M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Defeats Nations
18 Later, David attacked the Philistine people and defeated them. He took Gath and the small towns around it from the Philistines.
2 Then David defeated the country of Moab. So the Moabites became David’s servants. And they brought the payments he demanded from them.
3 David also fought against Hadadezer king of Zobah. David fought Hadadezer’s army all the way to the town of Hamath. He did this because Hadadezer tried to spread his kingdom all the way to the Euphrates River. 4 David took from Hadadezer 1,000 chariots and 7,000 chariot drivers. And he took 20,000 soldiers on foot. David also crippled most of Hadadezer’s horses used for pulling chariots. He saved only 100 of the chariot horses.
5 The Aramean people from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah. But David killed 22,000 of them. 6 Then David put camps of troops in Damascus in Aram. The Arameans became David’s servants and brought him the payments he demanded. So the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.
7 David took the gold shields from Hadadezer’s army leaders. And he brought them to Jerusalem. 8 David also took much bronze from the towns of Tebah and Cun. These towns belonged to Hadadezer. Later, Solomon used this bronze to make things for the Temple: the large bronze bowl, which was called the Sea, the pillars and other bronze things.
9 Toi was king of the city of Hamath. He heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer king of Zobah. 10 So Toi sent his son Hadoram to greet King David. Hadoram also congratulated David for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. Hadadezer had been at war with Toi before. Hadoram gave David all kinds of things made of gold, silver and bronze. 11 King David gave these things to the Lord. David had done the same thing with the silver and gold he had taken from these nations: Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and Amalek.
12 Abishai son of Zeruiah killed 18,000 Edomite people in the Valley of Salt. 13 Abishai also put camps of troops in Edom. And all the Edomites became David’s servants. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.
David’s Important Officers
14 David was king over all of Israel. He did what was right and fair for everyone. 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of David’s army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder. 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests. Shavsha was the royal assistant. 17 Benaiah was responsible for leading the Kerethites and Pelethites, the king’s bodyguards. Benaiah was Jehoiada’s son. And David’s sons were important officers. They served at King David’s side.
A Warning to the Rich
5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the trouble that will come to you. 2 Your riches will rot, and your clothes will be eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver will rust, and rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days. 4 Men worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They harvested your crops and are crying out against you. Now the Lord of heaven’s armies has heard their cries. 5 Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed. 6 You showed no mercy to the innocent man. You murdered him. He cannot stand against you.
Be Patient
7 Brothers, be patient until the Lord comes again. A farmer is patient. He waits for his valuable crop to grow from the earth. He waits patiently for it to receive the first rain and the last rain. 8 You, too, must be patient. Do not give up hope. The Lord is coming soon. 9 Brothers, do not complain against each other. If you do not stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come! 10 Brothers, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many hard things, but they were patient. 11 We say they are happy because they were able to do this. You have heard about Job’s patience. You know that after all his trouble, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.
Be Careful What You Say
12 My brothers, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.
The Power of Prayer
13 If one of you is having troubles, he should pray. If one of you is happy, he should sing praises. 14 If one of you is sick, he should call the church’s elders. The elders should pour oil on him[a] in the name of the Lord and pray for him. 15 And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will heal him. And if he has sinned, God will forgive him. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. When a good man prays, great things happen. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! 18 Then Elijah prayed again. And the rain came down from the sky, and the land grew crops again.
Saving a Soul
19 My brothers, one of you may wander away from the truth. And someone may help him come back. 20 Remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death. By doing this, that person will cause many sins to be forgiven.
2 While Jonah was in the stomach of the fish, he prayed to the Lord his God. Jonah said,
2 “I was in danger.
So I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
I was about to die.
So I cried to you,
and you heard my voice.
3 You threw me into the sea.
I went down, down into the deep sea.
The water was all around me.
Your powerful waves flowed over me.
4 I said, ‘I was driven out of your presence.
But I hope to see your Holy Temple again.’
5 The waters of the sea closed over me.
I was about to die.
The deep sea was all around me.
Seaweed wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to where the mountains of the sea start to rise.
I thought I was locked in this prison forever.
But you saved me from death,
Lord my God.
