M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Aftermath of the Battle
19 Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.”[a] 2 The victory that day became an occasion for mourning for all the people, because that day the people heard that the king was mourning for his son. 3 That day the people were sneaking into the city quietly, the way people who are ashamed of fleeing from the battle would sneak in quietly. 4 The king covered his face and cried with a loud voice, “My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.”
5 Joab came to the king at the house and said, “Today you have put to shame all your followers, who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and concubines. 6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have demonstrated clearly today that your officers and followers are nothing to you. Today I have no doubt that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, you would be pleased. 7 Now get up. Go out. Speak to the hearts of your followers. For by the Lord, I swear that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you tonight, and this disaster will be greater for you than all the disasters that have come upon you from your youth until now.”
8 So the king got up and took his seat by the gate. All the people were told, “Look! The king is sitting in the gate.” So all the people came into the presence of the king.
Israel had fled, every man to his own home. 9 All the people in all the tribes of Israel were quarreling and saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies. He saved us from the hand of the Philistines. Now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now why are you silent about bringing back the king?”
11 King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. He said, “Speak to the elders of Judah. Ask them, ‘Why will you be the last to bring the king back to his palace?’ The plan that all Israel has been discussing has been reported to the king at his house. 12 You are my brothers. You are my flesh and blood.[b] Why will you be the last to bring back the king?”
13 He also said, “Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my flesh and blood? May God punish me severely and double it,[c] if you are not the permanent commander of my army in place of Joab.’”
14 David turned the hearts of all the men of Judah as if they were one man. They sent to the king and said, “Return, you and all your servants.”
15 So the king returned and came to the Jordan. The men of Judah came out to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king across the Jordan.
16 Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 One thousand men from Benjamin were with him. Also, Ziba, the manager of the house of Saul, came, along with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king. 18 They crossed over the ford to escort the household of the king across and to make a good impression on the king.
Shimei son of Gera bowed down before the king when he was crossing over the Jordan. 19 He spoke to the king: “My lord, do not consider me guilty. Do not remember the wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, and do not take it to heart, 20 for I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Look! I have come today, the first one from the whole house of Joseph to come down to welcome my lord the king.”
21 Abishai son of Zeruiah answered, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death because he cursed the anointed of the Lord?”
22 But David said, “What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? For today you are my adversaries. Should any man in Israel be put to death today? Do I not know that today I am king over Israel?” 23 The king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” The king took an oath concerning him.
24 Mephibosheth, grandson of Saul, also came down to welcome the king. He had not taken care of his feet or his beard and had not washed his clothing from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. 25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”
26 Mephibosheth answered, “Your servant said, ‘Because I am crippled, I need to have the donkey saddled so that I can ride on it and go with the king.’ But, my lord the king, my servant deceived me. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. However, my lord the king is like an angel of God. Do what is right in your eyes. 28 All the house of my father deserved death from my lord the king, but you included your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right do I have to cry out again to the king?”
29 The king said to him, “Why say more about your situation? I say that you and Ziba are to divide the land.”
30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has come safely to his house.”
31 Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim. He crossed over the Jordan, escorting the king back over the Jordan. 32 Barzillai was very old, eighty years old. He had provided food for the king during his stay at Mahanaim because he was a very wealthy man. 33 The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me. I will provide for you as my guest in Jerusalem.”
34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years am I going to be alive? Why should I go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 Today I am eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat and what I drink? Can I still hear the voice of the male and female singers? Why should your servant become a further burden to my lord the king? 36 Let your servant cross over the Jordan with the king for a short distance. Why will the king pay me back with such a reward? 37 Please, let your servant return and die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But look! Here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever seems good to you.”
38 So the king said, “Kimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you. All that you want from me, I will do for you.”
39 So all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king also crossed over. Then he kissed Barzillai and blessed him. Barzillai then returned to his own home. 40 The king went over to Gilgal, and Kimham crossed over with him.
All the people of Judah, as well as half the people of Israel, escorted the king over. 41 But suddenly all the men of Israel came and said to the king, “Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, along with all the men of David?”
42 All the men of Judah responded to the men of Israel, “It is because the king is closely related to us! Why has this angered you? Have we eaten at the king’s expense? Or have we received anything for ourselves?”
43 The men of Israel responded to the men of Judah, “Ten shares of the king belong to us! That is more of David than you have the right to. Why do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak about bringing our king back?”
But the response of the men of Judah was even harsher than the words of the men of Israel.
Carried Up to Paradise
12 I must go on boasting, although there is nothing to be gained. So I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago, was carried up to the third heaven (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know—God knows). 3 And I know that such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know—God knows) 4 was carried up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words that a man cannot possibly speak.[a] 5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 6 Indeed, if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from doing this, so that no one will think more highly of me than what he sees in me or hears from me.
7 Therefore,[b] to keep me from becoming arrogant due to the extraordinary nature of these revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, so that I would not become arrogant. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that he would take it away from me. 9 And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect[c] in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me.
10 That is why I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For whenever I am weak, then am I strong.
Not a Burden
11 I have become a fool. You forced me. After all, I ought to be commended by you, because I was not inferior to the “super-apostles” in any way, even if I am nothing. 12 The signs of an apostle—signs and wonders and miracles—were performed among you with all perseverance. 13 For how were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me for this wrong.
