M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Other Things Solomon Did
(1 Kings 9.10-28)
8 It took 20 years for the Lord's temple and Solomon's palace to be built. 2 After that, Solomon had his workers rebuild the towns that Hiram had given him. Then Solomon sent Israelites to live in those towns.
3 Solomon attacked and captured the town of Hamath-Zobah. 4 He ordered his workers to build the town of Tadmor in the desert and some towns in Hamath where he could keep his supplies. 5 He strengthened Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon by adding walls and gates that could be locked. 6 He did the same thing to the town of Baalath and to the cities where he kept supplies, chariots, and horses. Solomon ordered his workers to build whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and anywhere else in his kingdom.
7-9 Solomon did not force the Israelites to do his work. Instead, they were his soldiers, officers, army commanders, and cavalry troops. But he did make slaves of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were living in Israel. These were the descendants of those foreigners the Israelites did not destroy, and they remained Israel's slaves.
10 Solomon appointed 250 officers to be in charge of his workers.
11 Solomon's wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, moved from the part of Jerusalem called David's City to her new palace that Solomon had built. The sacred chest had been kept in David's City, which made his palace sacred, and so Solomon's wife could no longer live there.
12 Solomon offered sacrifices to the Lord on the altar he had built in front of the temple porch. 13 (A) He followed the requirements that Moses had given for sacrifices offered on the Sabbath, on the first day of each month, the Festival of Thin Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters.
14 Solomon then assigned the priests and the Levites their duties at the temple, and he followed the instructions that his father, the man of God, had given him. Some of the Levites were to lead music and help the priests in their duties, and others were to guard the temple gates 15 and the storage rooms. The priests and Levites followed these instructions exactly.
16 Everything Solomon had planned to do was now finished—from the laying of the temple's foundation to its completion.
17 Solomon went to Ezion-Geber and Eloth, two Edomite towns on the Red Sea.[a] 18 Hiram sent him ships and some of his experienced sailors. They went with Solomon's own sailors to the country of Ophir[b] and brought back more than 15 tons of gold for Solomon.
1 (A) From the church leader.[a]
To my dear friend Gaius.
I love you because we follow the truth, 2 dear friend, and I pray all goes well for you. I hope you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit. 3 It makes me very happy when the Lord's followers come by and speak openly of how you obey the truth. 4 Nothing brings me greater happiness than to hear that my children[b] are obeying the truth.
Working Together
5 Dear friend, you have always been faithful in helping other followers of the Lord, even the ones you didn't know before. 6 They have told the church about your love. They say you were good enough to welcome them and to send them on their mission in a way God's servants deserve. 7 When they left to tell others about the Lord, they decided not to accept help from anyone who wasn't a follower. 8 We must support people like them, so we can take part in what they are doing to spread the truth.
9 I wrote to the church. But Diotrephes likes to be the number-one leader, and he won't pay any attention to us. 10 So if I come, I will remind him of how he has been attacking us with gossip. Not only has he been doing this, but he refuses to welcome any of the Lord's followers who come by. And when other church members want to welcome them, he puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, don't imitate the evil deeds of others, but follow the example of people who do kind deeds. They are God's children, but those who are always doing evil have never seen God.
12 Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and so does the true message that he teaches. I also speak well of him, and you know what I say is true.
Final Greetings
13 I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to write it with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and then we can talk in person.
15 I pray that God will bless you with peace!
Your friends send their greetings. Please give a personal greeting to each of our friends.
Habakkuk's Prayer
3 This is my prayer:[a]
2 I know your reputation, Lord,
and I am amazed
at what you have done.
Please turn from your anger
and be merciful;
do for us what you did
for our ancestors.
3 You are the same Holy God
who came from Teman
and Paran[b] to help us.
The brightness of your glory
covered the heavens,
and your praises were heard
everywhere on earth.
4 Your glory shone like the sun,
and light flashed from your hands,
hiding your mighty power.
5 Dreadful diseases and plagues
marched in front
and followed behind.
6 When you stopped,
the earth shook;
when you stared,
nations trembled;
when you walked
along your ancient paths,
eternal mountains and hills
crumbled and collapsed.
