M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 David announced, “The house of the Lord God will be built here. Israel’s altar for burnt offerings will also be here.”
David Makes Plans for Building the Temple
2 David gave orders to bring together the outsiders who were living in Israel. He appointed some of them to cut stones. He wanted them to prepare blocks of stone for building the house of God. 3 David provided a large amount of iron to make nails. They were for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings. He provided more bronze than anyone could weigh. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than anyone could count. The people of Sidon and Tyre brought large numbers of logs to David.
5 David said, “My son Solomon is young. He’s never done anything like this before. The house that will be built for the Lord should be very grand and wonderful. All the nations should consider it to be famous and beautiful. I’ll get things ready for it.” So David got many things ready before he died.
6 Then he sent for his son Solomon. He told him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, with all my heart I wanted to build a house for the Lord my God. That’s where his Name will be. 8 But a message from the Lord came to me. It said, ‘You have spilled the blood of many people. You have fought many wars. You are not the one who will build a house for my Name. That is because I have seen you spill the blood of many people on the earth. 9 But you are going to have a son. He will be a man of peace. And I will give him peace and rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon. I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king. 10 He will build a house for my Name. He will be my son. And I will be his father. I will make his kingdom secure over Israel. It will last forever.’
11 “My son, may the Lord be with you. May you have success. May you build the house of the Lord your God, just as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you good sense. May he give you understanding when he makes you king over Israel. Then you will keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Be careful to obey the rules and laws the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Then you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope.
14 “I’ve tried very hard to provide for the Lord’s temple. I’ve provided 3,750 tons of gold and 37,500 tons of silver. I’ve provided more bronze and iron than anyone can weigh. I’ve also given plenty of wood and stone. You can add to it. 15 You have a lot of workers. You have people who can cut stones and people who can lay the stones. You have people who can work with wood. You also have people who are skilled in every other kind of work. 16 Some of them can work with gold and silver. Others can work with bronze and iron. There are more workers than anyone can count. So begin the work. May the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all Israel’s leaders to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, “The Lord your God is with you. He’s given you peace and rest on every side. He’s handed over to me the people who are living in the land. The land has been brought under the control of the Lord and his people. 19 So be committed to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the temple of the Lord God. Then bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord into it. Also bring in the sacred objects that belong to God. The temple will be built for the Name of the Lord.”
3 Wives, follow the lead of your own husbands. Suppose some of them don’t believe God’s word. Then let them be won to Christ without words by seeing how their wives behave. 2 Let them see how pure you are. Let them see that your lives are full of respect for God. 3 Fancy hairstyles don’t make you beautiful. Wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes doesn’t make you beautiful. 4 Instead, your beauty comes from inside you. It is the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Beauty like this doesn’t fade away. God places great value on it. 5 This is how the holy women of the past used to make themselves beautiful. They put their hope in God. And they followed the lead of their own husbands. 6 Sarah was like that. She obeyed Abraham. She called him her master. Do you want to be like her? Then do what is right. And don’t give in to fear.
7 Husbands, consider the needs of your wives. They are weaker than you. So treat them with respect. Honor them as those who will share with you the gracious gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.
Suffering for Doing Good
8 Finally, I want all of you to agree with one another. Be understanding. Love one another. Be kind and tender. Be humble. 9 Don’t pay back evil with evil. Don’t pay back unkind words with unkind words. Instead, pay back evil with kind words. This is what you have been chosen to do. You will receive a blessing by doing this. 10 Scripture says,
“Suppose someone wants to love life
and see good days.
Then they must keep their tongues from speaking evil.
They must keep their lips from telling lies.
11 They must turn away from evil and do good.
They must look for peace and go after it.
12 The Lord’s eyes look on godly people, and he blesses them.
His ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord doesn’t bless those who do evil.” (Psalm 34:12–16)
13 Who is going to hurt you if you really want to do good? 14 But suppose you do suffer for doing what is right. Even then you will be blessed. Scripture says, “Don’t fear what others say they will do to hurt you. Don’t be afraid.” (Isaiah 8:12) 15 But make sure that in your hearts you honor Christ as Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it. But do it gently and with respect. 16 Live so that you don’t have to feel you’ve done anything wrong. Some people may say evil things about your good conduct as believers in Christ. If they do, they will be put to shame for speaking like this about you. 17 God may want you to suffer for doing good. That’s better than suffering for doing evil. 18 Christ also suffered once for sins. The one who did what is right suffered for those who don’t do right. He suffered to bring you to God. His body was put to death. But the Holy Spirit brought him back to life. 19 After that, Christ went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. 20 Long ago these spirits did not obey. That was when God was patient while Noah was building the ark. And only a few people went into the ark. In fact, there were only eight. Those eight people were saved through water. 21 The water of the flood is a picture. It is a picture of the baptism that now saves you too. This baptism has nothing to do with removing dirt from your body. Instead, it promises God that you will keep a clear sense of right and wrong. This baptism saves you by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 22 He has gone into heaven. He is at God’s right hand. Angels, authorities and powers are under his control.
