M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

14 Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah perceived that the king missed Avshalom; ² so Yo’av sent to T’koa, brought from there a clever woman and said to her, “Please, pretend you’re a mourner. Put on mourning clothes, and don’t anoint yourself with oil, but appear to be a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time. ³ Go in to the king and speak to him in this fashion — ” and then Yo’av told her just what to say. ⁴ When the woman of T’koa spoke to the king, she fell down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself, and said, “King, help!” ⁵ The king said to her, “What’s the trouble?” She answered, “I’m a widow. After my husband died, ⁶ my two sons were out in the field; and they got into a fight with each other. There was no one to separate them, and one hit the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole family has come against me, your servant; they’re saying, ‘Hand over the one who hit his brother, so that we can put him to death for killing his brother.’ They want to destroy the heir as well and thus quench my one remaining coal; then my husband will have neither name nor survivor anywhere on earth.”

⁸ The king said to the woman, “Go back home; I myself will decide what to do about you.” ⁹ The woman of T’koa said to the king, “My lord, king, let the guilt be on me and my father’s family; the king and his throne be guiltless.” ¹⁰ The king answered, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me; and he won’t bother you any more.” ¹¹ “Please,” she said, “let the king swear by Adonai your God that the blood avengers won’t do any more destroying, so they won’t destroy my son.” He said, “As Adonai lives, not one of your son’s hairs will fall to the ground.”

¹² Then the woman said, “Please allow your servant to say something else to my lord the king.” “Go on,” he replied. ¹³ The woman said, “Why is it, then, that you have produced a situation exactly like this against God’s people? By saying what you have said, the king has virtually incriminated himself — in that the king does not bring home again the son he banished. ¹⁴ For we will all die someday; we’ll be like water spilled on the ground that can’t be gathered up again; and God makes no exception for anyone. The king should think of some way to keep the son he banished from being forever an outcast. ¹⁵ Now the reason I came to speak about this matter to my lord the king is that the people were intimidating me; so your servant said, ‘I will speak now to the king; maybe the king will do what his servant is asking. ¹⁶ For the king will listen and rescue his servant from the hands of those who would destroy me and my son together from our share of God’s inheritance.’ ¹⁷ Then your servant said, ‘Please let my lord the king say something that will give me relief; for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good from bad — and may Adonai your God be with you.’”

¹⁸ The king then answered the woman: “I’m going to ask you a question, and please don’t hide anything from me.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king now speak.” ¹⁹ The king asked, “Did Yo’av put you up to this?” The woman answered, “As you live, my lord the king, when my lord the king speaks, no one can avoid the issue by turning either right or left. Yes, it was your servant Yo’av who had me do this, and he put in my mouth every word you have heard your servant say. ²⁰ Your servant Yo’av did this in order to bring about some change in the situation. But my lord is wise, he has the wisdom of an angel of God when it comes to understanding anything going on in the land.”

²¹ The king said to Yo’av, “All right, I am granting this request. Go, and bring back young Avshalom.” ²² Yo’av fell to the ground on his face, prostrating himself, and blessed the king; Yo’av said, “Today your servant knows that I have won your favor, my lord, king, because the king has done what your servant requested.” ²³ Then Yo’av got up, went to G’shur and brought Avshalom to Yerushalayim. ²⁴ However, the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but he is not to appear in my presence.” So Avshalom returned to his own house and did not appear before the king.

²⁵ Now in all Isra’el there was no one more praised for his beauty than Avshalom — there was no defect on him from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ²⁶ He would cut his hair only once a year, at the end of the year; and the only reason he cut it then was because it weighed him down. He weighed the hair from his head at 200 shekels (using the royal weight) [about five pounds]. ²⁷ To Avshalom were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Avshalom lived two years in Yerushalayim without appearing before the king. ²⁹ Then Avshalom summoned Yo’av, planning to send him to the king; but he refused to come to him. He summoned him a second time, but he still wouldn’t come. ³⁰ So he said to his servants, “See, Yo’av’s field is close to mine, and he has barley there; go, and set it on fire.” Avshalom’s servants set the field on fire. ³¹ Then Yo’av got up, went to Avshalom at his house and asked him, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?” ³² Avshalom answered Yo’av, “Look, I sent a message to you to come here, so that I could send you to the king to ask, ‘Why did I come from G’shur? It would have been better for me if I had stayed there. So now, let me appear before the king; and if I’m guilty of anything, he can kill me.’”

³³ Yo’av went to the king and told him; and when he had called for Avshalom, he went to the king and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Avshalom.

7 Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that can defile either body or spirit, and strive to be completely holy, out of reverence for God.

² Make room for us in your hearts — we haven’t wronged anyone, we haven’t corrupted anyone, we haven’t exploited anyone. ³ I am not saying this to put blame on you, for I have already said that you have a place in our hearts, whether we live together or die together; ⁴ that I am very confident in you; that I am very proud of you; that you have filled me with encouragement; and that in spite of all our troubles, I am overflowing with joy.

