M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
War with Aram
20 Now (A)Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, (B)and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and (C)besieged Samaria and fought against it. 2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad, 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’” 4 The king of Israel replied, “It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have.” 5 Then the messengers returned and said, “Thus says [a]Ben-hadad, ‘Surely, I sent to you saying, “You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children,” 6 but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and [b]whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will [c]take in their hand and carry away.’”
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please observe and (D)see how this man is looking for trouble; for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.” 8 All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “May (E)the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who [d]follow me.” 11 Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘(F)Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.’” 12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, as (G)he was drinking [e]with the kings in the [f]temporary shelters, he said to his servants, “Station yourselves.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
Ahab Victorious
13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, (H)I will deliver them into your hand today, and (I)you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 14 Ahab said, “By whom?” So he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.’” Then he said, “Who shall [g]begin the battle?” And he [h]answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000.
16 They went out at noon, while (J)Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the [i]temporary shelters [j]with the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 The young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.” 18 (K)Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
19 So these went out from the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 20 They [k]killed each his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 The king of Israel went out and [l]struck the horses and chariots, and [m]killed the Arameans with a great slaughter.
22 Then (L)the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do; for (M)at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you.”
23 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “(N)Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, 25 and [n]muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
Another Aramean War
26 (O)At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to (P)Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, (Q)but the Arameans filled the country. 28 Then (R)a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Arameans have said, “(S)The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,” therefore (T)I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 29 So they camped one over against the other seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel [o]killed of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 But the rest fled to (U)Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city (V)into an inner chamber.
31 (W)His servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, please let us (X)put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save your [p]life.” 32 So (Y)they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “(Z)Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men [q]took this as an omen, and quickly [r]catching his word said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he [s]took him up into the chariot. 34 Ben-hadad said to him, “(AA)The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “And I will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
35 Now a certain man of (AB)the sons of the prophets said to [t]another (AC)by the word of the Lord, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, (AD)a lion will [u]kill you.” And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and [v]killed him. 37 Then he found another man and said, “Please [w]strike me.” And the man [x]struck him, [y]wounding him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and (AE)disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, (AF)then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. 42 He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore (AG)your [z]life shall go for his [aa]life, and your people for his people.’” 43 So (AH)the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.
Encouragement of Timothy’s Visit
3 Therefore (A)when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at (B)Athens alone, 2 and we sent (C)Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, 3 so that no one would be [a]disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that (D)we have been destined for this. 4 For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; [b](E)and so it came to pass, [c]as you know. 5 For this reason, (F)when I could endure it no longer, I also (G)sent to [d]find out about your faith, for fear that (H)the tempter might have tempted you, and (I)our labor would be in vain.
6 But now that (J)Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of (K)your faith and love, and that you always (L)think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, 7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we really live, if you (M)stand firm in the Lord. 9 For (N)what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, 10 as we (O)night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may (P)see your face, and may (Q)complete what is lacking in your faith?
11 (R)Now may (S)our God and Father (T)Himself and Jesus our Lord (U)direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and (V)abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may (W)establish your hearts (X)without blame in holiness before (Y)our God and Father at the [e](Z)coming of our Lord Jesus (AA)with all His [f]saints.
The King’s Forgotten Dream
2 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar [a](A)had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his (B)sleep [b]left him. 2 Then the king [c]gave orders to call in the [d](C)magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the [e]Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I [f](D)had a dream and my spirit [g]is anxious to [h]understand the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in [i](E)Aramaic: “(F)O king, live forever! (G)Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “[j]The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be [k](H)torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me (I)gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king (J)tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are [l]bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that [m]the command from me is firm, 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only (K)one [n]decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt [o]words before me until the [p]situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may (L)know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered [q]the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter [r]for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any [s](M)magician, conjurer or Chaldean. 11 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is [t]difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it [u]to the king except (N)gods, whose (O)dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”
12 Because of this the king became (P)indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the [v]decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for (Q)Daniel and his friends to [w]kill them.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to (R)Arioch, the captain of the king’s [x]bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the [y]decree from the king so [z]urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would [aa]give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, (S)Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 so that they might (T)request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be (U)destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night (V)vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20 Daniel said,
“Let the name of God be (W)blessed forever and ever,
For (X)wisdom and power belong to Him.
21 “It is He who (Y)changes the times and the epochs;
He (Z)removes kings and [ab]establishes kings;
He gives (AA)wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to [ac]men of understanding.
22 “It is He who (AB)reveals the profound and hidden things;
(AC)He knows what is in the darkness,
And the (AD)light dwells with Him.
