M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

7 Elisha answered, “I have a message for you. The Lord promises that tomorrow here in Samaria, you will be able to buy a large sack of flour or two large sacks of barley for almost nothing.”

² The chief officer there with the king replied, “I don't believe it! Even if the Lord sent a rainstorm, it couldn't produce that much grain by tomorrow.”

“You will see it happen, but you won't eat any of the food,” Elisha warned him.

The Syrian Army Stops Its Attack

³ About the same time, four men with leprosy^[a] were just outside the gate of Samaria. They said to each other, “Why should we sit here, waiting to die? ⁴ There's nothing to eat in the city, so we would starve if we went inside. But if we stay out here, we will die for sure. Let's sneak over to the Syrian army camp and surrender. They might kill us, but they might not.” ^5-8 That evening the four men got up and left for the Syrian camp.

As they walked toward the camp, the Lord caused the Syrian troops to hear what sounded like the roar of a huge cavalry. The soldiers said to each other, “Listen! The king of Israel must have hired Hittite and Egyptian troops to attack us. Let's get out of here!” So they ran out of their camp that night, leaving their tents and horses and donkeys.

When the four men with leprosy reached the edge of the Syrian camp, no one was there. They walked into one of the tents, where they ate and drank, before carrying off clothes, as well as silver and gold. They hid all this, then walked into another tent; they took what they wanted and hid it too.

⁹ They said to each other, “This isn't right. Today is a day to celebrate, and we haven't told anyone else what has happened. If we wait until morning, we will be punished. Let's go to the king's palace at once and tell the good news.”

¹⁰ They went back to Samaria and shouted up to the guards at the gate, “We've just come from the Syrian army camp, and all the soldiers are gone! The tents are empty, and the horses and donkeys are still tied up. We didn't see or hear anybody.”

¹¹ The guards reported the news to the king's palace. ¹² The king got out of bed and said to his officers, “I know what those Syrians are doing. They know we're starving, so they're hiding in the fields, hoping we will go out to look for food. When we do, they can capture us and take over our city.”

¹³ One of his officers replied, “We have a few horses left—why don't we let some men take five of them and go to the Syrian camp and see what's happening? We're going to die anyway like those who have already died.”^{[b] 14} They found two chariots, and the king commanded the men to find out what had happened to the Syrian troops.

¹⁵ The men rode as far as the Jordan River. All along the way they saw clothes and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away as they escaped. Then they went back to the king and told him what they had seen.

¹⁶ At once the people went to the Syrian camp and carried off what was left. They took so much that a large sack of flour and two large sacks of barley sold for almost nothing, just as the Lord had promised.

¹⁷ The king of Israel had put his chief officer in charge of the gate, but he died when the people trampled him as they rushed out of the city. ¹⁸ Earlier, when the king was at Elisha's house, Elisha had told him that flour or barley would sell for almost nothing. ¹⁹ But the officer refused to believe that even the Lord could do that. So Elisha warned him that he would see it happen, but would not eat any of the food. ²⁰ And that's exactly what happened—the officer was trampled to death.

People Will Turn from Their Faith

4 God's Spirit clearly says that in the last days many people will turn from their faith. They will be fooled by evil spirits and by teachings that come from demons. ² They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars whose consciences have lost all feeling. These liars ³ will forbid people to marry or to eat certain foods. But God created these foods to be eaten with thankful hearts by his followers who know the truth. ⁴ Everything God created is good. And if you give thanks, you may eat anything. ⁵ What God has said and your prayer will make it fit to eat.

Paul's Advice to Timothy

⁶ If you teach these things to other followers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus. You will show you have grown up on the teachings about our faith and on the good instructions you have obeyed. ⁷ Don't have anything to do with worthless, senseless stories. Work hard to be truly religious. ^8-9 As the saying goes,

11 ¹ You also need to know that I protected and helped Darius the Mede^[a] in his first year as king.

The Angel's Message to Daniel

Part One: The Four Kings and Their Successors

² What I am going to tell you is certain to happen. Four kings will rule Persia, one after the other, but the fourth one will become much richer than the others. In fact, his wealth will make him so powerful that he will turn everyone against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then a mighty king will come to power and will be able to do whatever he pleases. ⁴ But suddenly his kingdom will be crushed and scattered to the four corners of the earth, where four more kingdoms will rise. But these won't be ruled by his descendants or be as powerful as his kingdom.

⁵ The king of the south will grow powerful. Then one of his generals will rebel and will rule an even larger kingdom. ⁶ Years later the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom will make a treaty, and the daughter of the king of the south will marry the king of the north. But she will lose her power. Then she, her husband, their child,^[b] and the servants who came with her will all be killed.

