M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

3 Shlomo formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her into the City of David, [where she lived] until he had finished building his own palace, the house of Adonai and the wall around Yerushalayim. ² The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because no house had yet been built for the name of Adonai. ³ Shlomo loved Adonai, living according to the regulations set forth by David his father; nevertheless, he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

⁴ One time the king went to Giv‘on to sacrifice there, because that was the main high place. Shlomo offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there. ⁵ At Giv‘on Adonai appeared to Shlomo in a dream at night; God said, “Tell me what I should give you.” ⁶ Shlomo said, “You showed your servant David my father much grace, as he lived before you honestly and righteously, having an upright heart with you. You preserved this great grace for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as is the case today. ⁷ So now, Adonai my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father; but I am a mere child — I don’t know how to lead! ⁸ Moreover your servant is among your people, whom you chose, a great people so numerous that they cannot be counted. ⁹ Therefore, give your servant an understanding heart able to administer justice to your people, so that I can discern between good and bad — for who is equal to judging this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ What Shlomo had said in making this request pleased Adonai. ¹¹ God said to him, “Because you have made this request instead of asking long life or riches for yourself, or your enemies’ death, but rather asked for yourself understanding to discern justice; ¹² I am doing what you requested. I am giving you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you, nor will there ever again be anyone like you. ¹³ I am also giving you what you didn’t ask for, riches and honor greater than that of any other king throughout your life. ¹⁴ More than that, if you will live according to my ways, obeying my laws and mitzvot like your father David, I will give you a long life.”

¹⁵ Shlomo awoke and found it had been a dream. But he went to Yerushalayim, stood before the ark for the covenant of Adonai and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings. He also made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶ After this, there came to the king two women who were prostitutes. After presenting themselves to him, ¹⁷ one of the women said, “My lord, I and this woman live in the same house; and when she was in the house, I gave birth to a baby. ¹⁸ Three days after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were there together; there was no one else with us in the house except the two of us. ¹⁹ During the night this woman’s child died, because she rolled over on top of it. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from next to me, while your servant was sleeping, and put it in her arms; and she laid her dead child in my arms. ²¹ When I awoke in the morning to feed my child from my breast, there it was, dead. But when I took a closer look later in the morning, why, it wasn’t my son at all — not the one I gave birth to!” ²² The other woman broke in, “No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son!” The first one said, “No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son!” This is how they spoke in the presence of the king.

²³ Then the king said, “This woman says, ‘The living one is my son; your son is the dead one’; while the other says, ‘No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.’ ²⁴ Bring me a sword,” said the king. They brought a sword to the king. ²⁵ The king said, “Cut the living child in two; give half to the one and half to the other.” ²⁶ At this, the woman to whom the living child belonged addressed the king, because she felt so strongly toward her son: “Oh, my lord, give her the living child; you mustn’t kill it!” But the other one said, “It will be neither yours nor mine. Divide it up!” ²⁷ Then the king answered, “Give the living child to the first woman, don’t kill it, because she is its mother.” ²⁸ All Isra’el heard of the decision the king had made and held the king in awe, for they saw that God’s wisdom was in him, enabling him to render justice properly.

1 From: Sha’ul, by God’s will an emissary of the Messiah Yeshua

To: God’s people living in Ephesus, that is, those who are trusting in the Messiah Yeshua:

² Grace to you and shalom from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

³ Praised be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who in the Messiah has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. ⁴ In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. ⁵ He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his sons — in keeping with his pleasure and purpose — ⁶ so that we would bring him praise commensurate with the glory of the grace he gave us through the Beloved One.

⁷ In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free — our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace ⁸ he has lavished on us. In all his wisdom and insight ⁹ he has made known to us his secret plan, which by his own will he designed beforehand in connection with the Messiah ¹⁰ and will put into effect when the time is ripe — his plan to place everything in heaven and on earth under the Messiah’s headship.

¹¹ Also in union with him we were given an inheritance, we who were picked in advance according to the purpose of the One who effects everything in keeping with the decision of his will, ¹² so that we who earlier had put our hope in the Messiah would bring him praise commensurate with his glory.

¹³ Furthermore, you who heard the message of the truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by him with the promised Ruach HaKodesh, ¹⁴ who guarantees our inheritance until we come into possession of it and thus bring him praise commensurate with his glory.

