M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Amnon and Tamar
13 Now David had a son named Absalom and a son named Amnon. Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon loved her. 2 Tamar was a virgin. Amnon did not think he should do anything bad to her. But he wanted her very much. He made himself sick just thinking about her.
3 Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah. (Shimeah was David’s brother.) Jonadab was a very clever man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you look so sad day after day? You are the king’s son! Tell me what’s wrong!”
Amnon told him, “I love Tamar. But she is the sister of my half-brother Absalom.”
5 Jonadab said to Amnon, “Go to bed. Act as if you are sick. Then your father will come to see you. Tell him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in and give me food to eat. Let her make the food in front of me. Then I will see it and eat it from her hand.’”
6 So Amnon lay down in bed and acted as if he were sick. King David came in to see him. Amnon said to him, “Please let my sister Tamar come in. Let her make two of her special cakes for me while I watch. Then I will eat them from her hands.”
7 David sent messengers to Tamar in the palace. They told her, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and make some food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house. He was in bed. Tamar took some dough and pressed it together with her hands. She made some special cakes while Amnon watched. Then she baked them. 9 Next she took the pan and took out the cakes for Amnon. But he refused to eat.
He said to his servants, “All of you, leave me alone!” So all his servants left the room. 10 Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the inner room. Then I’ll eat from your hand.”
Tamar took the cakes she had made. And she brought them to her brother Amnon in the inner room. 11 She went to him so he could eat from her hands. But Amnon grabbed her. He said, “Sister, come and have physical relations with me.”
12 Tamar said to him, “No, brother! Don’t force me! This should never be done in Israel! Don’t do this shameful thing! 13 I could never get rid of my shame! And you will become like the shameful fools in Israel! Please talk with the king. He will let you marry me.”
14 But Amnon refused to listen to her. He was stronger than she was. So he raped her. 15 After that, Amnon hated Tamar. He hated her much more than he had loved her before. Amnon said to her, “Get up and leave!”
16 Tamar said to him, “No! Sending me away would be an even greater evil. That would be worse than what you’ve already done!”
But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his young servant back in. Amnon said, “Get this girl out of here right now! Lock the door after her.” 18 So his servant led her out of the room. And he bolted the door after her.
Now Tamar was wearing a special robe with long sleeves. The king’s virgin daughters wore this kind of robe. 19 To show how upset she was Tamar took ashes and put them on her head. She tore her special robe. And she put her hand on her head. Then she went away, crying loudly.
20 Absalom, Tamar’s brother, said to her, “Has Amnon, that brother of yours, violated you? He is your brother. So for now, sister, be quiet. Don’t let this upset you so much!” So Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house. She was sad and lonely.
21 When King David heard the news, he was very angry. 22 Absalom did not say a word, good or bad, to Amnon. He hated Amnon for violating his sister Tamar.
Absalom’s Revenge
23 Two years later Absalom had some men come to Baal Hazor, near Ephraim. They were to cut the wool from his sheep. Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come also. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, “I have men coming to cut the wool. Please come with your officers and join me.”
25 King David said to Absalom, “No, my son. We won’t all go. It would be too much trouble for you.” Absalom begged David to go. David did not go, but he did give his blessing.
26 Absalom said, “If you don’t want to go, then please let my brother Amnon go with me.”
King David asked Absalom, “Why should he go with you?”
27 Absalom kept begging David. Finally, David let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with Absalom.
28 Then Absalom gave a command to his servants. He said, “Watch Amnon. When he is drunk, I will tell you, ‘Kill Amnon.’ Right then, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I have commanded you! Be strong and brave!” 29 So Absalom’s young men killed Amnon as Absalom commanded. But all of David’s other sons got on their mules and escaped.
30 While the king’s sons were on their way, the news came to David. The message was, “Absalom has killed all of the king’s sons! Not one of them is left alive!” 31 King David tore his clothes and lay on the ground to show his sadness. All his servants standing nearby tore their clothes also.
32 Jonadab was the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab said to David, “Don’t think all the young men, your sons, are killed. No, only Amnon is dead! Absalom planned this because Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My master and king, don’t think that all of the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead!”
34 In the meantime Absalom had run away.
There was a guard standing on the city wall. He saw many people coming from the other side of the hill. 35 So Jonadab said to King David, “Look, I was right! The king’s sons are coming!”
36 As soon as Jonadab had said this, the king’s sons arrived. They were crying loudly. David and all his servants began crying also. They all cried very much. 37 David cried for his son every day.
But Absalom ran away to Talmai[a] son of Ammihud. Talmai was king of Geshur. 38 After Absalom ran away to Geshur, he stayed there for three years. 39 When King David got over Amnon’s death, he missed Absalom greatly.