After this, ⁷ one of her relatives will become the ruler of the southern kingdom. He will attack the army of the northern kingdom and capture its fortresses. ⁸ Then he will carry their idols to Egypt, together with their precious treasures of silver and gold, but it will be a long time before he attacks the northern kingdom again. Some years later ⁹ the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom, but he will be forced back to his own country.

¹⁰ The sons of the king of the north will gather a huge army that will sweep down like a roaring flood, reaching all the way to the fortress of the southern kingdom. ^11 (A) But this will make the king of the south angry, and he will defeat this large army from the north. ¹² The king of the south will feel proud because of the many thousands he has killed. But his victories won't last long, ¹³ because the king of the north will gather a larger and more powerful army than ever before. Then in a few years, he will start invading other countries.

¹⁴ At this time many of your own people will try to make this vision come true by rebelling against the king of the south, but their rebellion will fail. ¹⁵ Then the army from the north will surround and capture a fortress in the south, and not even the most experienced troops of the southern kingdom will be able to make them retreat. ¹⁶ The king who invaded from the north will do as he pleases, and he will even capture and destroy the holy land.^{[c] 17} In fact, he will decide to invade the south with his entire army. Then he will attempt to make peace by giving the king of the south a bride from the northern kingdom, but this won't be successful.

¹⁸ Afterwards, this proud king of the north will invade and conquer many of the nations along the coast, but a military leader will defeat him and make him lose his pride. ¹⁹ He will retreat to his fortresses in his own country, but on the way he will be defeated and never again be seen.

²⁰ The next king of the north will try to collect taxes for the glory of his kingdom. However, he will come to a sudden end in some mysterious way, instead of in battle or because of someone's anger.

Part Two: The Evil King from the North

²¹ The successor of this king of the north will be a worthless nobody, who doesn't even come from a royal family. He will suddenly appear and gain control of the kingdom by treachery. ²² Then he will destroy armies and remove God's chosen high priest. ²³ He will make a treaty, but he will be deceitful and break it, even though he has only a few followers. ²⁴ Without warning, he will successfully invade a wealthy province, which is something his ancestors never did. Then he will divide among his followers all of its treasures and property. But none of this will last very long.

²⁵ He will gather a large and powerful army, and with great courage he will attack the king of the south. The king of the south will meet him with a much stronger army, but he will lose the battle, because he will be betrayed ²⁶ by members of the royal court. He will be ruined, and most of his army will be slaughtered.

²⁷ The two kings will meet around a table and tell evil lies to each other. But their plans will fail, because God has already decided what will happen. ²⁸ Then the king of the north will return to his country with great treasures. But on the way, he will attack the religion of God's people and do whatever else he pleases.

²⁹ At the time God has decided, the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom again, but this time, things will be different. ^30 (B) Ships from the west will come to attack him, and he will be discouraged. Then he will start back to his own country and take out his anger on the religion of God's faithful people, while showing kindness to those who are unfaithful. ^31 (C) He will send troops to pollute the temple and the fortress, and he will stop the daily sacrifices. Then he will set up that “Horrible Thing” that causes destruction. ³² The king will use deceit to win followers from those who are unfaithful to God, but those who remain faithful will do everything possible to oppose him.

³³ Wise leaders will instruct many of the people. But for a while, some of these leaders will either be killed with swords or burned alive, or else robbed of their possessions and thrown into prison. ³⁴ They will receive only a little help in their time of trouble, and many of their followers will be treacherous. ³⁵ Some of those who are wise will suffer, so that God will make them pure and acceptable until the end, which will still come at the time he has decided.

^36 (D) This king will do as he pleases. He will proudly claim to be greater than any god and will insult the only true God. Indeed, he will be successful until God is no longer angry with his people. ³⁷ This king will reject the gods his ancestors worshiped and the god preferred by women.^[d] In fact, he will put himself above all gods ³⁸ and worship only the so-called god of fortresses, who was unknown to his ancestors. And he will honor it with gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly gifts. ³⁹ With the help of this foreign god, he will capture the strongest fortresses. Everyone who worships this god will be put in a position of power and rewarded with wealth and land.

Part Three: The Time of the End

⁴⁰ At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the kingdom of the north. But its king will rush out like a storm with war chariots, cavalry, and many ships. Indeed, his forces will flood one country after another, ⁴¹ and when they reach the holy land,^[e] tens of thousands will be killed. But the countries of Edom and Moab and the ruler of Ammon^[f] will escape.

⁴² The king of the north will invade many countries, including Egypt, ⁴³ and he will take its rich treasures of gold and silver. He will also conquer Libya and Ethiopia.^{[g] 44} But he will be alarmed by news from the east and the north, and he will become furious and cause great destruction. ⁴⁵ After this, he will set up camp between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Zion. Then he will be destroyed, and no one will be able to save him.