M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 2
1 [a]Then Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart rejoices in the Lord,
my horn is lifted high in the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I rejoice in my salvation.
2 There is no holy one like the Lord,
there is none beside you,
nor is there a rock like our God.
3 [b]Do not talk so proudly
nor let arrogance come forth from your mouth,
for the Lord is a knowing God,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
the feeble are clothed in strength.
5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
and the hungry cease to hunger.
The barren has borne seven times,
while she who has many children grows faint.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life.
He brings down to Sheol, and lifts up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles and he also exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust,
and from the refuse he lifts up the beggar,
To seat them among princes,
that they might inherit a throne of glory.
For the Lord’s are the pillars of the earth,
and he has set the world upon them.
9 He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be cut off in the darkness,
for by strength none shall prevail.
10 Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered,
he will thunder against them from the heavens,
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
He will give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed one.”
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the child ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.
12 The Sons of Eli.[c][d]Now Eli’s sons were sons of Belial, they had no regard for the Lord. 13 This is how the priests would deal with the people when anyone came to offer a sacrifice: the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 He would stick it in the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot. Everything that he would bring up with the fork was for the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came up to Shiloh. 15 Even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come up to a man and say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. He will not take any boiled meat from you, only raw meat.” 16 If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, then you can take what you want,” he would answer him, “No! Give it to me now, or I will take it by force.” 17 The young men’s sin was very serious before the Lord, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.
18 Hannah’s Family Grows. Samuel was ministering to the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod.[e] 19 His mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer their yearly sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord grant you children from this woman in place of the one you have dedicated to the Lord.” They then went home. 21 The Lord was gracious to Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Young Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Eli’s Warning Ignored. Now Eli was very old, and he heard about all the things that his sons were doing to the whole of Israel, how they lay with the woman who gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 He said to them, “Why do you do these things? I have been hearing about your evil deeds from everyone. 24 No, my sons! It is an evil report that I hear among the Lord’s people. 25 If one man sins against another, then a judge will judge him. If a man sins against God, who will intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father’s rebuke, for the Lord wanted to put them to death.[f]
26 Meanwhile young Samuel grew in stature and favor with the Lord and with men.
27 The Punishment of Eli’s Sons.[g]Now a man of God came to Eli and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh’s house? 28 Did I not choose him from out of all of the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before me? Did I not give your father’s house all of the burnt offerings of the Israelites? 29 Why do you scorn my sacrifice and my offering that I have prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest of the offerings of my people Israel?
30 “ ‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Even though I declared that you and your father’s house would minister before me forever, now, far be it from me,’ says the Lord. ‘I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be despised. 31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that not a single old man remains in your house. 32 You will see the distress of my dwelling in spite of all that I have given Israel. In your house there will never again be an old man. 33 Everyone of you whom I do not cut off from my altar will be spared so that you can cry out your eyes and grieve your heart. All the descendants of your house will die in the prime of their life.
34 “ ‘This will be a sign for you of what will come upon your two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas. They will both die on the same day. 35 But I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do what is my in heart and my mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will walk before my anointed forever. 36 Whoever is left in your house will bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say, “Please place me in one of the priest’s offices so that I might have a piece of bread to eat.” ’ ”
Chapter 2
Judging Is Inexcusable. 1 Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you may be, when you pass judgment on others. For in judging others you condemn yourself, since you are doing the same things. 2 We are all aware that God’s judgment on those who commit such deeds is just. 3 How can you then suppose that you will escape the judgment of God for doing such things when you are condemning those who perform the same things?
4 How can you despise the riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience? How can you fail to realize that his kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 By your obstinate refusal to repent you are storing up retribution for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 For God will repay everyone in accordance with what his deeds deserve.[a] 7 To those who seek after glory and honor and immortality by persevering in good works, he will grant eternal life. 8 But for those who are slaves to selfish ambition and follow the path of wickedness and not of truth, wrath and fury will be their lot.
9 There will be affliction and distress for everyone who does evil—Jews first and then Gentiles. 10 However, glory, honor, and peace await everyone who does good—Jews first, and then Gentiles. 11 For God shows no partiality.[b]
12 The Law and Conscience.[c] All those who have sinned outside the Law will perish outside the Law, and all who sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. 13 For it is not those who hear the Law who are justified by God; rather, it is those who observe the Law who will be justified. 14 Therefore, when Gentiles, who do not have the Law, act by nature in conformity with the Law, they are a law for themselves, even though they have no Law. 15 They show that the requirements of the Law are inscribed in their hearts; and their own conscience will also bear witness for them, since their conflicting thoughts will accuse or even defend them[d] 16 on the day when, according to the gospel, God will judge the thoughts of all through Jesus Christ.
