M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul fights against the Amalekites
15 Samuel said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you as king to rule his people, the Israelites. So now listen to this message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It is time to punish the Amalekites! When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites attacked them. 3 Now go and attack the Amalekites. Completely destroy everything that they have. Do not save anything. Kill the men and women, as well as their children and babies. Kill their cows, sheep, camels and donkeys.” ’
4 So Saul called his army to come together. The men met at Telaim and Saul counted them. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and another 10,000 men from Judah's tribe. 5 Saul and his army went to the city of the Amalekites. They waited in a small valley to attack their enemy. 6 Saul said to the Kenite people, ‘Go away from here! I will kill the Amalekites, but I do not want to kill you. You were kind to the Israelites when they came out from Egypt.’ So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.[a]
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 Saul caught their king, Agag, while he was still alive. Saul's soldiers used their swords to kill all of Agag's people. 9 But Saul and the army let King Agag live. Also, they did not kill the best sheep, lambs, cows and fat calves. They kept all the good things and they did not agree to destroy them. But they killed everything that was weak and useless.
Samuel tells Saul God's message
10 Then the Lord gave this message to Samuel: 11 ‘I am sorry that I chose Saul to be king. He has turned away from me. He has not obeyed my commands.’
When Samuel heard that, he was very upset. He prayed aloud to the Lord all that night.
12 Samuel got up early the next morning. He went to meet Saul. Someone told Samuel, ‘Saul went to Carmel. He has put up a tall stone to give himself honour. Now he has left there and he has gone to Gilgal.’
13 Samuel went and he found Saul. Saul said to Samuel, ‘I pray that the Lord will bless you. I have obeyed the Lord's command.’ 14 But Samuel said, ‘If that is true, why can I hear the noise of sheep and cows?’
15 Saul answered, ‘My soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cows. They will offer them to the Lord your God as sacrifices. We killed all the other animals.’
16 Samuel said to Saul, ‘Listen to me! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ Saul said, ‘Tell me.’
17 Samuel said, ‘At one time, you thought that you were not an important person. Now you have become the leader of all the tribes of Israel. The Lord chose you to be king of Israel. 18 He gave you a job to do. He told you, “Go and kill all those wicked Amalekites. Fight against them until you have destroyed them all.” 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Instead you have been greedy. You have hurried to take things for yourself. You have done something evil that does not please the Lord.’
20 Saul said to Samuel, ‘I did obey the Lord! I did the job that the Lord told me to do. I killed all the Amalekites and I brought back Agag, their king. 21 But the army did not kill all the sheep and cows that they took from the Amalekites. They brought the best animals to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.’
22 But Samuel said, ‘What makes the Lord happy? Which is better? Is he more pleased when people offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to him? Or is he more pleased when people obey him? Listen! It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. That is true even if you offer to him the best animals that you have.
23 You have turned against God. That is worse than using magic. You think that you know what is right better than God does. That is as bad as worshipping idols. You decided not to obey the Lord's command. Now the Lord has decided that you will not be king any longer.’
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘It is true, I have done a bad thing. I did not obey the Lord's command. I did not do what you told me to do. I was afraid of the army. I agreed to do what they wanted. 25 Please forgive my sin. Return with me so that I can worship the Lord.’
26 But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you. You refused to obey the Lord's command. So now the Lord has decided that you will no longer be king of Israel.’
27 Samuel turned away to leave Saul. But Saul pulled the edge of Samuel's coat and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today. He has given it to a man who is better than you. 29 The great God who rules over Israel always does what he says he will do. He does not change his mind. People may change their minds, but he does not!’
30 Saul said again, ‘I have done a bad thing. But please show Israel's leaders and people that you respect me. Please return with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.’
31 So Samuel went back with Saul. Saul worshipped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, ‘Bring Agag, king of the Amalekites, to me.’
Agag came to Samuel. Agag was happy because he thought, ‘I am sure that now I will not have to die a painful death.’
33 But Samuel said to Agag, ‘You have used your sword to kill the children of many mothers. Now your own mother will have no children that are still alive.’ Then Samuel cut Agag into pieces at the Lord's altar in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left Gilgal and he went to his home in Ramah. Saul went to his home in Gibeah. 35 Until Samuel died, he never saw Saul again. Samuel was very sad about Saul. But the Lord was sorry that he had chosen Saul to be king of Israel.
Obey the government
13 Everyone must obey the government officers. It is God who gives the authority to rule. The people who rule have received their authority from God. 2 So anyone who refuses to obey that authority is refusing to obey God. That person will receive the proper punishment.
