M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jehoram Restores the Shunammite’s Land

8 Now ^(A)Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go ^[a]with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the ^(B)Lord has called for a famine, and ^(C)it will even come on the land for seven years.” ² So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³ At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to ^[b]appeal to the king for her house and for her field. ⁴ Now the king was talking with ^(D)Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵ As he was relating to the king ^(E)how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life ^[c]appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”

Elisha Predicts Evil from Hazael

⁷ Then Elisha came to ^(F)Damascus. Now ^(G)Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him, saying, “^(H)The man of God has come here.” ⁸ The king said to ^(I)Hazael, “^(J)Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and ^(K)inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” ⁹ So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “^(L)Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” ¹⁰ Then Elisha said to him, “^(M)Go, say to him, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the ^(N)Lord has shown me that he will certainly die.” ¹¹ He ^[d]fixed his gaze steadily on him ^(O)until he was ashamed, and ^(P)the man of God wept. ¹² Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he ^[e]answered, “Because ^(Q)I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you ^(R)will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.” ¹³ Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, ^(S)who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha ^[f]answered, “^(T)The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” ¹⁴ So he departed from Elisha and returned to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he ^[g]answered, “He told me that ^(U)you would surely recover.” ¹⁵ On the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face, ^(V)so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Another Jehoram Reigns in Judah

¹⁶ Now in the fifth year of ^(W)Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. ¹⁷ He was ^(X)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for ^(Y)the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁹ However, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, ^(Z)since He had ^[h]promised him to give a ^[i]lamp to him through his sons always.

²⁰ In his days ^(AA)Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. ²¹ Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; ^(AB)but his ^[j]army fled to their tents. ^22 (AC)So Edom revolted ^[k]against Judah to this day. Then ^(AD)Libnah revolted at the same time. ²³ The rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Ahaziah Succeeds Jehoram in Judah

²⁴ So Joram slept with his fathers and ^(AE)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ^(AF)Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

^25 (AG)In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. ^26 (AH)Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. ^27 (AI)He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸ Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against ^(AJ)Hazael king of Aram at ^(AK)Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans ^[l]wounded Joram. ²⁹ So ^(AL)King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had ^[m]inflicted on him at ^(AM)Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then ^(AN)Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.

Honor Widows

5 ^(A)Do not sharply rebuke an ^(B)older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to ^(C)the younger men as brothers, ² the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³ Honor widows who are ^(D)widows indeed; ⁴ but if any widow has children or grandchildren, ^(E)they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to ^[a]make some return to their parents; for this is ^(F)acceptable in the sight of God. ⁵ Now she who is a ^(G)widow indeed and who has been left alone, ^(H)has fixed her hope on God and continues in ^(I)entreaties and prayers night and day. ⁶ But she who ^(J)gives herself to wanton pleasure is ^(K)dead even while she lives. ^7 [b](L)Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has ^(M)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ A widow is to be ^(N)put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been ^(O)the wife of one man, ¹⁰ having a reputation for ^(P)good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has ^(Q)shown hospitality to strangers, if she ^(R)has washed the ^[c]saints’ feet, if she has ^(S)assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹ But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel ^(T)sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, ¹² thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous ^[d]pledge. ¹³ At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also ^(U)gossips and ^(V)busybodies, talking about ^(W)things not proper to mention. ¹⁴ Therefore, I want younger widows to get ^(X)married, bear children, ^(Y)keep house, and ^(Z)give the enemy no occasion for reproach; ¹⁵ for some ^(AA)have already turned aside to follow ^(AB)Satan. ¹⁶ If any woman who is a believer ^(AC)has dependent widows, she must ^(AD)assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are ^(AE)widows indeed.

Concerning Elders

^17 (AF)The elders who ^(AG)rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who ^(AH)work hard ^[e]at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “^(AI)You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “^(AJ)The laborer is worthy of his wages.” ¹⁹ Do not receive an accusation against an ^(AK)elder except on the basis of ^(AL)two or three witnesses. ²⁰ Those who continue in sin, ^(AM)rebuke in the presence of all, ^(AN)so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. ^21 (AO)I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. ^22 (AP)Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and ^[f]thereby share ^(AQ)responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself ^[g]free from sin.

²³ No longer drink water exclusively, but ^(AR)use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴ The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins ^(AS)follow after. ²⁵ Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and ^(AT)those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

The Time of the End

12 “Now at that time ^(A)Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a ^(B)time of distress ^(C)such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the ^(D)book, will be rescued. ^2 (E)Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, ^(F)these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting ^[a]contempt. ^3 [b]Those who have ^(G)insight will ^(H)shine brightly like the brightness of the ^[c]expanse of heaven, and those who ^(I)lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But as for you, Daniel, ^(J)conceal these words and ^(K)seal up the book until the ^(L)end of time; ^(M)many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. ⁶ And ^(N)one said to the man ^(O)dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “^(P)How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” ⁷ I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ^[d]as he ^(Q)raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by ^(R)Him who lives forever that it would be for a ^[e](S)time, ^[f]times, and half a ^[g]time; and as soon as ^[h]they finish ^(T)shattering the ^[i]power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. ⁸ As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the ^[j]outcome of these events?” ⁹ He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and ^(U)sealed up until the end time. ^10 (V)Many will be purged, ^[k]purified and refined, but the ^(W)wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but ^[l]those who ^(X)have insight will understand. ¹¹ From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the ^[m](Y)abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹² How ^(Z)blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the ^(AA)1,335 days! ¹³ But as for you, go your way to the ^[n]end; then you will enter into ^(AB)rest and rise again for your ^(AC)allotted portion at the end of the ^[o]age.”

Zayin.

Heth.

Teth.