M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 David said, “The Temple of the Lord God will be built here. And the altar for burnt offerings for Israel will be built here.”
David Makes Plans for the Temple
2 So David gave an order for all foreigners living in Israel to be gathered together. From that group David chose stonecutters. Their job was to cut stones to be used in building the Temple of God. 3 David supplied a large amount of iron. It was used for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed. 4 And he supplied more cedar logs than could be counted. Much of the cedar had been brought to David by the people from Sidon and Tyre.
5 David said, “We should build a great Temple for the Lord. It should be famous everywhere for its greatness and beauty. But my son Solomon is young. He hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know. So I will prepare for the building of it.” So David got many of the materials ready before he died.
6 Then David called for his son Solomon. He told Solomon to build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God. 8 But the Lord spoke his word to me, ‘David, you have killed too many people. You have fought too many wars. So you cannot build a temple for worship to me. You have killed too many people. 9 But, you will have a son. He will be a man of peace and rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies around him. His name will be Solomon.[a] And I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king. 10 Solomon will build a temple for worship to me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong. Someone from his family will rule Israel forever.’”
11 David also said, “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you. May you build a temple for the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 The Lord will make you the king of Israel. May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding. Then you will be able to obey the teachings of the Lord your God. 13 Be careful to obey the rules and laws the Lord gave Moses for Israel. If you obey them, you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.
14 “Solomon, I have worked hard getting many of the materials for building the Temple of the Lord. I have supplied about seven and a half million pounds of gold. And I have supplied about seventy-five million pounds of silver. I have supplied so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed. And I have supplied wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen. You have stonecutters, stoneworkers and carpenters. You have men skilled in every kind of work. 16 They are skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze and iron. You have more craftsmen than can be counted. Now begin the work. And may the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 David said to them, “The Lord your God is with you. He has given you rest from our enemies. He helped me to defeat the people living around us. The Lord and his people are in control of this land. 19 Now give yourself completely to obeying the Lord your God. Build the holy place of the Lord God. Build the Temple for worship to the Lord. Then bring the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord into the Temple. And bring in the holy things that belong to God.”
Wives and Husbands
3 In the same way, you wives should accept the authority of your husbands. Then, if some husbands have not obeyed God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe. You will not need to say a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. 2 Your husbands will see the pure lives that you live with your respect for God. 3 It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. 4 No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This beauty will never disappear, and it is worth very much to God. 5 It was the same with the holy women who lived long ago and followed God. They made themselves beautiful in this way. They accepted the authority of their husbands. 6 Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.
7 In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way. You should show respect to them. They are weaker than you. But God gives them the same blessing that he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.
Suffering for Doing Right
8 Finally, all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other as brothers. Be kind and humble. 9 Do not do wrong to a person to pay him back for doing wrong to you. Or do not insult someone to pay him back for insulting you. But ask God to bless that person. Do this, because you yourselves were called to receive a blessing. 10 The Scripture says,
“A person must do these things
to enjoy life and have many, happy days.
He must not say evil things.
He must not tell lies.
11 He must stop doing evil and do good.
He must look for peace and work for it.
12 The Lord sees the good people.
He listens to their prayers.
But the Lord is against
those who do evil.” Psalm 34:12-16
13 If you are always trying to do good, no one can really hurt you. 14 But you may suffer for doing right. Even if that happens, you are blessed.
“Don’t be afraid of the things they fear.
Do not dread those things.
15 But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts.” Isaiah 8:12-13
Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. 16 But answer in a gentle way and with respect. Always feel that you are doing right. Then, those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. 17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better, if that is what God wants. 18 Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. 19 And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 20 These were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. 21 That water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good heart. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from death. 22 Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side. He rules over angels, authorities, and powers.
Samaria and Israel to Be Punished
1 Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. During the time they were kings, the word of the Lord came to Micah, who was from Moresheth. He saw these visions about Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear this, all you nations.
Listen, all you who live on the earth.
The Lord God will come from his Holy Temple.
He will come as a witness against you.
3 See, the Lord is coming out of his place in heaven.
He is coming down to walk on the tops of the mountains.
4 The mountains will melt under him
like wax in a fire.
The valleys will crack open
as if split by water raging down a mountain.
