M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
16 They brought the Ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. They offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings[a] before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He distributed to each and every Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a cake of dates,[b] and a cake of raisins.
4 He designated the following individuals from the Levites to serve before the Ark of the Lord by remembering, thanking, and praising the Lord, the God of Israel:
5 Asaph was the leader. Zechariah was directly under him.
Jeiel,[c] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play music on harps and lyres.
Asaph was sounding the cymbals.
6 Benaiah and Jahaziel, the priests with trumpets, were to be continually before the Ark of the Covenant of God.
The Psalm of Thanks[d]
7 On that day David first gave the directive to give thanks to the Lord through the ministry of Asaph and his associates:
8 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his wonderful acts.[e]
10 Praise his holy name.
The hearts of those who seek the Lord will rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength.
Seek his presence continually.
12 Remember his wonderful acts, his signs,
and the judgments from his mouth,
13 you descendants[f] of Israel, his servant,
you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
a word he commanded for a thousand generations,
16 his covenant which he made with Abraham,
which was his sworn promise to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a statute for Israel,
an everlasting covenant.
18 He said, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as a portion for your inheritance,
19 even though your numbers are small,
and you are insignificant,
and you are living in it as aliens.”
20 They were wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another people.
21 Yet he did not permit anyone to oppress them.
He rebuked kings on their account:
22 “You must not touch my anointed ones.
Against my prophets you must do no harm.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wonderful acts among all the peoples,
25 for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are not gods at all.[g]
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Honor and majesty are before him.
Strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples.
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.
Bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth.
Surely the world stands firm.
It shall never be overthrown.
31 The heavens will be glad.[h]
The earth will rejoice.
They will say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 The sea and everything that fills it will roar.
The fields and everything in them will celebrate.
33 The trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
35 Say, “Save us, O God of our salvation.
Gather us and save us from the nations,
to give thanks to your holy name,
to glorify you by praising you.”
36 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said “Amen” and praised the Lord.
37 David left Asaph and his relatives there before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, to minister before the Ark continually, to do whatever was needed each day, 38 along with Obed Edom and sixty-eight relatives. Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah served as gatekeepers.
39 Zadok the priest and his fellow priests were assigned to the Tent of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon, 40 to present burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar for burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, according to everything written in the Law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel.
41 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endures forever.
42 With them were Heman and Jeduthun to make music to God with trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments. The descendants of Jeduthun were assigned to the gate.
43 Then all the people departed, each to his own house, and David returned to bless his house.
Control Your Tongue
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 To be sure, we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a fully mature man, able to bridle his whole body as well.
3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they will obey us, we also guide the whole animal. 4 And consider ships: Although they are very big and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it also boasts great things.
Consider how a little flame can set a large forest on fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. It is set among the parts of our body as a world of unrighteousness that stains the whole body, sets the whole course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.[a] 7 Indeed, every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is being tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no one is able to tame the human tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord[b] and Father, and with it we curse people, who are made in the likeness of God. 10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. 11 A spring does not pour out both fresh and bitter water from the same opening, does it? 12 Can a fig tree bear olives, my brothers, or can a grapevine produce figs? A salt spring cannot produce fresh water either.[c]
Wisdom From Above
13 Who among you is wise and intelligent? Let him by his good way of living show that he does things in wise humility. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and lie, contrary to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but it is worldly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 In fact, where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and every bad practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then also peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who practice peace.
The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord God says about[a] Edom.
A Message Spreads to the Nations
We have heard news from the Lord, and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
“Get up. Let us rise up against her in battle.”
The Lord’s Message to Edom
2 Listen, I will make you insignificant among the nations. You will be completely despised.
3 You who live in the clefts of the rocky cliff,[b] the pride of your heart has deceived you. Your dwelling is so high that you say in your heart, “Who can bring me down to the ground?” 4 Even if you would soar as high as an eagle, and even if your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.
5 If thieves came to you, if robbers came by night—oh, what disaster awaits you!—wouldn’t they steal only until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some grapes for gleaning? 6 Oh, how completely Esau will be ransacked! His hidden treasures will be searched out and looted!
7 All your allies will push you back to your border.
Those who were at peace with you will deceive you and overpower you.
Those who eat bread with you will lay a trap for you.
There is no understanding left in Edom.[c]
8 Will I not destroy the wise men of Edom on that day, declares the Lord? Will I not take away from the mountain of Esau those who have understanding? 9 Your strong warrior, Teman,[d] will be shattered by terror, so that everyone from the mountain of Esau will be cut down by the massacre.
10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever. 11 On the day when you stood by and watched, on the day when strangers carried away Jacob’s wealth,[e] and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.
12 But do not look down on your brother on the day of his misfortune.
Do not rejoice over the people of Judah on the day when they are destroyed.
Do not speak proudly on the day of distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of my people on the day of their disaster.
Do not look down on their affliction on the day of their calamity.
Do not seize their wealth on the day of their disaster.
14 Do not stand in the crossroads to cut off those who have escaped.
Do not imprison his survivors on the day of distress.
A Message to All Nations
15 Yes, the Day of the Lord is near for all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 For just as you Edomites[f] have drunk on my holy mountain, so also all the nations will drink continually. Yes, they will drink and guzzle it down, and it will be as though the Edomites never existed.
17 But on Mount Zion, there will be some who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will recapture its territory. 18 The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, but the house of Esau will be stubble. The Israelites[g] set them on fire and consume them. There will not be any survivors for the house of Esau.
Yes, the Lord has spoken.
19 People from the Negev[h] will take possession of the mountains of Esau, and those from the Shephelah[i] will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will take possession of the territory[j] of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria. Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 Those from the army of the people of Israel who have been exiles[k] will take possession of the territory of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,[l] and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad[m] will take possession of the cities of the Negev. 21 Saviors[n] will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
The Calling of the First Disciples
5 One time, while the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.[a] 2 He saw two boats there along the lakeshore. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered him, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. 7 They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” 9 For Peter and all those with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people.”
11 After they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus Heals a Leper
12 On another occasion, Jesus was in one of the towns, and there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be made clean.”
Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Jesus ordered him to tell no one, “But go, show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony for them.” 15 The news about him spread even more, and large crowds gathered to listen and be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.
Jesus Forgives Sins
17 On one of the days while Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 Just then, men who were carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher tried to bring him in and lay him in front of Jesus. 19 Since they did not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him down through the tiles on his stretcher into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins have been forgiven.”
21 The experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins except God alone?”
22 But Jesus knew their thoughts and answered them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . .” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”
25 Immediately, he stood up in front of them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all astonished and glorified God. They were also filled with reverence and said, “We have seen wonderful things today.”
The Calling of Levi (Matthew)
27 After these things, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow me.”
28 Levi left everything, got up, and followed Jesus. 29 Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house. There was a large crowd of tax collectors and others dining with them. 30 The Pharisees and experts in the law grumbled against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered them, “The healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
A Question About Fasting
33 They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples fast and pray often, and so do the Pharisees’ disciples, but yours go on eating and drinking?”
34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then, in those days, they will fast.”
36 He told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new garment, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old one. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Instead, new wine must be put into fresh wineskins so both are preserved. 39 And no one wants new wine while drinking old wine, because he says, ‘The old is fine.’”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.