M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 The queen of Sheba heard about how famous Solomon was. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a very large group of attendants. Her camels were carrying spices, huge amounts of gold, and valuable jewels. She came to Solomon and asked him about everything she wanted to know. ² He answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything too hard for him to explain to her. ³ So the queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was. She saw the palace he had built. ⁴ She saw the food on his table. She saw his officials sitting there. She saw the robes of the servants who waited on everyone. She saw the robes the wine tasters were wearing. And she saw the burnt offerings Solomon sacrificed at the Lord’s temple. She could hardly believe everything she had seen.

⁵ She said to the king, “Back in my own country I heard a report about you. I heard about how much you had accomplished. I also heard about how wise you are. Everything I heard is true. ⁶ But I didn’t believe what people were saying. So I came to see for myself. And now I believe it! You are twice as wise as people say you are. The report I heard doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story about you. ⁷ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials must be! They always get to serve you and hear the wise things you say. ⁸ May the Lord your God be praised. He takes great delight in you. He placed you on his throne as king. He put you there to rule for him. Your God loves Israel very much. He longs to take good care of them forever. That’s why he has made you king over them. He knows that you will do what is fair and right.”

⁹ She gave the king four and a half tons of gold. She also gave him huge amounts of spices and valuable jewels. There had never been as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir. They also brought algumwood and valuable jewels. ¹¹ The king used the algumwood to make steps for the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He also used it to make harps and lyres for those who played the music. No one had ever seen anything like those instruments in Judah before.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for. In fact, he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left. She returned to her own country with her attendants.

Solomon’s Greatness

¹³ Each year Solomon received 25 tons of gold. ¹⁴ That didn’t include the money brought in by business and trade. All the kings of Arabia also brought gold and silver to Solomon. So did the governors of the territories.

¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed 15 pounds. ¹⁶ He also made 300 small shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed almost eight pounds. The king put all the shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ Then he made a large throne. It was covered with ivory. And that was covered with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps. A gold stool for the king’s feet was connected to it. The throne had armrests on both sides of the seat. A statue of a lion stood on each side of the throne. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one at each end of each step. Nothing like that throne had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All of King Solomon’s cups were made out of gold. All the things used in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made out of pure gold. Nothing was made out of silver. When Solomon was king, silver wasn’t considered to be worth very much. ²¹ He had many ships that carried goods to be traded. The crews of those ships were made up of Hiram’s servants. Once every three years the ships returned. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.

²² King Solomon was richer than all the other kings on earth. He was also wiser than they were. ²³ All these kings wanted to meet Solomon in person. They wanted to see for themselves how wise God had made him. ²⁴ Year after year, everyone who came to him brought a gift. They brought gifts made out of silver and gold. They brought robes, weapons and spices. They also brought horses and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his horses and chariots. He had 12,000 horses. He kept some of his horses and chariots in the chariot cities. He kept the others with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Solomon ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. He ruled all the way to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar wood as common there as sycamore-fig trees in the western hills. ²⁸ Solomon got horses from Egypt. He also got them from many other countries.

Solomon Dies

²⁹ The other events of Solomon’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of Nathan the prophet. They are written in the prophecy of Ahijah. He was from Shiloh. They are also written in the records of the visions of Iddo the prophet about Jeroboam. Jeroboam was the son of Nebat. ³⁰ Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over the whole nation of Israel for 40 years. ³¹ Then he joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the city of his father David. Solomon’s son Rehoboam became the next king after him.

¹ I, Jude, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am a brother of James.

I am sending this letter to you who have been chosen by God. You are loved by God the Father. You are kept safe for Jesus Christ.

² May more and more mercy, peace and love be given to you.

A Warning Against the Sin of Ungodly People

³ Dear friends, I really wanted to write to you about the salvation we share. But now I feel I should write and ask you to stand up for the faith. God’s holy people were trusted with it once and for all time. ⁴ Certain people have secretly slipped in among you. Long ago it was written that they would be judged. They are ungodly people. They misuse the grace of our God as an excuse for sexual sins. They say no to Jesus Christ, our only Lord and King.

⁵ I want to remind you about some things you already know. The Lord saved his people. At one time he brought them out of Egypt. But later he destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ Some of the angels didn’t stay where they belonged. They didn’t keep their positions of authority. The Lord has kept those angels in darkness. They are held by chains that last forever. On judgment day, God will judge them. ⁷ The people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them also did evil things. They freely committed sexual sins. They committed sins of the worst possible kind. There is a fire that never goes out. Those people are an example of those who are punished with it.

⁸ In the very same way, these ungodly people act on their evil dreams. So they make their own bodies impure. They don’t accept authority. And they say evil things against heavenly beings. ⁹ But even Michael, the leader of the angels, didn’t dare to say these things. He didn’t even say these things when he argued with the devil about the body of Moses. Michael didn’t dare to judge the devil. He didn’t say the devil was guilty of saying evil things. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord judge you!” ¹⁰ But these people say evil things against whatever they don’t understand. And the very things they do understand will destroy them. That’s because they are like wild animals that can’t think for themselves. Instead, they do what comes naturally to them.

¹¹ How terrible it will be for them! They have followed the way of Cain. They have rushed into the same mistake Balaam made. They did it because they loved money. They are like Korah. He turned against his leaders. These people will certainly be destroyed, just as Korah was.

¹² These ungodly people are like stains at the meals you share. They have no shame. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. They are blown along by the wind. They are like trees in the fall. Since they have no fruit, they are pulled out of the ground. So they die twice. ¹³ They are like wild waves of the sea. Their shame rises up like foam. They are like falling stars. God has reserved a place of very black darkness for them forever.

