M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
20 ¶ Then Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his host together; and there were thirty-two kings with him and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria and warred against it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city and said unto him, Thus hath Benhadad said,
3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy word, I am thine and all that I have.
5 And the messengers came again and said, Thus hath Benhadad said, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy children,
6 yet I will send my slaves unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house and the houses of thy slaves; and it shall be that whatever is precious in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand and take it away.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Understand, I pray you, and see how this man seeks only evil, for he sent unto me for my wives and for my children and for my silver and for my gold, and I denied him not.
8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
9 So he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy slave at the first I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
10 And Benhadad sent unto him again and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, that the dust of Samaria shall not be enough for the open hands of all the people that follow me.
11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his harness boast as he that puts it off.
12 ¶ And when he heard this word, as he was drinking with the kings in the pavilions, he said unto his slaves, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thy hand today, that thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus hath the LORD said, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him.
17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benhadad had sent out men who warned him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 Then he said, If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive.
19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army followed after them.
20 And each one smote the man that came against him; and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them. And Benhadad, the king of Syria, escaped on a horse with some of the horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out and smote the horsemen and the chariots and smote the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22 ¶ And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and consider, and see what thou must do, for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
23 And the slaves of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the mountains; therefore, they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
24 Therefore, do this: Remove the kings from their positions and put captains in their place.
25 And prepare another army like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
27 And the sons of Israel were numbered and took provisions and went against them; and the sons of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the land.
28 Then the man of God came and spoke unto the king of Israel and said, Thus hath the LORD said, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the mountains, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore, I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand that ye may know that I am the LORD.
29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the sons of Israel slew of the Syrians one hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad also fled and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
31 ¶ Then his slaves said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he will give thee thy life.
32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, Thy slave Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he replied, If he is yet alive, he is my brother.
33 Now these men took this as a good omen and quickly took this word from his mouth, and they said, Thy brother Benhadad! And he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make plazas for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and I will leave here confederated with thee. So he made a covenant with him and sent him away.
35 Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall smite thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him and smote him.
37 Then he found another man and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him and wounded him.
38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way and disguised himself with a veil over his eyes.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and he said, Thy slave went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside and brought a man unto me and said, Guard this man; if by any means he should get away, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And when thy slave was busy here and there, he disappeared. Then the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy sentence be; thou thyself hast decided it.
41 Then he quickly took the veil away from his face; and the king of Israel recognized that he was of the prophets.
42 And he said unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man of my anathema, therefore, thy life shall go for his life and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house, sad and angry, and came to Samaria.
3 ¶ Therefore when we could wait no longer, we agreed to remain in Athens alone
2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of the Christ, to confirm you and to exhort you in your faith,
3 that no one should be moved in these tribulations, for you know that we are appointed for this.
4 For even when we were with you, we told you in advance that we must pass through tribulations, even as it has come to pass, and ye know.
5 For this cause I, also, not waiting any longer, have sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter has tempted you and our labour is in vain.
6 ¶ But now when Timothy came from you unto us and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you.
7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our tribulation and need by your faith;
8 for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
9 For what thanks can we render to God again for you for all the joy with which we joy for your sakes before our God,
10 night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face and might complete that which is lacking in your faith?
11 ¶ Now may God himself and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you.
12 And the Lord make you to multiply and make charity to abound among you and toward all men, even as it is with us toward you,
13 that your hearts may be confirmed in holiness, irreprehensible before God, even our Father, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
2 ¶ And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was troubled, and his sleep fled from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call magicians, astrologers, enchanters, and Chaldeans, that they might show the king his dreams. So they came and presented themselves before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever; tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from my memory; if ye will not make known unto me the dream with its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye show the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and its interpretation.
7 They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain time because ye see the thing is gone from my memory.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you for ye certainly prepare lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the time is changed; therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me its interpretation.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter; furthermore there is no king, prince, nor lord that asked such a thing of any magician or astrologer or Chaldean.
11 Finally, the thing that the king requires is singular, and there is no one that can show it before the king except the angels of God, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth, and the wise men were taken to be slain, and they sought Daniel and his fellows to kill them.
14 ¶ Then Daniel spoke with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.