7 The tents of desert tribes
in Cushan and Midian[c]
were ripped apart.
8 Our Lord, were you angry
with the monsters
of the deep?[d]
You attacked in your chariot
and wiped them out.
9 Your arrows were ready
and obeyed your commands.[e]
You split the earth apart
with rivers and streams;
10 mountains trembled
at the sight of you;
rain poured from the clouds;
ocean waves roared and rose.
11 The sun and moon stood still,
while your arrows and spears
flashed like lightning.
12 In your furious anger,
you trampled on nations
13 to rescue your people
and save your chosen one.[f]
You crushed a nation's ruler
and stripped his evil kingdom
of its power.[g]
14 His troops had come like a storm,
hoping to scatter us
and glad to gobble us up.
To them we were refugees
in hiding—
but you smashed their heads
with their own weapons.[h]
15 Then your chariots churned
the waters of the sea.
Habakkuk's Response to God's Message
16 When I heard this message,[i]
I felt weak from fear,
and my lips quivered.
My bones seemed to melt,
and I stumbled around.
But I will patiently wait.
Someday those vicious enemies
will be struck by disaster.[j]
Trust in a Time of Trouble
17 Fig trees may no longer bloom,
or vineyards produce grapes;
olive trees may be fruitless,
and harvest time a failure;
sheep pens may be empty,
and cattle stalls vacant—
18 but I will still celebrate
because the Lord God
is my Savior.
19 (A) The Lord gives me strength.
He makes my feet as sure
as those of a deer,
and he helps me stand
on the mountains.[k]
To the music director:
Use stringed instruments.
A Plot To Kill Jesus
(Matthew 26.1-5,14,16; Mark 14.1,2,10,11; John 11.45-53)
22 (A) The Festival of Thin Bread, also called Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus, because they were afraid of what the people might do. 3 Then Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot,[a] who was one of the twelve apostles.
4 Judas went to talk with the chief priests and the officers of the temple police about how he could help them arrest Jesus. 5 They were very pleased and offered to pay Judas some money. 6 He agreed and started looking for a good chance to betray Jesus when the crowds were not around.
Jesus Eats with His Disciples
(Matthew 26.17-25; Mark 14.12-21; John 13.21-30)
7 The day had come for the Festival of Thin Bread, and it was time to kill the Passover lambs. 8 So Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat.”
9 But they asked, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”
10 Jesus told them, “As you go into the city, you will meet a man carrying a jar of water.[b] Follow him into the house 11 and say to the owner, ‘Our teacher wants to know where he can eat the Passover meal with his disciples.’ 12 The owner will take you upstairs and show you a large room ready for you to use. Prepare the meal there.”
13 Peter and John left. They found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
The Lord's Supper
(Matthew 26.26-30; Mark 14.22-26; 1 Corinthians 11.23-25)
14 When the time came for Jesus and the apostles to eat, 15 he said to them, “I have very much wanted to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. 16 I tell you I will not eat another Passover meal until it is finally eaten in God's kingdom.”
17 Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he told the apostles, “Take this wine and share it with each other. 18 I tell you that I will not drink any more wine until God's kingdom comes.”
19 Jesus took some bread in his hands and gave thanks for it. He broke the bread and handed it to his apostles. Then he said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering me!”
20 (B) After the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands. Then he said, “This is my blood. It is poured out for you, and with it God makes his new agreement. 21 (C) The one who will betray me is here at the table with me! 22 The Son of Man will die in the way that has been decided for him, but it will be terrible for the one who betrays him!”
23 Then the apostles started arguing about who would ever do such a thing.
An Argument about Greatness
24 (D) The apostles got into an argument about which one of them was the greatest. 25 (E) So Jesus told them:
Foreign kings order their people around, and powerful rulers call themselves everyone's friends.[c] 26 (F) But don't be like them. The most important one of you should be like the least important, and your leader should be like a servant. 27 (G) Who do people think is the greatest, a person who is served or one who serves? Isn't it the one who is served? But I have been with you as a servant.
