M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Census Brings Pestilence
21 (A)Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “(B)Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.” 3 Joab said, “(C)May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5 Joab gave the number of the [a]census of all the people to David. And (D)all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. 6 (E)But he did not [b]number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s [c]command was abhorrent to Joab.
7 [d]God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. 8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. (F)But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
9 The Lord spoke to (G)Gad, David’s (H)seer, saying, 10 “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I [e]offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Take for yourself 12 (I)either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 13 David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, (J)for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
14 (K)So the Lord [f]sent a pestilence on Israel; 70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and (L)was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of [g]Ornan the Jebusite. 16 Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, (M)covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 David said to God, “Is it not I who [h]commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, (N)but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”
David’s Altar
18 (O)Then the angel of the Lord [i]commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord. 20 Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat. 21 As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and prostrated himself [j]before David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the [k]site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.” 23 Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.” 24 But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering [l]which costs me nothing.” 25 So (P)David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the [m]site. 26 Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord and (Q)He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. 27 The Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath.
28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. 29 (R)For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.
As Newborn Babes
2 Therefore, (A)putting aside all [a]malice and all deceit and [b]hypocrisy and [c]envy and all [d](B)slander, 2 (C)like newborn babies, long for the [e](D)pure [f]milk of the word, so that by it you may (E)grow [g]in respect to salvation, 3 if you have (F)tasted [h](G)the kindness of the Lord.
As Living Stones
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been (H)rejected by men, but is [i]choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 (I)you also, as living stones, [j]are being built up as a (J)spiritual house for a holy (K)priesthood, to (L)offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in [k]Scripture:
“(M)Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a (N)precious corner stone,
And he who believes in [l]Him will not be [m]disappointed.”
7 (O)This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
8 and,
“(R)A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
(S)for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, (T)and to this doom they were also appointed.
9 But you are (U)a chosen race, a royal (V)priesthood, a (W)holy nation, (X)a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you (Y)out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 (Z)for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 (AA)Beloved, (AB)I urge you as (AC)aliens and strangers to abstain from (AD)fleshly lusts which wage (AE)war against the soul. 12 (AF)Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they (AG)slander you as evildoers, they may [n]because of your good deeds, as they observe them, (AH)glorify God (AI)in the day of [o]visitation.
Honor Authority
13 (AJ)Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent [p]by him (AK)for the punishment of evildoers and the (AL)praise of those who do right. 15 For [q](AM)such is the will of God that by doing right you may (AN)silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as (AO)free men, and [r]do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as (AP)bondslaves of God. 17 (AQ)Honor all people, (AR)love the brotherhood, (AS)fear God, (AT)honor the [s]king.
18 (AU)Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and (AV)gentle, but also to those who are [t]unreasonable. 19 For this finds [u]favor, if for the sake of (AW)conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if (AX)when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds [v]favor with God.
Christ Is Our Example
21 For (AY)you have been called for this purpose, (AZ)since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you (BA)an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who (BB)committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 [w]and while being (BC)reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself [x](BD)bore our sins in His body on the [y](BE)cross, so that we (BF)might die to [z]sin and live to righteousness; for (BG)by His [aa]wounds you were (BH)healed. 25 For you were (BI)continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the (BJ)Shepherd and [ab]Guardian of your souls.
Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked
4 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became (A)angry. 2 He (B)prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this [a]what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore [b]in order to forestall this I (C)fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a (D)gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please (E)take my [c]life from me, for death is (F)better to me than life.” 4 The Lord said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”
5 Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of [d]it. There he made a shelter for himself and (G)sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. 6 So the Lord God appointed a [e]plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was [f]extremely happy about the [g]plant. 7 But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it (H)withered. 8 When the sun came up God appointed a scorching (I)east wind, and the (J)sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “(K)Death is better to me than life.”
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which [h]came up overnight and perished [i]overnight. 11 Should I not (L)have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not (M)know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many (N)animals?”
Ministry of the Twelve
9 (A)And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to (B)proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. 3 And He said to them, “(C)Take nothing for your journey, (D)neither a staff, nor a [a]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have [b]two tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there [c]until you leave that city. 5 And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, (E)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 Departing, they began going [d]throughout the villages, (F)preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
7 (G)Now (H)Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that (I)John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that (J)Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. 9 Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And (K)he kept trying to see Him.
10 (L)When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. (M)Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called (N)Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Five Thousand Fed
12 Now the day [e]was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get [f]something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” 13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them [g]sit down to eat (O)in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so, and had them all [h]sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the [i]people. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied; and [j]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve (P)baskets full.
18 (Q)And it happened that while He was (R)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the [k]people say that I am?” 19 They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” 20 And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “(S)The [l]Christ of God.” 21 But He [m](T)warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, 22 (U)saying, “(V)The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
23 And He was saying to them all, “(W)If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For (X)whoever wishes to save his [n]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [o]life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and (Y)loses or forfeits himself? 26 (Z)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I say to you truthfully, (AA)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 (AB)Some eight days after these sayings, He took along (AC)Peter and John and James, and (AD)went up on the mountain (AE)to pray. 29 And while He was (AF)praying, the appearance of His face (AG)became different, and His clothing became white and [p]gleaming. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who, appearing in [q]glory, were speaking of His (AH)departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions (AI)had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 And as [r]these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “(AJ)Master, it is good for us to be here; (AK)let us make three [s]tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—(AL)not realizing what he was saying. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud [t]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then (AM)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “(AN)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” 36 And when the voice [u]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And (AO)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
37 (AP)On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. 38 And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my [v]only boy, 39 and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. 40 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” 41 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was still approaching, the demon [w]slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the [x](AQ)greatness of God.
(AR)But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears; (AS)for the Son of Man is going to be [y]delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But (AT)they [z]did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
The Test of Greatness
46 (AU)An argument [aa]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Jesus, (AV)knowing [ab]what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 48 and said to them, “(AW)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; (AX)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”
49 (AY)John answered and said, “(AZ)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; (BA)for he who is not against you is [ac]for you.”
51 When the days were approaching for (BB)His [ad]ascension, He [ae]was determined (BC)to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the (BD)Samaritans to [af]make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, (BE)because [ag]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples (BF)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to (BG)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, [[ah]and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.
Exacting Discipleship
57 (BH)As they were going along the road, (BI)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the [ai]air have [aj]nests, but (BJ)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “(BK)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and (BL)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but (BM)first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “(BN)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.