M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 15
Absalom’s Ambition. 1 After this, Absalom provided himself with chariots, horses, and a retinue of fifty.(A) 2 Moreover, Absalom used to rise early and stand alongside the road leading to the gate. If someone had a lawsuit to be decided by the king, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he replied, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel,” 3 Absalom would say to him, “Your case is good and just, but there is no one to hear you in the king’s name.” 4 And he would continue: “If only I could be appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a lawsuit to be decided might come to me and I would render him justice.” 5 Whenever a man approached him to show homage, he would extend his hand, hold him, and kiss him. 6 By behaving in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king for judgment, Absalom was stealing the heart of Israel.
Conspiracy in Hebron. 7 After a period of four years, Absalom said to the king: “Please let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. 8 For while living in Geshur in Aram, your servant made this vow: ‘If the Lord ever brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship him in Hebron.’”(B) 9 The king said to him, “Go in peace,” and he went off to Hebron. 10 Then Absalom sent agents throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “When you hear the sound of the horn, say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron!’” 11 Two hundred men had accompanied Absalom from Jerusalem. They had been invited and went in all innocence, knowing nothing. 12 Absalom also sent to Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, an invitation to come from his town, Giloh, for the sacrifices he was about to offer. So the conspiracy gained strength, and the people with Absalom increased in numbers.(C)
David Flees Jerusalem. 13 An informant came to David with the report, “The Israelites have given their hearts to Absalom,(D) and they are following him.” 14 At this, David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem: “Get up, let us flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Leave at once, or he will quickly overtake us, and then bring disaster upon us, and put the city to the sword.” 15 The king’s servants answered him, “Whatever our lord the king chooses to do, we are your servants.” 16 Then the king set out, accompanied by his entire household, except for ten concubines whom he left behind to care for the palace.(E) 17 As the king left the city, with all his officers accompanying him, they halted opposite the ascent of the Mount of Olives, at a distance, 18 while the whole army marched past him.
David and Ittai. As all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and the six hundred Gittites who had entered his service from that city, were passing in review before the king,(F) 19 the king said to Ittai the Gittite: “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and you, too, are an exile from your own country. 20 You came only yesterday, and today shall I have you wander off with us wherever I have to go? Return and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show you kindness and fidelity.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, your servant shall be wherever my lord the king is, whether for death or for life.”(G) 22 So the king said to Ittai, “Go, then, march on.” And Ittai the Gittite, with all his men and all the dependents that were with him, marched on. 23 The whole land wept aloud as the last of the soldiers went by, and the king crossed the Wadi Kidron with all the soldiers moving on ahead of him by way of the ascent of the Mount of Olives, toward the wilderness.
David and the Priests. 24 Zadok, too, and all the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God set down the ark of God until the whole army had finished marching out of the city; and Abiathar came up. 25 Then the king said to Zadok: “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor with the Lord, he will bring me back and permit me to see it and its lodging place. 26 But if he should say, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ I am ready; let him do to me as he sees fit.”(H) 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest: “Look, you and Abiathar return to the city in peace, and both your sons with you, your own son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 Remember, I shall be waiting at the fords near the wilderness until a report from you comes to me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and remained there.
30 As David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went.(I) 31 When David was told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom,” he said, “O Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel to folly!”(J)
David and Hushai. 32 When David reached the top, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him, with garments torn and dirt upon his head.(K) 33 David said to him: “If you come with me, you will be a burden to me; 34 but if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Let me be your servant, O king; I was formerly your father’s servant, but now I will be yours,’ you will thwart for me the counsel of Ahithophel.(L) 35 You will have the priests Zadok and Abiathar there with you. If you hear anything from the king’s house, you shall report it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, 36 who have there with them their two sons, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. Through them you shall send on to me whatever you hear.” 37 So David’s friend Hushai went into the city, Jerusalem, as Absalom was about to enter it.
III. The Collection for Jerusalem[a]
Chapter 8
Generosity in Giving. 1 [b]We want you to know, brothers,[c] of the grace of God[d] that has been given to the churches of Macedonia,(A) 2 [e]for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 [f]For according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, spontaneously, 4 they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part in the service to the holy ones,(B) 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us[g] through the will of God, 6 so that we urged Titus[h] that, as he had already begun, he should also complete for you this gracious act also.(C) 7 [i]Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,(D) may you excel in this gracious act also.
