M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men. I will set out to pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him when he is tired and weak and cause him to panic. All the people with him will flee. Then I will strike down only the king. 3 I will bring back the rest of the people to you. The life of the man whom you are seeking will gain the return of all of them.[a] All the rest of the people will be safe.” 4 Ahithophel’s plan seemed good to all the elders of Israel.
5 But Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Arkite. We should also hear what he has to say.” 6 So Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom said to him, “This is what Ahithophel has said. Shall we do it? If you disagree, speak up.”
7 Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the advice Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8 Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men. They are fierce warriors, like an enraged bear in the open country who has lost her cubs. Your father is a fighter. He will not spend the night with the people. 9 Certainly, by now he has hidden himself in one of the caves or in some other place. What if he attacks and some of our men fall first? Whoever hears about it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the followers of Absalom.’ 10 Even the very brave, whose hearts are like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a fierce warrior, and that those who are with him are brave men. 11 So, I advise you to gather all Israel to you from Dan to Beersheba, as many as the sand beside the sea, and that you personally lead them into battle. 12 We should attack the king in whatever place he is found. We will come down on him like the dew that falls upon the ground. There will not even be one survivor from him and from all the men with him. 13 If he withdraws into a city, all Israel should bring ropes to that city. We will drag it into the valley until there will not be even one pebble found there.”
14 Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.”
The Lord had arranged to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster upon Absalom.
15 Then Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel. But this is what I have advised. 16 Now send a message quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at the fords in the wilderness. Also, be sure to cross over the river, or the king and all the people who are with him will be swallowed up.’”
17 Jonathan and Ahima’az were to wait at En Rogel because they could not risk being seen going into the city. A female servant was to go out and inform them. Then they could go and tell King David. 18 However, a young man saw them and told Absalom. So the two of them quickly went to the house of a man at Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. 19 His wife took a cover, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain on it. Nobody knew that she did it.
20 Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahima’az and Jonathan?”
The woman said to them, “They have passed by toward the river.”[b] Absalom’s servants pursued them but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 When they left, Ahima’az and Jonathan climbed out of the well. They went and reported to King David, and they said to him, “Get up and cross over the river quickly because this is what Ahithophel advised against you.” 22 So David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan, beginning at the first light of day and continuing until everyone had crossed over the Jordan.
23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey, set out, went to his house in his hometown, and set his household in order. Then he hanged himself. He died, and he was buried in the tomb of his father.
24 David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed over the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25 Absalom had put Amasa in command of the army instead of Joab. (Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Ishmaelite[c] who had gone to Abigal,[d] the daughter of Nahash, the sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab.)
26 Israel and Absalom set up camp in the land of Gilead.
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 28 brought beds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,[e] 29 honey, cheese curds, sheep, and cheese from cow’s milk for David and for the people with him to eat, because they said, “The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Paul’s Defense
10 Now I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the humility and gentleness of Christ—I, who am “gentle” when I am in your presence, but “bold” toward you when I am away. 2 I pray that, when I arrive there, I may not have to be bold with the confidence that I expect to use in daring to confront some who think that we walk in the way the sinful flesh does. 3 For even though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war in the way the sinful flesh does. 4 Certainly, the weapons of our warfare are not those of the flesh, but weapons made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down thoughts 5 such as all arrogance that rises up against the knowledge of God, and we make every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ. 6 And we are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is fully restored.
7 You are looking at things only according to the outward appearance. If anyone has convinced himself that he belongs to Christ, let him consider this about himself: We belong to Christ just as much as he does. 8 Indeed, even if I may boast some more about our authority, which the Lord has given for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be put to shame. 9 My purpose is not to seem as if I am trying to frighten you by my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his physical presence is weak, and his speech amounts to nothing.” 11 Let such a person consider this: What we are, by our word through letters when we are away, is just what we will be in our work when we are present.
12 To be sure, we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who speak highly of themselves. On the contrary, when they measure themselves only by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 But we will not boast about things that cannot be measured. Instead, we will boast according to the measure of the assignment that the God who measures things measured out to us: to reach out also as far as to you. 14 Indeed, we are not overdoing our boasting, as if we had not come to you. In fact, we were the first ones to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We are not boasting about things that cannot be measured, that is, in the hard work of others. But we are hoping that, as your faith grows, our assignment will be greatly increased while we are among you, 16 with the result that we will preach the gospel to the regions beyond you. Then we will not be boasting about what someone else has already done in his assignment. 17 But let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.[a] 18 To be sure, it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
A Parable About the Siege of Jerusalem
24 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month.[a]
2 Son of man, record this date, this very day. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day. 3 Tell a parable to the rebellious house. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says.
