M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

17 Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, I shall choose to me twelve thousand of men, and I shall rise up, and pursue David in this night. (Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me choose twelve thousand men, and then I shall rise up, and pursue David this very night.)

² And I shall fall on him, for he is weary, and with unbound hands I shall smite him. And when all the people fleeth that is with him, I shall smite the king left alone. (And I shall fall on him, for he is weary, and with enfeebled hands, and I shall strike him down. Yea, when all the people who be with him fleeth away, then I shall strike down only the king/then I shall strike down the king alone.)

³ And I shall lead again all the people, as one man is wont to be turned again; for thou seekest (only) one man, and (then) all the people shall be in peace. (And I shall bring back all the people, and they shall return as if but one man; for thou seekest only one man, and all the other people shall be unharmed.)

⁴ And the word(s) of Ahithophel pleased Absalom, and all the greater men in birth of Israel. (And Ahithophel’s plan pleased Absalom, and all the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Israel.)

⁵ And Absalom said, Call ye also Hushai of Archi, and hear we what also he saith. (And Absalom said, Now call ye Hushai the Archite, and let us hear what he saith.)

⁶ And when Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to him, Ahithophel hath spoken such a word; ought we (to) do thereafter, either nay? what counsel givest thou?

⁷ And Hushai said to Absalom, This is not good counsel, that Ahithophel hath given in this time. (And Hushai said to Absalom, This is not good advice which Ahithophel hath given thee at this time.)

⁸ And again Hushai said, Thou knowest, that thy father, and the men that be with him, be most strong, and in bitter soul, as if a she bear is fierce in the forest, when her whelps be ravished from her; but also thy father is a man warrior, and he shall not dwell with the people. (And Hushai said, Thou knowest, that thy father, and the men who be with him, be most strong, and with bitter souls, like when a she bear is fierce in the forest, after her cubs be stolen from her; but also thy father is a fighting man, and he shall not stay with the army.)

⁹ In hap now he is hid, either lurketh, in ditches, either in one place, in which he will hide him; and when any man falleth in the beginning, whoever shall hear (of) it, he shall hear, and shall say, Vengeance is done in the people that followed Absalom. (Perhaps even now he is hid, or lurketh, in a ditch, or some other place, where he hideth himself; and when any of your men falleth at the beginning, whoever shall hear of it, he shall say, Revenge is now taken on the people who followed Absalom.)

¹⁰ And each full strong man, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall be discomforted for dread; for all the people of Israel knoweth, that thy father is strong, and that all the men be strong, that be with him. (And then even the strongest man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, shall be enfeebled by fear; for all the people of Israel know that thy father is strong, and that all the men who be with him also be strong.)

¹¹ But this seemeth to me to be rightful counsel; (let) all Israel be gathered to thee, from Dan till to Beersheba, (and they shall be as) unnumberable as the sand of the sea; and thou shalt be in the midst of them.

¹² And we shall fall upon him, in whatever place he is found, and we shall cover him, as dew is wont to fall on the earth; and we shall not leave (any) of the men that be with him, soothly not one. (And then we shall fall on David wherever he is found, and we shall cover him like dew is wont to fall on the ground; and we shall not leave alive any of the men who be with him, no not one.)

¹³ That if he entereth into any city, all Israel shall compass that city with ropes, and we shall draw it into the strand, yea that nothing be found, soothly not a little stone thereof. (And if he entereth into any city, all Israel shall surround that city with ropes, and we shall draw it into the stream, yea so that nothing be found of it, truly not even a little stone of it.)

¹⁴ And Absalom said, and all the men of Israel, The counsel of Hushai of Archi is better than the counsel of Ahithophel; and the profitable counsel of Ahithophel was destroyed by God’s will, that the Lord should bring in evil on Absalom. (And Absalom, and all the men of Israel, said, Hushai the Archite’s advice is better than Ahithophel’s; and so Ahithophel’s good advice was destroyed by God’s will, so that the Lord could bring in evil upon Absalom.)

