M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hushai and Ahithophel give advice to Absalom
17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, ‘Please let me choose 12,000 men so that I can go and attack David tonight. 2 Now he will be very tired and weak. So when we attack him, he will be frightened. All his soldiers will run away. But I will kill only the king. 3 Then I will bring all his army back to you. If we kill this one man that you want to destroy, then all the people will return safely.’
4 This seemed a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel.
5 But Absalom said, ‘Send Hushai the Arkite to me. We should hear what advice he gives us.’
6 When Hushai arrived, Absalom said to him, ‘This is Ahithophel's advice. What do you think we should do? If you think differently, what advice do you give us?’
7 Hushai replied to Absalom, ‘This time Ahithophel's idea is not good. 8 You know your father and his men. They are all strong fighters. They are as dangerous as a mother bear when you take away her babies. Remember that your father has fought many battles. He will not stay all night among his soldiers. 9 By this time he is hiding in a cave or in some other safe place. He might attack your soldiers first and kill some of them. When somebody hears the news, he will say, “They have destroyed Absalom's army!” 10 Then your bravest soldiers will be very frightened, even if they are as brave as lions. Everyone in Israel knows that your father is a fighter. And they know that the men with him are brave.
11 This is my advice to you. Bring together all the soldiers in Israel. Tell them to come from everywhere in the land, from Dan to Beersheba. There will be as many of them as the sand on the shore of the sea. Then you yourself should lead the whole army into the battle. 12 In this way we can attack David in any place that we find him. We will suddenly be all around him, like dew that covers the ground. He and his men will all die. Not even one of them will still be alive. 13 If he escapes into a city, we can completely destroy the city. Our soldiers will use ropes to pull it all down into the valley!’
14 Absalom and all Israel's leaders said, ‘Hushai's idea is better than Ahithophel's idea.’ This happened because the Lord did not let the people accept Ahithophel's advice. His idea was a good one, but the Lord had decided to cause trouble for Absalom.
15 Then Hushai went to the priests Zadok and Abiathar. He said to them, ‘This was Ahithophel's advice to Absalom and Israel's leaders. But this was my advice. 16 So now quickly send a report to David. Warn him that he must not stay tonight at the place in the desert where the road crosses the river. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately, together with all the people who are with him. If not, Absalom and his army may catch them all and destroy them.’
Jonathan and Ahimaaz take the message to David
17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel.[a] They did not go into the city because they did not want anyone to see them there. So a female servant would take messages to them. Then they would take the messages to King David. 18 But this time a young man did see them. He told Absalom where they were. So they quickly left En Rogel and they went to a man's house in Bahurim. He had a well in his yard and they climbed down into it. 19 His wife took a lid and she put it over the top of the well. Then she put some grain on it. Nobody knew that the men were hiding there.
20 Absalom's men came to the house. They asked the woman, ‘Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?’
The woman answered, ‘They went across the stream.’ Absalom's men looked everywhere for them, but they did not find them. So they returned to Jerusalem.
21 After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well. Then they took the message to David. They said to him, ‘You must go across the river immediately. Ahithophel has told Absalom how he can catch you here.’
22 So David and all the people who were with him went across the Jordan River. When dawn came, they had all gone across to the other side.
Ahithophel kills himself
23 Ahithophel realized that Absalom had not agreed to his advice. So he got on his donkey and he went home to his own town. He told his family what he needed to tell them. Then he hanged himself. He died and his family buried him in his father's grave.
Three friends help David
24 David arrived at Mahanaim with his men. Absalom and Israel's army went across the Jordan River. 25 Joab had been the leader of Israel's army. But now Absalom had chosen Amasa as leader instead of Joab. Amasa's father, Jether, was a descendant of Ishmael. He had married Abigail. She was Nahash's daughter and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. 26 Absalom and Israel's army made their camp in Gilead region.
27 When David arrived in Mahanaim, three men came to help him. One man was Nahash's son Shobi. He was from the Ammonites' town, Rabbah. The other men were Ammiel's son Makir, from Lo-Debar, and Barzillai from Rogelim in Gilead. 28 They brought beds and pots and cups for David's people. They also brought food for David and his people to eat. There was wheat, barley, flour and cooked grain. They also brought beans, lentils, 29 honey, cream, sheep and cheese made from cows' milk. They said, ‘The people have travelled through the desert. So they must be tired, thirsty and hungry.’