6 We are workers together with God. So we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. 2 God says,
“I heard your prayers at the right time,
and I gave you help on the day of salvation.” Isaiah 49:8
I tell you that the “right time” is now. The “day of salvation” is now.
3 We do not want anyone to find anything wrong with our work. So we do nothing that will be a problem for anyone. 4 But in every way we show that we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems. 5 We are beaten and thrown into prison. Men become upset and fight us. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food. 6 We show that we are servants of God by living a pure life, by our understanding, by our patience, and by our kindness. We show this by the Holy Spirit, by true love, 7 by speaking the truth, and by God’s power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. 8 Some people honor us, but other people shame us. Some people say good things about us, but other people say bad things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth. 9 We are not known, but we are well-known. We seem to be dying, but look—we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. 10 We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything.
11 We have spoken freely to you in Corinth. We have opened our hearts to you. 12 Our feelings of love for you have not stopped. It is you that have stopped your feelings of love for us. 13 I speak to you as if you were my children. Do to us as we have done—open your hearts to us.
Warning About Non-Christians
14 You are not the same as those who do not believe. So do not join yourselves to them. Good and bad do not belong together. Light and darkness cannot share together. 15 How can Christ and Belial, the devil, have any agreement? What can a believer have together with a non-believer? 16 The temple of God cannot have any agreement with idols. And we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live with them and walk with them. And I will be their God. And they will be my people.”[a]
17 “Leave those people,
and make yourselves pure, says the Lord.
Touch nothing that is unclean,
and I will accept you.” Isaiah 52:11; Ezekiel 20:34, 41
18 “I will be your father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord All-Powerful.” 2 Samuel 7:14; 7:8
Israel Has Refused God
20 It was the seventh year, in the fifth month of our captivity. It was the tenth day of the month. Some of the elders of Israel came to ask about the Lord. They sat down before me.
2 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 3 “Human being, speak to the elders of Israel. Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: Did you come to ask me questions? As surely as I live, I will not let you ask me questions.’
4 “Will you judge them? Will you judge them, human being? Let them know the hated things their fathers did. 5 Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I chose Israel and made a promise to the descendants of Jacob. At that time I made myself known to them in Egypt. I promised them, “I am the Lord your God.” 6 At that time I promised them I would bring them out of Egypt. I promised to bring them into a land I had chosen for them. This is a land where much food grows. It is the best of all lands. 7 I said to them, “Each one of you must throw away the hateful idols you have set your eyes on. Don’t make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
8 “‘But they turned against me and refused to listen to me. They did not throw away the hated idols which they saw and liked. They did not leave the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out my anger against them in the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted to show who I am. I did not allow myself to be dishonored before the nations where the Israelites lived. I made myself known to the Israelites. I did this by bringing them out of Egypt while the nations were watching. 10 So I took them out of Egypt and brought them into the desert. 11 I gave them my rules. I told them about my laws. If a person obeys them, he will live. 12 I also gave them my Sabbaths. They were to be a sign between us. Then they would know that I am the Lord. I make them holy.
13 “‘But in the desert Israel turned against me. They did not follow my rules. They rejected my laws. But if a person obeys them, he will live. They dishonored my Sabbaths. Then I decided to pour out my anger against them and destroy them in the desert. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name. I did not allow it to be dishonored before the nations. As the nations watched, I had brought the Israelites out of Egypt. 15 But in the desert I had to make another promise to the Israelites. I had to promise I would not bring them into the land I had given them. It is a land where much food grows. It is the best of all the lands. 16 This is because they rejected my laws. They did not follow my rules. They dishonored my Sabbaths. They would rather worship their idols. 17 But I had pity on them. I did not destroy them. I did not put an end to them in the desert. 18 I said to their children in the desert, “Don’t live by the rules of your fathers. Don’t obey their laws. Don’t make yourselves unclean with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God. Live by my rules. Obey my laws and do them. 20 Keep my Sabbaths holy. They will be a sign between me and you. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”
21 “‘But the people turned against me. If a person obeys my laws, he will live. But they did not live by my rules. They were not careful to obey my laws. They dishonored my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out my anger against them. I decided to carry out my anger against them in the desert. 22 But I held back my anger. I acted for the sake of my name. Then my name would not be dishonored with the nations watching. As the nations watched, I had brought the Israelites out from Egypt. 23 Also in the desert I had to make a promise to the Israelites. I had to promise to scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries. 24 This is because they did not obey my laws. They had rejected my rules and dishonored my Sabbaths. And they worshiped the idols of their ancestors. 25 I also allowed them to follow rules that were not good. And they followed laws by which they could not live. 26 I let the Israelites make themselves unclean by the gifts they brought to their false gods. They sacrificed their oldest children in the fire. This is how I shocked them so they would know that I am the Lord.’
