M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Naboth Vineyard Incident
21 Meanwhile, there was a man named Naboth from Jezreel who owned a vineyard that was located contiguous to King Ahab’s palace in Samaria. 2 Ahab addressed Naboth and asked him, “I would like to plant a vegetable garden near my house. Please exchange your vineyard with a better one from me, or if you’d rather have cash, I’ll buy it for its full value.”
3 But Naboth replied to Ahab, “No way! The Lord prohibits the sale to you of the inheritance of my ancestors!”
4 Ahab went back to his palace, sullen and in a foul mood, because Naboth the Jezreelite had turned down Ahab’s offer by saying, “I will not transfer my ancestors’ inheritance to you!” He laid down on his bed, curled up with his face to the wall, and refused to eat.
5 But his wife Jezebel went to him and asked him, “How is it that you’re so sullen and refusing to eat?”
6 “I asked Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard for cash, or if you want, I’ll give you a better one in its place.’ But he refused. He told me, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard!’”
7 “Aren’t you the reigning king of Israel?” his wife Jezebel replied. “Get up, have a meal, and get ready to be happy. I’ll go get you the vineyard that Naboth the Jezreelite owns.” 8 So she wrote some memos in Ahab’s name, set his personal seal to them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 In the memos, she wrote the following directives: “Proclaim a public fast and seat Naboth in the front row. 10 Seat two wicked men in front of him, and make them testify against him. Tell them to claim, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the leading men of the city, along with the elders and nobles who lived there, did precisely what Jezebel had directed them to do. They followed the instructions that she had set forth in the memos: 12 They proclaimed a public fast and seated Naboth in the front row. 13 Two wicked men came in, sat down in front of them, and testified against Naboth in public, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.[a]
14 Afterwards, they sent a message[b] to Jezebel that said, “Naboth has been stoned. He’s dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she told Ahab, “Get up and confiscate Naboth’s vineyard that he refused to sell you for cash. Naboth the Jezreelite isn’t alive anymore. He’s dead!” 16 So once he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up, went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, and confiscated it.
Elijah Rebukes Ahab
17 That’s when this message from the Lord came to Elijah the foreigner:[c] 18 “Get up and go down to meet King Ahab of Israel. He’s in Samaria. Look! He’s in Naboth’s vineyard, where he’s gone to confiscate it. 19 Ask the king, ‘Did you commit murder? And now you’re going to steal as well?’ Also tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Where the dogs were licking up Naboth’s blood, dogs will also lick up your blood—that’s right—yours!”’”
20 Later on, Ahab asked Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
But Elijah answered, “I’ve found you because you sold yourself to do what the Lord considers to be evil! 21 Now pay attention! I’m going to send evil in your direction! I will completely sweep you away and eliminate from Ahab every male, whether indentured servant or free, throughout Israel. 22 I will make your household resemble that of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, or like the household of Ahijah’s son Baasha, because of how you’ve provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin. 23 The Lord also has this to say about Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel within the outer ramparts of Jezreel. 24 Dogs will eat whoever belongs to Ahab and who dies in the city. The birds of the sky will eat whoever dies in the fields.’”
25 It can be truly said that no one else sold himself to practice what the Lord considered to be evil quite like the way Ahab did, because his wife Jezebel incited him. 26 His behavior in pursuing idolatry was detestable, just like the Amorites had done whom the Lord had expelled in front of the army of Israel. 27 Nevertheless, as soon as Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and wandered around meekly.
28 Later, this message from the Lord came to Elijah the foreigner:[d] 29 “Have you noticed that Ahab has humbled himself in my presence? Because he has humbled himself in my presence, I will not bring his evil to harvest[e] during his lifetime, but I will bring evil to his household during his son’s lifetime.”
Instructions on the Way Christians Should Live
4 Now then, brothers, you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, as in fact you are doing. We ask and encourage you in the Lord to do so even more. 2 You know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For it is God’s will that you be sanctified: You must abstain from sexual immorality. 4 Each of you must know how to control his own body[a] in a holy and honorable manner, 5 not with passion and lust like the gentiles who do not know God. 6 Furthermore, you must never take advantage of or exploit a brother in this regard, because the Lord avenges all these things, just as we already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to be holy. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects this instruction[b] is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9 Now you do not need anyone to write to you about brotherly love, since you have been taught by God to love each other. 10 In fact, you are showing love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia, but we urge you, brothers, to keep on doing this even more. 11 Also, make it your goal to live quietly, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may win the respect of outsiders, and have need of nothing.
Comfort about Christians who Have Died
13 But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve like other people who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus God will bring those who have died with him. 15 For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say:[c] We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died. 16 With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah[d] will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So then, encourage one another with these words.
Dedicating the Image to Nebuchadnezzar
3 Some time later, king Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue, making it 60 cubits[a] high and six cubits[b] wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley[c] within the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the regional authorities,[d] governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other[e] administrators of the provinces, ordering them to come to the dedication of the statue that he[f] had erected.
3 So the regional authorities,[g] governors, deputy governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all of the other[h] administrators of the provinces assembled to dedicate the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They took their places in front of the statue that he[i] had erected. 4 Then a herald proclaimed aloud:
“People of all[j] nations, and languages are commanded: 5 Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that was set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. 6 Anyone who does not fall down and worship is immediately to be thrown into the blazing fire furnace.”
