M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Elijah Is Taken to Heaven
2 It was almost time for the Lord to take Elijah by a whirlwind up into heaven. While Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal, 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here. The Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The groups of prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
Elisha said, “Yes, I know, but don’t talk about it.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha, because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.”
So they went to Jericho. 5 The groups of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
Elisha answered, “Yes, I know, but don’t talk about it.”
6 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.”
Elisha answered, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.”
So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the groups of prophets came and stood far from where Elijah and Elisha were by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took off his coat, rolled it up, and hit the water. The water divided to the right and to the left, and Elijah and Elisha crossed over on dry ground.
9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
Elisha said, “Leave me a double share of your spirit.”[a]
10 Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours. If you don’t, it won’t happen.”
11 As they were walking and talking, a chariot and horses of fire appeared and separated Elijah from Elisha. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw it and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” And Elisha did not see him anymore. Then Elisha grabbed his own clothes and tore them to show how sad he was.
13 He picked up Elijah’s coat that had fallen from him. Then he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Elisha hit the water with Elijah’s coat and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.
15 The groups of prophets at Jericho were watching and said, “Elisha now has the spirit Elijah had.” And they came to meet him, bowing down to the ground before him. 16 They said to him, “There are fifty strong men with us. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken Elijah up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
But Elisha answered, “No, don’t send them.”
17 When the groups of prophets had begged Elisha until he couldn’t refuse them anymore, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men who looked for three days, but they could not find him. 18 Then they came back to Elisha at Jericho where he was staying. He said to them, “I told you not to go, didn’t I?”
Elisha Makes the Water Pure
19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, master, this city is a nice place to live as you can see. But the water is so bad the land cannot grow crops.”
20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt in it. He said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. From now on it won’t cause death, and it won’t keep the land from growing crops.’” 22 So the water has been healed to this day just as Elisha had said.
Boys Make Fun of Elisha
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. On the way some boys came out of the city and made fun of him. They said to him, “Go up too, you baldhead! Go up too, you baldhead!” 24 Elisha turned around, looked at them, and put a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two mother bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces. 25 Elisha went to Mount Carmel and from there he returned to Samaria.
Evil Things Will Happen
2 Brothers and sisters, we have something to say about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the time when we will meet together with him. 2 Do not become easily upset in your thinking or afraid if you hear that the day of the Lord has already come. Someone may have said this in a prophecy or in a message or in a letter as if it came from us. 3 Do not let anyone fool you in any way. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away[a] from God happens and the Man of Evil,[b] who is on his way to hell, appears. 4 He will be against and put himself above any so-called god or anything that people worship. And that Man of Evil will even go into God’s Temple and sit there and say that he is God.
5 I told you when I was with you that all this would happen. Do you not remember? 6 And now you know what is stopping that Man of Evil so he will appear at the right time. 7 The secret power of evil is already working in the world, but there is one who is stopping that power. And he will continue to stop it until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that Man of Evil will appear, and the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath that comes from his mouth and will destroy him with the glory of his coming. 9 The Man of Evil will come by the power of Satan. He will have great power, and he will do many different false miracles, signs, and wonders. 10 He will use every kind of evil to trick those who are lost. They will die, because they refused to love the truth. (If they loved the truth, they would be saved.) 11 For this reason God sends them something powerful that leads them away from the truth so they will believe a lie. 12 So all those will be judged guilty who did not believe the truth, but enjoyed doing evil.
You Are Chosen for Salvation
13 Brothers and sisters, whom the Lord loves, God chose you from the beginning[c] to be saved. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth. 14 God used the Good News that we preached to call you to be saved so you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So, brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you in our speaking and in our letter.
16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us, and through his grace he gave us a good hope and encouragement that continues forever.
Daniel and the Lions
6 Darius thought it would be a good idea to choose one hundred twenty governors who would rule his kingdom. 2 He chose three men as supervisors over those governors, and Daniel was one of the supervisors. The supervisors were to ensure that the governors did not try to cheat the king. 3 Daniel showed that he could do the work better than the other supervisors and governors, so the king planned to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom. 4 Because of this, the other supervisors and governors tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel about his work in the government. But they could not find anything wrong with him or any reason to accuse him, because he was trustworthy and not lazy or dishonest. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any reason to accuse Daniel unless it is about the law of his God.”
6 So the supervisors and governors went as a group to the king and said: “King Darius, live forever! 7 The supervisors, assistant governors, governors, the people who advise you, and the captains of the soldiers have all agreed that you should make a new law for everyone to obey: For the next thirty days no one should pray to any god or human except to you, O king. Anyone who doesn’t obey will be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, O king, make the law and sign your name to it so that it cannot be changed, because then it will be a law of the Medes and Persians and cannot be canceled.” 9 So King Darius signed the law.
10 Even though Daniel knew that the new law had been written, he went to pray in an upstairs room in his house, which had windows that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times each day Daniel would kneel down to pray and thank God, just as he always had done.
11 Then those men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and talked to him about the law he had made. They said, “Didn’t you sign a law that says no one may pray to any god or human except you, O king? Doesn’t it say that anyone who disobeys during the next thirty days will be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The king answered, “Yes, that is the law, and the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled.”
13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is not paying attention to you, O king, or to the law you signed. Daniel still prays to his God three times every day.” 14 The king became very upset when he heard this. He wanted to save Daniel, and he worked hard until sunset trying to think of a way to save him.
15 Then those men went as a group to the king. They said, “Remember, O king, the law of the Medes and Persians says that no law or command given by the king can be changed.”
16 So King Darius gave the order, and Daniel was brought in and thrown into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May the God you serve all the time save you!” 17 A big stone was brought and placed over the opening of the lions’ den. Then the king used his signet ring and the rings of his royal officers to put special seals on the rock. This ensured that no one would move the rock and bring Daniel out. 18 Then King Darius went back to his palace. He did not eat that night, he did not have any entertainment brought to him, and he could not sleep.
19 The next morning King Darius got up at dawn and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 As he came near the den, he was worried. He called out to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God that you always worship been able to save you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel to close the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, O king.”
23 King Darius was very happy and told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions’ den. So they lifted him out and did not find any injury on him, because Daniel had trusted in his God.
24 Then the king commanded that the men who had accused Daniel be brought to the lions’ den. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the den. The lions grabbed them before they hit the floor of the den and crushed their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote a letter to all people and all nations, to those who spoke every language in the world:
I wish you great peace and wealth.
26 I am making a new law for people in every part of my kingdom. All of you must fear and respect the God of Daniel.
Daniel’s God is the living God;
he lives forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his rule will never end.
27 God rescues and saves people
and does mighty miracles
in heaven and on earth.
He is the one who saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.
28 So Daniel was successful during the time Darius was king and when Cyrus the Persian was king.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who respect the Lord,
who want what he commands.
2 Their descendants will be powerful in the land;
the children of honest people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people,
for those who are merciful and kind and good.
5 It is good to be merciful and generous.
Those who are fair in their business
6 will never be defeated.
Good people will always be remembered.
7 They won’t be afraid of bad news;
their hearts are steady because they trust the Lord.
8 They are confident and will not be afraid;
they will look down on their enemies.
9 They give freely to the poor.
The things they do are right and will continue forever.
They will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
Praise for the Lord’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name should be praised
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name should be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is supreme over all the nations;
his glory reaches to the skies.
5 No one is like the Lord our God,
who rules from heaven,
6 who bends down to look
at the skies and the earth.
7 The Lord lifts the poor from the dirt
and takes the helpless from the ashes.
8 He seats them with princes,
the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who has none
and makes her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.