28 You have stayed with me in all my troubles. 29 So I will give you the right to rule as kings, just as my Father has given me the right to rule as a king. 30 (H) You will eat and drink with me in my kingdom, and you will each sit on a throne to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus' Disciples Will Be Tested
(Matthew 26.31-35; Mark 14.27-31; John 13.36-38)
31 Jesus said, “Simon, listen to me! Satan has demanded the right to test each one of you, as a farmer does when he separates wheat from the husks.[d] 32 But Simon, I have prayed that your faith will be strong. And when you have come back to me, help the others.”
33 Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to jail and even to die with you.”
34 Jesus replied, “Peter, I tell you that before a rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say three times that you don't know me.”
Moneybags, Traveling Bags, and Swords
35 (I) Jesus asked his disciples, “When I sent you out without a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals, did you need anything?”
“No!” they answered.
36 Jesus told them, “But now, if you have a moneybag, take it with you. Also take a traveling bag, and if you don't have a sword,[e] sell some of your clothes and buy one. 37 (J) Do this because the Scriptures say, ‘He was considered a criminal.’ This was written about me, and it will soon come true.”
38 The disciples said, “Lord, here are two swords!”
“Enough of that!” Jesus replied.
Jesus Prays
(Matthew 26.36-46; Mark 14.32-42)
39 Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives, as he often did, and his disciples went with him. 40 When they got there, he told them, “Pray that you won't be tested.”
41 Jesus walked on a little way before he knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you will, please don't make me suffer by drinking from this cup.[f] But do what you want, and not what I want.”
43 Then an angel from heaven came to help him. 44 Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.[g]
45 Jesus got up from praying and went over to his disciples. They were asleep and worn out from being so sad. 46 He said to them, “Why are you asleep? Wake up and pray that you won't be tested.”
Jesus Is Arrested
(Matthew 26.47-56; Mark 14.43-50; John 18.3-11)
47 While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd came up. It was led by Judas, one of the twelve apostles. He went over to Jesus and greeted him with a kiss.[h]
48 Jesus asked Judas, “Are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus' disciples saw what was about to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we attack them with a sword?” 50 One of the disciples even struck at the high priest's servant with his sword and cut off the servant's right ear.
51 “Enough of that!” Jesus said. Then he touched the servant's ear and healed it.
52 Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the temple police, and the leaders who had come to arrest him. He said, “Why do you come out with swords and clubs and treat me like a criminal? 53 (K) I was with you every day in the temple, and you didn't arrest me. But this is your time, and darkness[i] is in control.”
Peter Says He Doesn't Know Jesus
(Matthew 26.57,58,67-75; Mark 14.53,54,66-72; John 18.12-18,25-27)
54 Jesus was arrested and led away to the house of the high priest, while Peter followed at a distance. 55 Some people built a fire in the middle of the courtyard and were sitting around it. Peter sat there with them, 56 and a servant girl saw him. Then after she had looked at him carefully, she said, “This man was with Jesus!”
57 Peter said, “Woman, I don't even know that man!”
58 A little later someone else saw Peter and said, “You are one of them!”
“No, I'm not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another man insisted, “This man must have been with Jesus. They both come from Galilee.”
60 Peter replied, “I don't know what you are talking about!” Right then, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
61 The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered that the Lord had said, “Before a rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say three times that you don't know me.” 62 Then Peter went out and cried bitterly.
63 The men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him and beat him. 64 They put a blindfold on him and said, “Tell us who struck you!” 65 They kept on insulting Jesus in many other ways.
Jesus Is Questioned by the Council
(Matthew 26.59-66; Mark 14.55-64; John 18.19-24)
66 At daybreak the nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses got together and brought Jesus before their council. 67 They said, “Tell us! Are you the Messiah?”
Jesus replied, “If I said so, you wouldn't believe me. 68 And if I asked you a question, you wouldn't answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of God All-Powerful.”
70 Then they asked, “Are you the Son of God?”[j]
Jesus answered, “You say I am!”[k]
71 They replied, “Why do we need more witnesses? He said it himself!”
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