7 Therefore, when all of the people “heard the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other[k] instruments,” all the “people, nations, and languages” began to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Daniel’s Friends are Accused
8 Just then, certain influential Chaldeans took this opportunity to come forward and denounce the Jews. 9 They told King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your majesty, live forever. 10 You, your majesty, issued this decree:
‘Every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp, playing together along with various other[l] instruments is to fall down and worship the golden statue. 11 Whoever does not fall down and worship is to be thrown into a blazing fire furnace.’
12 “Certain influential Jewish men whom you appointed to manage the city of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—have neither paid attention to you, your majesty, nor served your gods. And they won’t worship the golden statue that you set up.”
The Threat of the Fire Furnace
13 Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and furiously ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him.[m] 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t worship my gods and that you don’t worship the golden statue that has been set up? 15 Now, if you are ready at this very moment to obey ‘the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the lyre, the four-stringed lyre, and the harp,’ and worship the image that I have made… If you do not so worship, you will immediately have cast yourselves into the middle of the blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my power?”[n]
Daniel’s Friends Answer King Nebuchadnezzar
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “It’s not necessary for us to respond in this matter. 17 Your majesty, if it be his will,[o] our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you.[p] 18 But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won’t serve your gods, and we won’t worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
The King Orders an Execution
19 Out of control with rage, Nebuchadnezzar’s facial expression changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he ordered[q] that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he issued orders to his elite guard to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with ropes[r] and throw them into the blazing fire furnace. 21 So the elite guard tied them up fully clothed, still wearing their robes, tunics, and turbans, and threw them into the blazing fire furnace, 22 because the king’s command was so drastic. Since the furnace was blazing hot, its flames killed those who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the blazing fire. 23 Bound firmly with ropes, these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the blazing fire furnace.
The Fourth Man in the Furnace
24 Astonished, King Nebuchadnezzar stood up in terror, and asked his advisors, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire, bound firmly with ropes?”
In reply they told the king, “Yes, your majesty.”
25 “Look!” he told them,[s] “I see four men walking untied and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the appearance of the fourth resembles a divine being.”[t]
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of the blazing fire furnace. He shouted out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 The regional authorities,[u] viceroys, governors, and royal advisors gazed at those men and saw that the fire had no effect on their bodies—not a hair on their head was singed, their clothes were not burned, and they did not smell of fire.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and announced:
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 So I decree that people from any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be destroyed and their house reduced to rubble, because there is no other god who can save like this.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego within the province of Babylon.
BOOK V (Psalms 107-150)
Gratitude for God’s Deliverance
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His gracious love exists forever.
2 Let those who have been redeemed by the Lord declare it—
those whom he redeemed
from the power[a] of the enemy,
3 those whom he gathered from other lands—
from the east, west, north, and south.[b]
4 They wandered in desolate wilderness;
they found no road to a city where they could live.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their spirits[c] failed.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them in a straight way
to find a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his gracious love
and his awesome deeds for mankind.
9 He has satisfied the one who thirsts,
filling the hungry with what is good.
10 Some sat in deepest darkness,
shackled with cruel iron,
11 because they had rebelled against the command of God,
despising the advice of the Most High.
12 He humbled them[d] through suffering,
as they stumbled without a helper.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he delivered them from their distress.
14 And he[e] brought them out from darkness and the shadow of death,[f]
shattering their chains.
15 Let them give[g] thanks to the Lord for his gracious love,
and for his awesome deeds to mankind.
16 For he shattered bronze gates
and cut through iron bars.
17 Because of their rebellious ways,
fools suffered for their iniquities.
18 They[h] loathed all food,
and even reached the gates of death.
19 Yet when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
he delivered them from certain destruction.
20 He issued his command[i] and healed them;
he delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his gracious love,
and for his awesome deeds for mankind.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and talk about his works with shouts of joy.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who work in the great waters,
24 witnessed the works of the Lord—
his awesome deeds in the ocean’s depth.
25 He spoke and stirred up a windstorm
that made its waves surge.
26 The people[j] ascended skyward and descended to the depths,
their courage[k] melting away in their peril.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
as all their wisdom became useless.
28 Yet when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
the Lord brought them out of their distress.
29 He calmed the storm
and its waves[l] quieted down.
30 So they rejoiced that the waves[m] became quiet,
and he led them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his gracious love
and for his awesome deeds on behalf of mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the counsel of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into dry ground,
34 and a fruitful land into a salty waste,
due to the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
dry land into springs of water.
36 There he settled the hungry,
where they built a city to live in.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a productive harvest.
38 Then he blessed them, and they became numerous;
he multiplied their cattle.[n]
39 But they became few in number, and humiliated
by continued oppression, agony, and sorrow.
40 Having poured contempt on their nobles,
causing them to err aimlessly in the way.
41 Yet he lifted the needy from affliction
and made them families like a flock.
42 The upright see it and rejoice,
but the mouth of an evil person is shut.
43 Let whoever is wise observe these things,
that they may comprehend the gracious love of the Lord.
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