M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Last Words of David
23 Now these are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man who was raised on high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the sweet psalmist of Israel:[a]
2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me,
his word is upon my tongue.
3 The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
4 he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning,
like rain[b] that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
5 Yea, does not my house stand so with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
For will he not cause to prosper
all my help and my desire?
6 But godless men[c] are all like thorns that are thrown away;
for they cannot be taken with the hand;
7 but the man who touches them
arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,
and they are utterly consumed with fire.”[d]
David’s Mighty Men
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshe′beth a Tah-che′monite; he was chief of the three;[e] he wielded his spear[f] against eight hundred whom he slew at one time.
9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Elea′zar the son of Dodo, son of Aho′hi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand cleaved to the sword; and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.
11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Har′arite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Reph′aim. 14 David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “O that some one would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
18 Now Abi′shai, the brother of Jo′ab, the son of Zeru′iah, was chief of the thirty.[g] And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and slew them, and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty,[h] and became their commander; but he did not attain to the three.
20 And Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada was a valiant man[i] of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he smote two ariels[j] of Moab. He also went down and slew a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but Benai′ah went down to him with a staff, and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.
24 As′ahel the brother of Jo′ab was one of the thirty; Elha′nan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Eli′ka of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Teko′a, 27 Abie′zer, of An′athoth, Mebun′nai the Hu′shathite, 28 Zalmon the Aho′hite, Ma′harai of Netoph′ah, 29 Heleb the son of Ba′anah of Netoph′ah, It′tai the son of Ri′bai of Gib′e-ah of the Benjaminites, 30 Benai′ah of Pira′thon, Hid′dai of the brooks of Ga′ash, 31 Abi-al′bon the Ar′bathite, Az′maveth of Bahu′rim, 32 Eli′ahba of Sha-al′bon, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Har′arite, Ahi′am the son of Sharar the Har′arite, 34 Eliph′elet the son of Ahas′bai of Ma′acah, Eli′am the son of Ahith′ophel of Gilo, 35 Hezro[k] of Carmel, Pa′arai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Na′harai of Be-er′oth, the armor-bearer of Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 Uri′ah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.
Law or Faith
3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? 4 Did you experience so many things in vain?—if it really is in vain. 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?
6 Thus Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 7 So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith.
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for “He who through faith is righteous shall live”;[a] 12 but the law does not rest on faith, for “He who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree”— 14 that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Promise to Abraham
15 To give a human example, brethren: no one annuls even a man’s will,[b] or adds to it, once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many; but, referring to one, “And to your offspring,” which is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
The Purpose of the Law
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained by angels through an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one; but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not; for if a law had been given which could make alive, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the scripture consigned all things to sin, that what was promised to faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. 24 So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Lamentation for Egypt
30 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Ethiopia,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and her wealth is carried away,
and her foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,[a] and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 “Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
says the Lord God.
7 And she[b] shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries
and her cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when I have set fire to Egypt,
and all her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day swift[c] messengers shall go forth from me to terrify the unsuspecting Ethiopians; and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for, lo, it comes!
10 “Thus says the Lord God:
I will put an end to the wealth[d] of Egypt,
by the hand of Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land;
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will dry up the Nile,
and will sell the land into the hand of evil men;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of foreigners;
I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord God:
I will destroy the idols,
and put an end to the images, in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros a desolation,
and will set fire to Zo′an,
and will execute acts of judgment upon Thebes.
15 And I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and its walls broken down.[e]
17 The young men of On and of Pibe′seth shall fall by the sword;
and the women shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaph′nehes the day shall be dark,
when I break there the dominion of Egypt,
and her proud might shall come to an end;
she shall be covered by a cloud,
and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute acts of judgment upon Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Proclamation against Pharaoh
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and lo, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall; and they shall know that I am the Lord. When I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, he shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt; 26 and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41 They tested him again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43 when he wrought his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zo′an.
44 He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He smote all the first-born in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led forth his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
55 He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God,
and did not observe his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among men,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their maidens had no marriage song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66 And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of E′phraim;
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded for ever.
70 He chose David his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from tending the ewes that had young he brought him
to be the shepherd of Jacob his people,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skilful hand.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.