M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Naaman Is Healed

5 Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man to his master. He had much honor because the Lord had used him to give victory to Aram. He was a mighty and brave man. But he had a harmful skin disease.

² The Arameans had gone out to steal from the Israelites. And they had taken a little girl as a captive from Israel. This little girl served Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master would meet the prophet who lives in Samaria. He would heal Naaman of his disease.”

⁴ Naaman went to the king. He told him what the girl from Israel had said. ⁵ The king of Aram said, “Go now. And I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left and took about 750 pounds of silver. He also took about 150 pounds of gold and ten changes of clothes with him. ⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read, “I am sending my servant Naaman to you. I’m sending him so you can heal him of his skin disease.”

⁷ The king of Israel read the letter. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He said, “I’m not God! I can’t kill and make alive again! Why does this man send someone with a harmful skin disease for me to heal? You can see that the king of Aram is trying to start trouble with me!”

⁸ Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes. So he sent a message to the king. It said, “Why have you become so upset that you tore your clothes? Let Naaman come to me. Then he will know there is a prophet in Israel!” ⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots to Elisha’s house. And he stood outside the door.

¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman. The messenger said, “Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Then your skin will be healed, and you will be clean.”

¹¹ Naaman became angry and left. He said, “I thought Elisha would surely come out and stand before me. I thought he would call on the name of the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over the place and heal the disease! ¹² Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than all the waters of Israel! Why can’t I wash in them and become clean?” So Naaman went away very angry.

¹³ But Naaman’s servants came near and talked to him. They said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? Doesn’t it make more sense just to do it? After all, he only told you, ‘Wash, and you will be clean.’” ¹⁴ So Naaman went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times. He did just as Elisha had said. Then Naaman’s skin became new again. It was like the skin of a little boy. And Naaman was clean!

¹⁵ Naaman and all his group came back to Elisha. He stood before Elisha and said, “Look. I now know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now please accept a gift from me.”

¹⁶ But Elisha said, “I serve the Lord. As surely as the Lord lives, I won’t accept anything.” Naaman urged him to take the gift, but he refused.

¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If you won’t take the gift, then please give me some dirt. Give me as much as two of my mules can carry. From now on I’ll not offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other gods. I’ll only offer sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁸ But let the Lord pardon me for this: My master goes into the temple of Rimmon^[a] to worship. When he goes, he will lean on my arm. Then I must bow in that temple. May the Lord pardon me when I do that.”

¹⁹ Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”

Naaman left Elisha and went a short way. ²⁰ Gehazi was the servant of Elisha the man of God. Gehazi thought, “My master has not accepted what Naaman the Aramean brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I’ll run after him. I’ll get something from him.” ²¹ So he went after him.

Naaman saw someone running after him. So he got off the chariot to meet Gehazi. He said, “Is everything all right?”

²² Gehazi said, “Everything is all right. My master has sent me. He said, ‘Two young men just came to me. They are from the group of the prophets in the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes.’”

²³ Naaman said, “Please take 150 pounds.” He urged Gehazi to take it. He tied 150 pounds of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Then he gave them to two of his servants. They carried them for Gehazi. ²⁴ When they came to the hill, Gehazi took these things from Naaman’s servants. And he put them in the house. He let Naaman’s servants go, and they left.

²⁵ Then he came in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

Gehazi said, “I didn’t go anywhere.”

²⁶ But Elisha said to him, “My spirit was with you. I knew when the man turned from his chariot to meet you. This isn’t a time to receive money, clothes, olives and grapes. It isn’t a time to receive sheep, oxen, male servants and female servants. ²⁷ Naaman’s skin disease will come on you and your children forever.” When Gehazi left Elisha, he had the disease. He was as white as snow.

Some Rules for Men and Women

2 First, I tell you to pray for all people. Ask God for the things people need, and be thankful to him. ² You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God. ³ This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. ⁴ God wants all people to be saved. And he wants everyone to know the truth. ⁵ There is only one God. And there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Jesus Christ, who is also a man. ⁶ Jesus gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. Jesus is proof that God wants all people to be saved. And that proof came at the right time. ⁷ That is why I was chosen to tell the Good News and was chosen to be an apostle. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach the non-Jewish people to believe and to know the truth.

⁸ I want men everywhere to pray. These men who lift up their hands in prayer must be holy. They must not be men who become angry and have arguments.

⁹ I also want women to wear clothes that are right for them. They should dress with respect and right thinking. They should not use fancy braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes to make themselves beautiful. ¹⁰ But they should make themselves beautiful by doing good deeds. Women who say they worship God should make themselves beautiful in that way.