27 “So, human being, speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Your ancestors spoke against me by being unfaithful to me in this way: 28 I had brought them into the land I promised to give them. They saw every high hill and every leafy tree. There they offered their sacrifices to false gods. They brought offerings that made me angry. There, also, they burned their incense. There they poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them: What is this place where you go to worship false gods?’” (It is still called High Place today.)
30 “So say to the people of Israel: ‘This is what the Lord God says: Will you make yourselves unclean as your ancestors did? Will you be unfaithful and desire their hated idols? 31 You offer your children as gifts to the false gods. You sacrifice them in the fire. You make yourselves unclean with all your idols even today. So, people of Israel, should I let you ask me questions? As surely as I live, says the Lord God, I will not accept questions from you.
32 “‘What you want will not come true. You say, “We want to be like the other nations and the people in other lands. We want to worship idols made of wood and stone.” 33 As surely as I live, says the Lord God, I will rule you. I will rule you with my great power and strength and anger. 34 I will bring you out from the foreign nations. I will gather you from the lands where you are scattered. I will do this with my great power and strength and anger. 35 I will bring you among the nations as I brought your ancestors into the desert with Moses. There I will judge you face to face. 36 I will judge you the same way I judged your ancestors. That was in the desert of the land of Egypt. So I will judge you, says the Lord God. 37 I will take control of you. I will punish you by my agreement. 38 I will get rid of those who refuse to obey me and who turn against me. I will bring them out of the land where they are now living. But they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39 “‘This is what the Lord God says: People of Israel, go serve your idols for now. But later you will listen to me. You will not continue to dishonor my holy name with your gifts and false gods. 40 My holy mountain is the high mountain of Israel. There all Israel will serve me in the land, says the Lord God. There I will accept you. There I will look for your offerings. I will look for the first harvest of your offerings and all your holy gifts. 41 I will accept you like a pleasing smell. This will happen when I bring you out from the foreign nations. It will take place when I gather you from the lands where you are scattered. Then through you I will show how holy I am. The nations will see it. 42 When I bring you into the land of Israel, you will know that I am the Lord. I will bring you into the land I promised your ancestors. 43 There you will remember everything you did that made you unclean. Then you will hate yourselves for all the evil things you have done. 44 I will deal with you to show who I am. Then you will know I am the Lord, people of Israel. But it’s not because of your evil ways or unclean actions, says the Lord God.’”
45 Now the Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 46 “Human being, look toward the south. Prophesy against the south. Prophesy against the forest of the southern area. 47 Say to that forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says: I am ready to start a fire in you. The fire will destroy all your green trees and all your dry trees. The flame that burns will not be put out. All the land from south to north will be burned by the fire. 48 Then all the people will see that I, the Lord, have started the fire. It will not be put out.’”
49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! The people are saying about me, ‘He is only telling stories.’”
Praise God for Answering Prayers
For the director of music. A song of praise.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 Sing about his glory!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “Your works are amazing!
Your power is great.
Your enemies fall before you.
4 All the earth worships you.
They sing praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done.
See what amazing things he has done for people.
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
The people crossed the river on foot.
So let us rejoice because of what he did.
7 He rules forever with his power.
He keeps his eye on the nations.
So people should not turn against him. Selah
8 You people, praise our God.
Loudly sing his praise.
9 He protects our lives
and does not let us be defeated.
10 God, you have tested us.
You have purified us like silver.
11 You let us be trapped.
You put a heavy load on us.
12 You let our enemies walk on our heads.
We went through fire and flood.
But you brought us to a place with good things.
13 I will come to your Temple with burnt offerings.
I will give you what I promised.
14 I promised to give you these things
when I was in trouble.
15 I will bring you offerings of fat animals.
And I will offer male sheep, bulls and goats. Selah
16 All of you who fear God, come and listen.
I will tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth.
I praised him with my tongue.
18 If I had known of any sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God has listened.
He has heard my prayer.
20 Praise God.
He did not ignore my prayer.
He did not hold back his love from me.
Everyone Should Praise God
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A song of praise.
67 God, have mercy on us and bless us.
Show your kindness to us. Selah
2 Then the world will learn your ways.
All nations will learn that you can save.
3 God, the people should praise you.
All people should praise you.
4 The nations should be glad and sing
because you judge people fairly.
You guide all the nations on earth. Selah
5 God, the people should praise you.
All people should praise you.
6 The land has given its crops.
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God blesses us
so people to the ends of the earth will fear him.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.