M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 23
The Last Words of David.[a] 1 These are the last words of David:
The oracle of David, son of Jesse;
the oracle of the man God raised up,
Anointed of the God of Jacob,
favorite of the Mighty One of Israel.(A)
2 The spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.(B)
3 The God of Israel spoke;
of me the Rock of Israel said,
“One who rules over humankind with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,(C)
4 Is like the light at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
making the land’s vegetation glisten after rain.”(D)
5 Is not my house firm before God?
He has made an eternal covenant with me,
set forth in detail and secured.(E)
Will he not bring to fruition
all my salvation and my every desire?
6 But the wicked are all like thorns to be cast away;
they cannot be taken up by hand.(F)
7 One wishing to touch them
must be armed with iron or the shaft of a spear.
They must be utterly consumed by fire.
David’s Warriors. 8 These are the names of David’s warriors.[b] Ishbaal, the son of Hachamoni, chief of the Three. He brandished his spear over eight hundred whom he had slain in a single encounter.(G) 9 Next to him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the Three warriors with David at Ephes-dammim, when they insulted the Philistines who had massed there for battle. The Israelites had retreated,(H) 10 but he stood there and struck down the Philistines until his hand grew tired from clutching the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory on that day; the army turned back to rejoin Eleazar, but only to strip the slain. 11 Next to him was Shammah, son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled at Lehi, where there was a plot of land full of lentils. The people were fleeing before the Philistines,(I) 12 but he took his stand in the middle of the plot, kept it safe, and cut down the Philistines. Thus the Lord brought about a great victory. Such deeds as these the Three warriors performed.
13 Three of the Thirty chiefs went down to David in the cave of Adullam during the harvest, while a Philistine clan was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.(J) 14 David was then in the stronghold, and there was a garrison of Philistines in Bethlehem. 15 Now David had a craving and said, “If only someone would give me a drink of water from the cistern by the gate of Bethlehem!” 16 Thereupon the three warriors broke through the encampment of the Philistines, drew water from the cistern by the gate of Bethlehem, and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it, and instead poured it out[c] to the Lord, 17 saying: “The Lord forbid that I do such a thing! Could I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he refused to drink it.
18 Abishai, the brother of Joab, son of Zeruiah, was the chief of the Thirty; he brandished his spear over three hundred whom he had slain. He made a name among the Thirty, 19 but was more famous than any of the Thirty, becoming their leader. However, he did not attain to the Three.
20 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, a valiant man of mighty deeds, from Kabzeel, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. Also, he went down and killed the lion in the cistern on a snowy day.(K) 21 He likewise slew an Egyptian, a huge man. The Egyptian carried a spear, but Benaiah came against him with a staff; he wrested the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with that spear. 22 Such deeds as these Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, performed; and he made a name among the Thirty warriors 23 but was more famous than any of the Thirty. However, he did not attain to the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.(L) 24 Asahel,(M) brother of Joab, was among the Thirty; Elhanan, son of Dodo, from Bethlehem; 25 Shammah, from En-harod; Elika, from En-harod; 26 Helez, from Beth-pelet; Ira, son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa; 27 Abiezer, from Anathoth; Sibbecai, from Husha;(N) 28 Zalmon, from Ahoh; Maharai, from Netophah; 29 Heled, son of Baanah, from Netophah; Ittai, son of Ribai, from Gibeah of Benjamin; 30 Benaiah, from Pirathon; Hiddai, from the valley of Gaash; 31 Abibaal, from Beth-arabah; Azmaveth, from Bahurim; 32 Eliahba, from Shaalbon; Jashen the Gunite; Jonathan, 33 son of Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam, son of Sharar the Hararite; 34 Eliphelet, son of Ahasbai, from Beth-maacah; Eliam, son of Ahithophel, from Gilo; 35 Hezrai, from Carmel; Paarai the Arbite; 36 Igal, son of Nathan, from Zobah; Bani the Gadite; 37 Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai, from Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab, son of Zeruiah; 38 Ira, from Jattir; Gareb, from Jattir; 39 Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.(O)
IV. Faith and Liberty
Chapter 3
Justification by Faith.[a] 1 O stupid[b] Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?(A) 2 I want to learn only this from you:(B) did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?[c] 3 Are you so stupid?(C) After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?[d] 4 Did you experience so many things[e] in vain?—if indeed it was in vain. 5 Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard?(D) 6 Thus Abraham “believed God,(E) and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[f]
7 [g]Realize then that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.(F) 8 Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, “Through you shall all the nations be blessed.”(G) 9 Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.(H) 10 [h]For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.”(I) 11 And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live.”(J) 12 But the law does not depend on faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them.”(K) 13 Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,”(L) 14 that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.(M)
The Law Did Not Nullify the Promise. 15 [i]Brothers, in human terms I say that no one can annul or amend even a human will once ratified.(N) 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant.[j] It does not say, “And to descendants,” as referring to many, but as referring to one, “And to your descendant,” who is Christ.(O) 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward,[k] does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise.(P) 18 For if the inheritance comes from the law,(Q) it is no longer from a promise; but God bestowed it on Abraham through a promise.[l]
19 [m]Why, then, the law? It was added for transgressions, until the descendant[n] came to whom the promise had been made; it was promulgated by angels at the hand of a mediator.(R) 20 Now there is no mediator when only one party is involved, and God is one.(S) 21 Is the law then opposed to the promises [of God]? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could bring life, then righteousness would in reality come from the law.(T) 22 But scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.(U)
What Faith Has Brought Us.[o] 23 Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed.(V) 24 Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian[p] for Christ, that we might be justified by faith.(W) 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.(X) 26 For through faith you are all children of God[q] in Christ Jesus.(Y) 27 [r]For all of you who were baptized into Christ(Z) have clothed yourselves with Christ.[s] 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(AA) 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.(AB)
Chapter 30
The Day of the Lord Against Egypt. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God:
Wail: “Alas the day!”
