M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Reign of Solomon
Chapter 1
Solomon’s Wisdom.[a] 1 Solomon, the son of David, strengthened his hold on the kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly powerful.
2 After summoning all Israel, Solomon addressed the commanders of units of thousands and hundreds, the judges, and all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families. 3 Then, accompanied by the entire assembly, he went to the high place at Gibeon where God’s meeting tent was located, the tent that Moses, the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. 4 However, David had brought up the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, having pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.
5 In addition, the bronze altar that Bezalel, the son of Hur, had made was also there in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly frequently consulted him. 6 Solomon also offered one thousand burnt offerings upon the bronze altar which was at the meeting tent.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask what you wish me to grant you.” 8 Solomon replied to God: “You have shown great and faithful love to my father, and you have granted me the privilege of succeeding him as king. 9 O Lord God, let your promise to my father David now be fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Therefore, now grant me wisdom and knowledge to lead this people, for without your help who can rule this great people of yours?”
11 Then God replied to Solomon: “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth or possessions or honor, or for the lives of those who are hostile to you, or even for a long life for yourself, but instead have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may govern my people over whom I have designated you to be king, 12 wisdom and knowledge will be granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and glory such as no king before you has had and none after you shall be granted.”[b]
13 Solomon’s Wealth.[c] Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the meeting tent to the high place at Gibeon, and he reigned as king over Israel. 14 He accumulated vast numbers of chariots and horses, amassing fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed some in the chariot cities, and the rest with the king at Jerusalem.
15 In Jerusalem the king made silver and gold as common as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as the sycamores in the lowlands. 16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Cilicia, obtained by the king’s traders from Cilicia at the prevailing price. 17 The traders would import chariots from Egypt for six hundred shekels apiece, and horses from Cilicia for one hundred and fifty shekels apiece. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.
Chapter 1
Prologue[a]
An Authentic Communion of Life
1 This is what we proclaim to you:
what existed from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our own eyes,
what we have looked at
and touched with our hands—
we are speaking of the Word of life.[b]
2 That life was made visible;
we have seen it and bear witness,
proclaiming to you the eternal life[c]
that was with the Father
and was revealed to us.
3 What we have seen and heard
we declare to you
so that you may have fellowship[d] with us.
For our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 We are writing this
so that our joy may be complete.
Walk in the Light
God Is Light[e]
5 This is the message
that we have heard from him
and that we declare to you:
God is light,
and there is no darkness[f] at all in him.
6 If we claim that we have fellowship with him
while we continue to live in darkness,
we are lying and do not live in the truth.
7 However, if we live in the light
as he himself is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son
purifies us from all sin.
Deliverance from Sin[g]
8 If we claim that we are sinless,
we are only deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
9 However, if we confess our sins,
he who is faithful and just
will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all wrongdoing.
10 If we say that we have never sinned,
we make him out to be a liar,
and his word is not in us.
Chapter 7
More than One Righteous Person among the People
1 How great is my misery!
I have become like one who,
when the summer fruit has been gathered
and the vines have been gleaned,
finds not a single cluster of grapes to eat,
nor any of those early figs for which I long.
2 The faithful have vanished from the land;
there is no honest person to be found.
They all lie in wait to shed blood;
each one hunts his brother with a net.
3 Their hands are skilled in performing evil deeds;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge asks for a bribe,
the powerful man follows his own desires.
4 The best of them is like a briar,
the most upright like a thorn hedge.
The day of their punishment now approaches;
now they will be seized by confusion.
5 Put no trust in a friend:
have no confidence in a loved one.
Guard the portals of your mouth
against her who lies in your embrace.
6 For a son maligns his father,
a daughter rebels against her mother,
a daughter-in-law rises up against her mother-in-law;
your enemies are to be found in your own household.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord.
I place my hope in God my savior;
my God will hear me.
Poems of Hope[a]
I Shall Rise Up
8 Do not gloat over me, O my enemy.
Although I have fallen, I will arise.
Although I sit in darkness,
the Lord is my light.
9 I must endure the anger of the Lord
because I have sinned against him,
until he takes up my cause
and forgives my wrongs,
until he brings me into the light
and I will behold his saving justice.
10 When my enemies see this,
they will be filled with shame,
those who said to me,
“Where is the Lord, your God?”
My eyes will see their downfall
as they are trampled underfoot
like mud in the streets.
11 That will be the day for rebuilding your walls,
the day for extending your boundaries.
12 On that day a people will come to you,
all the way from Assyria and from Egypt,
from Tyre to the Euphrates,
from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 And the earth will be a wasteland
because of its inhabitants,
as a suitable punishment for their deeds.[b]
Make Us See Wonders
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that is your heritage,
that lives by itself in a forest
with meadows surrounding it.
Let them graze in Bashan[c] and Gilead,
as in the days of old.
15 Show us wondrous signs
as in the days when you came out
from the land of Egypt.
16 The nations will see and be confounded
despite all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths;
their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like snakes,
like reptiles that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their strongholds
and turn in dread to behold the Lord, our God,
as they approach him in awe and terror.
The God Who Forgives
18 What god can compare with you,
the God who takes away guilt
and forgives the transgressions
of the remnant of your people?
You will not allow your anger to fester forever,
for your delight is in bestowing mercy.
19 You will again show us compassion
and wash away our guilt;
you will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and unswerving mercy to Abraham
as you swore to our ancestors
from the days of old.
Chapter 16
Riches and Poverty[a]
The Parable of the Crafty Steward.[b] 1 Jesus also said to his disciples: “There was a rich man who had a steward, and he was informed that this steward was squandering his property. 2 Therefore, he summoned him and said, ‘What are these reports that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’
3 “Then the steward said to himself, ‘What am I going to do, now that my master is dismissing me from being steward? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am too ashamed to beg. 4 What I must do is to make sure that people will welcome me into their homes once I am removed from being steward.’
5 “Then he summoned his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 When he was told, ‘One hundred jars of olive oil,’ he said to the man, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and change the number to fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ When he was told, ‘One hundred measures of wheat,’ he said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 The master commended the crafty steward because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.[c]
Application of the Parable.[d] 9 “And I tell you: use your worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that, when it has been exhausted, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted in small matters can also be trusted in great ones, but whoever is dishonest in small matters will also be dishonest in great ones. 11 Therefore, if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not shown yourself to be trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you anything of your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters. For you will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Teachings concerning Justice and the Judaic Law
14 A Saying against the Pharisees.[e] The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and they ridiculed him. 15 He said to them, “You people pretend to be upright when you wish to impress others, but God knows what is in your hearts. That which is highly esteemed in the eyes of men is detestable in the sight of God.
16 Sayings about the Law.“The Law and the Prophets were in effect until John. From that time the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is trying to force his way in.[f] 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one letter of the Law to be discarded.[g]
18 Sayings about Divorce.[h]“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus: A Warning
19 The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.[i]“There was a rich man who used to dress in purple garments and the finest linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who would have been grateful to be fed with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
22 “Now the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In the netherworld,[j] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham, far off, and Lazarus by his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that during your lifetime you received many good things, while Lazarus suffered greatly. Now he is being comforted while you are in agony. 26 Moreover, between us and you a great chasm has been established, so that no one who wishes to do so can pass from our side to yours, nor can anyone pass from your side to ours.’
27 “ ‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘to send him to my father’s house, 28 to warn my five brothers, lest they too end up in this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham responded, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 Abraham answered, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
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