M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple
8 At that time Solomon assembled the elders(A) of Israel,(B) all the tribal heads(C) and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David,(D) that is Zion.(E) 2 So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month,[a] at the festival.(F)
3 All the elders(G) of Israel came, and the priests(H) picked up the ark.(I) 4 The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting,(J) and the holy utensils that were in the tent.(K) 5 King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered, because there were so many.(L) 6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place(M) beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim were spreading their wings over[b] the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above.(N) 8 The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are still there today.(O) 9 Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb,[c](P) where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.(Q)
10 When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple,(R) 11 and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory(S) of the Lord filled the temple.
12 Then Solomon said:
The Lord said that he would dwell in total darkness.(T)
13 I have indeed built an exalted temple(U) for you,
a place for your dwelling forever.(V)
14 The king turned around and blessed(W) the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. 15 He said:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise(X) by his power.
He said,
16 “Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,(Y)
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name(Z) would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”(AA)
17 My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.(AB)
18 But the Lord said to my father David,
“Since your heart was set on building a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.[d](AC)
19 Yet you are not the one to build it;
instead, your son, your own offspring,
will build it for my name.”(AD)
20 The Lord has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David,(AE)
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised.(AF)
I have built the temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
21 I have provided a place there for the ark,
where the Lord’s covenant is
that he made with our ancestors
when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.(AG)
Solomon’s Prayer
22 Then Solomon stood(AH) before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.(AI) 23 He said:
Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like you
in heaven above or on earth below,(AJ)
who keeps the gracious covenant
with your servants who walk before you
with all their heart.(AK)
24 You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him
and you fulfilled your promise by your power
as it is today.(AL)
25 Therefore, Lord God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,(AM)
if only your sons take care to walk before me
as you have walked before me.(AN)
26 Now Lord[e] God of Israel,
please confirm what you promised
to your servant, my father David.(AO)
27 But will God indeed live on earth?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you,
much less this temple I have built.(AP)
28 Listen[f] to your servant’s prayer and his petition,(AQ)
Lord my God,
so that you may hear the cry and the prayer
that your servant prays before you today,
29 so that your eyes may watch over this temple night and day,(AR)
toward the place where you said,
“My name will be there,”(AS)
and so that you may hear the prayer
that your servant prays toward this place.
30 Hear the petition of your servant(AT)
and your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.(AU)
May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven.
May you hear and forgive.
31 When a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath,[g](AV)
and he comes to take an oath
before your altar in this temple,
32 may you hear in heaven and act.
May you judge your servants,
condemning the wicked man by bringing
what he has done on his own head
and providing justice for the righteous
by rewarding him according to his righteousness.(AW)
33 When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against you,(AX)
and they return to you and praise your name,
and they pray and plead with you
for mercy in this temple,
34 may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your people Israel.
May you restore them to the land
you gave their ancestors.(AY)
35 When the skies are shut and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against you,(AZ)
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting them,(BA)
36 may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your servants
and your people Israel,
so that you may teach them to walk on the good way.(BB)
May you send rain on your land
that you gave your people for an inheritance.(BC)
37 When there is famine in the land,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper,(BD)
when their enemy besieges them
in the land and its cities,[h]
when there is any plague or illness,
38 every prayer or petition
that any person or that all your people Israel may have—
they each know their own affliction[i](BE)—
as they spread out their hands toward this temple,(BF)
39 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and may you forgive, act, and give to everyone
according to all their ways, since you know each heart,
for you alone know every human heart,(BG)
40 so that they may fear(BH) you
all the days they live on the land(BI)
you gave our ancestors.
41 Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel
but has come from a distant land(BJ)
because of your name—
42 for they will hear of your great name,
strong hand,(BK) and outstretched arm,
and will come(BL) and pray toward this temple—
43 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and do according to all the foreigner asks.
Then all peoples of earth will know(BM) your name,
to fear you as your people Israel do
and to know that this temple I have built
bears your name.
44 When your people go out to fight against their enemies,[j]
wherever you send them,
and they pray to the Lord
in the direction of the city you have chosen(BN)
and the temple I have built for your name,
45 may you hear their prayer and petition in heaven
and uphold their cause.(BO)
46 When they sin against you—
for there is no one who does not sin(BP)—
and you are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them to the enemy’s country(BQ)—
whether distant or nearby—
47 and when they come to their senses[k]
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors’ land:
“We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”(BR)
48 and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul
in the land of their enemies who took them captive,(BS)
and when they pray to you in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
the city you have chosen,(BT)
and the temple I have built for your name,
49 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.