5 This is because of Jacob’s sin.
It is because of the sins of the nation of Israel.
Who is responsible for Jacob’s sin?
Samaria!
Who is responsible for Judah’s worshiping idols?
Jerusalem!
The Lord Speaks
6 “So I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country.
It will be like a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour Samaria’s stones down into the valley.
And I will destroy her down to her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken into pieces.
All the gifts to her idols will be burned with fire.
I will destroy all her idols.
This is because Samaria earned her money by being unfaithful to me.
So this money will be carried off by other people who are not faithful to me.”
Micah’s Great Sadness
8 I will moan and cry because of this evil.
I will go around barefoot and without clothes.
I will cry loudly like the wild dogs.
I will cry like the ostriches.
9 I will do this because Samaria’s wound cannot be healed.
Her destruction will spread to Judah.
It will reach the city gate of my people.
It will come all the way to Jerusalem.
10 Don’t tell it in Gath.[a]
Don’t cry in Acco.[b]
Cry and roll in the dust
at Beth Ophrah.[c]
11 Pass on your way, naked and ashamed,
you who live in Shaphir.[d]
Those who live in Zaanan[e]
won’t come out to help you.
The people in Beth Ezel[f] will cry.
But they will not give you any support.
12 Those who live in Maroth[g]
will be anxious for good news to come.
This is because trouble will come from the Lord.
It will come all the way to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You people living in Lachish,[h]
harness the fastest horse to the chariot.
Jerusalem’s sins started in you.
This is because you followed in Israel’s sins.
14 So you must give farewell gifts
to Moresheth[i] in Gath.
The houses in Aczib[j] will be false help
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will bring an enemy against you
who live in Mareshah.[k]
He will take what you own.
The leaders Israel brags about
will hide in the cave at Adullam.
16 Cut off your hair to show you are sad.
Cry for the children you love.
Make yourself bald like the eagle,
because your children will be forced to live in a foreign land.
Jesus Sends the 72 Men
10 After this, the Lord chose 72[a] others. He sent them out in pairs. He sent them ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest. But there are only a few workers to harvest them. God owns the harvest. Pray to God that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 You can go now. But listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals. Don’t stop to talk with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If a peaceful man lives there, your blessing of peace will stay with him. If the man is not peaceful, then your blessing of peace will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house. Eat and drink what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there. Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is soon coming to you!’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go out into the streets of that town. Say to them, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.[b] But remember that the kingdom of God is coming soon.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be worse for the people of that town than for the people of Sodom.[c]
Jesus Warns Unbelievers
13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon,[d] those people would have changed their lives and stopped sinning long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon. 15 And you, Capernaum,[e] will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!
16 “He who listens to you is really listening to me. He who refuses to accept you is really refusing to accept me. And he who refuses to accept me is refusing to accept the One who sent me.”
Satan Falls
17 When the 72[f] men came back from their trip, they were very happy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”
18 Jesus said to the men, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from the sky. 19 Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions. I gave you more power than the Enemy has. Nothing will hurt you. 20 You should be happy, but not because the spirits obey you. You should be happy because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Prays to the Father
21 Then the Holy Spirit made Jesus rejoice. He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because this is what you really wanted.
22 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows. And only the Son knows the Father. The only people who will know about the Father are those whom the Son chooses to tell.”
23 Then Jesus turned to his followers and said privately, “You are blessed to see what you now see! 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see these things. And many prophets and kings wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear these things.”
The Good Samaritan
25 Then a teacher of the law stood up. He was trying to test Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.”[g] Also, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[h]
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will have life forever.”
29 But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right. So he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes and beat him. Then they left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road. When the priest saw the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 32 Next, a Levite[i] came there. He went over and looked at the man. Then he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan[j] traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine[k] on his wounds and bandaged them. He put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn. At the inn, the Samaritan took care of him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two silver coins[l] and gave them to the innkeeper. The Samaritan said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”
37 The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.”
Jesus said to him, “Then go and do the same thing he did!”
Mary and Martha
38 While Jesus and his followers were traveling, Jesus went into a town. A woman named Martha let Jesus stay at her house. 39 Martha had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 Martha became angry because she had so much work to do. She went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will never be taken away from her.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.