M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Absalom turns against King David
15 Some time later, Absalom bought a chariot and some horses. He had 50 men who ran in front of the chariot to give him honour. 2 Every day, he got up early in the morning. Then he went to stand at the side of the road near the city's gate. He called out to anyone who was bringing a problem for the king to judge. He would ask them, ‘Which town have you come from?’ Then the man would tell Absalom which tribe of Israel he belonged to. 3 Then Absalom would say, ‘I am sure that you are right. You deserve to receive justice. But the king has not given any of his officers authority to listen to you.’ 4 Absalom would also say, ‘I think that I should have authority to be a judge in Israel. Then when people have a problem to take to court, they could come to me. I would make sure that they receive justice.’
5 When anyone bent his body down low to give honour to Absalom, Absalom would reach out and pull the man towards him. He would kiss the man. 6 Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to Jerusalem to ask the king for justice. In that way, Absalom turned the people of Israel so that they became faithful to him.
7 After four years, Absalom said to the king, ‘Please let me go to Hebron. I need to make a sacrifice to the Lord, as I promised to do. 8 When I was living at Geshur with the Arameans, I made this promise: “If the Lord brings me back to live in Jerusalem, I will go to Hebron and I will worship him there.” ’
9 The king said, ‘Yes, you may go.’ So Absalom left Jerusalem and he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent his men to go secretly to all the tribes of Israel. They took this message to the people: ‘When you hear the noise of trumpets, then you must shout, “Absalom has become king in Hebron.” ’
11 200 men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem. He had asked them to go with him as his friends. They trusted him and they did not know about his ideas. 12 Absalom offered his sacrifices as he had promised to do. But at the same time he sent men to fetch Ahithophel from Giloh, where he lived. Ahithophel was King David's advisor. More and more people agreed to join Absalom and turn against David. So Absalom was becoming more powerful.
David runs away from Jerusalem
13 Somebody brought this message to David: ‘The Israelites are now faithful to Absalom instead of you.’
14 So David said to the officers who were with him in Jerusalem, ‘We must go! We must run away! If we do not do that, no one will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he will quickly catch us here. Then he will destroy us and our whole city!’
15 The king's officers answered, ‘Our lord the king, we will do anything that you decide is right.’
16 So the king left home. He took all his servants and family with him. But he left ten of his slave wives to take care of the palace. 17 As King David and all his people were leaving, they stopped at the last house on the edge of Jerusalem. 18 All his officers and his personal guards, the Kerethites and Pelethites, went on past him. There were also 600 men who had come with him from Gath. All these people were leaving Jerusalem with the king.
19 Then the king asked Ittai, who came from Gath, ‘Why are you coming with us? Go back into the city and join with Absalom, the new king. You have come from another country and you live here as a foreigner. 20 It seems like only a few days since you arrived here. There is no reason for you to travel with us. I do not even know where we are going! So you should go back. Take your men with you. I pray that the Lord will keep you safe with his faithful love.’
21 But Ittai replied to the king, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, I promise that I will go with you, sir. Wherever you go, I will be there with you. My lord the king, I will stay with you, even if it brings death.’
22 So David said to Ittai, ‘Go on ahead of me.’ So Ittai, with all his men and their families, went on ahead of David.
23 As David and his men left the city, all the people who saw them wept loudly. The king went across the Kidron Valley and his men followed him. They travelled along the road towards the desert.
24 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, were with them. The Levites were also there, and they were carrying God's Covenant Box. They put it down on the ground while all the people left the city. After all the people had passed, they picked it up again.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Take the Covenant Box back into the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back here again. The Lord will let me see the Covenant Box again, as well as his home. 26 But if he is not pleased with me, then he must do to me whatever he decides is right.’
27 Then the king said to Zadok the priest, ‘You do not know what will happen. So go safely back into the city, both you and Abiathar. Take your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan with you. 28 I will wait at the place in the desert where we go across the river. I will wait there until I receive a message from you.’ 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Covenant Box back into Jerusalem. They stayed there.
David sends Hushai to Jerusalem
30 But David continued to go up the Mount of Olives.[a] He was weeping as he went. He had covered his head and he was not wearing any shoes on his feet. All the people with him also covered their heads and they wept as they went up the hill. 31 Someone told David that his advisor, Ahithophel, had now joined with Absalom and his men. So David prayed, ‘Lord, please cause Ahithophel to give them foolish advice.’
32 David arrived at the top of the hill. It was a place where people worshipped God. Hushai, who was an Arkite, met him there. He had torn his clothes and he had dirt on his head.[b] 33 David said, ‘If you come with me, you will be no help to me. 34 Instead, go back into the city. You should say to Absalom, “I accept you as king and I will be your servant. I was once your father's servant, but now I will be your servant.” Then you will be able to speak against Ahithophel's advice. 35 The priests, Zadok and Abiathar, will be there with you. Tell them any news that you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, are with them. Send them to me to tell me any news that you hear.’
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem at the same time that Absalom was coming into the city.
