M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Solomon’s Marriage(A)
3 Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). After marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, Solomon brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, the Lord’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.
2 The people were still sacrificing at other worship sites because a temple for the name of the Lord had not yet been built. 3 Solomon loved the Lord and lived by his father David’s rules. However, he still sacrificed and burned incense at these other worship sites.
Solomon Requests Wisdom from God(B)
4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice because it was the most important place of worship. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar.
5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. He said, “What can I give you?”
6 Solomon responded, “You’ve shown great love to my father David, who was your servant. He lived in your presence with truth, righteousness, and commitment. And you continued to show him your great love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.
7 “Lord my God, although I’m young and inexperienced, you’ve made me king in place of my father David. 8 I’m among your people whom you have chosen. They are too numerous to count or record. 9 Give me a heart that listens so that I can judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord [a] was pleased that Solomon asked for this. 11 God replied, “You’ve asked for this and not for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Instead, you’ve asked for understanding so that you can do what is right. 12 So I’m going to do what you’ve asked. I’m giving you a wise and understanding heart so that there will never be anyone like you. 13 I’m also giving you what you haven’t asked for—riches and honor—so that no other king will be like you as long as you live. 14 And if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did, then I will also give you a long life.”
15 Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the ark of the Lord’s promise. He sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings and held a banquet for all his officials.
Solomon’s Wisdom in Action
16 A short time later two prostitutes came to the king and stood in front of him. 17 One woman said to him, “Sir, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth ⌞to a son⌟ while she was with me in the house. 18 Two days later this woman also gave birth ⌞to a son⌟. We were alone. No one else was with us. Just the two of us were in the house. 19 That night this woman’s son died because she rolled over on top of him. 20 So she got up during the night and took my son, who was beside me, while I was asleep. She held him in her arms. Then she laid her dead son in my arms. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, he was dead! I took a good look at him and realized that he wasn’t my son at all!”
22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive—your son is dead.”
The first woman kept on saying, “No! Your son is dead—my son is alive.” So they argued in front of the king.
23 The king said, “This one keeps saying, ‘My son is alive—your son is dead,’ and that one keeps saying, ‘No! Your son is dead—my son is alive.’ ”
24 So the king told his servants to bring him a sword. When they brought it, 25 he said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to the one and half to the other.”
26 Then the woman whose son was still alive was deeply moved by her love for the child. She said to the king, “Please, sir, give her the living child. Please don’t kill him!”
But the other woman said, “He won’t be mine or yours. Cut him ⌞in two⌟.”
27 The king replied, “Give the living child to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She is his mother.”
28 All Israel heard about the decision the king made. They respected the king very highly, because they saw he possessed wisdom from God to do what was right.
Greeting
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will.
To God’s holy and faithful people who are united with Christ in the city of Ephesus.[a]
2 Good will [b] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!
God Chose Us Through Christ
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. 4 Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. 5 Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Jesus Christ. He freely chose to do this 6 so that the kindness [c] he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.
7 Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. 8 He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight 9 when he revealed the mystery of his plan to us. He had decided to do this through Christ. 10 He planned to bring all of history to its goal in Christ. Then Christ would be the head of everything in heaven and on earth. 11 God also decided ahead of time to choose us through Christ according to his plan, which makes everything work the way he intends. 12 He planned all of this so that we who had already focused our hope on Christ would praise him and give him glory.
13 You heard and believed the message of truth, the Good News that he has saved you. In him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit whom he promised. 14 This Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive our inheritance. We have this guarantee until we are set free to belong to him. God receives praise and glory for this.
Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians
15 I, too, have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. For this reason 16 I never stop thanking God for you. I always remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Christ better. 18 Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit. 19 You will also know the unlimited greatness of his power as it works with might and strength for us, the believers. 20 He worked with that same power in Christ when he brought him back to life and gave him the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. 21 He is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, lords, and all other names that can be named, not only in this present world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put everything under the control of Christ. He has made Christ the head of everything for the good of the church. 23 The church is Christ’s body and completes him as he fills everything in every way.
The Promise of a New Shepherd for the Lord’s Sheep
34 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy to these shepherds. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: How horrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who have been taking care of only themselves. Shouldn’t shepherds take care of the sheep? 3 You eat the best parts of the sheep, dress in the wool, and butcher the finest sheep. Yet, you don’t take care of the sheep. 4 You have not strengthened those that were weak, healed those that were sick, or bandaged those that were injured. You have not brought back those that strayed away or looked for those that were lost. You have ruled them harshly and violently. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the whole earth. No one searched or looked for them.