¹⁴ Enoch was the seventh man in the family line of Adam. He gave a prophecy about these people. He said, “Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones. ¹⁵ He is coming to judge everyone. He is coming to sentence all of them. He will judge them for all the ungodly acts they have done. They have done them in ungodly ways. He will sentence ungodly sinners for all the things they have said to oppose him.” ¹⁶ These people complain and find fault with others. They follow their own evil desires. They brag about themselves. They praise others to get what they want.

Remain in God’s Love

¹⁷ Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said would happen. ¹⁸ They told you, “In the last days, some people will make fun of the truth. They will follow their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ They are the people who separate you from one another. They do only what comes naturally. They are not led by the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Let the Holy Spirit guide and help you when you pray. ²¹ And by doing these things, remain in God’s love as you wait. You are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

²² Show mercy to those who doubt. ²³ Save others by pulling them out of the fire. To others, show mercy mixed with fear of sin. Hate even the clothes that are stained by the sins of those who wear them.

Praise to God

²⁴ Give praise to the God who is able to keep you from falling into sin. He will bring you into his heavenly glory without any fault. He will bring you there with great joy. ²⁵ Give praise to the only God our Savior. Glory, majesty, power and authority belong to him. Give praise to him through Jesus Christ our Lord. His praise was before all time, continues now, and will last forever. Amen.

1 A message from the Lord came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi. Cushi was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of King Hezekiah. The Lord spoke to Zephaniah during the rule of Josiah. He was king of Judah and the son of Amon.

The Lord Will Judge the Whole World

23 Then the whole group got up and led Jesus off to Pilate. ² They began to bring charges against Jesus. They said, “We have found this man misleading our people. He is against paying taxes to Caesar. And he claims to be Messiah, a king.”

³ So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

⁴ Then Pilate spoke to the chief priests and the crowd. He announced, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

⁵ But they kept it up. They said, “His teaching stirs up the people all over Judea. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was from Galilee. ⁷ He learned that Jesus was from Herod’s area of authority. So Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. At that time Herod was also in Jerusalem.

⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was very pleased. He had been wanting to see Jesus for a long time. He had heard much about him. He hoped to see Jesus perform a sign of some kind. ⁹ Herod asked him many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there. With loud shouts they brought charges against him. ¹¹ Herod and his soldiers laughed at him and made fun of him. They dressed him in a beautiful robe. Then they sent him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Herod and Pilate became friends. Before this time they had been enemies.

¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people. ¹⁴ He said to them, “You brought me this man. You said he was turning the people against the authorities. I have questioned him in front of you. I have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Herod hasn’t either. So he sent Jesus back to us. As you can see, Jesus has done nothing that is worthy of death. ^16-17 So I will just have him whipped and let him go.”

¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Kill this man! But let Barabbas go!” ¹⁹ Barabbas had been thrown into prison. He had taken part in a struggle in the city against the authorities. He had also committed murder.

²⁰ Pilate wanted to let Jesus go. So he made an appeal to the crowd again. ²¹ But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² Pilate spoke to them for the third time. “Why?” he asked. “What wrong has this man done? I have found no reason to have him put to death. So I will just have him whipped and let him go.”

²³ But with loud shouts they kept calling for Jesus to be crucified. The people’s shouts won out. ²⁴ So Pilate decided to give them what they wanted. ²⁵ He set free the man they asked for. The man had been thrown in prison for murder and for fighting against the authorities. Pilate handed Jesus over to them so they could carry out their plans.

Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross

²⁶ As the soldiers led Jesus away, they took hold of Simon. Simon was from Cyrene. He was on his way in from the country. They put a wooden cross on his shoulders. Then they made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed Jesus. Some were women whose hearts were filled with sorrow. They cried loudly because of him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ The time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the women who can’t have children! Blessed are those who never gave birth or nursed babies!’ ³⁰ It is written,

³¹ People do these things when trees are green. So what will happen when trees are dry?”

³² Two other men were also led out with Jesus to be killed. Both of them had broken the law. ³³ The soldiers brought them to the place called the Skull. There they nailed Jesus to the cross. He hung between the two criminals. One was on his right and one was on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.” The soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood there watching. The rulers even made fun of Jesus. They said, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him. They offered him wine vinegar. ³⁷ They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸ A written sign had been placed above him. It read,

This is the King of the Jews.

³⁹ One of the criminals hanging there made fun of Jesus. He said, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself! Save us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal scolded him. “Don’t you have any respect for God?” he said. “Remember, you are under the same sentence of death. ⁴¹ We are being punished fairly. We are getting just what our actions call for. But this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus Dies

⁴⁴ It was now about noon. Then darkness covered the whole land until three o’clock. ⁴⁵ The sun had stopped shining. The temple curtain was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my life.” After he said this, he took his last breath.

⁴⁷ The Roman commander saw what had happened. He praised God and said, “Jesus was surely a man who did what was right.” ⁴⁸ The people had gathered to watch this sight. When they saw what happened, they felt very sad. Then they went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew Jesus stood not very far away, watching these things. They included the women who had followed him from Galilee.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰ A man named Joseph was a member of the Jewish Council. He was a good and honest man. ⁵¹ Joseph had not agreed with what the leaders had decided and done. He was from Arimathea, a town in Judea. He himself was waiting for God’s kingdom. ⁵² Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³ Joseph took it down and wrapped it in linen cloth. Then he placed it in a tomb cut in the rock. No one had ever been buried there. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day. The Sabbath day was about to begin.

⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph. They saw the tomb and how Jesus’ body was placed in it. ⁵⁶ Then they went home. There they prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath day in order to obey the Law.