M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

4 King Shlomo was king over all Isra’el, ² and these were his high officials:

⁷ Shlomo had twelve officers over all Isra’el who were in charge of providing food and supplies for the king and his household; each one was in charge of provisions for one month out of the year. ⁸ They were:

Over all these, there was one administrator in the land.

²⁰ Y’hudah and Isra’el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.

5 ^(4:21) Shlomo ruled over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River through the land of the P’lishtim to the border of Egypt; they paid tribute and served Shlomo as long as he lived. ^2 (4:22) Shlomo’s provisions for one day consisted of 150 bushels of fine flour, 310 bushels of meal, ^3 (4:23) ten fattened oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened poultry. ^4 (4:24) For he ruled all the area this side of the [Euphrates] River, from Tifsach to ‘Azah. He was over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace all around him, on every side. ^5 (4:25) From Dan to Be’er-Sheva, Y’hudah and Isra’el lived securely, every man under his vine and fig tree, throughout the lifetime of Shlomo. ^6 (4:26) Shlomo also had 40,000 stalls for the horses used with his chariots and 12,000 horsemen.

^7 (4:27) Those officers [named above] supplied food and other materials for King Shlomo and for everyone for whom Shlomo provided. Each was responsible for his month’s supplies; they saw to it that nothing was lacking. ^8 (4:28) They also made sure there was barley and straw where it was needed for the horses and draft animals; each filled his quota.

^9 (4:29) God gave Shlomo exceptional wisdom and understanding, as well as a heart as vast as the sandy beach by the sea. ^10 (4:30) Shlomo’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of the people from the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. ^11 (4:31) For he was wiser than everyone — wiser than Eitan the Ezrachi and wiser than Heiman, Kalkol and Darda the sons of Machol; so that his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. ^12 (4:32) He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. ^13 (4:33) He could discuss trees, from the cedar in the L’vanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall; he could discuss wild animals, poultry, reptiles and fish. ^14 (4:34) People from all nations came to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, including kings from all over the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

^15 (1) Hiram king of Tzor sent his servants to Shlomo, because he had heard that they had anointed him king in his father’s place, and Hiram had always loved David. ^16 (2) Shlomo returned this message to Hiram: ^17 (3) “You know that David my father wasn’t able to build a house for the name of Adonai his God, because of the wars that beset him from every side, until Adonai put his enemies under the soles of my feet. ^18 (4) But now Adonai my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor calamity. ^19 (5) So now I intend to build a house for the name of Adonai my God, in keeping with what Adonai said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, will be the one to build the house for my name.’ ^20 (6) Therefore, order your people to cut down cedar trees from the L’vanon for me. My servants will be with your servants. I will pay your servants according to everything you say; for you know that we have no one among us as skilled in felling trees as the Tzidonim.”

^21 (7) When Hiram heard Shlomo’s message, he was very happy and said, “Blessed be Adonai today, who has given David a wise son to rule this great people.” ^22 (8) Then Hiram sent Shlomo this message: “I have heard the message you sent me, and I will do everything you want concerning cedar logs and cypress logs. ^23 (9) My servants will bring them down from the L’vanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to whatever place you tell me and will have them broken up there, and you will receive them. You will compensate me by providing food for my household.”

^24 (10) So Hiram gave Shlomo all the cedar logs and cypress logs he wanted; ^25 (11) and Shlomo gave Hiram 100,000 bushels of wheat as food for his household and a thousand gallons of oil from pressed olives — this is what Shlomo gave Hiram each year. ^26 (12) Adonai gave Shlomo wisdom, as he had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Shlomo — the two of them formed an alliance together.

^27 (13) King Shlomo conscripted 30,000 men from all Isra’el for forced labor. ^28 (14) He sent them to the L’vanon in monthly relays of 10,000; they would stay a month in the L’vanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

^29 (15) Shlomo had 70,000 men to carry loads and another 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, ^30 (16) besides Shlomo’s 3,300 supervisors who were in charge of the people doing the work. ^31 (17) The king gave orders; and they quarried large stones, expensive stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stone. ^32 (18) Shlomo’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the men from G’val, worked the stones and prepared the timber and stones for building the house.

2 You used to be dead because of your sins and acts of disobedience. ² You walked in the ways of the ‘olam hazeh and obeyed the Ruler of the Powers of the Air, who is still at work among the disobedient. ³ Indeed, we all once lived this way — we followed the passions of our old nature and obeyed the wishes of our old nature and our own thoughts. In our natural condition we were headed for God’s wrath, just like everyone else.

⁴ But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love ⁵ that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah — it is by grace that you have been delivered. ⁶ That is, God raised us up with the Messiah Yeshua and seated us with him in heaven, ⁷ in order to exhibit in the ages to come how infinitely rich is his grace, how great is his kindness toward us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. ⁸ For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God’s gift. ⁹ You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. ¹⁰ For we are of God’s making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do.

¹¹ Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth — called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised — ¹² at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra’el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God’s promise. You were in this world without hope and without God.

¹³ But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah’s blood. ¹⁴ For he himself is our shalom — he has made us both one and has broken down the m’chitzah which divided us ¹⁵ by destroying in his own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah, with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances. He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single new humanity and thus make shalom, ¹⁶ and in order to reconcile to God both in a single body by being executed on a stake as a criminal and thus in himself killing that enmity.

¹⁷ Also, when he came, he announced as Good News shalom to you far off and shalom to those nearby,^{[a] 18} news that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹ So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s family. ²⁰ You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. ²¹ In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. ²² Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!

35 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, turn your face against Mount Se‘ir; prophesy against it, ³ and say that Adonai Elohim says, ‘I am against you, Mount Se‘ir. I will stretch out my hand against you and make you utterly desolate. ⁴ I will make your cities ruins and make you an utter waste, and you will know that I am Adonai. ⁵ Because of your long-standing hatred, you put the people of Isra’el to the sword at their time of calamity, at the time of final iniquity. ⁶ Therefore, as I live,’ Adonai Elohim swears, ‘I will prepare you for blood. Blood will pursue you. You intensely hate your own blood [relatives]; therefore blood will pursue you. ⁷ Yes, I will make Mount Se‘ir utterly desolate, cutting off from it anyone passing through or returning. ⁸ I will fill his mountains with his slain; in your hills and valleys and in all your ravines will fall those slain by the sword. ⁹ I will turn you into perpetual ruins; your cities will not return; and you will know that I am Adonai.

¹⁰ “‘Because you say, “These two nations, these two countries, will be mine; we will take possession of them,” even though Adonai is there; ¹¹ therefore, as I live,’ swears Adonai Elohim, ‘I will deal with you as your anger and envy arising from your hatred deserve; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² You will know that I, Adonai, have heard all your blasphemous talk against the mountains of Isra’el, such as, “They are desolated, they are given to us to devour.” ¹³ Moreover, you have boasted against me with your mouths, speaking more and more against me — I have heard it.’ ¹⁴ Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘To the joy of all the land, I will desolate you. ¹⁵ Since you rejoiced over possessing the house of Isra’el, because it was desolate, that is what I will do to you — you will be desolate, Mount Se‘ir and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’