50 May you forgive your people
who sinned against you
and all their rebellions[l] against you,
and may you grant them compassion
before their captors,
so that they may treat them compassionately.(BU)
51 For they are your people and your inheritance;(BV)
you brought them out of Egypt,
out of the middle of an iron furnace.(BW)
52 May your eyes be open to your servant’s petition
and to the petition of your people Israel,
listening to them whenever they call to you.
53 For you, Lord God, have set them apart as your inheritance
from all peoples of the earth,
as you spoke through your servant Moses
when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.(BX)
Solomon’s Blessing
54 When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven,(BY) 55 and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel(BZ) with a loud voice: 56 “Blessed be the Lord! He has given rest(CA) to his people Israel according to all he has said. Not one of all the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed.(CB) 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us(CC) 58 so that he causes us to be devoted[m] to him,(CD) to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. 59 May my words with which I have made my petition before the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. May he uphold his servant’s cause and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires.(CE) 60 May all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord is God. There is no other!(CF) 61 Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God(CG) to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.”
62 The king and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats.(CH) In this manner the king and all the Israelites dedicated(CI) the Lord’s temple.(CJ)
64 On the same day, the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple because that was where he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings,(CK) since the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to accommodate the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings.(CL)
65 Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath[n](CM) to the Brook of Egypt(CN)—observed the festival at that time(CO) in the presence of the Lord our God, seven days, and seven more days—fourteen days.[o](CP) 66 On the fifteenth day[p] he sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went to their homes[q] rejoicing and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.(CQ)
5 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us,(A) a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immorality(B) and any impurity(C) or greed(D) should not even be heard of[a] among you, as is proper for saints. 4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral(E) or impure(F) or greedy(G) person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom(H) of Christ and of God.
Light versus Darkness
6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath(I) is coming on the disobedient[b] because of these things. 7 Therefore, do not become their partners. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light(J) in the Lord. Walk as children of light(K)— 9 for the fruit of the light[c] consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth(L)— 10 testing(M) what is pleasing(N) to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate in the fruitless(O) works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. 13 Everything exposed by the light is made visible,(P) 14 for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:
Consistency in the Christian Life
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time,[d](T) because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand(U) what the Lord’s will(V) is. 18 And don’t get drunk(W) with wine,(X) which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:(Y) 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.(Z)
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives,(AA) submit[e](AB) to your husbands(AC) as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife(AD) as Christ is the head(AE) of the church. He is the Savior of the body.(AF) 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives,(AG) just as Christ loved(AH) the church and gave himself(AI) for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[f] her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.(AJ) 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.[g] 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,(AK) and the two will become one flesh.[h](AL) 32 This mystery(AM) is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.
The Defeat of Gog
38 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, face Gog, of the land of Magog,(A) the chief prince of[a] Meshech and Tubal.(B) Prophesy against him 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws,(C) and bring you out with all your army, including horses and riders,(D) who are all splendidly dressed, a huge assembly armed with large and small shields, all of them brandishing swords. 5 Persia,(E) Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets; 6 Gomer(F) with all its troops; and Beth-togarmah(G) from the remotest parts of the north along with all its troops—many peoples are with you.
7 “‘Be prepared and get yourself ready, you and your whole assembly that has been mobilized around you; you will be their guard. 8 After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war[b] and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin.(H) They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely. 9 You, all of your troops, and many peoples with you will advance, coming like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 “‘This is what the Lord God says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. 11 You will say, “I will advance against a land of open villages; I will come against a tranquil people who are living securely,(I) all of them living without walls and without bars or gates”(J)— 12 in order to seize spoil and carry off plunder,(K) to turn your hand against ruins now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have been acquiring cattle and possessions and who live at the center of the world. 13 Sheba(L) and Dedan(M) and the merchants of Tarshish(N) with all its rulers[c] will ask you, “Have you come to seize spoil? Have you mobilized your assembly to carry off plunder, to make off with silver and gold, to take cattle and possessions, to seize plenty of spoil?”’
