M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David’s Address about the Temple
28 Now (A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and (B)the mighty men, even all the valiant men. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I (C)had [a]intended to build a [b]permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for (D)the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘(E)You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel (G)forever. For (H)He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and (I)in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 (J)Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), (K)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Your son (L)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever (M)if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as [c]is done now.’ 8 So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever.
9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and (N)serve Him with [d]a whole heart and a willing [e]mind; (O)for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. (P)If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; (Q)be courageous and act.”
11 Then David gave to his son Solomon (R)the plan of (S)the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms and (T)the room for the mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in [f]mind, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for (U)the storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; 13 also for (V)the divisions of the priests and (W)the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; 14 for the golden utensils, the weight of gold for all utensils for every kind of service; for the silver utensils, the weight of silver for all utensils for every kind of service; 15 and the weight of gold for the (X)golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; 17 and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; 18 and for (Y)the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, even (Z)the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
19 “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, (AA)all the [g]details of this pattern.”
20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “(AB)Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. (AC)He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 Now behold, (AD)there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and (AE)every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
The Rise of False Prophets
2 But (A)false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be (B)false teachers (C)among you, who will (D)secretly introduce (E)destructive heresies, even (F)denying the (G)Master who (H)bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their (I)sensuality, and because of them (J)the way of the truth will be (K)maligned; 3 and in their (L)greed they will (M)exploit you with (N)false words; (O)their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
4 For (P)if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and (Q)committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare (R)the ancient world, but preserved (S)Noah, a [a]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a (T)flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He (U)condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an (V)example to those who would (W)live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He (X)rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the (Y)sensual conduct of (Z)unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that (AA)righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9 (AB)then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from [b]temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the (AC)day of judgment, 10 and especially those who [c](AD)indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and (AE)despise authority.
Daring, (AF)self-willed, they do not tremble when they (AG)revile angelic [d]majesties, 11 (AH)whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But (AI)these, like unreasoning animals, (AJ)born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in [e]the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, 13 suffering wrong as (AK)the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to (AL)revel in the (AM)daytime. They are stains and blemishes, (AN)reveling in their [f]deceptions, as they (AO)carouse with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, (AP)enticing (AQ)unstable souls, having a heart trained in (AR)greed, (AS)accursed children; 15 forsaking (AT)the right way, they have gone astray, having followed (AU)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved (AV)the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, (AW)for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.
17 These are (AX)springs without water and mists driven by a storm, (AY)for whom the [g]black darkness has been reserved. 18 For speaking out (AZ)arrogant words of (BA)vanity they (BB)entice by fleshly desires, by (BC)sensuality, those who barely (BD)escape from the ones who live in error, 19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for (BE)by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have (BF)escaped the defilements of the world by (BG)the knowledge of the (BH)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again (BI)entangled in them and are overcome, (BJ)the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 (BK)For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from (BL)the holy commandment (BM)handed on to them. 22 [h]It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “(BN)A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
Birth of the King in Bethlehem
5 “[a]Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
[b]They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will (A)smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.
2 “[c]But as for (B)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From (C)you One will go forth for Me to be (D)ruler in Israel.
[d]His goings forth are (E)from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
3 Therefore He will (F)give them up until the time
When she (G)who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the (H)remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
4 And He will arise and (I)shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will [e]remain,
Because [f]at that time He will be great
To the (J)ends of the earth.
5 This One (K)will be our peace.
When the (L)Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our [g]citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6 They will (M)shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of (N)Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will (O)deliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territory.
7 Then the (P)remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like (Q)dew from the Lord,
Like (R)showers on vegetation
Which do not wait for man
Or delay for the sons of men.
8 The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
(S)Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
(T)Tramples down and (U)tears,
And there is (V)none to rescue.
9 Your hand will be (W)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be cut off.
10 “It will be in that day,” declares the Lord,
“(X)That I will cut off your (Y)horses from among you
And destroy your chariots.
11 “I will also cut off the (Z)cities of your land
And tear down all your (AA)fortifications.
12 “I will cut off (AB)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
13 “(AC)I will cut off your carved images
And your sacred pillars from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.
14 “I will root out your [h](AD)Asherim from among you
And destroy your cities.
15 “And I will (AE)execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed.”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
14 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the [a]leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, (A)they were watching Him closely. 2 And [b]there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the [c](B)lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “(C)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5 And He said to them, “[d](D)Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6 (E)And they could make no reply to this.
Parable of the Guests
7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how (F)they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, (G)do not [e]take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then (H)in disgrace you [f]proceed to occupy the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, (I)move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who [g]are at the table with you. 11 (J)For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13 But when you give a [h]reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, since they [i]do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at (K)the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “(L)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Parable of the Dinner
16 But He said to him, “(M)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a [j]piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; [k]please consider me excused.’ 19 Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; [l]please consider me excused.’ 20 Another one said, ‘(N)I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21 And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”
Discipleship Tested
25 Now [m]large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “(O)If anyone comes to Me, and does not [n]hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not (P)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and (Q)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends [o]a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who (R)does not give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but (S)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. (T)He who has ears to hear, [p]let him hear.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.