14 See, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not seek your possessions, but you. After all, the children should not have to save up for their parents, but the parents for their children. 15 But I will very gladly spend and be completely spent on behalf of your souls. If I love you all the more, am I to be loved that much less? 16 But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Oh, but I was just being crafty and using deceit to exploit you, wasn’t I! 17 Did I ever take advantage of you through any one of the men I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go and sent our brother with him. Surely Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not walk in the same spirit—in the very same footprints?
Paul’s Visit
19 Are you thinking that we are trying to defend ourselves to you all this time?[d] We are speaking in the sight of God in Christ. Dear friends, all these words are for your strengthening. 20 For I am afraid that when I arrive, I may not find you as I want you to be, and that you might not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, pride, and disorder. 21 I fear that, when I arrive again, my God will humble me in regard to you, and I will have to grieve for many who sinned earlier and have not repented of the uncleanness, the sexual immorality, and the lewd sins they committed.
An Oracle Against Tyre
26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month,[a] the word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, “Aha! The gateway to the peoples has been broken. It has been turned over to me. Because of her devastation, I will achieve my goal,” 3 this is what the Lord God says.
I am against you, Tyre, and I will send many nations against you, as the sea sends up its waves. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape away even the dust off her and make her a bare rock. 5 In the middle of the sea, she will become nothing but a place where fishing nets are spread out to dry, for I have spoken it, says the Lord God. She will become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland[b] will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 So this is what the Lord God says. I am bringing against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and king of kings, together with horses, chariots, horsemen, and a vast array of troops from many nations. 8 Your daughters on the mainland he will kill with the sword. He will set up a siege wall against you and heap up a ramp against you, and erect a roof of shields[c] against you. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering ram against your walls, and he will demolish your towers with his swords. 10 His horses will be so numerous that the dust they raise will cover you. Your walls will shake from the noise of the horses’ hoofs, the wheels, and the chariots when he enters your gates, as men enter a breached city. 11 With the hoofs of his horses, he will trample all your streets. He will kill all your people with the sword. Your mighty pillars will topple to the ground. 12 They will plunder your wealth and take your merchandise as loot. They will tear down your walls and demolish your magnificent houses. Your stones, your timbers, and your rubble they will throw into the water. 13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will be heard no more. 14 I will turn you into a bare rock.
She[d] will become a place where fishing nets are spread out to dry. She will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the Lord God.
15 This is what the Lord God says to Tyre. How the coastlands will shudder at the sound of your downfall, when the victims groan, when the slain are slaughtered in your midst! 16 All the rulers of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and take off their fine embroidered garments. Instead, they will be clothed with trembling. They will sit on the ground and tremble every moment. They will be appalled by you. 17 They will raise a lament over you and say to you, “How you have perished, you city inhabited by men from the sea, you city that was celebrated, a city that was the strongest in the sea. She and her inhabitants, who spread their terror—she and all of her inhabitants have perished.[e] 18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall. The coastlands that are on the sea are terrified by your collapse.”
19 So this is what the Lord God says. When I make you a ruined city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the many waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down to be with those who have descended to the pit, to the people from ancient times. I will make you live below the earth, like ancient ruins. You will be with those who have descended to the pit, so that you will be uninhabited, and I will not give you glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist. You will be sought but never found again, declares the Lord God.
Psalm 74
The Destruction of the Temple
Heading
A maskil[a] by Asaph.
Introductory Plea
1 Why do you stay angry to the end, O God?
Why does your anger smoke against the flock in your pasture?
2 Remember your community that you purchased long ago,
the tribe that you redeemed to be your possession.
Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.
3 March toward the perpetual ruins.
March against all the evil done by the enemy in the sanctuary.
The Destruction
4 Your foes roared in the middle of your appointed place.
They set up their battle standards as signs.
5 They looked like men swinging axes in a thicket of trees.
6 Yes, they even chopped up all the carved paneling
with their hatchets and hammers.
7 They delivered your sanctuary to the fire.
They defiled the dwelling place for your Name
by throwing it to the ground.
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned all the appointed places of God in the land.
Deserted?
9 We do not see any signs to guide us.
There is no longer a prophet,
and none of us knows how long this will go on.
10 How long will the foe scoff, O God?
Will the enemy insult your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, even your right hand?
Take it out of your pocket[b] and finish them off!
God’s Past Goodness
12 But you, O God, are my king from long ago,
the one who works salvation right here on earth.
13 It was you who shattered the sea by your power.
You broke the heads of the great sea monsters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan.[c]
You gave him as food to the people who live in the desert.
15 It was you who opened up a spring and a seasonal stream.
You dried up the rivers that flow year-round.
16 The day belongs to you, and the night is also yours.
You set the moon and sun in place.
17 It was you who laid out all the boundaries of the earth.
Summer and winter—you shaped them.
Plea for Relief
18 Remember this—the enemy scoffs, Lord,
and a foolish people has insulted your name.
19 Do not surrender the life of your turtledove to a wild animal.
Do not forget the life of your afflicted ones forever.
20 Pay attention to the covenant,
because dens of violence fill the dark places in the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed turn back in disgrace.
Let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and prosecute your case.
Remember how the fools mocked you all day long.
23 Do not forget the sound of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.