M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 4
The Death of Ishbaal. 1 When Saul’s son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed him, and all Israel was alarmed. 2 Ishbaal had two men who served as captains of raiding parties; one was named Baanah, and the other was named Rechab. They were the sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth—for Beeroth is regarded as being part of Benjamin. 3 The people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim, where they have remained as aliens to this very day.
4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, the young boy fell to the ground and became lame. His name was Meribbaal.[a]
5 The sons of Rimmon of Beeroth, Rechab and Baanah, arrived at the house of Ishbaal during the hottest part of the day while he was taking his midday rest. 6 The woman who was stationed at the door had fallen asleep while she was sifting wheat. 7 Therefore, Rechab and his brother quietly slipped past her and entered the house, and when they found him asleep on the couch in his bedroom, they attacked and killed him and cut off his head. Then they took his head and traveled throughout the night by way of the Arabah.
The Murder Avenged.[b] 8 When they arrived in Hebron, they brought the head of Ishbaal to David and said to the king: “Here is the head of Ishbaal, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. Thus has the Lord this day avenged my lord the king on Saul and his offspring.”
9 Then David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite: “As the Lord lives, he who has delivered me from every danger, 10 in Ziklag I seized and ordered to be killed the man who brought me word that Saul was dead. That was how I rewarded him. 11 How much more then should I take such action when wicked men have slain an innocent man as he was lying on his bed in his house. Should I not now exact vengeance on you for shedding his blood and remove you from the face of the earth?”
12 Therefore, at David’s command, his young soldiers killed them. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. However, they took the head of Ishbaal and buried it in Abner’s grave at Hebron.
Chapter 5
David as King of Israel.[c] 1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said: “Listen to us. We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In former days, when Saul was our king, you were the one who led the Israelites on their campaigns and brought them back. Moreover, the Lord said to you: ‘You shall be the shepherd of my people Israel and be the ruler of Israel.’ ” 3 Then all the elders of Israel came to David, the king of Hebron, and David made a covenant with them there before the Lord. After this they anointed David as king of Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months, and then in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
Capture of Zion. 6 Then the king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites who inhabited the land. These people said to David: “You will never come in here. Even the blind and the lame will stop you in your tracks.” In this way they showed their contempt for David and his forces.
7 [d]Despite their boast, David did take the stronghold of Zion, which is now known as the City of David. 8 David had said on that day: “All those who are eager to attack the Jebusites must scale the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, the bitter enemies of David.” Therefore, it is said: “The blind and the lame shall not enter the palace.”
9 David then took up residence in the stronghold and called it the City of David. After that, he constructed a wall around it from the Millo[e] inward. 10 David steadily continued to grow more powerful, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.
11 King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David with cedar wood, and he also supplied carpenters and stonemasons who built a palace for David. 12 Then David had no doubt at all that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
13 David’s Family in Jerusalem. After he departed from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.[f] 14 These are the names of those children who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
17 Rout of the Philistines.[g] When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they all went forth in search of him. When David learned of this, he sought refuge in the stronghold. 18 After the Philistines arrived and deployed their forces in the valley of Rephaim, 19 David inquired of the Lord: “Shall I go forth and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my power?” The Lord replied to David: “Go forth and attack them! I shall deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
20 Therefore, David went forth to Baal-perazim and defeated them there. Then he said: “The Lord has broken through the battle lines of my enemies as though they had been breached by the flood waters of a river.” That is why that place is called Baal-perazim. 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.
22 However, the Philistines made another invasion and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Then David once again consulted the Lord, who said: “Do not attack them from the front. Rather, encircle them from the rear and attack them in front of the balsam trees. 24 When you hear the sound of marching in the top of the balsam trees, advance immediately, for then you will know that the Lord has gone forth ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”
25 David followed the instructions of the Lord, and he routed the Philistines from Gibeon all the way to Gezer.
The Resurrection[a]
The Resurrection of Christ
Chapter 15
The Risen Christ, Foundation of Our Faith.[b] 1 And now, brethren, I want to remind you of the gospel I proclaimed to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. 2 Through it you are also being saved, provided that you are holding fast to what I proclaimed to you. If not, then you have believed in vain.