Paul speaks about his work as Christ's servant
10 I, Paul, need to ask you something. Perhaps you think that I am only humble when I am present there with you. You think that I only speak strongly to you when I am far away! Now I am away from you. But I am still humble and kind, like Christ is. 2 So please listen to what I am asking you. Some people among you think that we live like people who belong to this world. When I come to visit you, I am sure that I will be brave enough to speak against those people. But I do not want to have to speak strongly like that against all of you.
3 It is true that we live in this world as humans. But we do not use our human ideas to fight against what is wrong. 4 It is like we are fighting in a war, but we do not use human weapons. Instead we use God's weapons. Those weapons are powerful enough to destroy the enemy's strong places. We use those weapons to destroy people's wrong ideas. 5 People may speak proud ideas that stop other people from knowing God. We show that those ideas are completely wrong. We change the way that people think, so that they want to obey Christ. 6 You must show that you are ready to obey completely. Then we will be ready to punish anyone who refuses to obey in any way.
7 Take a careful look at what is happening among you. If anyone is sure that he belongs to Christ, he should remember this: We also belong to Christ, just as he does. 8 You may think that I am too proud of my authority. But it is the Lord who has given that authority to us apostles. We have that authority so that we can help you become stronger as believers. We do not have it so that we can destroy you! So I am not ashamed to be proud of this.
9 When I write letters to you, I am not trying to frighten you. Please do not think that. 10 Some people say: ‘Paul's letters are powerful and they say strong things. But when he himself is here with us, he seems to be weak. And the words that he speaks have no value.’ 11 Anyone who says things like that should understand this: There is no difference between what we write and what we do. When we come to you, we will do what we have written in our letters.
12 Some people praise themselves. They say how clever they are. But we could never do that. We could not even try to be like those people. But they do not understand anything. They decide among themselves how good they are. They look at one another to see if they are better or worse. 13 As for us, we will only be proud of the work that God has given us to do. We will not be proud of anything more than that. And that includes our work among you. 14 We were the first people to come as far as Corinth and tell you the good news about Christ. That was part of the work that God has given to us to do. So it is right for us to tell you how proud we are.
15 We do not praise ourselves for the work that other people have done. That would not be right. But we hope that you will continue to believe more and more strongly. In that way our work among you will become even greater. But it will still be the work that God has given to us, and no more than that. 16 Then we want to tell God's good news to people in places beyond where you are. Those are not places where God has sent other people to work. Then we will not be praising ourselves for the work that anyone else has done. 17 The Bible says this:
‘If you want to be proud about something,
be proud of what the Lord has done.’
18 Who is really good? It is not the person who praises himself. It is the person that the Lord says is a good person.
The pot to cook meat
24 The Lord gave this message to me on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year: 2 ‘Son of man, remember this day. Write it down. On this day, the king of Babylon is starting to attack Jerusalem. 3 Tell a story to these people who refuse to obey me. Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Put the pot on the fire. Put it there now.
Pour some water into the pot.
4 Put the pieces of meat into it.
Put in all the good pieces of meat.
Put in the leg and the shoulder.
Fill it with all the best bones.
5 Use meat and bones from the best sheep.
Put more wood on the fire under the pot.
Cause the water in the pot to boil well.
Cook the bones and the meat.
6 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Terrible trouble will come to the city that is full of murderers!
It is like a pot that has become dirty.
Nobody has tried to clean it.
Take out each piece of meat, one by one.
No piece is special.
7 You can see the blood of people that men killed in the city.
It lies on the rocks where everyone can see it.
Those murderers did not leave the blood on the ground,
where dirt would hide it.
8 I have put the blood on the rocks where everyone can see it.
Nothing will be able to hide it.
When I see it, I am very angry.
I will punish the people of that city as they deserve.
9 So this is what the Almighty Lord says:
Terrible trouble will come to the city that is full of murderers!
I will put more wood on the fire to destroy it.
10 Yes, make a big heap of wood.
Make the fire burn hot! Cook the meat well!
Mix in some spices!
Let the bones burn.
11 Then put the empty pot on the coals of the fire.
Make the pot very hot, so that its metal is bright red.
Burn all the dirt to remove it.
Make the pot clean again!
12 Yes, I have tried to make it clean.
But the disgusting dirt is still there.
So throw the pot and all its dirt on the fire!
13 The dirt on the pot shows the disgusting things that you do. I tried to remove those wicked things to make you clean, but you would not let me do that. So I will punish you until I am no longer angry with you. You will not be clean until that happens.
14 I, the Lord have said what I will do. Now I will do it! The time for your punishment has come! I will not change my mind. I will not be kind to you. I will not be sorry for you. I will judge you as you deserve for the things that you have done. That is what the Almighty Lord says.” ’
Ezekiel's wife dies
15 The Lord gave me this message: 16 ‘Son of man, I will suddenly take away from you the one person who makes you happy. But you must not weep. Do not let people see that you are sad. 17 Cry inside yourself but do not cry aloud. Do not show that you are sad because someone has died. Do not remove the cloth from your head. Keep your shoes on your feet. Do not cover the lower part of your face. Do not eat the food that people eat at funerals.’[a]
18 That morning I spoke to the people. In the evening of that day, my wife died. The next morning I did what the Lord had told me to do.
19 Then the people said to me, ‘Please tell us why you are doing these things. What are you trying to show us?’ 20 So I said to them, ‘The Lord gave this message to me:
21 Say to Israel's people, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will now make my holy place become unclean. It is the place that makes you very proud. You love it because it is so beautiful. But now enemy soldiers will kill your sons and daughters that you left in Jerusalem. 22 Then you will do the same things that I have done. You will not cover the lower part of your face. You will not eat special food that people eat at funerals. 23 You will still wear your cloths on your heads. You will wear your shoes on your feet. You will not cry aloud or weep. You will suffer and you will be weak because of the punishment for your sins. You will cry quietly among yourselves. 24 Ezekiel is an example to you. You must do the same as he has done when his wife died. When this happens, you will know that I am the Almighty Lord.”[b]
25 Son of man, I will soon take away from them Jerusalem's great temple. It is the beautiful place that has made them very happy. They are very proud of it. They love to look at it. I will also take away their sons and daughters. 26 On the day when that happens, a man will run away from the battle in Jerusalem. He will come here to tell you the news. 27 At that time, you will be able to speak again.[c] You will talk with that man. You will no longer have to be quiet. You will be an example to the people, and they will know that I am the Lord. ’
This psalm is for Solomon.
A prayer for the king[a]
72 God, please help the king
to judge people in a right way.
Help the king's son to be honest and fair,
as you are.[b]
2 Then he will rule your people in a good way,
so that even poor people receive justice.
3 The mountains and the hills will bring peace,
so that the people can live honest lives.
4 Please help the king to judge poor people fairly.
May he save the children of weak people,
and destroy those cruel people who hurt them.
5 May people always respect your authority, God,
through all time,
as long as the sun and the moon remain in the sky.[c]
6 May the king be a blessing to his people,
like rain that falls on grass that lies in the fields.
May he be like rain
that brings water to the soil.
7 While he rules as king,
those people who serve God will do well.
There will be peace in all the land,
for as long as the moon remains in the sky.
8 May the king rule everywhere,
from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates river to the ends of the earth.[d]
9 Then people who live in the desert
will bend down to respect him.
His enemies will fall down
with their faces in the dust.
10 Kings from Spain and from other far places
will pay taxes to him.
Kings from Sheba and from Seba
will bring gifts to him.
11 All kings will bend down in front of him.
People from all nations will serve him.
12 He will rescue the poor person
who calls out to him for help.
He will save weak people
who have nobody to help them.
13 He will be kind to people who are poor and weak.
He will save them from death.
14 He will rescue them from cruel people who hurt them.
Their lives are important to him.
15 Long live the king!
May people come from Sheba to give gold to him.
May people always pray for him.
May people praise him all the time.
16 May there always be plenty of grain
that grows in the land.
May the crops grow well
on the tops of the mountains.
May the fruit trees give a lot of fruit,
as they do in Lebanon.
May all the crops grow well,
like grass that grows in a field.
17 May the king be famous for ever!
May people remember him
for as long as the sun continues to shine.
May people from all nations use his name
when they bless one another.
May they all say that God has blessed the king!
18 Praise the Lord, Israel's God,
as he deserves.
Only he does such wonderful things.
19 Praise his great name for ever!
May his glory fill the whole earth!
Amen! May that all happen!
20 This is the end of the prayers of Jesse's son, David.[e]
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