Help for the poor people at Jerusalem
8 My Christian friends, let me tell you about the believers in the churches in Macedonia. God has been very kind to them. 2 They have had bad troubles, but they continued to be very happy. As a result, they gave a lot of money to other people. They themselves are very poor, but they still helped other people a lot. 3 Let me tell you this. They gave as much money as they were able to give. Then they gave even more than that! They gave it because they wanted to. 4 They wanted the chance to help God's people. That would make them happy. So they asked us many times to help them to do this. 5 They did more than we had even hoped for! First, they gave themselves to the Lord. Then they also gave themselves to us. They did that because God wanted them to do it.
6 Because of that, we asked Titus to continue to help you. He is the person who helped you to start giving money. So he will help you to finish this good work. 7 You have so much of everything! You trust God very well. You speak well. You know everything. You want to do many good things. You love us even more than we love you! So also do the best that you can as you give money to help others.
8 I am not telling you that you must do this. I have told you how much other believers want to give their money. In that way, I want to see if you really love other people who need your help. 9 You know that our Lord Jesus Christ is very kind. He was rich, but he made himself poor to help you. So then, because he became poor, you could become rich.[a]
10 This is what I think you should do. Last year, you were the first people to give money. You really wanted to do that. So the best thing for you is to finish what you started to do. 11 Now finish the work. When you started, you wanted very much to do it. Now you should want just as much to finish it. You should give what you are able to give. 12 If you really want to give, then God will accept your gift. God does not want you to give more than you are able to give. He will be happy about what you can give.
13 My purpose is not to bring trouble to you. You should not have pain while other people have plenty. Instead, both you and they should have enough. 14 At this time, you yourselves have plenty. So you are able to give to those people who do not have enough. One day, things may change. They may have plenty, and you may not have enough. Then they can give money to help you. In that way, you will all have enough when you need it. 15 It says this in the Bible:
‘The person who picked up a lot did not have too much.
And the person who picked up a small amount also had enough.’[b]
Paul is sending Titus to Corinth
16 Titus wants to help you just as much as we do. We thank God that he has made Titus ready to do that. 17 He was very happy when we asked him to come to you. He himself already wanted to help you. So he really decided to visit you for himself. 18 We are sending another man with Titus. He is also a believer. The Christians in all the other churches praise this man. They say that he works hard to tell people the good news about Christ. 19 Those Christians in the other churches have also chosen this man to travel with us. They want him to help us when we take this gift. Our work will show that the Lord is great. It will also show that we are ready to help.
20 We want to be very careful about this large gift of money. That is why the other believer will come with us. We do not want anyone to say that we have done something wrong. 21 Our purpose is to do only what is right. We want the Lord to see that, and people must see it as well.[c]
22 We will also send another believer along with the other men. This man has always shown us that we can trust him. He has wanted to help in many different ways. Now that he is very sure about you, he wants to help even more.
23 As for Titus himself, he works along with me, to help you. The other believers are coming on behalf of the churches that sent them. They want to show that Christ is great. 24 So show these men that you love them. Then all the churches will be sure about you. They will know that we were right to be proud of you.
The Lord will punish Jerusalem's people
22 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, you must warn the people in this city about their punishment. The people are murderers. They have done many disgusting things. Are you ready to tell them that? 3 Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Because you murder people, you have caused your punishment to come. You make idols for yourselves, and that has made you unclean. 4 Because you have murdered people and you have made disgusting idols, you are now guilty. This has brought the time of your punishment very near. Your years of power have come to an end. I will cause the people of other nations to laugh at you. They will all insult you. 5 The people of countries that are near to you will laugh at you. Those who live far away will also laugh at you. You will no longer receive any honour because your city is full of trouble.
6 Each ruler of Israel that lives in you, Jerusalem, has been a murderer. Each one has used his power to kill people. 7 The people in the city do not respect their parents. They have been cruel to the foreigners who live among you. They have cheated widows and children who have no family. 8 You have not respected my holy things. You have not made my Sabbath days special. 9 There are men among you who tell lies so that they can kill other people. There are people who eat the food of idols on the mountains. They do disgusting things among you. 10 Some men have sex with their father's wife. Some men have sex with a woman at the time when she bleeds each month and she is unclean. 11 One man has sex with another man's wife. Another man has sex with his son's wife. Another man among you has sex with the daughter of his own father. These are disgusting things to do. 12 People among you accept bribes to kill somebody. When some of you lend money to people, you make them pay more money back to you. Some of you use your power to make people give you money. You people of Jerusalem have forgotten me. That is what the Lord says.
13 Listen to me! I will show you that I am angry with you. You have cheated people and taken their money. You have murdered people who live among you. 14 When I have punished you, you will no longer feel brave or strong. I, the Lord, have said what I will do. And I will do it. 15 I will send you away to live among many other nations. I will stop you doing evil things. 16 All the other nations will see that you are useless. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’
17 The Lord gave this message to me: 18 ‘Son of man, Israel's people have become like dirt to me. They are like useless bits of metal that remain after silver is made pure in a hot oven. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: All of you have become like useless dirt. So listen to me! I will bring you all together into the middle of Jerusalem. 20 It will be like a hot oven that I put you in. It will be like an oven where men cause different metals to melt to make them pure. Because I am very angry with you, I will bring you into the city to punish you there. 21 I will put you in my oven, Jerusalem. And I will burn you with my hot anger. 22 My great anger will cause you to melt, like men cause silver to melt in a hot oven. Then you will know that I am the Lord. And you will know that I have punished you with my anger.’