3 Yes, a day approaches,
a day of the Lord approaches:
A day of dark cloud,
a time appointed for the nations.(A)
4 A sword will come against Egypt,
there will be anguish in Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt
when its hordes are seized,
its foundations razed.(B)
5 Ethiopia, Put, and Lud,
all the mixed rabble[a] and Kub,
and the people of allied lands
shall fall by the sword with them.
6 Thus says the Lord:
The pillars of Egypt shall fall,
and its proud strength sink;
From Migdol to Syene,
its people will fall by the sword—
oracle of the Lord God.(C)
7 It shall be the most desolate
among desolate lands,
Its cities the most ruined
among ruined cities.
8 They shall know that I am the Lord,
when I set fire to Egypt,
and all its allies are shattered.(D)
9 On that day, messengers from me
will go forth in ships
to terrorize confident Ethiopia.
Anguish will be among them
on Egypt’s day—it is certainly coming![b]
10 Thus says the Lord God:
I will put an end to Egypt’s hordes
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 devastate the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 Then I will dry up the streams of the Nile,
and sell the land into evil hands;
By the hand of foreigners I will devastate
the land and everything in it.
I, the Lord, have spoken.(E)
13 [c]Thus says the Lord God:
I will destroy idols,
and put an end to images in Memphis.
There will never again be a prince
over the land of Egypt.
Instead, I will spread fear
throughout the land of Egypt.(F)
14 I will devastate Pathros,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgment against Thebes.(G)
15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the fortress of Egypt,
and cut off the troops of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis besieged in daylight.
17 The warriors of On and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
the cities taken captive.
18 In Tahpanhes, the day will turn dark
when I break the scepter of Egypt there
and put an end to its proud strength.
Dark clouds will cover it,
and its women will go into captivity.(H)
19 I will execute judgment against Egypt
that they may know that I am the Lord.
Pharaoh’s Broken Arm. 20 On the seventh day of the first month in the eleventh year,[d] the word of the Lord came to me: 21 [e]Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. See! It has not been immobilized for healing, nor set with a splint to make it strong enough to grasp a sword.(I) 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: See! I am coming against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the strong one and the broken one, making the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout other lands. 24 I will, however, strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand so he can bring it against Egypt for plunder and pillage.(J) 25 When I strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh collapse, they shall know that I am the Lord, because I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon to wield against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout other lands, they shall know that I am the Lord.
38 [a]But God being compassionate forgave their sin;
he did not utterly destroy them.
Time and again he turned back his anger,
unwilling to unleash all his rage.(A)
39 He remembered that they were flesh,
a breath that passes on and does not return.
III
A
40 How often they rebelled against God in the wilderness,
grieved him in the wasteland.
41 Again and again they tested God,
provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power,
the day he redeemed them from the foe,(B)
43 [b]When he performed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the plain of Zoan.(C)
44 God turned their rivers to blood;
their streams they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of insects that devoured them,(D)
frogs that destroyed them.
46 He gave their harvest to the caterpillar,
the fruits of their labor to the locust.
47 He killed their vines with hail,(E)
their sycamores with frost.
48 He exposed their cattle to plague,
their flocks to pestilence.(F)
49 He let loose against them the heat of his anger,
wrath, fury, and distress,
a band of deadly messengers.
50 He cleared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but delivered their animals to the plague.
51 He struck all the firstborn of Egypt,(G)
the first fruits of their vigor in the tents of Ham.
52 Then God led forth his people like sheep,
guided them like a flock through the wilderness.(H)
53 He led them on secure and unafraid,
while the sea enveloped their enemies.(I)
54 And he brought them to his holy mountain,
the hill his right hand had won.(J)
55 He drove out the nations before them,
allotted them as their inherited portion,
and settled in their tents the tribes of Israel.
B
56 But they tested and rebelled against God Most High,
his decrees they did not observe.
57 They turned disloyal, faithless like their ancestors;
they proved false like a slack bow.
58 They enraged him with their high places,
and with their idols provoked him[c] to jealous anger.(K)
C
59 God heard and grew angry;
he rejected Israel completely.
60 He forsook the shrine at Shiloh,[d](L)
the tent he set up among human beings.
61 He gave up his might into captivity,
his glorious ark into the hands of the foe.(M)
62 God delivered his people to the sword;
he was enraged against his heritage.
63 Fire consumed their young men;
their young women heard no wedding songs.(N)
64 Their priests fell by the sword;
their widows made no lamentation.
D
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting from the effects of wine.
66 He put his foes to flight;
everlasting shame he dealt them.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph,
chose not the tribe of Ephraim.
68 [e]God chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which he loved.(O)
69 He built his shrine like the heavens,
like the earth which he founded forever.
70 He chose David his servant,
took him from the sheepfolds.(P)
71 From tending ewes God brought him,
to shepherd Jacob, his people,
Israel, his heritage.(Q)
72 He shepherded them with a pure heart;
with skilled hands he guided them.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.