¹¹ A woman should learn by listening quietly and being fully ready to obey. ¹² I do not allow a woman to teach a man or to have authority over a man. She must remain silent. ¹³ For Adam was made first; Eve was made later. ¹⁴ Also, Adam was not the one who was tricked by the devil. It was the woman who was tricked and became a sinner. ¹⁵ But women will be saved through having children. They will be saved if they continue in faith, love, holiness, and self-control.

Daniel’s Prayer

9 These things happened during the first year Darius son of Xerxes was king. He was a descendant of the Medes. ² During Darius’ first year as king, I, Daniel, was reading the Scriptures. In them I saw what the Lord told Jeremiah. He said Jerusalem would be an empty desert for 70 years.

³ Then I turned to the Lord God. I prayed to him and asked him for help. I did not eat any food. To show how sad I was I put on rough cloth and sat in ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God. I told him about all of my sins. I said, “Lord, you are a great God. You cause fear and wonder. You keep your agreement of love with all who love you and obey your commands.

⁵ “But we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and turned against you. We have not obeyed your commands and laws. ⁶ We did not listen to your servants, the prophets. They spoke for you to our kings, our leaders and our ancestors. They spoke to all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, you are good and right. But we are full of shame today. The people of Judah and Jerusalem and all the people of Israel are ashamed. People near and far whom you scattered among many nations are ashamed. We were not loyal to you. ⁸ Lord, we are all ashamed. Our kings and leaders and our fathers are ashamed. This is because we have sinned against you.

⁹ “But, Lord our God, you show us mercy. You forgive us even though we have turned against you. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the Lord our God. We have not obeyed the teachings he gave us through his servants, the prophets. ¹¹ All the people of Israel have disobeyed your teachings. They all have turned away and refused to obey you. So you brought on us the curses and promises of punishment written in the Teachings of Moses, the servant of God. These things have happened to us because we sinned against you.

¹² “God said these things would happen to us and our leaders. And he made them happen. You brought on us a great disaster. Nothing has ever been done here on earth like what was done to Jerusalem. ¹³ All this disaster came to us just as it is written in the Teachings of Moses. But we still have not stopped sinning. We still do not pay attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord was ready to bring the disaster on us. This is because he is right in everything he does. But we still have not obeyed him.

¹⁵ “Lord our God, you used your power and brought us out of Egypt. Because of that, your name is known even today. Lord, we have sinned. We have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, you do the right things. So do not be angry with Jerusalem. Jerusalem is your city on your holy hill. All this has happened because of our sins and the evil things done by our ancestors. So now people all around insult and make fun of Jerusalem and your people.

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear my prayers. I am your servant. Listen to my prayer for help. Do good things for your holy place that is in ruins. Do this for your sake. ¹⁸ My God, pay attention and hear me. Open your eyes and see all the terrible things that have happened to us. See what has happened to the city that is called by your name. We do not ask these things because we are good. We ask because of your mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear us and do something! For your sake, don’t wait! Your city and your people are called by your name.”

Gabriel’s Explanation

²⁰ I was saying those things in my prayer to the Lord, my God. I was confessing my sins and the sins of the people of Israel. I was praying for God’s holy hill. ²¹ While I was still praying, Gabriel came to me. Gabriel was the person I had seen in my last vision. He came flying quickly to me about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² Gabriel said to me, “Daniel, I have come to give you wisdom and to help you understand. ²³ When you first started praying, an answer was given. And I came to tell you, because God loves you very much. So think about the message and understand the vision.

²⁴ “God has ordered 490 years for your people and your holy city. These years are ordered for these reasons: to stop people from turning against God; to put an end to sin; to take away evil; to bring in goodness that continues forever; to make the vision and prophecy come true; and to appoint a most holy place.

²⁵ “Learn and understand these things. A command will come to rebuild Jerusalem. The time from this command until the appointed leader comes will be 49 years and 434 years. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and a trench around it. But it will be built in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the 434 years the appointed leader will be killed. He will have nothing. The people of the leader who is to come will destroy the city. They will also destroy the holy place. That end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end. God has ordered that place to be completely destroyed. ²⁷ That leader will make an agreement with many people for 7 years. He will put a stop to offerings and sacrifices after 3½ years. And the horrible thing that destroys will be placed on the highest point of the Temple. But God has ordered him to be destroyed!”

A Hymn of Praise

Thanksgiving for Victory