23 The Lord gave this message to me: 24 ‘Son of man, say to the land of Israel, “I am angry with you. Because of that, you will receive no rain to make you clean.”
25 The rulers in the land hurt people, like strong lions that tear animals in pieces. They use their power to destroy people. They take for themselves riches and valuable things that belong to other people. They have killed many men so that there are now many widows in the land.
26 The priests in the land do not obey my law. They do not respect my holy things. They do not think that holy things are different from ordinary things. They say that unclean things and clean things are the same.[a] They refuse to make my Sabbath days special. Because of this, people do not give me any honour.
27 The officers in the land are like wolves that catch other animals and tear them into pieces. They use their power to murder people so that they can take their money for themselves.
28 The prophets in the land give false messages. They say that bad things are good. They see false visions. They tell lies about what will happen. They say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.” But I, the Lord, have not spoken to them.
29 The people in the land make people give them money. They rob people. They are cruel to poor people and to weak people. They cheat foreign people who live among them. They do not allow them to have justice.
30 I looked among the people for a man who would make the land safe. He would make it a good, strong place again, with nothing bad in it. Then I would not destroy it. But I could not find anyone like that. 31 So I will certainly destroy them. I will punish them with my great anger, like a fire that burns them completely. I will now punish them as they deserve for their sins. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
David wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
Trust God for help
69 Please rescue me, God,
because the deep water has come up to my neck.
2 I will soon sink into deep mud.
There is no safe place to put my feet.
I am now in deep water,
and the floods pour over me.
3 I have shouted so much for help
that I am tired and weak.
My mouth is so dry that it hurts.
I have looked so long for help from you, my God,
that my eyes have become weak.
4 Very many people hate me with no good reason.
They are more than the number of hairs on my head!
My enemies are too strong for me.
They want to destroy me with their lies.
They make me give back to them
things that I did not take from them!
5 You know, God, that I do foolish things.
I cannot hide my sins from you.
6 My Lord, Almighty Lord, Israel's God,
do not let anyone who trusts you
become ashamed because of me.
Do not let anyone who serves you
become ashamed because of me.
7 Because I belong to you,
people insult me.
They make me feel ashamed.
8 I have become like a stranger to my brothers.
I am like a foreigner to my family.
9 My love for your house burns inside me like a fire.
Anybody who insults you,
is also insulting me!
10 When I weep and I stop eating food,
it causes people to insult me.
11 When I wear rough clothes to show that I am sad,
people laugh at me.
12 People who sit at the city gate talk about me.[a]
People who are drunk make songs
to sing about me.
13 But as for me, Lord,
I continue to pray to you.
Please answer me at the right time.
Be kind to me, God,
because of your faithful love.
Save me, as you have promised to do.
14 Save me out of the mud
and do not let me sink down into it.
Rescue me from the people that hate me.
Save me from the deep water.
15 Do not let the floods pour over me.
Do not let the deep sea cause me to drown.
Do not let me fall into the deep hole of death.
16 Please answer me, Lord,
because your faithful love is great.
Turn to hear me,
because you are so very kind.
17 Do not turn away from me, your servant.
I am in great trouble,
so please answer me very soon.
18 Come very near to me,
and make me safe.
Rescue me from my enemies.
19 God, you know that people are insulting me.
They laugh at me
to make me feel ashamed.
You can see what all my enemies are doing.
20 When they insult me,
it makes me very upset.
I feel helpless.
I hoped that someone would be kind and help me,
but there was nobody.
I wanted someone to comfort me,
but I did not find anyone.
21 Instead, my enemies put poison in my food.
When I was thirsty,
they gave me vinegar to drink.[b]
22 Please God, cause their feasts to become a trap for them.
Let it bring trouble to them and their friends.
23 Let their eyes be in the dark
so that they cannot see.
Let their bodies become weak.
24 Yes, punish them,
because you are so angry with them!
25 Let their homes become empty,
so that nobody lives in them any more.
26 Do this, because they chase after
the people that you have already punished.
They talk about the pain
of the people that you have hurt.
27 Make a note of all their sins.
Do not ever forgive them,
so that they are righteous.
28 Remove their names from the book of living people.
Do not write their names
on the list of righteous people.
29 But I have pain in my body
and trouble in my mind.
God, rescue me and keep me safe!
30 I will sing to praise God's name!
I will thank him because he is great!
31 That will please the Lord more
than if I offer him an ox,
or a great bull with horns.[c]
32 When humble people see it,
they will be very happy.
People who want to serve God
will become strong in their lives.
33 For the Lord listens to the prayers of poor people.
He does not forget to help his people
when they are prisoners.
34 Heaven and earth should praise him!
The seas and everything that lives in them
should praise him!
35 For God will rescue Zion's people.
He will build again Judah's cities.
Then his people will live there.
The land will belong to them again.
36 Then the descendants of his servants
will have the land for themselves.
The people who love God
will live there safely.
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