3 People who do good things do not need to be afraid of the rulers. Only people who do bad things should be afraid of the rulers. Do you want to live and not be afraid of the rulers? Then you must do good things and they will respect you. 4 Rulers are God's servants. They help you to do good things. But if you do bad things, then you should be afraid of them. They really do have authority to punish people. On God's behalf they punish people who do bad things. 5 So you must obey the people who have authority to rule. You must obey them not only so that they do not punish you. You must obey them because it is right to obey them. And you yourselves know that this is right.
6 This is also the reason why you pay taxes to the government. You should pay them, because the officers are God's servants. They are doing the work that God has given to them. 7 So you must give to each person what you ought to give them. Pay taxes to the people who receive taxes. Do that for every kind of tax. Respect those people that you should respect. Praise people that you should praise.
Love other people
8 Always pay your debts to people. The only debt that you should have is to love each other. Anyone who loves other people has obeyed God's Law completely.
9 The rules in God's Law say this: ‘Do not have sex with anyone who is not your own wife or your own husband. Do not kill anyone. Do not rob anyone. Do not want things that belong to other people.’ All these rules, and all the other rules in God's Law, are all included in one rule. That one rule is: ‘Love other people as much as you love yourself.’ 10 If you love other people, you will never do anything bad to them. So anyone who loves other people has obeyed God's Law completely.
11 Live in that way, because you know what is happening in this time now. It is time that you should stop sleeping. It is now time to wake up. The time when God will save us completely is near. That time is nearer now than when we first believed in him. 12 The night has nearly finished and the day is almost here. So we must stop doing the bad things that belong to the dark. Instead, we must take weapons like soldiers who are ready to fight in the light.[a]
13 We should live in a good way, because we live in the light of day. We should not go to wild parties. We must not be drunks. We must not have sex with anyone who is not our own wife or husband. We must not do wrong things with our bodies. We must not quarrel. We must not be jealous of other people. 14 Instead, you must live with the Lord Jesus Christ as your guide. Do not even think about the bad things that you may want to do to make yourself happy.
Nebuchadnezzar gets power over Jerusalem
52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother's name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah, who came from Libnah.[a] 2 Zedekiah did things that the Lord said were evil, as Jehoiakim had done.
3 All this trouble happened to Jerusalem and to Judah because the Lord was very angry with them. In the end, the Lord sent them away from himself. This is what happened when King Zedekiah turned against the king of Babylon.
4 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched with his army to attack Jerusalem. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month, in the ninth year when Zedekiah had ruled Judah. His soldiers made their camp all around the city. They built heaps of earth all around Jerusalem's walls. 5 Babylon's army stayed around the city until the 11th year that Zedekiah had been king.
6 By the ninth day of the fourth month there was a very bad famine in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. 7 Then Babylon's army broke down Jerusalem's wall so that they could go into the city. Their soldiers were all around the city. So the king of Judah and all his army tried to escape in the night. They went through the gate that was near the king's garden. The path went between the two walls of the city. They ran towards the Jordan Valley. 8 But the soldiers of Babylon's army chased after King Zedekiah. They caught him on the flat land near Jericho. All King Zedekiah's soldiers ran away from him in many directions.
9 Babylon's soldiers took hold of Zedekiah. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, in Hamath region. Nebuchadnezzar decided how to punish Zedekiah. 10 He told his soldiers to kill all Zedekiah's sons, while Zedekiah watched. He also punished all the officers of Judah with death there at Riblah. 11 Then they cut out Zedekiah's eyes to make him blind. They tied him with chains and they took him to Babylon as their prisoner. They kept him in prison until the day that he died.
12 King Nebuchadnezzar had an officer whose name was Nebuzaradan. He was the captain of the king's royal guards. Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar had ruled Babylon for 19 years. It was on the tenth day of the fifth month. 13 Nebuzaradan destroyed the Lord's temple, the king's palace and all the other houses in Jerusalem. He burned them all with fire, so that he destroyed every important building in the city. 14 Then Nebuzaradan commanded his whole army to knock down the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Captain Nebuzaradan sent away as prisoners some of the poor people and the rest of the people who remained in Jerusalem. He also sent away those people who had agreed to serve the king of Babylon, and the workers who had special skills. 16 But he let some of the poorest people stay there. He gave them vineyards and fields to work in.
17 The soldiers from Babylon broke the two bronze pillars that were in the Lord's temple. They also broke the carts which carried the buckets for water and the large bath called ‘the Sea’. They carried all the bronze pieces away to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, the bowls, the spades, the small tools for the lamps, and the dishes. They took all the bronze tools that the priests used in the temple. 19 Captain Nebuzaradan also took away everything that was made from gold or silver. He took the dishes, the baskets that carried hot coals, the bowls for water, the pots, the lampstands and other bowls.
