M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Elijah Predicts a Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of ^(A)Tishbe^[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, ^(B)“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, ^(C)before whom I stand, ^(D)there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ² And the word of the Lord came to him: ³ “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. ⁷ And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(E)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to ^(F)Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there ^(G)gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹² And she said, ^(H)“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow's Son

¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ And she said to Elijah, ^(I)“What have you against me, O ^(J)man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” ¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” ^21 (K)Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life^[b] come into him again.” ²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and ^(L)he revived. ²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” ²⁴ And the woman said to Elijah, ^(M)“Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

4 Masters, treat your bondservants^[a] justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

^2 (A)Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it ^(B)with thanksgiving. ³ At the same time, pray also for us, that God may ^(C)open to us a door for the word, ^(D)to declare the mystery of Christ, ^(E)on account of which I am in prison— ⁴ that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

^5 (F)Walk in wisdom toward ^(G)outsiders, making the best use of the time. ⁶ Let your speech always ^(H)be gracious, ^(I)seasoned with salt, ^(J)so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

⁷ Tychicus will tell you ^(K)all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant^[b] in the Lord. ⁸ I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, ⁹ and with him ^(L)Onesimus, our faithful and ^(M)beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

^10 (N)Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark ^(O)the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—^(P)if he comes to you, welcome him), ¹¹ and Jesus who is called ^(Q)Justus. ^(R)These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and ^(S)they have been a comfort to me. ^12 (T)Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always ^(U)struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand ^(V)mature and fully assured in all the will of God. ¹³ For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. ^14 (W)Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does ^(X)Demas. ¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers^[c] at Laodicea, and to Nympha and ^(Y)the church in her house. ¹⁶ And when ^(Z)this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. ¹⁷ And say to ^(AA)Archippus, “See that you fulfill ^(AB)the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

¹⁸ I, Paul, ^(AC)write this greeting with my own hand. ^(AD)Remember ^(AE)my chains. ^(AF)Grace be with you.

Water Flowing from the Temple

47 Then he brought me back to ^(A)the door of the temple, and behold, ^(B)water was issuing from below ^(C)the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of ^(D)the altar. ² Then he brought me out by way of ^(E)the north gate and led me around on the outside to ^(F)the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

³ Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, ^(G)the man measured a thousand cubits,^[a] and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. ⁴ Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. ⁵ Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. ⁶ And he said to me, ^(H)“Son of man, ^(I)have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. ⁷ As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river ^(J)very many trees on the one side and on the other. ⁸ And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into ^(K)the Arabah, and enters the sea;^[b] when the water flows into ^(L)the sea, the water will become fresh.^{[c] 9} And wherever the river goes,^[d] every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea^[e] may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. ¹⁰ Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From ^(M)Engedi to ^(N)Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of ^(O)the Great Sea.^{[f] 11} But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. ¹² And on the banks, ^(P)on both sides of the river, there will grow ^(Q)all kinds of trees for food. ^(R)Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, ^(S)but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and ^(T)their leaves for healing.”

Division of the Land

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: “This is the boundary^[g] by which ^(U)you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. ^(V)Joseph shall have two portions. ¹⁴ And you shall divide equally what ^(W)I swore ^(X)to give to your fathers. ^(Y)This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.

¹⁵ “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from ^(Z)the Great Sea ^(AA)by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to ^(AB)Zedad,^{[h] 16 (AC)}Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between ^(AD)Damascus and ^(AE)Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. ¹⁷ So the boundary shall run from the sea to ^(AF)Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.^[i] This shall be the north side.^[j]

¹⁸ “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between ^(AG)Gilead and the land of Israel; to ^(AH)the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.^[k] This shall be the east side.

¹⁹ “On the south side, it shall run from ^(AI)Tamar as far as ^(AJ)the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along ^(AK)the Brook of Egypt^[l] to ^(AL)the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.

²⁰ “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point ^(AM)opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.

^21 (AN)“So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. ^22 (AO)You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and ^(AP)for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. ^(AQ)They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²³ In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.