3 [c]For I handed on to you as of primary importance what I received: that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried and that he was raised to life on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and later to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, although some have fallen asleep.[d] 7 After that he appeared to James,[e] and then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, he appeared to me, as to one born abnormally. 9 For I am the least of the apostles. I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. 10 However, by the grace of God I am what I am, and the grace he has bestowed upon me has not proved to be fruitless. Indeed, I have worked harder than any of them—although that should not be credited to me but to the grace of God within me. 11 But whether it was I or they, this is what we preach and what you have come to believe.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 The Resurrection and Faith.[f] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. 15 We are even false witnesses to God, for we testified that he raised Christ when he did not raise him up, assuming it is true that the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is without any foundation, and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are utterly lost. 19 If it is for just this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all men.
20 Christ, the Firstfruits.[g] But Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came into the world through a man, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man.
22 Just as in Adam all die, so all will be brought to life in Christ, 23 but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every sovereignty and authority and power.[h] 25 For he is destined to reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he has put all things under his feet. But when it says “all things are put under,” it is obvious that this excludes the one who subjected everything to him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who made all things subject to him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Practical Faith. Otherwise, what will people accomplish when they have themselves baptized for the dead?[i] If the dead are not raised at all, why should anyone be baptized for them? 30 And why should we be placing ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I face death every day—that is as sure as the pride that I have in you, brethren, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
32 With only human hopes, what would I have gained by fighting those wild beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33 Do not let anyone lead you astray. “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Come to your senses and sin no more. For some of you have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
The Mode of the Resurrection
35 The Resurrected Body. Someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What sort of body will they have when they come back?” 36 This is foolish. What you sow must die before it is given new life, 37 and what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare grain of wheat or of something else. 38 God gives to it a body that he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own particular body.
39 Not all flesh is alike. There is one kind for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The splendor of heavenly bodies is of one kind, and that of earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has a splendor of its own, the moon another splendor, and the stars still another. Indeed, the stars differ among themselves in splendor.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 What is sown in dishonor is raised as glorious. What is sown in weakness is raised in power. 44 What is sown is a physical body; what is raised is a spiritual body.
The Natural and the Spiritual Body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 As it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam has become a lifegiving spirit. 46 But the spiritual body did not come first. Rather the natural body came first, and then the spiritual.
47 The first man was formed from the dust of the earth; the second man is from heaven. 48 The man formed from dust is the pattern for earthly people; the heavenly man is the pattern for those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man formed from dust, so shall we also bear the likeness of the heavenly one.
50 Where, O Death, Is Your Victory?[j] What I am asserting, brethren, is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can the perishable inherit what is imperishable.
51 Listen while I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed 52 in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.[k] 53 For this perishable body must be clothed with the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then will the words that are written be fulfilled:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.
55 Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. 57 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, stand firm and immovable, devoting yourselves completely to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Chapter 13
Prophecy against False Prophets. 1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those whose prophesies are formulated in their own minds: Hear the word of the Lord.
3 Thus says the Lord God: Disaster will engulf those foolish prophets who follow thoughts that are fabricated in their own imaginations and have received no visions. 4 Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals foraging among ruins. 5 They have not bothered to reinforce the breaches in the walls of the house of Israel so that it may stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord.
6 The visions they saw were false, and their divinations were baseless. They assert: “Thus says the Lord,” despite the fact that the Lord did not send them, and then they expect their words to be proved true. 7 Have you not seen false visions or uttered lying divinations when you have asserted, “Thus says the Lord,” even though I have not said any such thing?
