy youth until now.
8 Then the king arose and sat in the gate. And it was declared unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king sits in the gate. And all the people came before the king, but Israel had fled every man to his tent.
9 ¶ And all the people were in contention throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land for Absalom.
10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now, therefore, why are ye silent regarding bringing the king back?
11 And King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why shall ye be the last to bring the king back to his house? Seeing that the word of all Israel has come to the king, to return him to his house.
12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh; why then are ye the last to bring back the king?
13 Likewise say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone and of my flesh? God do so to me and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the place of Joab.
14 And he inclined the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou and all thy slaves.
15 So the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over the Jordan.
16 ¶ And Shimei, the son of Gera, son of Jemini, who was of Bahurim, hastened and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him; likewise Ziba, the slave of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and his twenty slaves with him, who went over the Jordan before the king.
18 Then the ferry boat went over to carry over the king’s household and to do what he desired. Then Shimei, the son of Gera, fell down before the king, as he was passing the Jordan,
19 And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither retain the memory of the wickedness that thy slave did the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should guard it in his heart.
20 For I, thy slave, know that I have sinned; therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.
21 But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?
22 Then David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? Shall anyone be put to death today in Israel? Do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?
23 And the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king swore unto him.
24 ¶ Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, also came down to meet the king and had neither washed his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.
25 And after he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said unto him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?
26 And he answered, My lord, O king, my slave deceived me, for thy slave said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride upon it and go to the king because thy slave is lame.
27 And he has slandered thy slave unto my lord the king, but my lord the king is as an angel of God; do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
28 For all of my father’s house were worthy of death before my lord the king; yet thou didst set thy slave among those that eat at thy own table. What righteousness, therefore, have I yet to cry any more unto the king?
29 And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more words? I have determined, Thou and Ziba divide the land.
30 And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Let him even take it all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.
31 ¶ Barzillai, the Gileadite, also came down from Rogelim and went over the Jordan with the king to conduct him over the Jordan.
32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, of eighty years, who had provided the king with sustenance while he was at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man.
33 And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.
34 And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
35 I am this day eighty years old, and shall I tell the difference between the good and the bad? Shall thy slave enjoy what I eat or what I drink? Shall I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should thy slave be yet a burden unto my lord the king?
36 Thy slave will go a little way over the Jordan with the king, and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
37 Let thy slave, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in my own city and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy slave Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king, and do to him what shall seem good unto thee.
38 And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do with him that which shall seem good unto thee, and whatever thou shalt ask of me, that will I do for thee.
39 And all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had also come over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned unto his own place.
40 ¶ Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
41 And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah, stolen thee away and have brought the king and his household and all David’s men with him, over the Jordan?
42 And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then are ye angry for this matter? Have we eaten anything at the king’s cost? Or has he given us any gift?
43 Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye; why then did ye not take us into account? Did we not speak first about bringing back our king? But in the end words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
12 ¶ Certainly it is not expedient for me to glory, but I will come to the visions and the revelations of the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows) was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell; God knows)
4 who was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
5 Of such a one I will glory, yet of myself I will not glory, except in my weaknesses.
6 Therefore if I should desire to glory in these things, I should not be a fool; for I would say the truth, but now I forbear lest anyone should think of me above that which he sees me to be or that he hears of me.
7 And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me above measure, there is given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord three times that it might be taken from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather glory in my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am content in weaknesses, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong.
11 ¶ I have been a fool, glorying; ye have compelled me; for I ought to have been commended of you, for in nothing am I behind the grandiose apostles, though I am nothing.
12 Truly the signs of the apostle were worked out among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and power.
13 For what is it in which ye were inferior to the other congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} except in that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you, for I seek not your things, but you; for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
15 And I will very gladly spend and be utterly spent for your souls though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
16 But be it so, I did not burden you; nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
17 Did I make a gain of you by any of those whom I sent unto you?
18 I besought Titus and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus defraud you? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and in the same steps?
19 Again, do ye think that we excuse ourselves unto you? We speak before God in Christ, but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.
20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I desire and that I shall be found unto you such as ye desire not, lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, rumours, tumults,
21 lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I would have to mourn over many who have sinned already and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
26 ¶ And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, Aha, it is well that she is broken who is the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me; I shall be filled; and she shall be deserted:
3 therefore thus hath the Lord GOD said; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee as the sea causes its waves to come up.
4 And they shall demolish the walls of Tyre and destroy her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her and make her like the top of a rock.
5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken, said the Lord GOD, and it shall be spoiled by the Gentiles.
6 And her daughters who are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 For thus hath the Lord GOD said; Behold, I bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses and with chariots and with horsemen and companies and many people.
8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters who are in the field; and he shall make a fort against thee and cast a mount against thee and lift up the buckler against thee.
9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his hammers he shall break down thy towers.
10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wheels, and of the chariots when he shall enter into thy gates as men enter through breaches into a destroyed city.
11 With the hoofs of his horses he shall tread down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people by the sword, and the statues of thy strength shall fall to the ground.
12 And they shall steal thy riches and make a spoil of thy merchandise; and they shall ruin thy walls and destroy thy precious houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the waters.
13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall no longer be heard.
14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt never be built again; for I the LORD have spoken, said the Lord GOD.
15 ¶ Thus hath the Lord GOD said to Tyre: Certainly the isles shall shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded shall cry, when the slaughter shall be made in the midst of thee.
16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones and lay away their robes and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground and shall tremble at every moment and be astonished at thee.
17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee and say to thee, How didst thou perish, that wast inhabited in the seas? The renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all those that dwell therein.
18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be terrorized at thy end.
19 For thus hath the Lord GOD said: I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; I shall cause the abyss to come up over thee and the many waters shall cover thee.
20 And I shall bring thee down with those that descend into the grave, with the people of the age, and shall set thee in the lowest part of the earth, as the deserts of old, with those that go down to the grave, that thou not be inhabited again; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
21 I will turn thee into nothing, and thou shalt be no more; though thou be sought for, yet thou shalt never be found again, said the Lord GOD.
Maschil of Asaph.
1 ¶ O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? Why does thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed, this Mount Zion, in which thou hast dwelt.
3 Lift up thy feet unto the eternal desolations, unto every enemy who has done wickedly in the sanctuary.
4 Thine enemies have roared in the midst of thy assemblies; they set up their own banners for signs.
5 Renowned, as one on the way to heaven, he who lifted up axes upon the thick trees for the work of the sanctuary.
6 But now they break down all the carved work thereof with axes and hammers.
7 They have set fire to thy sanctuaries; they have defiled the tabernacle of thy name in the earth.
8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them at once; they have burned up all the meeting places of the people of God in the earth.
9 We no longer see our own banners; there is no longer any prophet: neither is there among us any that knows. How long shall this be?
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
11 Why dost thou withdraw thy hand, even thy right hand? Why dost thou hide it in thy bosom.
12 ¶ For God is my King from of old, he who works saving health in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou didst break the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14 Thou didst break the heads of leviathan in pieces and didst give him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the river; thou didst dry up mighty rivers.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine; thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter.
18 ¶ Remember this, that the enemy has spoken against the LORD and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the beasts; forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed; the poor and destitute shall praise thy name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause; remember how the foolish man reproaches thee daily.
23 Forget not the voices of thine enemies; the tumult of those that rise up against thee increases continually.
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