M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Elijah and King Ahaziah
1 After Ahab died, Moab broke away from Israel’s rule. 2 Ahaziah fell down through the wooden bars in his upstairs room in Samaria and was badly hurt. He sent messengers and told them, “Go, ask Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron, if I will recover from my injuries.”
3 But the Lord’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers sent by the king of Samaria. Ask them, ‘Why are you going to ask questions of Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no God in Israel?’ 4 This is what the Lord says: ‘You will never get up from the bed you are lying on; you will die.’” Then Elijah left.
5 When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked them, “Why have you returned?”
6 They said, “A man came to meet us. He said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him what the Lord says: “Why do you send messengers to ask questions of Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no God in Israel? You will never get up from the bed you are lying on; you will die.”’”
7 Ahaziah asked them, “What did the man look like who met you and told you this?”
8 They answered, “He was a hairy man and wore a leather belt around his waist.”
Ahaziah said, “It was Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then he sent a captain with his fifty men to Elijah. The captain went to Elijah, who was sitting on top of the hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and burned up the captain and his fifty men.
11 Ahaziah sent another captain and fifty men to Elijah. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down quickly!’”
12 Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men!” Then fire came down from heaven and burned up the captain and his fifty men.
13 Ahaziah then sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain came and fell down on his knees before Elijah and begged, “Man of God, please respect my life and the lives of your fifty servants. 14 See, fire came down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifty with all their men. But now, respect my life.”
15 The Lord’s angel said to Elijah, “Go down with him and don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to see the king.
16 Elijah told Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have sent messengers to ask questions of Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron. Is it because you think there is no God in Israel to ask? Because of this, you will never get up from your bed; you will die.’” 17 So Ahaziah died, just as the Lord, through Elijah, had said he would.
Joram became king in Ahaziah’s place during the second year Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Joram ruled because Ahaziah had no son to take his place. 18 The other things Ahaziah did are written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To the church in Thessalonica in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Talks About God’s Judgment
3 We must always thank God for you, brothers and sisters. This is only right, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love that every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 So we brag about you to the other churches of God. We tell them about the way you continue to be strong and have faith even though you are being treated badly and are suffering many troubles.
5 This is proof that God is right in his judgment. He wants you to be counted worthy of his kingdom for which you are suffering. 6 God will do what is right. He will give trouble to those who trouble you. 7 And he will give rest to you who are troubled and to us also when the Lord Jesus appears with burning fire from heaven with his powerful angels. 8 Then he will punish those who do not know God and who do not obey the Good News about our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 Those people will be punished with a destruction that continues forever. They will be kept away from the Lord and from his great power. 10 This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive glory because of his holy people. And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group, because you believed what we told you.
11 That is why we always pray for you, asking our God to help you live the kind of life he called you to live. We pray that with his power God will help you do the good things you want and perform the works that come from your faith. 12 We pray all this so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will have glory in you, and you will have glory in him. That glory comes from the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Writing on the Wall
5 King Belshazzar gave a big banquet for a thousand royal guests and drank wine with them. 2 As Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver cups that his ancestor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. This was so the king, his royal guests, his wives, and his slave women could drink from those cups. 3 So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his royal guests, his wives, and his slave women drank from them. 4 As they were drinking, they praised their gods, which were made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a person’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.
6 King Belshazzar was very frightened. His face turned white, his knees knocked together, and he could not stand up because his legs were too weak. 7 The king called for the magicians, wise men, and wizards of Babylon and said to them, “Anyone who can read this writing and explain it will receive purple clothes fit for a king and a gold chain around his neck. And I will make that person the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 King Belshazzar became even more afraid, and his face became even whiter. His royal guests were confused.
10 Then the king’s mother, who had heard the voices of the king and his royal guests, came into the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be afraid or let your face be white with fear! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, this man showed understanding, knowledge, and wisdom like the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, put this man in charge of all the wise men, fortune-tellers, magicians, and wizards. 12 The man I am talking about is named Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. He was very wise and had knowledge and understanding. He could explain dreams and secrets and could answer very hard problems. Call for Daniel. He will tell you what the writing on the wall means.”
13 So they brought Daniel to the king, and the king asked, “Is your name Daniel? Are you one of the captives my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you are very wise and have knowledge and extraordinary understanding. 15 The wise men and magicians were brought to me to read this writing and to explain what it means, but they could not explain it. 16 I have heard that you are able to explain what things mean and can find the answers to hard problems. Read this writing on the wall and explain it to me. If you can, I will give you purple clothes fit for a king and a gold chain to wear around your neck. And you will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself, or you may give those rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing on the wall for you and will explain to you what it means.
18 “O king, the Most High God made your father Nebuchadnezzar a great, important, and powerful king. 19 Because God made him important, all the people, nations, and those who spoke every language were very frightened of Nebuchadnezzar. If he wanted someone to die, he killed that person. If he wanted someone to live, he let that person live. Those he wanted to promote, he promoted. Those he wanted to be less important, he made less important.
20 “But Nebuchadnezzar became too proud and stubborn, so he was taken off his royal throne. His glory was taken away. 21 He was forced away from people, and his mind became like the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys and was fed grass like an ox and became wet with dew. These things happened to him until he learned his lesson: The Most High God rules over every kingdom on earth, and he sets anyone he chooses over those kingdoms.
22 “Belshazzar, you already knew these things, because you are a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar. Still you have not been sorry for what you have done. 23 Instead, you have set yourself against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from the Temple of the Lord to be brought to you. Then you and your royal guests, your wives, and your slave women drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that are not really gods; they cannot see or hear or understand anything. You did not honor God, who has power over your life and everything you do. 24 So God sent the hand that wrote on the wall.
25 “These are the words that were written on the wall: ‘Mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.’
26 “This is what the words mean: Mene: God has counted the days until your kingdom will end. 27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found not good enough. 28 Parsin: Your kingdom is being divided and will be given to the Medes and the Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar gave an order for Daniel to be dressed in purple clothes and to have a gold chain put around his neck. And it was announced that Daniel was the third highest ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very same night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonian people, was killed. 31 So Darius the Mede became the new king when he was sixty-two years old.
The Lord Appoints a King
A psalm of David.
110 The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right side
until I put your enemies under your control.”
2 The Lord will enlarge your kingdom beyond Jerusalem,
and you will rule over your enemies.
3 Your people will join you on your day of battle.
You have been dressed in holiness from birth;
you have the freshness of a child.
4 The Lord has made a promise
and will not change his mind.
He said, “You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is beside you to help you.
When he becomes angry, he will crush kings.
6 He will judge those nations, filling them with dead bodies;
he will defeat rulers all over the world.
7 The king will drink from the brook on the way.
Then he will be strengthened.
Praise the Lord’s Goodness
111 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of his good people.
2 The Lord does great things;
those who enjoy them seek them.
3 What he does is glorious and splendid,
and his goodness continues forever.
4 His miracles are unforgettable.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his agreement forever.
6 He has shown his people his power
when he gave them the lands of other nations.
7 Everything he does is good and fair;
all his orders can be trusted.
8 They will continue forever.
They were made true and right.
9 He sets his people free.
He made his agreement everlasting.
He is holy and wonderful.
10 Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord;
those who obey his orders have good understanding.
He should be praised forever.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.