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken untruths and proclaimed false predictions, I have now set myself in opposition to you, says the Lord God. 9 My hand will be raised against those prophets whose visions are baseless and whose divinations are clearly false. They will not be granted any position in the council of my people, nor will their names be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they be permitted to set foot in the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 Because they lead my people astray, crying aloud, “Peace!” when there is no peace, and because, when the people were repairing a flimsy wall, these prophets concealed its flaws by smearing whitewash on it, 11 say to those who covered it with whitewash that it will collapse, for I will cause rain to fall in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down and unleash a wind of gale force. 12 When the wall collapses that you have smeared with whitewash and it falls to the ground so that its foundations will be laid bare, you will be destroyed along with it, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.
13 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I intend to unleash a violent stormwind in my rage, torrential rain in my anger, and hailstones in my fury, 14 and I will shatter the wall that you smeared with whitewash and knock it to the ground and lay bare its foundations. It will fall, and you will perish beneath it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
15 When I have vented my fury upon the wall and upon those who smeared it with whitewash, I will say to you, “The wall is gone, and so are those who smeared it— 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied about Jerusalem and envisioned peace for it when there was no peace,” says the Lord God.
17 Prophecy against False Prophetesses. As for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people whose prophecies emerge from their own imaginations. Prophesy against them 18 and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those women who sew magic bands on their wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every height as they strive to ensnare their souls. Will you seek to ensnare the souls of my people and still preserve your own?
19 You have dishonored me in the eyes of my people for a few handfuls of barley and a few scraps of bread. By lying to my people who listen to lies, you have caused the death of persons who should not die and kept alive those who should not live.
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am now determined to move against your magic bands with which you entrap men’s lives. I will rip them from your arms and set free those people whom you have ensnared like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your clutches, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
22 Because you have intimidated the righteous with your lies and disheartened them when I had done nothing to cause them to be alarmed, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to abandon their wicked ways and save their lives, 23 therefore, you will never again see false visions or practice divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and then you will know that I am the Lord.
Psalm 52[a]
Prayer for Help against Calumniators
1 For the director.[b] A maskil of David. 2 When Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”
3 Why do you boast of your evil deeds,
you champion of malice?[c]
All day long 4 you plot harm;
your tongue is like a sharpened razor,
you master of deceit.
5 [d]You love evil rather than good,
and lies rather than truthful speech. Selah
6 You wallow in destructive talk,
you tongue of deceit.
7 [e]This is the reason why God will crush you
and destroy you once and for all.
He will snatch you from your tent[f]
and uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
8 The righteous will see and be afraid;
they will mock him:
9 “This is the man
who refused to accept God as his refuge.
Rather, he placed his trust in his abundant riches
and gathered strength by his crimes.”
10 [g]But I am like a green olive tree[h]
in the house of God.
I place my trust forever and ever
in the kindness of God.
11 I will praise you forever
for what you have done,[i]
and in the presence of the saints
I will proclaim the goodness of your name.
Psalm 53[j]
Foolishness of the Wicked
1 For the director.[k] According to Mahalath. A maskil of David.
2 [l]The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
Such are depraved and their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does what is right.
3 God looks down from heaven
upon the entire human race,
to see if there are any who act with wisdom,
if even a single one seeks God.
4 But they have all turned aside;
all alike are corrupt.
There is no one who does what is right,
not even one.
5 Have all these evildoers no understanding?
They devour my people as they eat bread,
and they never call out to God.
6 Later, they will be filled with terror,
and with good reason,[m]
although now they do not fear.
For God will scatter the bones
of those who attack you;
they will be put to shame,
for God has rejected them.
7 Who will bring about the salvation of Israel
that is to come out of Zion?[n]
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will exult.
Psalm 54[o]
Prayer in Time of Danger
1 For the director.[p] On stringed instruments. A maskil of David. 2 When the Ziphites came to Saul and said, “David is hiding among us.”
3 O God, save me by your name;[q]
vindicate me by your power.
4 Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
5 Strangers[r] have risen against me;
those who are ruthless seek my life,
and they have no thought of God. Selah
6 Surely God is my helper;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.
7 May their own evil recoil on my foes:
you who are faithful, destroy them.[s]
8 [t]I will freely offer sacrifice to you,
and I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.
9 For you have rescued me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies.
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