M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David’s Family

3 These are David’s sons who were born in Hebron. David’s first son was Amnon. Amnon’s mother was Ahinoam from the town of Jezreel. David’s second son was Daniel. His mother was Abigail from Carmel. ² David’s third son was Absalom. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur. David’s fourth son was Adonijah. His mother was Haggith. ³ David’s fifth son was Shephatiah. His mother was Abital. David’s sixth son was Ithream. David’s wife Eglah was his mother. ⁴ These six sons of David were born to him in Hebron. David ruled there 7 years and 6 months.

David ruled in Jerusalem 33 years. ⁵ These were David’s children who were born in Jerusalem: David and Bathsheba, Ammiel’s daughter, had four children. They were Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. ^6-8 David’s other nine children were Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet. ⁹ Those are all of David’s sons, except for those born to his slave women. David also had a daughter named Tamar.

The Kings of Judah

¹⁰ Solomon’s son was Rehoboam. Rehoboam’s son was Abijah. Abijah’s son was Asa. Asa’s son was Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Jehoshaphat’s son was Jehoram. Jehoram’s son was Ahaziah. Ahaziah’s son was Joash. ¹² Joash’s son was Amaziah. Amaziah’s son was Azariah. Azariah’s son was Jotham. ¹³ Jotham’s son was Ahaz. Ahaz’s son was Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s son was Manasseh. ¹⁴ Manasseh’s son was Amon. Amon’s son was Josiah.

¹⁵ These were Josiah’s sons: Josiah’s first son was Johanan. His second son was Jehoiakim. His third son was Zedekiah. His fourth son was Shallum.

¹⁶ Jehoiakim was followed by Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin was followed by Zedekiah.

David’s Descendants After the Babylonian Captivity

¹⁷ Jehoiachin was taken as a prisoner. His sons were Shealtiel, ¹⁸ Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah.

¹⁹ Pedaiah’s sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei.

Zerubbabel’s sons were Meshullam and Hananiah. Their sister was Shelomith. ²⁰ Zerubbabel also had five other sons. Their names were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah and Jushab-Hesed.

²¹ Hananiah’s descendants were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, and the sons of Rephaiah, Arnan, Obadiah and Shecaniah.

²² Shecaniah’s son was Shemaiah. Shemaiah’s sons were Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah and Shaphat. There were six in all.

²³ Neariah had three sons. They were Elioenai, Hizkiah and Azrikam.

²⁴ Elioenai had seven sons. They were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah and Anani.

Other Family Groups of Judah

4 Judah’s descendants were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobal.

² Reaiah was Shobal’s son. Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. They were the family groups of the Zorathite people.

^3-4 Hur was the oldest son of Caleb and his wife Ephrath. Hur was the leader of Bethlehem. Hur’s three sons were Etam, Penuel and Ezer. Etam’s sons were Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash. They had a sister named Hazzelelponi. Penuel was the father of Gedor. Ezer was the father of Hushah.

⁵ Tekoa’s father was Ashhur. Ashhur had two wives named Helah and Naarah.

⁶ The sons of Ashhur and Naarah were Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

⁷ Helah’s sons were Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan ⁸ and Koz. Koz was the father of Anub and Hazzobebah. He was also the father of the Aharhel family group. Aharhel was the son of Harum.

⁹ There was a man named Jabez. He was respected more than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez^[a] because she said, “I was in much pain when I gave birth to him.” ¹⁰ Jabez prayed to the God of Israel. Jabez said, “Please do good things for me. Please give me more land. Stay with me, and don’t let anyone hurt me. Then I won’t have any pain.” And God did what Jabez had asked.

¹¹ Kelub was Shuhah’s brother. Kelub was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of the people from the town of Nahash. These people were from Recah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah.

Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai. ¹⁴ Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.

Seraiah was the father of Joab. Joab was the ancestor of the people from Craftsmen’s Valley. It is called Craftsmen’s Valley because the people living there were craftsmen.

¹⁵ Caleb was Jephunneh’s son. Caleb’s sons were Iru, Elah and Naam. Elah’s son was Kenaz.

¹⁶ Jehallelel’s sons were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.

^17-18 Ezrah’s sons were Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. Mered married Bithiah, the daughter of the king of Egypt. The children of Mered and Bithiah were Miriam, Shammai and Ishbah. Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa. Mered also had a wife from Judah. She gave birth to Jered, Heber and Jekuthiel. Jered became the father of Gedor. Heber became the father of Soco. And Jekuthiel became the father of Zanoah.

¹⁹ Hodiah’s wife was Naham’s sister. The sons of Hodiah’s wife were Eshtemoa and the father of Keilah. Keilah was from the Garmite people. And Eshtemoa was from the Maacathite people.

²⁰ Shimon’s sons were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon.

Ishi’s sons were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

^21-22 Shelah was Judah’s son. Shelah’s sons were Er, Laadah, Jokim, the men from Cozeba, Joash and Saraph. Er was the father of Lecah. Laadah was the father of Mareshah and the family groups of linen workers at Beth Ashbea. Joash and Saraph ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. The writings about this family are very old. ²³ These sons of Shelah made things from clay. They lived in Netaim and Gederah. They stayed there and worked for the king.

Simeon’s Children

²⁴ Simeon’s sons were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah and Shaul. ²⁵ Shaul’s son was Shallum. Shallum’s son was Mibsam. Mibsam’s son was Mishma.

