M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Last Words of David
23 These are the last words of David,
the oracle[a] of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man raised up high,
the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
the pleasant singer of Israel’s songs.
2 The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me.
His word is on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel has spoken.
To me the Rock of Israel has said,
“The one who rules over people with righteousness,
who rules in the fear of God,
4 he is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
like a morning without clouds,
like brightness after rain, which produces grass from the earth.”
5 But my house is not like this with God.[b]
Nevertheless, he has made an everlasting covenant with me,
completely ordered and secure.
Certainly he will make it spring up for my salvation, to fulfill my desires.[c]
6 Worthless, wicked men are all like thorns to be thrown away.
No one even picks them up with his hand.
7 Anyone who touches them uses an iron tool or the shaft of a spear.
They are completely burned up in the fire, right where they are.
David’s Elite Warriors
8 These are the names of the elite warriors of David:
Jashobeam[d] son of Hakmon was leader among the Three.[e] He lifted up his spear and killed eight hundred[f] at once.[g]
9 After him came Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite. As one of the three elite warriors, he was with David when they defied the Philistines gathered there[h] for battle. The men of Israel retreated, 10 but he took a stand and struck down the Philistines until his hand got tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory on that day. The people of the army returned to Eleazar but only to strip the fallen.
11 After him came Shamma son of Agee, the Hararite. The Philistines were gathered at Lehi. In that location there was a parcel of land full of lentils. The people fled from the Philistines, 12 but Shamma took his stand in the middle of that parcel of ground and defended it. He struck down the Philistines, and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Three of the Thirty went down and came to David at the Cave of Adullam at the time of the grain harvest. A band of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem. 15 David expressed a deep craving, “Who will give me water to drink from the well[i] of Bethlehem, which is by the gate?” 16 So the three elite warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. They took it and brought it to David, but he was not willing to drink it, so he poured it out to the Lord. 17 He said, “May I be cursed, Lord, if I would do this. This is the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives!” He would not drink it. These are the things the three elite warriors did.
18 Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was the leader of the Thirty.[j] He wielded his spear against three hundred, all of whom were killed. His reputation equaled that of[k] the Three. 19 In fact, he was praised more than the Three, and he became their commander, but he did not belong to the Three.
20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, an energetic warrior from Kabze’el, performed great deeds. He struck the two Lions of God[l] from Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a cistern on a snowy day. 21 He killed an impressive Egyptian, who was armed with a spear. Benaiah went down against him with a staff, snatched the spear from the hand of the Egyptian, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These were the accomplishments of Benaiah son of Jehoiada. His reputation equaled that of the Three. 23 He was praised more than the Thirty, but he did not belong to the Three. David placed him over his bodyguard.
24 Among the Thirty were:
Asahel, the brother of Joab,
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
25 Shammah the Harodite,[m]
Elika the Harodite,
26 Helez the Paltite,[n]
Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,
27 Abiezer from Anathoth,
Mebunnai[o] the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon[p] the Ahohite,
Maharai the Netophathite,
29 Heleb[q] son of Ba’anah the Netophathite,
Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin,
30 Benaiah a Pirathonite,
Hiddai[r] from the ravines of Ga’ash,
31 Abi-Albon[s] the Arbathite,
Azmaveth the Barhumite,[t]
32 Eliahba the Sha’albonite,
the sons of Jashen,[u]
Jehonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite,
Ahiam son of Sharar[v] the Ararite,
34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai[w]
the son of the Ma’akathite,[x]
Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,[y]
35 Hezro the Carmelite,
Pa’arai the Arbite,[z]
36 Igal son of Nathan from Zobah,[aa]
Bani the Gadite,[ab]
37 Zelek the Ammonite,
Naharai of Be’eroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,
38 Ira the Ithrite,
Gareb the Ithrite,
39 Uriah the Hittite.
In all there were thirty-seven.
Believers Are Abraham’s Children
3 O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I just want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?[a]
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now trying to reach the goal by the flesh? 4 Did you experience so many things for nothing, if it were indeed for nothing? 5 So then, does the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the law? Or does he do it by your believing what you hear— 6 in the same way as Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”?[b]
7 Understand, then, that those who believe are the children of Abraham. 8 Foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, Scripture proclaimed the gospel in advance to Abraham, saying, “In you, all nations will be blessed.”[c] 9 So then, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Difference Between Law and Gospel
10 In fact, those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.”[d] 11 Clearly no one is declared righteous before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.”[e] 12 The law does not say “by faith.” Instead it says, “The one who does these things will live by them.”[f]
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. As it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”[g] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we would receive the promised Spirit through faith.
The Promise Came First
15 Brothers, I am speaking in human terms. When someone has established a last will and testament, no one nullifies it or adds to it. 16 The promises God spoke referred to Abraham and to his seed. It doesn’t say, “And to seeds,” as if it were referring to many, but, as referring to one, “And to your seed,”[h] who is Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: The law, which came into being 430 years after the covenant established earlier by God in Christ,[i] does not annul that covenant, with the result that it invalidates the promise. 18 In fact, if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by the promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham by a promise.
The Law as Chaperone
19 Then what about the law? It was added for the purpose of revealing transgressions, until the Seed[j] to whom the promise referred had come. It was transmitted through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not needed for one party, but God is one.
