M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah
1 Now (A)Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, (B)inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, (C)whether I will recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to (D)Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of (E)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, ‘[a](F)You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed.
5 When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “[b]Why have you returned?” 6 They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending (G)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore [c]you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’” 7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8 They [d]answered him, “(H)He was a hairy man with a leather girdle [e]bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then the king (I)sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, (J)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” (K)Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
11 So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’” 12 Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13 So he (L)again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my [f]life be precious in your sight.” 15 (M)The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; (N)do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers (O)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore [g]you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”
Jehoram Reigns over Israel
17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place (P)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Thanksgiving for Faith and Perseverance
1 (A)Paul and (B)Silvanus and (C)Timothy,
To the (D)church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 (E)Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We ought always (F)to give thanks to God for you, (G)brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the (H)love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; 4 therefore, we ourselves (I)speak proudly of you among (J)the churches of God for your [a]perseverance and faith (K)in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 5 This is a (L)plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be (M)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 [b]For after all (N)it is only just [c]for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted [d]and to us as well [e](O)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed (P)from heaven (Q)with [f]His mighty angels (R)in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who (S)do not know God and to those who (T)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of (U)eternal destruction, (V)away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be (W)glorified [g]in His [h]saints on that (X)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our (Y)testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end also we (Z)pray for you always, that our God will [i](AA)count you worthy of your (AB)calling, and fulfill every desire for (AC)goodness and the (AD)work of faith with power, 12 so that the (AE)name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Belshazzar’s Feast
5 Belshazzar the king [a]held a great (A)feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver (B)vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his [b]father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 They (C)drank the wine and praised the gods of (D)gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the [c]back of the hand that did the writing. 6 Then the king’s [d](E)face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his (F)hip joints went slack and his (G)knees began knocking together. 7 The king called aloud to bring in the (H)conjurers, the [e]Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be (I)clothed with purple and have a (J)necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as [f](K)third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but (L)they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly (M)alarmed, his [g](N)face grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed.
10 The queen entered the banquet [h]hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, “(O)O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your [i]face be pale. 11 There is a (P)man in your kingdom in whom is [j]a (Q)spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father [k](R)the king, appointed him chief of the [l]magicians, conjurers, [m]Chaldeans and diviners. 12 This was because an (S)extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named (T)Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.”
Daniel Interprets Handwriting on the Wall
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the [n](U)exiles from Judah, whom my father the king (V)brought from Judah? 14 Now I have heard about you that [o]a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. 15 Just now the (W)wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they (X)could not declare the interpretation of the [p]message. 16 But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its (Y)interpretation known to me, you will be (Z)clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the [q]third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “[r]Keep your (AA)gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. 18 [s]O king, the (AB)Most High God (AC)granted [t]sovereignty, (AD)grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. 19 Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every [u]language feared and trembled before him; (AE)whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. 20 But when his heart was (AF)lifted up and his spirit became so [v](AG)proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was (AH)deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. 21 He was also (AI)driven away from [w]mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the (AJ)wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the (AK)Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. 22 Yet you, his [x]son, Belshazzar, have (AL)not humbled your heart, [y]even though you knew all this, 23 but you have (AM)exalted yourself against the (AN)Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the (AO)gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God (AP)in whose hand are your life-breath and all your (AQ)ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the [z](AR)hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.
25 “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘[aa]MENĒ, [ab]MENĒ, [ac]TEKĒL, [ad]UPHARSIN.’ 26 This is the interpretation of the [ae]message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and (AS)put an end to it. 27 ‘TEKĒL’—you have been (AT)weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the (AU)Medes and [af]Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they (AV)clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the [ag]third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That same night (AW)Belshazzar the Chaldean king was (AX)slain. 31 [ah]So (AY)Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
The Lord Gives Dominion to the King.
A Psalm of David.
110 (A)The Lord says to my Lord:
“(B)Sit at My right hand
Until I make (C)Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
2 The Lord will stretch forth Your strong (D)scepter from Zion, saying,
“(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3 Your (F)people [a]will volunteer freely in the day of Your [b]power;
(G)In [c]holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
[d]Your youth are to You as the (H)dew.
4 (I)The Lord has sworn and will (J)not [e]change His mind,
“You are a (K)priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (L)at Your right hand;
He [f]will (M)shatter kings in the (N)day of His wrath.
6 He will (O)judge among the nations,
He [g]will fill them with (P)corpses,
He [h]will (Q)shatter the [i]chief men over a broad country.
7 He will (R)drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will (S)lift up His head.
The Lord Praised for His Goodness.
111 [j]Praise [k]the Lord!
I (T)will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the (U)company of the upright and in the assembly.
2 (V)Great are the works of the Lord;
They are [l](W)studied by all who delight in them.
3 [m](X)Splendid and majestic is His work,
And (Y)His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has made His [n]wonders [o]to be remembered;
The Lord is (Z)gracious and compassionate.
5 He has (AA)given [p]food to those who [q]fear Him;
He will (AB)remember His covenant forever.
6 He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are [r](AC)truth and justice;
All His precepts (AD)are [s]sure.
8 They are (AE)upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in [t](AF)truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent (AG)redemption to His people;
He has [u]ordained His covenant forever;
(AH)Holy and [v]awesome is His name.
10 The [w](AI)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A (AJ)good understanding have all those who [x]do His commandments;
His (AK)praise endures forever.
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