¹⁵ And Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Ahithophel gave counsel to Absalom, and to the elder men of Israel in this and this manner, and I gave such and such counsel.

¹⁶ Now therefore send ye soon, and tell ye to David, and say ye, Dwell thou not this night in [the] field places of the desert, but pass thou [over] without delay; lest peradventure the king be swallowed up, and all the people that is with him. (And so now send ye to him soon, and tell ye to David, Stay thou not this night at the Fords, or the crossings, of the Wilderness, but cross thou over the river without delay; lest perhaps the king be swallowed up, and all the people who be with him.)

¹⁷ And Jonathan and Ahimaaz stood beside the well of Rogel (And Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at Enrogel); (and) an handmaid went, and told to them, and (then) they went forth to tell the message to king David; for they might not be seen, neither (could) enter into the city.

¹⁸ And a child saw them, and he showed it to Absalom; and they entered with swift going into the house of a man in Bahurim, that had a pit in his place, and they went down into that pit. (But a boy saw them, and he went and told Absalom; and going swiftly, Jonathan and Ahimaaz entered into the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well at his place, and they went down into that well.)

¹⁹ And a woman took, and spread abroad a covering over the mouth of the pit, as (if) drying barley with the peel taken away, and so the thing was hid. (And a woman took, and spread out a covering over the mouth of the well, and then put some peeled barley on top of it, as if to dry it, and so they were hid.)

²⁰ And when the servants of Absalom had come into the house, they said to the woman, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman answered to them, They passed (over) the river of waters, that is, (over the) Jordan. And when they that sought them had not found them, they turned again into Jerusalem (And so when the men who sought them could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem).

²¹ And when they had gone forth, they went up from the pit; and they went, and told to king David, and said, Rise ye up, and passeth soon (over) the flood, for Ahithophel hath given such counsel against you. (And when the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan went up from the well; and they went, and said to King David, Quickly rise ye up, and cross ye over the river, and know ye also that Ahithophel hath spoken such and such a plan against you.)

²² Therefore David rose up, and all the people that was with him, and they passed (over) Jordan, till it was clear day, before that the word was published; and soothly not one was left, that passed not (over) the flood. (And so David, and all the people who were with him, rose up, and they crossed the Jordan River before anyone knew it; and by daylight, everyone had crossed over the river.)

²³ And Ahithophel saw, that his counsel was not done, and he saddled his ass, and rose up, and went into his house, and into his city; and when his house was disposed, he perished by hanging himself, and he was buried in the sepulchre of his father. (And Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, and so he saddled up his donkey, and went back to his house in his city; and after his affairs were in order, he hanged himself, and he was buried in his father’s tomb, or his grave.)

²⁴ And David came into the castles, and Absalom passed [over] Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. (And as David came to Mahanaim, Absalom, and all the men of Israel who were with him, crossed over the Jordan River.)

²⁵ And Absalom ordained Amasa for Joab upon his host; and Amasa was the son of a man that was called Ithra of Jezreel, the which entered to Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, (and) the sister of Zeruiah, that was the mother of Joab. (And Absalom ordained Amasa upon his army, in Joab’s place; and Amasa was the son of a man called Ithra, an Ishmaelite, who entered in to Abigail, who was Nahash’s daughter, and Zeruiah’s sister, Joab’s mother.)

²⁶ And Israel setted tents with Absalom in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ And when David had come into the castles (And when David had come to Mahanaim), Shobi, the son of Nahash of Rabbah, of the sons of Ammon, and Machir, the son of Ammiel, of Lodebar, and Barzillai, of Gilead, of Rogelim,

²⁸ brought to him beddings, and tapets (brought him bedding, and blankets), and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and flour, and beans, and lentils/vetches, and fried chick(pea)s,

²⁹ and honey, and butter, and sheep, and fat calves. And they gave those to David, and to the people that were with him, to eat; for they supposed the people to be made faint for hunger and thirst in desert (for they knew that the people would be made hungry and thirsty in the wilderness).