7 “ ‘So, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s word. 8 As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, because there is no shepherd, my sheep have become prey. My sheep have become food for every wild animal. My shepherds haven’t searched for my sheep. They have taken care of only themselves, not my sheep. 9 So, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s word. 10 This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am against the shepherds. I will demand that they hand over my sheep. I won’t let them take care of my sheep anymore, and they will no longer take care of only themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, and my sheep will no longer be their food.
11 “ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will search for my sheep myself, and I will look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them on a cloudy and gloomy day from every place where they have been scattered. 13 I will bring them out from the nations, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will take care of them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and they will graze on the mountains of Israel. They will rest on the good land where they graze, and they will feed on the best pastures in the mountains of Israel. 15 I will take care of my sheep and lead them to rest, declares the Almighty Lord. 16 I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that have strayed away, bandage those that are injured, and strengthen those that are sick. I will destroy those that are fat and strong. I will take care of my sheep fairly.
17 “ ‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Almighty Lord says: I will judge disputes between one sheep and another, between rams and male goats. 18 Isn’t it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? You drink clean water. Must you muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 Must my sheep eat what your feet have trampled and drink what your feet have muddied?
20 “ ‘So this is what the Almighty Lord says to them: I will judge disputes between the fat sheep and the skinny sheep. 21 You fat sheep push the skinny sheep with your sides and shoulders, and you knock down all the sick sheep with your horns. You have scattered them all over. 22 So I will rescue my sheep, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 Then I will place one shepherd over them, my servant David, and he will take care of them. He will take care of them and be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be their prince. I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 “ ‘I will promise them peace. I will remove the wild animals from the land so that my sheep can live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will bless them and the places around my hill. I will send rain at the right time. These showers will be a blessing to them. 27 Then the trees in the field will produce fruit, the land will yield crops, and my sheep will live safely in their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, because I will break off the bars on their yokes [a] and rescue them from the people who made them slaves. 28 They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the wild animals will no longer eat them. They will live safely, and no one will frighten them. 29 I will give them a place that is known for its good crops. They will no longer experience hunger in the land, and they will no longer suffer the insults of other nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the people of Israel, are my people, declares the Almighty Lord. 31 You, my sheep, are the sheep in my pasture. You are mortal, and I am your God, declares the Almighty Lord.’ ”
A song; a psalm by Asaph.
83 O God, do not remain silent.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
Do not keep quiet, O God.
2 Look, your enemies are in an uproar.
Those who hate you hold their heads high.
3 They make plans in secret against your people
and plot together against those you treasure.
4 They say, “Let’s wipe out their nation
so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”
5 They agree completely on their plan.
They form an alliance against you:
6 the tents from Edom and Ishmael,
Moab and Hagar,
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia, along with those who live in Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them.
They helped the descendants of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them what you did to Midian,
to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 They were destroyed at Endor.
They became manure to fertilize the ground.
11 Treat their influential people as you treated Oreb and Zeeb.
Treat all their leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s take God’s pasturelands for ourselves.”
13 O my God, blow them away like tumbleweeds,[a]
like husks in the wind.
14 Pursue them with your storms,
and terrify them with your windstorms
15 the way fire burns a forest
and flames set mountains on fire.[b]
16 Let their faces blush with shame, O Lord,
so that they must look to you for help.
17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever.
Let them die in disgrace
18 so that they must acknowledge you.
Your name is the Lord.
You alone are the Most High God of the whole earth.
For the choir director; on the gittith; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
84 Your dwelling place is lovely, O Lord of Armies!
2 My soul longs and yearns
for the Lord’s courtyards.
My whole body shouts for joy to the living God.
3 Even sparrows find a home,
and swallows find a nest for themselves.
There they hatch their young
near your altars, O Lord of Armies, my king and my God.
4 Blessed are those who live in your house.
They are always praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those who find strength in you.
Their hearts are on the road ⌞that leads to you⌟.
6 As they pass through a valley where balsam trees grow,[c]
they make it a place of springs.
The early rains cover it with blessings.[d]
7 Their strength grows as they go along
until each one of them appears
in front of God in Zion.
8 O Lord God, commander of armies, hear my prayer.
Open your ears, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look at our shield, O God.
Look with favor on the face of your anointed one.
10 One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand ⌞anywhere else⌟.
I would rather stand in the entrance to my God’s house
than live inside wicked people’s homes.
11 The Lord God is a sun and shield.
The Lord grants favor and honor.
He does not hold back any blessing
from those who live innocently.
12 O Lord of Armies, blessed is the person who trusts you.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.