²⁶ Mishma’s son was Hammuel. Hammuel’s son was Zaccur. Zaccur’s son was Shimei. ²⁷ Shimei had 16 sons and 6 daughters. But his brothers did not have many children. So there were not as many people in their family group as there were in Judah.

²⁸ Shimei’s children lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, ²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem and Tolad. ³⁰ They also lived in Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri and Shaaraim. They lived in these cities until David became king. ³² The five villages near these cities were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token and Ashan. ³³ There were also other villages as far away as Baalath. This is where they lived. And they wrote the history of their family.

^34-38 This is the list of men who were leaders of their family groups. There were Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, Joel and Jehu son of Joshibiah. (Joshibiah was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Asiel.) There were also Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah and Ziza. (Ziza was the son of Shiphi, who was the son of Allon. Allon was the son of Jedaiah, who was the son of Shimri. And Shimri was the son of Shemaiah.)

These men’s families grew to be very large. ³⁹ They went to the area outside the city of Gedor to the east side of the valley. They went there to look for pasture for their sheep. ⁴⁰ They found good pastures with plenty of grass. The land was open country and peaceful and quiet. Ham’s descendants had lived there in the past.

⁴¹ These men listed above came to Gedor while Hezekiah was king of Judah. They fought against the Hamite people and destroyed their tents. They also fought against the Meunite people who lived there and completely destroyed them. So there are no Meunites there even today. Then these men began to live there, because there was pasture for their sheep. ⁴² Ishi’s sons, Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, led 500 of the Simeonite people. They attacked the people living in the mountains of Edom. ⁴³ They killed the few Amalekite people who were still alive. From that time until now these Simeonites have lived in Edom.

Worship Under the Old Agreement

9 The first agreement^[a] had rules for worship. And it had a place on earth for worship. ² The Holy Tent was set up for this. The first area in the Tent was called the Holy Place. In it were the lamp and the table with the bread that was made holy for God. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place. ⁴ In it was a golden altar for burning incense. Also there was the Ark of the Covenant that held the old agreement. The Ark of the Covenant was covered with gold. Inside this Ark of the Covenant was a golden jar of manna and Aaron’s rod—the rod that once grew leaves. Also in it were the stone tablets of the old agreement. ⁵ Above the Ark of the Covenant were the creatures with wings that showed God’s glory. The wings of the creatures reached over the lid. But we cannot tell everything about these things now.

⁶ Everything in the Tent was made ready in this way. Then the priests went into the first room every day to do their worship. ⁷ But only the high priest could go into the second room, and he did that only once a year. He could never enter the inner room without taking blood with him. He offered that blood to God for himself and for the people’s sins. These were sins people did without knowing that they were sinning. ⁸ The Holy Spirit uses this to show that the way into the Most Holy Place was not open. This was while the system of the old Holy Tent was still being used. ⁹ This is an example for the present time. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices offered cannot make the worshiper perfect in his heart. ¹⁰ These gifts and sacrifices were only about food and drink and special washings. They were rules for the body, to be followed until the time of God’s new way.

Worship Under the New Agreement

¹¹ But Christ has come as the high priest of the good things we now have.^[b] The tent he entered is greater and more perfect. It is not made by men. It does not belong to this world. ¹² Christ entered the Most Holy Place only once—and for all time. He did not take with him the blood of goats and calves. His sacrifice was his own blood. He entered the Most Holy Place and set us free from sin forever. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow are sprinkled on the people who are unclean and this makes their bodies clean again.

¹⁴ How much more is done by the blood of Christ. He offered himself through the eternal Spirit^[c] as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our hearts clean from useless acts. We are made pure so that we may serve the living God.

¹⁵ So Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. Those who are called by God can now receive the blessings that God has promised. These blessings will last forever. They can have those things because Christ died so that the people who lived under the first agreement could be set free from sin.

¹⁶ When there is a will,^[d] it must be proven that the man who wrote that will is dead. ¹⁷ A will means nothing while the man is alive. It can be used only after he dies. ¹⁸ This is why even the first agreement could not begin without blood to show death. ¹⁹ First, Moses told all the people every command in the law. Next he took the blood of calves and mixed it with water. Then he used red wool and a branch of the hyssop plant to sprinkle the blood and water on the book of the law and on all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood which begins the agreement that God commanded you to obey.”^{[e] 21} In the same way, Moses sprinkled the blood on the Holy Tent and over all the things used in worship. ²² The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. And sins cannot be forgiven without blood to show death.

Christ’s Death Takes Away Sins

²³ So the copies of the real things in heaven had to be made clean by animal sacrifices. But the real things in heaven need much better sacrifices. ²⁴ For Christ did not go into the Most Holy Place made by men. It is only a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself. He is there now before God to help us. ²⁵ The high priest enters the Most Holy Place once every year. He takes with him blood that is not his own blood. But Christ did not go into heaven to offer himself many times. ²⁶ Then he would have had to suffer many times since the world was made. But Christ came only once and for all time. He came at just the right time to take away all sin by sacrificing himself. ²⁷ Everyone must die once. After a person dies, he is judged. ²⁸ So Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, but not to offer himself for sin. He will come again to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Warning to Israel

3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel. The message is against the whole nation the Lord brought out of Egypt.

¹¹ So this is what the Lord God says:

¹² This is what the Lord says:

¹³ “You nations, listen to what I say against the family of Israel. You are my witnesses against them,” says the Lord God, the God of heaven’s armies.

Praise God Who Helps the Weak

Praise God Who Helps His People