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your trust in the Lord Yeshua and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you. In my prayers I keep asking ¹⁷ the God of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the glorious Father, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you will have full knowledge of him. ¹⁸ I pray that he will give light to the eyes of your hearts, so that you will understand the hope to which he has called you, what rich glories there are in the inheritance he has promised his people, ¹⁹ and how surpassingly great is his power working in us who trust him. It works with the same mighty strength he used ²⁰ when he worked in the Messiah to raise him from the dead and seat him at his right hand in heaven, ²¹ far above every ruler, authority, power, dominion or any other name that can be named either in the ‘olam hazeh or in the ‘olam haba. ²² Also, he has put all things under his feet^[a] and made him head over everything for the Messianic Community, ²³ which is his body, the full expression of him who fills all creation.

34 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, prophesy against the shepherds of Isra’el. Prophesy! Tell them, the shepherds, that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Isra’el who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep? ³ You eat the choice meat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the best of the herd; but you don’t feed the sheep! ⁴ You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the broken, bring back the outcasts or seek the lost; on the contrary, you tyrannize them with crushing force. ⁵ So they were scattered, without a shepherd, and became food for every wild animal — they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep wandered around aimlessly on every mountain and hill; yes, my sheep were scattered all over the land, with no one to search for them or look after them.

⁷ “‘Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Adonai: ⁸ “As I live,” Adonai Elohim swears, “because my sheep have become prey, my sheep have become food for every wild animal, since there was no shepherd, since my shepherds didn’t look for my sheep, and instead my shepherds fed themselves but not my sheep,” ⁹ therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Adonai! ¹⁰ Adonai Elohim says, “I am against the shepherds. I demand that they hand my sheep back to me. I will not allow them to feed the sheep, and they won’t feed themselves either. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will be food for them no longer.”

¹¹ “‘For here is what Adonai Elohim says: “I am taking over! I will search for my sheep and look after them, myself. ¹² Just as a shepherd looks after his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. ¹³ I will bring them back from those peoples, gather them from those countries and return them to their own land. Then I will let them feed on the mountains of Isra’el, by the streams and in all the livable places of the land. ¹⁴ I will have them feed in good pastures; their grazing ground will be on the high mountains of Isra’el. They will rest in good grazing grounds and feed in rich pastures on Isra’el’s mountains. ¹⁵ Yes, I will pasture my sheep; and I will let them rest” says Adonai Elohim. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, bring back the outcasts, bandage the broken, and strengthen the sick. But the fat and the strong I will destroy — I will feed them with judgment.”

¹⁷ “‘As for you, my flock,’ Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I will judge between sheep and other sheep, between rams and billy-goats. ¹⁸ Wasn’t it enough for you to feed on the best pasture and drink from the clearest water? Did you have to trample the rest of the pasture and foul the remaining water with your feet? ¹⁹ So now my sheep eat what you have trampled with your feet and drink water fouled by your feet.’ ²⁰ Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim says to them: ‘I will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. ²¹ Because you push them with your flanks and shoulders and butt all the weak ones with your horns, till you scatter them in every direction; ²² therefore I will save my flock; they will no longer be prey; and I will judge between sheep and other sheep.

²³ “‘I will raise up one shepherd to be in charge of them, and he will let them feed — my servant David. He will pasture them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I, Adonai, will be their God; and my servant David will be prince among them. I, Adonai, have spoken. ²⁵ I will make a covenant of peace with them; I will rid the land of wild animals; and they will live securely in the desert and sleep in the forests. ²⁶ I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing, and I will cause the rain to fall when it should — there will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The trees in the field will bear their fruit and the soil its produce, and they will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am Adonai, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who turned them into slaves. ²⁸ No longer will they be prey for the Goyim, nor will the wild animals devour them; but they will live securely, with no one to make them afraid. ²⁹ I will make the productivity of their crops famous, and they will no longer be consumed by hunger in the land or bear the shame of the Goyim any more. ³⁰ They will know that I, Adonai their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Isra’el, are my people,’ says Adonai Elohim. ³¹ ‘You, my sheep, the sheep in my pasture, are human beings; and I am your God,’ says Adonai Elohim.”