1 A message from the Lord came to Micah. He was from the town of Moresheth. The message came while Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This is the vision Micah saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Here is what he said.
2 Listen to me, all you nations!
Earth and everyone who lives in it, pay attention!
The Lord and King will be a witness against you.
The Lord will speak from his holy temple in heaven.
The Lord Will Judge Samaria and Jerusalem
3 The Lord is about to come down
from his home in heaven.
He rules over even the highest places on earth.
4 The mountains will melt under him
like wax near a fire.
The valleys will be broken apart
by water rushing down a slope.
5 All this will happen because
Jacob’s people have done what is wrong.
The people of Israel
have committed many sins.
Who is to blame
for the wrong things Jacob has done?
Samaria!
Who is to blame for the high places
where Judah’s people worship other gods?
Jerusalem!
6 So the Lord says,
“I will turn Samaria into a pile of trash.
It will become a place for planting vineyards.
I will dump its stones down into the valley.
And I will destroy it
down to its very foundations.
7 All the statues of Samaria’s gods
will be broken to pieces.
All the gifts its people gave to temple prostitutes
will be burned with fire.
I will destroy all the statues of its gods.
Samaria collected gifts that were paid to temple prostitutes.
So the Assyrians will use the gifts
to pay their own temple prostitutes.”
Micah Weeps Over His People
8 I will weep and mourn because Samaria will be destroyed.
I’ll walk around barefoot and naked.
I’ll bark like a wild dog.
I’ll hoot like an owl.
9 Samaria’s plague can’t be healed.
The plague has spread to Judah.
It has spread right up to the gate of my people.
It has spread to Jerusalem itself.
10 Don’t tell the people of Gath about it.
Don’t let them see you weep.
People in Beth Ophrah, roll in the dust.
11 You who live in the town of Shaphir,
leave naked and in shame.
Those who live in Zaanan
won’t come out to help you.
The people in Beth Ezel will mourn.
They won’t be able to help keep you safe any longer.
12 Those who live in Maroth will groan with pain
as they wait for help.
That’s because the Lord will bring trouble on them.
It will reach the very gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish,
get your fast horses ready to pull their chariots.
You trust in military power.
Lachish was where sin began
for the people of Zion.
The wrong things Israel did
were also done by you.
14 People of Judah, you might as well say goodbye
to Moresheth near Gath.
The town of Akzib won’t give any help
to the kings of Israel.
15 An enemy will attack
you who live in Mareshah.
Israel’s nobles will have to run away
and hide in the cave of Adullam.
16 The children you enjoy so much
will be taken away as prisoners.
So shave your heads and mourn.
Make them as bare as the head of a vulture.
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed 72 others. He sent them out two by two ahead of him. They went to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is huge, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals. And don’t greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘May this house be blessed with peace.’ 6 If someone there works to bring peace, your blessing of peace will rest on them. If not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, and eat and drink anything they give you. Workers are worthy of their pay. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is given to you. 9 Heal the sick people who are there. Tell them, ‘God’s kingdom has come near to you.’ 10 But what if you enter a town and are not welcomed? Then go into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe from our feet even the dust of your town. We do it to warn you. But here is what you can be sure of. God’s kingdom has come near.’ 12 I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town.
13 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! Suppose the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon. They would have turned away from their sins long ago. They would have put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They would have sat down in ashes. 14 On judgment day it will be easier for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And what about you, Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to the heavens? No! You will go down to the place of the dead.
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever does not accept you does not accept me. But whoever does not accept me does not accept the one who sent me.”
17 The 72 returned with joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we speak in your name.”
18 Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to walk all over snakes and scorpions. You will be able to destroy all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20 But do not be glad when the evil spirits obey you. Instead, be glad that your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that time Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. He said, “I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from wise and educated people. But you have shown them to little children. Yes, Father. This is what you wanted to do.
22 “My Father has given all things to me. The Father is the only one who knows who the Son is. And the only ones who know the Father are the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to make the Father known.”
23 Then Jesus turned to his disciples. He said to them in private, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.”
The Story of the Good Samaritan
25 One day an authority on the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?”
27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” (Leviticus 19:18)
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”
29 But the man wanted to make himself look good. So he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too. 33 But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 34 He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”
37 The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.”
Jesus at the Home of Martha and Mary
38 Jesus and his disciples went on their way. Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha lived. She welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was busy with all the things that had to be done. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, my sister has left me to do the work by myself. Don’t you care? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. “You are worried and upset about many things. 42 But few things are needed. Really, only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her.”
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