21 Then is the law against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given that could give life, certainly righteousness would have been derived from the law. 22 But Scripture imprisoned all things under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ would be given to those who believe. 23 But before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 So the law was our chaperone[k] until Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a chaperone.[l]
Sons of God Through Faith
26 In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is not Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one and the same in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants[m] and heirs according to the promise.
Egypt Will Fall
30 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, “This is what the Lord God says.”
All of you, wail! What a miserable day! 3 Yes, that day is near. The Day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time for the nations. 4 A sword will enter Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush[a] when the slain fall in Egypt. Then they will take away its wealth, and its foundations will be demolished. 5 Cush, Put,[b] Lud,[c] and all the other mercenaries,[d] Libya[e] and the men from the land of the covenant[f] will fall by the sword along with them.
6 This is what the Lord says. Those who prop up Egypt will fall, and its proud power will sink down. From Migdol to Aswan, those in Egypt will fall by the sword, declares the Lord God. 7 It will be the most desolate among the desolate lands, and its cities will be the most ruined among the ruined cities. 8 They will know that I am the Lord when I set fire to Egypt, and all its helpers are crushed. 9 On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships to terrify confident Cush, and there will be panic among them on the day for Egypt, for it is surely coming.
10 This is what the Lord God says. I will put an end to the horde of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his army with him, the most ruthless of nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the fallen. 12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile and sell the land to evil men. I will devastate the land and everything in it by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 This is what the Lord God says. I will destroy the filthy idols[g] and eliminate from Memphis the gods that are not gods. There will no longer be a ruler in the land of Egypt, and I will put fear into the land of Egypt. 14 I will desolate Upper Egypt.[h] I will set fire to Zoan and inflict punishments on Thebes.[i] 15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and I will cut off the horde of Thebes. 16 I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will writhe in pain. The defenses of Thebes will be broken down, and Memphis will face enemies every day. 17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the women[j] will go into captivity. 18 At Tahpanhes the day will grow dark when I break the yokes[k] of Egypt there, and there its proud power will cease. A cloud will cover it, and its daughters will go into captivity. 19 I will inflict judgment on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Pharaoh’s Arm Will Be Broken
20 In the eleventh year,[l] in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But it has not been wrapped up so that it can heal. It has not been wrapped tightly with a splint to help it heal, so that it can become strong enough to grasp a sword.
22 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken, and in this way I will cause the sword to fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword into his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan in the presence of the king of Babylon with groans like someone who is mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will hang limp. They will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
38 Yet he was compassionate.
He atoned for their guilt and did not destroy them.
Many times he restrained his anger,
and he did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He still remembered that they were only flesh,
like a wind that goes by and does not return.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness!
How often they grieved him in the wasteland!
41 They repeatedly put God to the test.
They provoked[a] the Holy One of Israel.
God’s Power Displayed in Egypt (Exodus 5–14)
42 They did not remember the power of his hand—
the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 when he displayed his signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the region of Zoan,
44 when he turned their rivers to blood,
so they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent against them a swarm of flies that bit them.
Then he sent frogs that destroyed them.
46 Then he gave their crops to the grasshopper.
He gave what they worked for to the locust.
47 He killed their grapevines with hail,
and their sycamore fig trees with sleet.
48 Then he turned over their cattle to hail,
and their livestock to lightning bolts.
49 He sent against them his burning anger,
his wrath and indignation and distress
by sending destroying angels.[b]
50 He prepared a path for his anger.
He did not spare their lives from death,
but he delivered their lives to the plague.
51 Then he struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruit of their virility in the tents of Ham.
52 But he led his people out like sheep.
He led them like a flock through the wilderness.
53 Then he guided them safely, so they were not afraid,
but the sea covered their enemies.
God’s Power Displayed in Canaan (Joshua)
54 Then he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountain which his right hand had taken.
55 He drove out nations before them.
He marked the boundaries of their inheritance,
and he settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
Rebellion in the Land (Judges)
56 But they tested him.
They rebelled against God Most High,
and they did not keep his testimonies.
57 Yes, they turned aside and were treacherous like their fathers.
They were as undependable as a crooked bow.
58 Then they angered him with their high places,
and they made him jealous with their idols.
Judgment in the Land
59 God heard, and he showed his anger.
He completely rejected Israel.
60 So he abandoned his dwelling in Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelled among people.
61 So he sent the symbol of his strength[c] away into captivity.
He gave his splendor into the hand of the foe.
62 He also handed over his people to the sword,
and he showed his anger against his possession.
63 Fire consumed their best young men,
so their virgins were not praised in wedding songs.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows did not weep.
Mercy in the Land
65 Then the Lord awoke like someone who has been sleeping,
like a warrior overcome by wine.
66 Then he drove back his foes.
He gave them everlasting shame.
67 Then he rejected the tent of Joseph,
and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 But he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 Then he built up his sanctuary like the heights,
like the world that he established for all time.
70 Then he chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens.
71 He brought him from following the mother sheep
to shepherd his people Jacob
and his possession Israel.
72 So he shepherded them with a sincere heart,
and with skillful hands he led them.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.