7 “When my life had almost gone,
I remembered the Lord.
Lord, I prayed to you.
And you heard my prayers in your Holy Temple.
8 “People who worship useless idols
give up their loyalty to you.
9 Lord, I will praise and thank you
while I give sacrifices to you.
I will make promises to you.
And I will do what I promise.
Salvation comes from the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish. And the fish spit Jonah out of its stomach onto the dry land.
Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant
7 When Jesus finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 In Capernaum there was an army officer. He had a servant who was so sick he was nearly dead. The officer loved the servant very much. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him. The officer wanted the leaders to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. 4 The men went to Jesus and begged him saying, “This officer is worthy of your help. 5 He loves our people, and he built us a synagogue.”
6 So Jesus went with the men. He was getting near the officer’s house when the officer sent friends to say, “Lord, you don’t need to come into my house. I am not good enough for you to be under my roof. 7 That is why I did not come to you myself. You only need to say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 I, too, am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. And I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. And I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He turned to the crowd following him and said, “I tell you, this is the greatest faith I have seen anywhere, even in Israel.”
10 The men who had been sent to Jesus went back to the house. There they found that the servant was healed.
Jesus Brings a Man Back to Life
11 The next day Jesus went to a town called Nain. His followers and a large crowd were traveling with him. 12 When he came near the town gate, he saw a funeral. A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. A large crowd from the town was with the mother while her son was being carried out. 13 When the Lord saw her, he felt very sorry for her. Jesus said to her, “Don’t cry.” 14 He went up to the coffin and touched it. The men who were carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” 15 And the son sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 All the people were amazed. They began praising God. They said, “A great prophet has come to us! God is taking care of his people.”
17 This news about Jesus spread through all Judea and into all the places around there.
John Asks a Question
18 John’s followers told him about all these things. He called for two of his followers. 19 He sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who is coming, or should we wait for another?”
20 So the men came to Jesus. They said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the One who is coming, or should we wait for another?’”
21 At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits. He healed many blind people so that they could see again. 22 Then Jesus said to John’s followers, “Go tell John the things that you saw and heard here. The blind can see. The crippled can walk. People with a harmful skin disease are healed. The deaf can hear, and the dead are given life. And the Good News is told to the poor. 23 The person who does not lose faith is blessed!”
24 When John’s followers left, Jesus began to tell the people about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed[a] blown by the wind? 25 What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No. People who have fine clothes live in kings’ palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. 27 This was written about John:
‘I will send my messenger ahead of you.
He will prepare the way for you.’ Malachi 3:1
28 I tell you, John is greater than any other man ever born. But even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”
29 (When the people heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good. Even the tax collectors agreed. These were people who were already baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and teachers of the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)
31 Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group of children calls to the other group and says,
‘We played music for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’
33 John the Baptist came and did not eat like other people or drink wine. And you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating like other people and drinking wine. And you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine! He is a friend of the tax collectors and “sinners”!’ 35 But wisdom is shown to be right by the things it does.”
Simon the Pharisee
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went into the Pharisee’s house and sat at the table. 37 A sinful woman in the town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 She stood at Jesus’ feet, crying, and began to wash his feet with her tears. She dried his feet with her hair, kissed them many times and rubbed them with the perfume. 39 The Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this. He thought to himself, “If Jesus were a prophet, he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”
40 Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Simon said, “Teacher, tell me.”
41 Jesus said, “There were two men. Both men owed money to the same banker. One man owed the banker 500 silver coins.[b] The other man owed the banker 50 silver coins. 42 The men had no money; so they could not pay what they owed. But the banker told the men that they did not have to pay him. Which one of the two men will love the banker more?”
43 Simon, the Pharisee, answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the most money.”
Jesus said to Simon, “You are right.” 44 Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet. But she washed my feet with her tears and dried my feet with her hair. 45 You did not kiss me, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in! 46 You did not rub my head with oil, but she rubbed my feet with perfume. 47 I tell you that her many sins are forgiven. This is clear because she showed great love. But the person who has only a little to be forgiven will feel only a little love.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The people sitting at the table began to think to themselves, “Who is this man? How can he forgive sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.