14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely,(O) will you not know this 15 and come from your place in the remotest parts of the north(P)—you and many peoples with you, who are all riding horses—a huge assembly, a powerful army? 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.(Q)
17 “‘This is what the Lord God says: Are you the one I spoke about in former times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who for years prophesied in those times that I would bring you against them? 18 Now on that day, the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel—this is the declaration of the Lord God—my wrath will flare up.[d] 19 I swear in my zeal and fiery wrath:(R) On that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, every creature that crawls on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble before me. The mountains will be demolished, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains—this is the declaration of the Lord God—and every man’s sword will be against his brother.(S) 22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him.(T) 23 I will display my greatness and holiness, and I will reveal myself in the sight of many nations.(U) Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
Psalm 89
Perplexity about God’s Promises
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.(A)
1 I will sing about the Lord’s faithful love forever;(B)
I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations
with my mouth.(C)
2 For I will declare,
“Faithful love is built up forever;
you establish your faithfulness in the heavens.”(D)
3 The Lord said,
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever
and build up your throne for all generations.’”(E)Selah
5 Lord, the heavens praise your wonders(F)—
your faithfulness also—
in the assembly of the holy ones.(G)
6 For who in the skies can compare with the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings[a] is like the Lord?(H)
7 God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
more awe-inspiring than[b] all who surround him.(I)
8 Lord God of Armies,
who is strong like you, Lord?(J)
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging sea;
when its waves surge, you still them.(K)
10 You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;(L)
you scattered your enemies with your powerful arm.(M)
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours.
The world and everything in it—you founded them.(N)
12 North and south—you created them.(O)
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.(P)
13 You have a mighty arm;
your hand is powerful;
your right hand is lifted high.(Q)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation
of your throne;(R)
faithful love and truth go before you.(S)
15 Happy are the people who know the joyful shout;(T)
Lord, they walk in the light from your face.(U)
16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and they are exalted by your righteousness.(V)
17 For you are their magnificent strength;(W)
by your favor our horn is exalted.(X)
18 Surely our shield[c] belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.(Y)
19 You once spoke in a vision to your faithful ones
and said, “I have granted help to a warrior;
I have exalted one chosen[d] from the people.(Z)
20 I have found David my servant;
I have anointed him with my sacred oil.(AA)
21 My hand will always be with him,
and my arm will strengthen him.(AB)
22 The enemy will not oppress[e] him;
the wicked will not afflict him.(AC)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike those who hate him.(AD)
24 My faithfulness and love will be with him,
and through my name
his horn will be exalted.(AE)
25 I will extend his power to the sea
and his right hand to the rivers.(AF)
26 He will call to me, ‘You are my Father,(AG)
my God, the rock of my salvation.’(AH)
27 I will also make him my firstborn,
greatest of the kings of the earth.(AI)
28 I will always preserve my faithful love for him,
and my covenant with him will endure.(AJ)
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as heaven lasts.[f](AK)
30 If his sons abandon my instruction
and do not live by my ordinances,(AL)
31 if they dishonor my statutes
and do not keep my commands,(AM)
32 then I will call their rebellion
to account with the rod,
their iniquity with blows.(AN)
33 But I will not withdraw
my faithful love from him
or betray my faithfulness.(AO)
34 I will not violate my covenant
or change what my lips have said.(AP)
35 Once and for all
I have sworn an oath by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.(AQ)
36 His offspring will continue forever,
his throne like the sun before me,(AR)
37 like the moon, established forever,
a faithful witness in the sky.”(AS)Selah
38 But you have spurned and rejected him;
you have become enraged with your anointed.(AT)
39 You have repudiated the covenant with your servant;
you have completely dishonored his crown.[g](AU)
40 You have broken down all his walls;
you have reduced his fortified cities to ruins.(AV)
41 All who pass by plunder him;(AW)
he has become an object of ridicule
to his neighbors.(AX)
42 You have lifted high the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.(AY)
43 You have also turned back his sharp sword
and have not let him stand in battle.(AZ)
44 You have made his splendor[h] cease
and have overturned his throne.(BA)
45 You have shortened the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame.(BB)Selah
46 How long, Lord? Will you hide forever?
Will your anger keep burning like fire?(BC)
47 Remember how short my life is.
Have you created everyone for nothing?(BD)
48 What courageous person can live and never see death?
Who can save himself from the power of Sheol?(BE)Selah
49 Lord, where are the former acts of your faithful love
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?(BF)
50 Remember, Lord, the ridicule against your servants—
in my heart I carry abuse from all the peoples—
51 how your enemies have ridiculed, Lord,
how they have ridiculed every step of your anointed.(BG)
52 Blessed be the Lord forever.
Amen and amen.(BH)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.