17 [e]You call yourself a Jew and rely on the Law and are proud of your relationship to God, 18 and you know his will and are able to distinguish between right and wrong because you have been instructed in the Law, 19 and you are confident that you are a guide to the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, and a teacher of the simple because in the Law you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth.
21 You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, are you yourself a thief? 22 You who forbid adultery, are you yourself an adulterer? You who abhor idols, do you commit sacrilege? 23 You who boast of the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking it? 24 As it is written, “Because of you the name of God is reviled among the Gentiles.”
25 Circumcision and the Heart.[f] Circumcision has value if you obey the Law. However, if you break the Law, you have become as if you had never been circumcised. 26 In the same way, if one who is not circumcised keeps the precepts of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then the man who is not physically circumcised but nevertheless observes the Law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the Law.
28 A man is not a Jew who is only one outwardly, nor is true circumcision external and physical. 29 Rather, the Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly, and true circumcision is of the heart—spiritual, not literal. He receives his praise not from human beings but from God.
Chapter 40
Jeremiah Remains in Judah. 1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, had released him at Ramah, where he had found him imprisoned in chains with all the other captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being deported to Babylon.
2 The commander of the guard took Jeremiah aside and said to him, “The Lord, your God, foretold the disaster that would overwhelm this place. 3 Now he has brought about what he threatened to do to your people because they sinned against the Lord and refused to obey him. 4 But today I am removing the chains from your hands. If you so wish, you can come with me to Babylon, and I will take good care of you. However, if you do not wish to come with me to Babylon, you need not do so. Endless stretches of land lie before you. Go wherever you think it is best for you.”
5 Then, before Jeremiah could reply, Nebuzaradan added, “You can also go back to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed governor of the towns of Judah, and stay with him among your people, or go anywhere else you please.” Then the commander of the guard gave him food and gifts and let him go. 6 Jeremiah thereupon went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, in Mizpah, and he stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
7 [a]When all the military leaders of the forces still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, as governor over the land and had placed in his care the men, women, and children who were the most destitute of all the people there who had not been carried off into exile to Babylon, 8 they went with their forces to Gedaliah in Mizpah: Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah; Johanan and Jonathan, the sons of Kareah; Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth; the sons of Ephai of Netophah; Jezaniah, the son of Beth-maacah.
9 Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore an oath to reassure them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Settle down in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well with you. 10 I myself will remain in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, harvest the wine, the summer fruits, and the oil. Store them in your vessels and settle in the towns that you have seized.”
11 When all the Judeans who were living in Moab with the Ammonites, in Edom, and elsewhere heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, 12 they all returned to Judah from the places to which they had been driven. They presented themselves to Gedaliah at Mizpah and gathered a rich harvest of wine and summer fruits.
13 Gedaliah’s Murder. Now Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the forces still stationed in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Are you at all aware that Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to assassinate you?” But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, refused to believe them.
15 Then Johanan, the son of Kareah, spoke privately to Gedaliah at Mizpah, saying, “Please authorize me to go and kill Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah. No one will be the wiser. Why should he be allowed to assassinate you, thus causing all the Jews who have rallied around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?” 16 But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, replied to Johanan, the son of Kareah, “Do not even think of doing such a thing. What you are saying about Ishmael is untrue.”
Psalm 15[a]
The Righteous: Guests of God
1 A psalm of David.
O Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may abide on your holy mountain?[b]
2 [c]The one who leads a blameless life
and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from the heart
3 and does not slander anyone,
who does not harm a friend
and does not scorn a neighbor,
4 who looks with disdain on the wicked
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who abides by his oath,
no matter what the cost,
5 who does not charge interest on a loan
and refuses to accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never fall.
Psalm 16[d]
God the Supreme Good
1 A miktam[e] of David.
Protect me, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints[f] who are in the land,
they are the noble ones,
and in them there is all my delight.
4 Those who chase after other gods
only multiply their sorrows.
Never will I pour out libations of blood to them,
nor will I take up their names[g] on my lips.
5 O Lord, you are my allotted portion and my cup;[h]
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have established a pleasant site for me;
I have truly received a wonderful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who offers me counsel;
even during the night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me,
for with him at my right hand
I will never fall.
9 [i]Therefore, my heart is glad
and my soul rejoices;
my body too is filled with confidence.
10 For you will not abandon me to the netherworld
or allow your Holy One[j] to suffer corruption.
11 You will show me the path to life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence
and everlasting delights at your right hand.
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