23 “To You, O (AE)God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me (AF)wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we (AG)requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “(AH)Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me [ad]into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly (AI)brought Daniel [ae]into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the [af](AJ)exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was (AK)Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither (AL)wise men, conjurers, [ag]magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a (AM)God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the [ah](AN)latter days. This was your dream and the (AO)visions [ai]in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts [aj]turned to what would take place [ak]in the future; and (AP)He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any (AQ)wisdom [al]residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may [am]understand the (AR)thoughts of your [an]mind.
The King’s Dream
31 “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and [ao]of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was (AS)awesome. 32 The (AT)head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You [ap]continued looking until a (AU)stone was cut out (AV)without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and (AW)crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed [aq]all at the same time and became (AX)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that (AY)not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great (AZ)mountain and filled the whole earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell (BA)its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the (BB)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the [ar]kingdom, the (BC)power, the strength and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the (BD)beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40 Then there will be a (BE)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. 41 In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with [as]common clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with [at]common clay, they will combine with one another [au]in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
The Divine Kingdom
44 In the days of those kings the (BF)God of heaven will (BG)set up a (BH)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be [av]left for another people; it will (BI)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that a (BJ)stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the (BK)great God has made known to the king what (BL)will take place [aw]in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did (BM)homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and [ax](BN)fragrant incense. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely (BO)your God is a (BP)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a (BQ)revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king [ay](BR)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole (BS)province of Babylon and chief [az]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made request of the king, and he (BT)appointed (BU)Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s [ba](BV)court.
Israel’s Rebelliousness and the Lord’s Deliverances.
106 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He (B)is good;
For (C)His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Who can speak of the (D)mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can show forth all His praise?
3 How blessed are those who keep [c]justice,
[d]Who (E)practice righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, in Your (F)favor [e]toward Your people;
Visit me with Your salvation,
5 That I may see the (G)prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may (H)rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may (I)glory with Your [f]inheritance.
6 (J)We have sinned [g](K)like our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your [h]wonders;
They (L)did not remember [i]Your abundant kindnesses,
But (M)rebelled by the sea, at the [j]Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them (N)for the sake of His name,
That He might (O)make His power known.
9 Thus He (P)rebuked the [k]Red Sea and it (Q)dried up,
And He (R)led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.
10 So He (S)saved them from the [l]hand of the one who hated them,
And (T)redeemed them from the [m]hand of the enemy.
11 (U)The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12 Then they (V)believed His words;
They (W)sang His praise.
13 They quickly (X)forgot His works;
They (Y)did not wait for His counsel,
14 But (Z)craved intensely in the wilderness,
And [n](AA)tempted God in the desert.
15 So He (AB)gave them their request,
But (AC)sent a [o]wasting disease among them.
16 When they became (AD)envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 The (AE)earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the [p]company of Abiram.
18 And a (AF)fire blazed up in their [q]company;
The flame consumed the wicked.
19 They (AG)made a calf in Horeb
And worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they (AH)exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They (AI)forgot God their Savior,
Who had done (AJ)great things in Egypt,
22 [r](AK)Wonders in the land of Ham
And awesome things by the [s]Red Sea.
23 Therefore (AL)He said that He would destroy them,
Had not (AM)Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they (AN)despised the (AO)pleasant land;
They (AP)did not believe in His word,
25 But (AQ)grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore He [t](AR)swore to them
That He would cast them down in the wilderness,
27 And that He would (AS)cast their seed among the nations
And (AT)scatter them in the lands.
28 They (AU)joined themselves also to [u]Baal-peor,
And ate (AV)sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 Thus they (AW)provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas (AX)stood up and interposed,
And so the (AY)plague was stayed.
31 And it was (AZ)reckoned to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever.
32 They also (BA)provoked Him to wrath at the waters of [v]Meribah,
So that it (BB)went hard with Moses on their account;
33 Because they (BC)were rebellious against [w]His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They (BD)did not destroy the peoples,
As (BE)the Lord commanded them,
35 But (BF)they mingled with the nations
And learned their [x]practices,
36 And (BG)served their idols,
(BH)Which became a snare to them.
37 They even (BI)sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the (BJ)demons,
38 And shed (BK)innocent blood,
The blood of their (BL)sons and their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was (BM)polluted with the blood.
39 Thus they became (BN)unclean in their [y]practices,
And (BO)played the harlot in their deeds.
40 Therefore the (BP)anger of the Lord was kindled against His people
And He (BQ)abhorred His [z](BR)inheritance.
41 Then (BS)He gave them into the hand of the [aa]nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also (BT)oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their [ab]power.
43 Many times He would (BU)deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their (BV)counsel,
And so (BW)sank down in their iniquity.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.