⁵ For indeed when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. On the contrary, we faced all kinds of troubles — altercations without, apprehensions within. ⁶ But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us with the arrival of Titus! ⁷ However, it was not only his arrival which encouraged us, but also how encouraged he was about you, as he told us how you long to see me, how distressed you are over my situation, how zealous you are in my defense — this news made me even happier!

⁸ If I caused you pain by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did regret it before — for I do see that that letter did distress you, though only for a short time — ⁹ now I rejoice not because you were pained, but because the pain led you to turn back to God. For you handled the pain in God’s way, so that you were not harmed by us at all. ¹⁰ Pain handled in God’s way produces a turning from sin to God which leads to salvation, and there is nothing to regret in that! But pain handled in the world’s way produces only death. ¹¹ For just look at what handling the pain God’s way produced in you! What earnest diligence, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what readiness to put things right! In everything you have proved yourselves blameless in the matter. ¹² So even though I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of either the one who did the wrong or the one wronged, but so that before God you could see for yourselves how deep is your devotion to us. ¹³ This is the reason we have been encouraged.

Besides our own encouragement, we had the even greater joy of seeing how happy Titus was, because all of you set his mind at rest. ¹⁴ For I had boasted somewhat about you to him, and now I have not been made to look foolish. On the contrary, just as everything we have said to you is true, so too our boasting in front of Titus has proved true. ¹⁵ And his affection for you is all the greater as he remembers how ready you were to obey and how you received him with reverence and respect. ¹⁶ I am glad that I can have such complete confidence in you.

21 ^(20:45) The word of Adonai came to me: ^2 (20:46) “Human being, turn your face southward, preach to the south and prophesy to the scrublands of the Negev; ^3 (20:47) say to the Negev forest: ‘Hear the word of Adonai. Adonai Elohim says, “I will light a fire in you; it will devour every tree in you, green and dry alike; a blazing, unquenchable flame that will scorch every face from the Negev to the north. ^4 (20:48) All humanity will see that I, Adonai, lit it; it will not be put out.”’” ^5 (20:49) I said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim! They complain that I speak only in parables.”

^6 (1) Then the word of Adonai came to me: ^7 (2) “Human being, turn your face toward Yerushalayim, preach to the sanctuaries and prophesy to the land of Isra’el; ^8 (3) tell the land of Isra’el that Adonai Elohim says, ‘I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. ^9 (4) Since I am going to rid you of both righteous and evildoers, my sword will also go out of its scabbard against everyone, from the Negev to the north. ^10 (5) Everyone alive will know that I, Adonai, drew my sword from its scabbard; it will not be sheathed again.’

^11 (6) “Therefore, human being, groan! Groan bitterly, as if your heart would break, as they watch. ^12 (7) Then, when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will answer, ‘Because of the news, because it’s coming. All hearts will melt, all hands hang limp, all spirits faint and all knees turn to water; here, it’s coming, it will happen,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

^13 (8) The word of Adonai came to me: ^14 (9) “Human being, prophesy. Say that Adonai Elohim says to say this:

^17 (12) “Shout and wail, human being, because it’s coming upon my people, upon all the leaders of Isra’el — they will be victims of the sword along with my people. Strike your thigh in remorse! ^18 (13) For a test is coming, and what if he rejects the rod again then? He will cease to exist,” says Adonai Elohim.

^19 (14) “Therefore, human being, prophesy and clap your hands together. Then the sword will strike twice, three times, the sword for victims, the sword for a great slaughter, coming from every direction. ^20 (15) So that their hearts will melt, and many will stumble and fall, I have posted the point of the sword at every one of their gates. See how it flashes, sharpened for the kill!

I, Adonai, have spoken.”

^23 (18) The word of Adonai came to me: ^24 (19) “Now, human being, designate two roads for the sword of the king of Bavel to follow, both coming out of one country. Put up a signpost at the start of the road leading to the city. ^25 (20) Make a road, so that the sword can come to Rabbah of the people of ‘Amon and to Y’hudah in fortified Yerushalayim. ^26 (21) For the king of Bavel is standing at the fork in the road, where the two roads separate, about to use divination — he is shaking the arrows, consulting the household gods, examining the liver. ^27 (22) Into his right hand comes the lot for Yerushalayim, to set up battering rams, give the order for slaughter, raise a shout, set battering rams against the gates, build siege ramps and erect watchtowers. ^28 (23) The inhabitants will believe this is a false divination because of the oaths upon oaths [that their false prophets have sworn to the contrary]. But it will cause [God] to remember their guilt and thus insure their capture.

^29 (24) “Therefore this is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Because you have caused your guilt to be remembered, with your misdeeds revealed and the sins in all your actions evident — since you have been remembered, you will be captured.’ ^30 (25) As for you, you wicked prince of Isra’el, due to be killed, whose day has come, at the time of final punishment, ^31 (26) here is what Adonai Elohim says: