M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ark Is Brought into the Temple
5 (A)Thus all the work that Solomon performed for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the [a](B)things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver and the gold and all the utensils, and put them in the treasuries of the house of God.
2 (C)Then Solomon assembled to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, (D)to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. 3 (E)All the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at (F)the feast, that is in the seventh month. 4 Then all the elders of Israel came, and (G)the Levites took up the ark. 5 They brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. 6 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing [b]so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its [c]poles. 9 The poles were so long that (H)the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and [d]they are there to this day. 10 (I)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
The Glory of God Fills the Temple
11 When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard (J)to divisions), 12 and all the Levitical singers, (K)Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, (L)with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests (M)blowing trumpets 13 in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice (N)accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, “(O)He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for (P)the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Solomon’s Dedication
6 (Q)Then Solomon said,
“The Lord has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
2 “I have built You a lofty house,
And a place for Your dwelling forever.”
3 Then the king [e]faced about and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 4 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hands, saying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a leader over My people Israel; 6 but (R)I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I (S)have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 (T)Now it was [f]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was [g]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was [h]in your heart. 9 Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who [i]will be born to you, he shall build the house for My name.’ 10 Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in the place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord [j]promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 There I have set the ark (U)in which is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with the sons of Israel.”
Testing the Spirits
4 (A)Beloved, do not believe every (B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because (C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: (D)every spirit that (E)confesses that (F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that (G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the (H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and (I)now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, (J)little children, and (K)have overcome them; because (L)greater is He who is in you than (M)he who is in the world. 5 (N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 (O)We are from God; (P)he who knows God listens to us; (Q)he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know (R)the spirit of truth and (S)the spirit of error.
God Is Love
7 (T)Beloved, let us (U)love one another, for love is from God; and (V)everyone who loves is [a](W)born of God and (X)knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for (Y)God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [b](Z)in us, that (AA)God has sent His [c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, (AB)not that we loved God, but that (AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be (AD)the propitiation for our sins. 11 (AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, (AF)we also ought to love one another. 12 (AG)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His (AH)love is perfected in us. 13 (AI)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and (AJ)testify that the Father has (AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 (AL)Whoever confesses that (AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God (AN)abides in him, and he in God. 16 (AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has [d](AP)for us. (AQ)God is love, and the one who (AR)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, (AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have (AT)confidence in (AU)the day of judgment; because (AV)as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but (AW)perfect love casts out fear, because fear [e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not (AX)perfected in love. 19 (AY)We love, because He first loved us. 20 (AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and (BA)hates his brother, he is a (BB)liar; for (BC)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, (BD)cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And (BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God (BF)should love his brother also.
Nineveh’s Complete Ruin
3 (A)Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage;
Her prey never departs.
2 The (B)noise of the whip,
The noise of the rattling of the wheel,
Galloping horses
And [a]bounding chariots!
3 Horsemen charging,
Swords flashing, (C)spears gleaming,
(D)Many slain, a mass of corpses,
And [b](E)countless dead bodies—
They stumble over [c]the dead bodies!
4 All because of the (F)many harlotries of the harlot,
The charming one, the (G)mistress of sorceries,
Who (H)sells nations by her harlotries
And families by her sorceries.
5 “Behold, (I)I am against you,” declares the Lord of hosts;
“And I will [d](J)lift up your skirts over your face,
And (K)show to the nations your nakedness
And to the kingdoms your disgrace.
6 “I will (L)throw [e]filth on you
And (M)make you vile,
And set you up as a (N)spectacle.
7 “And it will come about that all who see you
Will [f]shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated!
(O)Who will grieve for her?’
Where will I seek comforters for you?”
8 Are you better than [g](P)No-amon,
Which was situated by the (Q)waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was [h]the sea,
Whose wall consisted of [i]the sea?
9 (R)Ethiopia was her might,
And Egypt too, without limits.
(S)Put and (T)Lubim were among [j]her helpers.
10 Yet she (U)became an exile,
She went into captivity;
Also her (V)small children were dashed to pieces
(W)At the head of every street;
They (X)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with fetters.
11 You too will become (Y)drunk,
You will be (Z)hidden.
You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are (AA)fig trees with [k](AB)ripe fruit—
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are (AC)women in your midst!
The gates of your land are (AD)opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 (AE)Draw for yourself water for the siege!
(AF)Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There (AG)fire will consume you,
The sword will cut you down;
It will (AH)consume you as the locust does.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locust,
Multiply yourself like the swarming locust.
16 You have increased your (AI)traders more than the stars of heaven—
The creeping locust [l]strips and flies away.
17 Your [m](AJ)guardsmen are like the swarming locust.
Your (AK)marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers
Settling in the stone walls on a cold day.
The sun rises and they flee,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 Your shepherds are (AL)sleeping, O (AM)king of Assyria;
Your (AN)nobles are lying down.
Your people are (AO)scattered on the mountains
And there is no one to regather them.
19 There is (AP)no relief for your breakdown,
Your (AQ)wound is incurable.
All who hear [n]about you
Will (AR)clap their hands over you,
For on whom has not your evil passed continually?
Zaccheus Converted
19 He (A)entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a [a](B)sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down and received Him [b]gladly. 7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone [c]to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 Zaccheus stopped and said to (C)the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I [d]will give to the poor, and if I have (D)defrauded anyone of anything, I [e]will give back (E)four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is (F)a son of Abraham. 10 For (G)the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Parable of Money Usage
11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because (H)He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that (I)the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “(J)A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten [f]minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this [g]until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent [h]a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. 16 The first appeared, saying, ‘[i]Master, your [j]mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been (K)faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 The second came, saying, ‘Your [k]mina, [l]master, has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He *said to him, ‘[m]By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 (L)I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 But (M)these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and (N)slay them in my presence.”
Triumphal Entry
28 After He had said these things, He (O)was going on ahead, (P)going up to Jerusalem.
29 (Q)When He approached Bethphage and (R)Bethany, near the [n]mount that is called (S)Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its [o]owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, (T)and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. 37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of (U)the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to (V)praise God [p]joyfully with a loud voice for all the [q]miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting:
“(W)Blessed is the (X)King who comes in the name of the Lord;
Peace in heaven and (Y)glory in the highest!”
39 (Z)Some of the Pharisees [r]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, (AA)the stones will cry out!”
41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and (AB)wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you [s]when your enemies will (AC)throw up a [t]barricade against you, and (AD)surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and (AE)they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize (AF)the time of your visitation.”
Traders Driven from the Temple
45 (AG)Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘(AH)And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ (AI)but you have made it a robbers’ [u]den.”
47 And (AJ)He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people (AK)were trying to destroy Him, 48 and they could not find [v]anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to [w]every word He said.
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