M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men. I’ll chase David tonight. ² I’ll catch him while he is tired and weak. I’ll frighten him so all his people will run away. But I’ll kill only King David. ³ Then I’ll bring everyone back to you. If the man you are looking for is dead, everyone else will return safely.” ⁴ This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel.

⁵ But Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Arkite. I also want to hear what he says.” ⁶ So Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom said to him, “This is the plan Ahithophel gave. Should we follow it? If not, tell us.”

⁷ Hushai said to Absalom, “Ahithophel’s advice is not good this time.” ⁸ Hushai added, “You know your father and his men are strong. They are as angry as a bear that is robbed of its babies. Your father is a skilled fighter. He won’t stay all night with the people. ⁹ He is probably already hiding in a cave or some other place. If your father attacks your men first, people will hear the news. And they will think, ‘Absalom’s followers are losing!’ ¹⁰ Then even the men who are as brave as a lion will become frightened. This is because all the Israelites know your father is a fighter. They know his men are brave!

¹¹ “This is what I suggest: Gather all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba.^[a] There will be as many people as grains of sand by the sea. Then you yourself must go into the battle. ¹² We will catch David where he is hiding. We will fall on him as dew falls on the ground. We will kill him and all of his men. No one will be left alive. ¹³ What if David escapes into a city? Then all the Israelites will bring ropes to that city. We’ll pull that city into the valley. There won’t be even a small stone left there!”

¹⁴ Absalom and all the Israelites said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” They said this because the Lord had planned to destroy the good advice of Ahithophel. In this way the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom.

¹⁵ Hushai told these things to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. He told them what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported to them what he himself had suggested. Hushai said, ¹⁶ “Quickly! Send a message to David. Tell him not to stay tonight at the crossings into the desert. Tell him to cross over the Jordan River at once. If he crosses the river, he and all his people won’t be caught.”

¹⁷ Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En Rogel. They did not want to be seen going into the town. So a servant girl would go out to them and give them messages. Then Jonathan and Ahimaaz would go and tell King David.

¹⁸ But a boy saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz and told Absalom. So Jonathan and Ahimaaz ran away quickly. They went to a man’s house in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. ¹⁹ The man’s wife spread a sheet over the opening of the well. Then she covered it with grain. No one could tell that Jonathan and Ahimaaz were hiding there.

²⁰ Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house. They asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

She said to them, “They have already crossed the brook.”

Absalom’s servants then went to look for Jonathan and Ahimaaz. But they could not find them. So they went back to Jerusalem.

²¹ After Absalom’s servants had left, Jonathan and Ahimaaz climbed out of the well. Then they went to tell King David. They said, “Hurry, cross over the river! Ahithophel has said these things against you!” ²² So David and all his people crossed the Jordan River. By dawn, everyone had crossed the Jordan.

²³ Now Ahithophel saw that the Israelites did not accept his advice. So he saddled his donkey and went to his hometown. He gave orders for his family and property. Then he hung himself. After Ahithophel died, he was buried in his father’s tomb.

War Between David and Absalom

²⁴ David arrived at Mahanaim. And Absalom and all his Israelites crossed over the Jordan River. ²⁵ Now Absalom had made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite. Amasa’s mother was Abigail daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah. Zeruiah was Joab’s mother. ²⁶ Absalom and the Israelites camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ Shobi, Makir and Barzillai were at Mahanaim when David arrived. Shobi son of Nahash was from the Ammonite town of Rabbah. Makir son of Ammiel was from Lo Debar. And Barzillai was from Rogelim in Gilead. ²⁸ They brought beds, bowls and clay pots. They brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans and small peas. ²⁹ They also brought honey and milk curds, sheep, and cheese made from cows’ milk. They brought these things for David and his people. They had said, “The people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert.”

Paul Defends His Ministry

10 I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some people say that I am easy on you when I am with you and strict when I am away. ² They think that we live in a worldly way. I plan to be very strict against them when I come. I beg you that when I come I will not need to use that same strictness with you. ³ We do live in the world. But we do not fight in the same way that the world fights. ⁴ We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God. These weapons can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy men’s arguments. ⁵ And we destroy every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. ⁶ We are ready to punish anyone there who does not obey. But first we want you to obey fully.

⁷ You must look at the facts before you. If anyone feels sure that he belongs to Christ, then he must remember that we belong to Christ just as he does. ⁸ It is true that we brag freely about the authority the Lord gave us. But he gave us this authority to strengthen you, not to hurt you. So I will not be ashamed of the bragging we do. ⁹ I don’t want you to think that I am trying to scare you with my letters. ¹⁰ Some people say, “Paul’s letters are powerful and sound important. But when he is with us, he is weak. And his speaking is nothing.” ¹¹ They should know this: We are not there with you now, so we say these things in letters. But when we are there with you, we will show the same authority that we show in our letters.

¹² We do not dare to put ourselves in the same group with those who think that they are very important. We do not compare ourselves to them. They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are. This shows that they know nothing. ¹³ But we will not brag about things outside the work that was given us to do. We will limit our bragging to the work that God gave us. And this work includes our work with you. ¹⁴ We are not bragging too much. We would be bragging too much if we had not already come to you. But we have come to you with the Good News of Christ. ¹⁵ We limit our bragging to the work that is ours. We do not brag in the work other men have done. We hope that your faith will continue to grow. And we hope that you will help our work to grow much larger. ¹⁶ We want to tell the Good News in the areas beyond your city. We do not want to brag about work that has already been done in another man’s area. ¹⁷ But, “If a person brags, he should brag only about the Lord.”^{[a] 18} It is not the one who says he is good who is accepted but the one that the Lord thinks is good.

The Pot and the Meat

24 The Lord spoke his word to me. It was in the ninth year, in the tenth month of our captivity. It was on the tenth day of the month. He said: ² “Human being, write for yourself this date, this very date. The king of Babylon has surrounded Jerusalem this very day. ³ And tell a story to the people who refuse to obey me. Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says:

⁶ “‘This is what the Lord God says:

⁹ “‘So this is what the Lord God says:

¹³ “‘In your sinful action there is shame. I wanted to cleanse you, but you are still unclean. You will never be cleansed from your sin until my anger against you is carried out.

¹⁴ “‘I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back punishment. I will not feel pity. I will judge you by your ways and actions, says the Lord God.’”

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ¹⁶ “Human being, I am going to take your wife from you. She is the desire of your eyes. She will die suddenly. But you must not be sad or cry loudly for her. You must not shed any tears. ¹⁷ Groan silently. Do not cry loudly for the dead. Tie on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your face. And do not eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death.”

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning. Then my wife died in the evening. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

¹⁹ Then the people asked me, “Tell us, what do the things you are doing mean for us?”

²⁰ Then I said to them, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ²¹ ‘Say to the people of Israel, This is what the Lord God says: I am going to dishonor my Temple. You think it gives you strength. You are proud of it. You love to look at it. It makes you happy. But your sons and daughters that you left behind in Jerusalem will fall dead by the sword. ²² And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your face. You will not eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death. ²³ Your turbans will be on your heads. And your sandals will be on your feet. You will not cry loudly. But you will rot away in your sins. You will groan to each other. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be a sign for you. You will do all the same things he did. When it happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵ “And as for you, human being, this is how it will be. I will take away the Temple that gives them strength. It makes them happy and proud. They love to look at it. It makes them happy. And I will take away their sons and daughters also. ²⁶ At that time the person who escapes will come to you. He will have information for you to hear. ²⁷ At that time your mouth will be opened. You will speak and be silent no more. So you will be a sign for them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A Prayer for the King

Of Solomon.

Amen and amen.

²⁰ This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.