20 The bronze from the things that King Solomon had made for the Lord's temple was very heavy. They included the two bronze pillars, the large bath called ‘the Sea’, the 12 bronze bulls under the bath and the carts which carried the buckets for water. The bronze from all these things was more than they could weigh. 21 Each pillar was 8 metres high and 5 metres around. The bronze was 8 centimetres thick and each pillar was empty inside. 22 The bronze piece on the top of one pillar was more than a metre high. It had rows of chains with images of pomegranates made from bronze all around it. The other pillar, with its rows of chains and pomegranates, was the same. 23 There were 96 images of pomegranates around the sides of the pillars. There were 100 images of pomegranates on the chains at the top.
24 Captain Nebuzaradan took hold of these people:
Seraiah, the leader of the priests.
Zephaniah, the next most important priest.
The three temple guards.
25 He also took hold of these people who remained in Jerusalem:
The palace officer with authority over the soldiers.
Seven of the king's advisors.
The army secretary who took men to join the army.
60 other people of Judah who were inside the city.
26 Captain Nebuzaradan took hold of all those people. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There, at Riblah in the Hamath region, the king of Babylon commanded his soldiers to punish them all with death.
That was how Judah's people went into exile, away from their own land.
28 This is a list of the number of people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as prisoners to Babylon:
He took 3,023 people from Judah in his seventh year as king.
29 He took 832 people from Jerusalem in his 18th year.
30 Captain Nebuzaradan took 745 people from Judah in Nebuchadnezzar's 23rd year as king.
So Nebuchadnezzar took 4,600 people away as his prisoners.
Jehoiachin lives in Babylon[b]
31 37 years after King Jehoiachin of Judah had gone as a prisoner to Babylon, Evil-Merodach became the king of Babylon. On the 25th day of the 12th month, he took Jehoiachin out from his prison so that he became free. 32 King Evil-Merodach spoke in a kind way to Jehoiachin. He gave him more honour than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 Jehoiachin no longer had to wear the clothes of a prisoner. Every day for the rest of his life, he ate a meal at the king's table in Babylon. 34 The king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin everything that he needed each day of his life until he died.
This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.
Lord, please help me!
31 Lord, I have come to you to keep me safe.
Never let me become ashamed.
You always do what is right
so please save me!
2 Listen to me,
and quickly send help to me.
Lord, be a rock where I can hide.
Be a strong place to keep me safe.
3 You are my high rock and my strong place.
Because of your good name,
lead me and be my guide.[a]
4 You are the place where I can hide,
so keep me safe.
Do not let my enemies' traps catch me.
5 I put my life into your hands.
I know that you will save me, Lord,
because you are a God that I can trust.
6 I hate people who worship useless idols.
As for me, I trust in the Lord.
7 I am very happy because of your faithful love.
You see when I suffer.
You know when I am very upset.
8 You have not put me under the power of my enemies.
You have led me into an open place,
where I can be safe.
9 Lord, I am very upset,
so please be kind to me.
My eyes are tired because I weep so much.
My whole body has become very weak.
10 I am near to death, because I am so sad.
I am crying with pain as my life comes to an end.
I have so much trouble
that I have no strength at all.
Even my bones have become weak.
11 All my enemies hate me.
My friends insult me.
Everyone who knows me is afraid of me.
They run away when they see me in the street.
12 Everybody has forgotten about me.
I might as well be dead!
They think that I am useless,
like a broken plate.
13 I hear what many people are saying against me.
News from everywhere makes me afraid.
They are deciding together
how to kill me.
14 But I continue to trust you, Lord.
I say, ‘You are my God!’[b]
15 You are the one who decides
what will happen to me in my whole life.
Save me from the power of my enemies
and from the people who want to catch me.
16 Turn towards me, your servant,
and be kind to me!
Keep me safe,
because of your faithful love.
17 Lord, do not let me become ashamed.
I call to you for help.
Cause evil people to become ashamed.
Let them go to their graves
and be silent there!
18 May people that tell lies become silent.
They insult righteous people.
They are proud people,
and they boast about themselves.
19 You have prepared many good things
to bless people who respect you.
While everyone watches,
you bless those who come to you for help.
20 You give them a place to hide,
and you keep them safe with you.
When their enemies want to attack them,
you take care of them.
When their enemies speak lies against them,
they are safe with you.
21 Praise the Lord!
When my enemies were all around me,
he showed me that his faithful love is very great.
22 When I was afraid, I said,
‘God is no longer with me!’
But I spoke too soon.
When I called to you for help,
you heard me and you answered me.
23 Love the Lord, all you people who belong to him!
If people serve the Lord faithfully,
he keeps them safe.
But if people are proud,
he punishes them as they deserve.
24 All you people who trust the Lord to help you,
you should be strong and very brave!
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