Put the pot on. Put it on. Then pour water in it. 4 Put the pieces of meat into it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder. Fill it with the best cuts.[b] 5 Take the best of the flock. Pile up the wood[c] under it. Boil it thoroughly, so that the pieces[d] in it are well cooked.
6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Woe to the bloody city, a pot whose residue[e] is inside it, whose residue has not gone out of it!
Take out its cuts of meat piece by piece, without choosing one piece in preference to another.[f] 7 Do this because the blood she shed remains within her. She spilled it on a bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground, where the soil would cover it. 8 To rouse wrath and to exact repayment, I have spilled her blood on a bare rock so that it would not be covered.
9 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Woe to the bloody city! I myself will keep piling up the wood. 10 Add more wood. Stoke the fire. Overcook the meat. Pour out the broth.[g] Let the bones be charred. 11 Leave the empty pot on the coals so that it becomes hot and its bronze glows, till the filth inside it is melted, and its residue is burned away. 12 The city has wearied me with its wickedness. Its filthy residue has not been removed from it. Into the fire with its filthy residue!
13 Your impurity is lewdness. I tried to cleanse you, but you did not become clean, and as a result you will not be clean again from your impurity until I have exhausted my wrath against you. 14 I, the Lord, have spoken. This is coming, and I will do it. I will not neglect it. I will not spare you, and I will not relent. According to your behavior and your misdeeds, you will be judged, declares the Lord God.
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 The word of the Lord came to me.
16 Son of man, be warned! With one blow I am taking away from you what your eyes desire. You must not mourn or cry. Your tears must not flow. 17 Groan silently. Perform no mourning rites for the dead. Bind your turban on your head. Put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip. Do not eat the food people bring to mourners.
18 So I spoke to the people that morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. 19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?”
20 I answered them, “This is the word of the Lord that came to me.”
21 Say to the house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says.
I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of which you are so proud, the sight your eyes desire, the place your soul yearns for. Your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 You will do as I have done. You will not cover your upper lip. You will not eat the food people bring to mourners. 23 Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or cry, but you will waste away in your guilt, and you will groan to one another. 24 In this way, Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do everything the same way as he has done it. When it happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.
25 But you, son of man, be aware that on that day when I take away from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, what their eyes desire, and that on which they set their hearts—their sons and their daughters as well— 26 on that day a survivor will come to you to let you hear it with your own ears. 27 On that day, your mouth will be opened when the survivor comes. Then you will speak and be speechless no longer. You will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.
Psalm 72
The Rule of the Righteous King
Heading
By Solomon.
The King’s Justice
1 God, give your authority to judge to the King.
Give your righteousness to the Son of the King.
2 He will judge your people with righteousness.
He will judge your afflicted ones with justice.
3 The mountains will deliver peace to the people.
The hills will produce righteousness.
4 He will obtain justice for the afflicted among the people.
He will save the children of the poor,
but he will crush the oppressor.
The King’s Eternal Reign
5 They will fear you[a] as long as the sun remains,
and as long as the moon endures, through all generations.
6 He will come down like rain on a mown field,
like showers, like a downpour on the earth.
7 In his days the righteous will flourish,
and peace will be plentiful till the moon is no more.
The King’s Universal Reign
8 He will rule[b] from sea to sea
and from the River[c] to the ends of the earth.
9 Those who dwell in the desert will bow before him,
and his enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the sea coasts will bring tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer him gifts.
11 All kings will bow down to him.
All nations will serve him.
The Blessings of His Rule
12 He will certainly deliver the poor person who cries out,
as well as the afflicted, and the one who has no helper.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the poor.
He will save the lives of the poor.
14 From oppression and violence he will redeem their lives,
because their blood is precious in his sight.
A Prayer for His Blessings
15 May the King live![d]
May gold from Sheba be offered to him.
May people always pray for him.
May they bless him all day long.
16 Let there be an abundance of grain in the land.
Let it wave on the top of the mountains.
Let its fruit trees be like the cedars of Lebanon.[e]
Let people from the city flourish like the grass of the land.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name flourish as long as the sun.
They will be blessed through him.
All nations will call him blessed.
Closing Doxology
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.