10 And I myself Paul beseech you, by the mildness and softness of Christ^[a], which in the face am meek among you, and I absent trust in you.

² For I pray you, that lest I present be not bold by the trust, in which I am guessed to be bold into some, that deem us, as if we wander after the flesh.^[b]

³ For we walking in the flesh, fight not after the flesh.

⁴ For the arms of our knighthood be not fleshly, but mighty by God to the destruction of strengths [to the destruction of wardings, or strengths].

⁵ And we destroy counsels, and all highness that higheth itself against the science of God, and drive into captivity all understanding into the service of Christ.^[c]

⁶ And we have ready to venge all unobedience, when your obedience shall be filled. [Also having in readiness to venge all unobedience, when your obedience shall be fulfilled.]

⁷ See ye the things that be after the face. If any man trusteth to himself, that he is of Christ, think he this thing again with himself, for as he is Christ's, so also we [so and we].

⁸ For if I shall glory any thing more of our power, which the Lord gave to us into edifying, and not into your destruction, I shall not be shamed.

⁹ But that I be not guessed as to frighten you by epistles, [Forsooth that I be not guessed as to fear you by epistles,]

¹⁰ for they say, That epistles be grievous and strong, but the presence of the body is feeble, and the word worthy to be despised.^[d]

¹¹ He that is such one, think this, for such as we absent be in word by epistles, such we be present in deed.

¹² For we dare not put us among, or comparison us to some men, that commend themselves; but we measure us in us selves, and comparison us selves to us. [Soothly we dare not put us among, or comparison us to some, that commend themselves; but we meting, or measuring, us in ourselves, and comparisoning ourselves to us.]

¹³ For we shall not have glory over measure, but by the measure of the rule [but after the measure of rule] which God measured to us, the measure that stretcheth [till] to you.

¹⁴ For we overstretch not forth us, as not stretching to you. For [till] to you we came in the gospel of Christ,

¹⁵ not glorying over measure in other men's travails. For we have hope of your faith that waxeth in you to be magnified by our rule in abundance [Soothly we having hope of your faith waxing in you to be magnified after our rule in abundance],

¹⁶ also to preach into those things that be beyond you, not to have glory in other man's rule [not to glory in other man's rule], in these things that be made ready.

¹⁷ [Forsooth] He that glorieth, have glory in the Lord [glory he in the Lord].

¹⁸ For not he that commendeth himself is approved [is proved], but whom God commendeth.

24 And the word of the Lord was made to me, in the ninth year, and in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month (on the tenth day of the month), and he said,

² Thou, son of man, write to thee the name of this day, in which the king of Babylon is confirmed (in his attack) against Jerusalem today.

³ And thou shalt say by a proverb a parable to the house (of Israel), (the) stirrer to wrath, and thou shalt speak to them, The Lord God saith these things, Set thou a brazen pot, set thou (it) soothly, and put thou water into it. (And thou shalt speak by a parable to the house of Israel, the stirrer, or provoker, to anger, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Take thou a bronze pot, yea, take thou it, and put thou water into it.)

⁴ Take thou a beast full fat (Take thou a very fat beast); gather thou together the gobbets thereof into it, each good part, and the hip, and the shoulder, chosen things and full of bones.

⁵ Also dress thou heaps of bones under it; and the seething thereof boiled out, and the bones thereof were sodden in the midst thereof (and its bones were boiled in its midst).

⁶ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Woe to the city of bloods, to the pot whose rust is therein, and the rust thereof went not out of it; cast thou out it by parts, and by his parts; (and the) lot fell not on it. (And so the Lord God saith these things, Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot whose rust is in it, and its rust went not out of it; throw thou it out by its parts, and by its parts; and the lot did not fall on it.)

⁷ For why the blood thereof is in the midst thereof; he shed it out on a full clear stone, he shed not it out on (the) earth, that it may be covered with dust, (For its blood is in its midst; he poured it out on a very clean, or on a very bright, stone, he did not pour it out on the ground, so that it might be covered with dust,)

⁸ that I should bring in mine indignation, and avenge by vengeance; I gave the blood thereof on a full clear stone, that it should not be covered (I spilt its blood on a very clean, or on a very bright, stone, so that it would not be covered up, or hidden).

⁹ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Woe to the city of bloods (Woe to this city of bloodshed, or this city of murder), whose burning I shall make great;

¹⁰ gather thou together [the] bones, which I shall kindle with fire; (the) fleshes shall be wasted, and all the setting together shall be sodden (and it shall all be boiled away), and (the) bones shall fail.

¹¹ Also set thou it void on coals, that the metal thereof wax hot, and be melted, and that the filth thereof be welled together in the midst thereof, and the rust thereof be wasted.

¹² It was sweated by much travail (It was sweated over with much travail, or with much labour), and the over-great rust thereof went not out thereof, neither by fire.

¹³ Thine uncleanness is abominable; for I would cleanse thee, and thou art not cleansed from thy filths; but neither thou shalt be cleansed before, till I make mine indignation to rest in thee (and thou shalt not be cleansed, until I make my indignation to rest upon thee).

¹⁴ I the Lord spake; it shall come, and I shall make (it), I shall not pass, neither I shall spare, neither I shall be pleased; by thy ways and by thy findings, I shall deem thee, saith the Lord. (I the Lord spoke; it shall come, and I shall make it, I shall not pass by, or over, neither shall I spare thee, nor shall I repent, and not do it; by thy ways and by thy doings, I shall judge thee, saith the Lord.)

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

¹⁶ Thou, son of man, lo! I take away from thee the desirable thing of thine eyes in vengeance, and thou shalt not wail, neither weep, neither thy tears shall flow down. (Thou, son of man, lo! with vengeance I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes, and of thy heart, but thou shalt not wail, nor weep, nor shall thy tears flow down.)

¹⁷ Wail thou (while) being still, thou shalt not make mourning of dead men; thy crown be bound about thine head, and thy shoes shall be in the feet, neither thou shalt cover the mouth with a cloth, neither thou shalt eat the meats of mourners. (Wail thou, but silently, thou shalt not make mourning for the dead; let thy crown, or thy covering, be put upon thy head, and thy shoes shall be upon thy feet, but thou shalt not cover thy mouth with a cloth, nor shalt thou eat the food of mourners.)

¹⁸ Therefore I spake to the people in the morrowtide, and my wife was dead in the eventide; and I did in the morrowtide, as he had commanded to me.

¹⁹ And the people said to me, Why showest thou not to us what these things signify, which thou doest?

²⁰ And I said to them, The word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

²¹ Speak thou to the house of Israel, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall defoul my saintuary, the pride of your empire, and the desirable thing of your eyes, and on which your soul dreadeth; and your sons and your daughters, which ye left, shall fall by sword. (Speak thou to the house of Israel, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall defile my sanctuary, the pride of your empire, and the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul, or your heart, delighteth in; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye left behind, shall fall by the sword.)

²² And ye shall do, as I did; ye shall not cover (your) mouths with (a) cloth, and ye shall not eat the meat of wailers (and ye shall not eat the food of mourners).

²³ Ye shall have crowns in your heads, and shoes in the feet; ye shall not wail, neither ye shall weep, but ye shall fail in wretchedness, for your wickednesses; and each man shall wail to his brother. (Ye shall have crowns, or coverings, upon your heads, and shoes upon your feet; and ye shall not wail, nor shall ye weep, but ye shall fail in wretchedness, for your wickednesses; and each person shall wail to another.)

²⁴ And Ezekiel shall be to you into a sign of thing to coming; by all things which he did, ye shall do, when this thing shall come; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord God. (And Ezekiel shall be for you a sign of things to come; and when this thing shall come, ye shall do all that he hath done; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord God.)

²⁵ And thou, son of man, lo! in the day in which I shall take away from them the strength of them, and the joy of dignity, and the desire of their eyes, on which the souls of them rest, cast away the sons and the daughters of them; (And thou, son of man, lo! on the day when I shall take away from them their strength, or their fortress, and their pride and joy, and the desire of their eyes, on which their souls, or their hearts, rest, I shall also take away their sons and their daughters;)

²⁶ in that day when a man fleeing shall come to thee, to tell to thee; (on that day when those who flee, or those who escape, shall come to thee, and shall tell thee their news;)

²⁷ in that day soothly thou shalt open thy mouth with him that fled; and thou shalt speak, and shalt no more be still; and thou shalt be to them into a sign of thing to coming, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (on that day thou shalt open thy mouth with them who fled; and thou shalt speak, and shalt no more be silent; and thou shalt be to them a sign of what is to come, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

72 To Solomon. God, give thy doom to the king; and thy rightfulness to the son of the king. (A psalm, or a song, for Solomon. God, give thy judgement to the king; yea, thy righteousness to the king’s son.)

² To deem thy people in rightfulness; and thy poor men in doom. (To judge thy people with righteousness; and thy poor with justice.)

³ Mountains receive peace to the people; and little hills receive rightfulness. (May the mountains and the little hills, bring peace and prosperity to the people; in righteousness.)

⁴ He shall deem the poor men of the people, and he shall make safe the sons of poor men; and he shall make low the false challenger. (He shall judge the poor, and he shall save the sons and the daughters of the poor; and he shall bring down their oppressors.)

⁵ And he shall dwell with the sun, and before the moon, that is, without beginning, and (without) end; in generation and into generation (in all generations).

⁶ He shall come down as rain into a fleece; and as gutters dropping on the earth. (He shall come down like rain onto a field; and like showers dropping upon the earth.)

⁷ Rightfulness shall come forth in his days (Righteousness shall come forth in his days); and the abundance of peace, till the moon be taken away.

⁸ And he shall be lord from the sea till to the sea; and from the flood till to the ends of the world. (And he shall be lord from sea to sea; and from the Euphrates River unto the ends of the earth.)

⁹ Ethiopians shall fall down before him; and his enemies shall lick the earth. (Those who live in the desert shall bow down before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.)

¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and of Seba shall bring gifts. (The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall offer gifts, or tribute; the kings of Sheba and of Seba shall also bring him gifts, or tribute.)

¹¹ And all kings shall worship him; all folks shall serve him (all nations shall serve him).

¹² For he shall deliver a poor man from the mighty; and a poor man to whom there was none helper. (For he shall rescue the poor from the mighty; yea, the poor for whom there was no helper.)

¹³ He shall spare a poor man and needy; and he shall make safe the souls of poor men. (He shall spare the poor and the needy; yea, he shall save the souls, or the lives, of the poor.)

¹⁴ He shall again-buy the souls of them from usuries, and wickedness; and the name of them is honourable before him.

¹⁵ And he shall live, and men shall give to him of the gold of Arabia; and they shall ever worship of him, all day they shall bless him. (And long may he live, and may men give to him the gold of Sheba; they shall worship him forever, yea, all day long they shall bless him.)

¹⁶ Steadfastness shall be in the earth, in the highest place of mountains; the fruit thereof shall be enhanced above the Lebanon; and they shall blossom from the city, as the hay of earth doeth. (May corn grow in all the earth, even on the highest places of the mountains; may the crops there be numbered above that of Lebanon; and may the people in the city increase like the hay, or the grass, in the fields.)

¹⁷ His name be blessed into worlds; his name dwell before the sun. And all the lineages of earth shall be blessed in him; all folks shall magnify him. (May the king’s name be blessed forever; and his name remain as long as the sun. And may all the peoples of the earth ask to be blessed as he was; may all the nations magnify him.)

¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; which alone maketh marvels. (Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; who alone doeth these marvellous deeds.)

¹⁹ And blessed be the name of his majesty [into] without end; and all earth shall be filled with his majesty; be it done, be it done. (And blessed be his majestic name forever; let all the earth be filled with his majesty, or his glory; be it done, be it done.)

²⁰ The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, be ended.