15 He spoke and said to Arioch the king’s captain, What is the reason for which this decree has gone forth from the king with such haste? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 And Daniel went in, and asked the king that he give him time and that he would show the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18 to petition mercies of the God of heaven concerning this mystery and that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the mystery was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision for which Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 And Daniel spoke and said, Blessed be the name of God from age to age for wisdom and might are his;
21 and it is he that changes the times and the opportunities; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom unto the wise and knowledge unto those that know understanding:
22 He reveals that which is deep and hidden; he knows what is in darkness, and the light dwells with him.
23 Unto thee, O God of my fathers, do I confess and give thee praise that thou hast given me wisdom and might and now hast shown me what we asked of thee, for thou hast shown us the king’s matter.
24 ¶ After this Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him, Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought Daniel in before the king in haste and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make me understand the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The mystery which the king demands cannot be shown unto the king by wise men, astrologers, magicians, nor fortune-tellers.
28 But there is a God in the heavens who reveals the mysteries, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall happen at the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, is this:
29 Thou, O king, in thy bed, thy thoughts rose up to know what should come to pass in the future; and he that reveals the mysteries showed thee what shall come to pass.
30 And unto me this mystery has been revealed, not for any wisdom that is in me more than in all those living but that I notify the interpretation to the king and that thou might understand the thoughts of thy heart.
31 ¶ Thou, O king, didst see and behold a great image. This image, which was very large and whose glory was very sublime, stood before thee, and its form was terrible.
32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of baked clay.
34 Thou didst see until a stone was cut out, not with hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and baked clay and broke them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the baked clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them again; and the stone that smote the image was made into a great mountain that filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art king of kings, for the God of heaven has given thee the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the majesty.
38 And everything that is inhabited by children of men, beasts of the field, and fowls of the heaven, he has given into thine hand, and has made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the land.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; and as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things, and as iron that breaks all these things, it shall break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou didst see the feet and toes, part of baked potters’ clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divisive; but there shall be in it some of the strength of the iron, such as thou didst see the iron mixed with baked clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of baked clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly fragile.
43 Concerning that which thou didst see, the iron mixed with baked clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron does not mix with clay.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall raise up a kingdom which eternally shall never become corrupted, and this kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 In the manner which thou didst see that out of the mountain was cut one stone, not with hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has shown the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is true, and its interpretation sure.
46 ¶ Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and humbled himself before Daniel and commanded that they should sacrifice presents and sweet odours unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel and said, Certainly the God that is your God is God of gods and the Lord of the kings and the revealer of the mysteries, seeing thou could reveal this mystery.
48 Then the king magnified Daniel and gave him many and great gifts and made him governor over the whole province of Babylon and prince of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 And Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was at the gate of the king.
1 ¶ Halelu-JAH. O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can show forth all his praise?
3 Happy are those that keep judgment and he that does righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou dost bear unto thy people; O visit me with thy saving health,
5 that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
6 ¶ We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers did not understand thy wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the multitude of thy mercies but rebelled by the sea, even at the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
9 He reprehended the Red Sea also, and it was dried up, so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
12 Then they believed his words; they sang his praise.
13 ¶ They became rash. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel:
14 They gave themselves over to lust in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.
15 And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
16 Then they envied Moses in the camp and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.
18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molten image.
20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God of their saving health, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things upon the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath lest he should destroy them.
24 And they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his word:
25 But murmured in their tents and did not hearken unto the voice of the LORD.
26 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 to overthrow their seed also among the Gentiles, and to scatter them in the lands.
28 They also joined themselves unto Baalpeor and ate the sacrifices for the dead.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague broke in upon them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and so the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness from generation to generation for evermore.
32 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
33 Because they provoked his spirit to rebel, and he spoke it with his lips.
34 ¶ They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
35 But were mingled among the Gentiles and learned their works.
36 And they served their idols, which were a snare unto them.
37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils
38 and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they were defiled with their own works and went a whoring with their own inventions.
40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
41 And he gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those that hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 He delivered them many times, but they rebelled at his counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he would look upon their affliction and hear their cry
45 and remember his covenant with them and repent according to the multitude of his mercies.
46 He also caused those that carried them captives to have mercy upon them.
47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, that we might lift up thy holy name, that we might glory in thy praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; and let all the people say, Amen. Halelu-JAH.
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