8 I say this not by way of command, but to test the genuineness of your love by your concern for others. 9 [j](E)For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10 And I am giving counsel in this matter, for it is appropriate for you who began not only to act but to act willingly last year:(F) 11 complete it now, so that your eager[k] willingness may be matched by your completion of it out of what you have. 12 [l]For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have; 13 not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality 14 your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. 15 As it is written:
“Whoever had much did not have more,
and whoever had little did not have less.”(G)
Titus and His Collaborators.[m] 16 But thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus, 17 for he not only welcomed our appeal but, since he is very concerned, he has gone to you of his own accord. 18 With him we have sent the brother[n] who is praised in all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.(H) 19 And not only that, but he has also been appointed our traveling companion by the churches in this gracious work administered by us for the glory of the Lord [himself] and for the expression of our eagerness.(I) 20 This we desire to avoid, that anyone blame us[o] about this lavish gift administered by us, 21 for we are concerned for what is honorable not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of others.(J) 22 And with them we have sent our brother whom we often tested in many ways and found earnest, but who is now much more earnest because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker for you; as for our brothers, they are apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to them.[p]
Chapter 22
Crimes of Jerusalem. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 You,[a] son of man, will you judge? will you judge the city of bloodshed? Then make known all its abominations, 3 and say: Thus says the Lord God: O city that sheds blood within itself so that its time has come, that has made idols for its own defilement: 4 By the blood you shed you have become guilty, and by the idols you made you have become defiled. You have brought on your day, you have come to the end of your years. Therefore I make you an object of scorn for the nations and a laughingstock for all lands.(A) 5 Those near and those far off will mock you: “Defiled of Name! Queen of Tumult!” 6 See! the princes of Israel within you use their power to shed blood.[b] 7 Within you, father and mother are dishonored; they extort the resident alien in your midst; within you, they oppress orphans and widows.(B) 8 What I consider holy you have rejected, and my sabbaths you have desecrated. 9 [c]In you are those who slander to cause bloodshed; within you are those who feast on the mountains; in your midst are those whose actions are depraved.(C) 10 In you are those who uncover the nakedness of their fathers; in you those who coerce women to intercourse during their period.(D) 11 (E)There are those in you who do abominable things with their neighbors’ wives, men who defile their daughters-in-law by incest, men who coerce their sisters to intercourse, the daughters of their own fathers. 12 There are those in you who take bribes to shed blood. You exact interest and usury; you extort profit from your neighbor by violence. But me you have forgotten—oracle of the Lord God.(F)
13 See, I am clapping my hands because of the profits you extorted and the blood shed in your midst. 14 Will your heart remain firm, will your hands be strong, in the days when I deal with you? I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will act! 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you over other lands, so that I may purge your filth. 16 In you I will allow myself to be desecrated in the eyes of the nations; thus you shall know that I am the Lord.
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 [d]Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead within a furnace; they have become the dross from silver.(G) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because all of you have become dross, See! I am gathering you within Jerusalem. 20 Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are gathered within a furnace to be blasted with fire to smelt it, so I will gather you together in my furious wrath, put you in, and smelt you.(H) 21 When I have assembled you, I will blast you with the fire of my anger and smelt you with it. 22 Just as silver is smelted in a furnace, so you shall be smelted in it. Thus you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 [e]Son of man, say to her: You are an unclean land receiving no rain at the time of my fury. 25 A conspiracy of its princes is like a roaring lion tearing prey; they devour people, seizing their wealth and precious things, making many widows within her.(I) 26 Her priests violate my law and desecrate what I consider holy; they do not distinguish between holy and common, nor teach the difference between unclean and clean; they pay no attention to my sabbaths, so that I have been desecrated in their midst.(J) 27 (K)Within her, her officials are like wolves tearing prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to extort profit. 28 (L)And her prophets cover them with whitewash, seeing false visions and performing lying divinations, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” although the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they wrong the poor and the needy, and oppress the resident alien without justice. 30 Thus I have searched among them for someone who would build a wall or stand in the breach before me to keep me from destroying the land; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out my fury upon them; with my fiery wrath I have consumed them, bringing down their ways upon their heads—oracle of the Lord God.
Psalm 69[a]
A Cry of Anguish in Great Distress
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.”[b] Of David.
I
2 Save me, God,
for the waters[c] have reached my neck.(A)
3 I have sunk into the mire of the deep,
where there is no foothold.
I have gone down to the watery depths;
the flood overwhelms me.(B)
4 I am weary with crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
from looking for my God.(C)
5 More numerous than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause.(D)
Those who would destroy me are mighty,
my enemies without reason.
Must I now restore
what I did not steal?[d]
II
6 God, you know my folly;
my faults are not hidden from you.
7 Let those who wait in hope for you, Lord of hosts,
not be shamed because of me.
Let those who seek you, God of Israel,(E)
not be disgraced because of me.
8 For it is on your account I bear insult,
that disgrace covers my face.(F)
9 I have become an outcast to my kindred,
a stranger to my mother’s children.(G)
10 Because zeal for your house has consumed me,[e]
I am scorned by those who scorn you.(H)
11 When I humbled my spirit with fasting,(I)
this led only to scorn.
12 When I clothed myself in sackcloth;
I became a byword for them.
13 Those who sit in the gate gossip about me;
drunkards make me the butt of songs.
III
14 But I will pray to you, Lord,
at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
with your sure deliverance.(J)
15 Rescue me from the mire,(K)
and do not let me sink.
Rescue me from those who hate me
and from the watery depths.
16 Do not let the flood waters overwhelm me,
nor the deep swallow me,
nor the pit close its mouth over me.
17 Answer me, Lord, in your generous love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
18 Do not hide your face from your servant;
hasten to answer me, for I am in distress.(L)
19 Come and redeem my life;
because of my enemies ransom me.
20 You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace;
before you stand all my foes.
21 Insult has broken my heart, and I despair;
I looked for compassion, but there was none,(M)
for comforters, but found none.
22 Instead they gave me poison for my food;
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.(N)
IV
23 May their own table be a snare for them,
and their communion offerings a trap.(O)
24 Make their eyes so dim they cannot see;
keep their backs ever feeble.
25 Pour out your wrath upon them;
let the fury of your anger overtake them.
26 Make their camp desolate,
with none to dwell in their tents.(P)
27 For they pursued the one you struck,
added to the pain of the one you wounded.
28 Heap punishment upon their punishment;
let them gain from you no vindication.
29 May they be blotted from the book of life;
not registered among the just!(Q)
V
30 But here I am miserable and in pain;
let your saving help protect me, God,
31 [f]That I may praise God’s name in song
and glorify it with thanksgiving.
32 That will please the Lord more than oxen,
more than bulls with horns and hooves:(R)
33 “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, take heart!(S)
34 For the Lord hears the poor,
and does not spurn those in bondage.
35 Let the heaven and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!”
VI
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.