M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 10
The Queen of Sheba’s Visit.[a] 1 When the Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation, she came to test him with difficult questions.[b] 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels carrying spices and large quantities of gold and precious stones. When she arrived upon her visit to Solomon, she told him everything that was on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all of her questions. There were no hidden things that Solomon could not tell her.
4 When the Queen of Sheba saw all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the assembly of his servants, the attendance of his ministers in their robes and their cupbearers, and the way that he went up into the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. 6 She said to the king, “The report that I heard in my own land concerning your actions and your wisdom are true. 7 However, I could not believe the report until I had come and seen it with my own eyes. They did not tell me the half of it. Your wisdom and your wealth exceed the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men and happy are these, your servants, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom. 9 Blessed be the Lord, your God, who delights in you, placing you upon the throne of Israel. The Lord of Israel has established you as king to exercise justice and righteousness because he has loved you forever.”
10 She then gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious stones. A more abundant quantity of spices never arrived than that which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Furthermore, the ships of Hiram that had brought the gold from Ophir also brought large quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 The king made steps of almug wood for the temple of the Lord and for the king’s palace as well as harps and stringed instruments for accompanying singers. Almug wood such as this has not arrived or been seen up to the present day.
13 King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba whatever she desired. He gave her whatever she asked for in addition to what King Solomon had already given her. She then returned, going to her own country along with her servants.
14 Solomon’s Wealth.[c]The weight of the gold that Solomon would receive in a year was six hundred, sixty-six talents 15 in addition to what he received from merchants and the profits from trade, as well as from the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made two hundred shields from beaten gold. Each of the shields contained six hundred shekels of gold. 17 He also made three hundred shields from beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield. The king placed them in the palace built with the wood of Lebanon. 18 The king also made an ivory throne and had it overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the back of the throne had a rounded top. On either side of the seat there were armrests, and there was a lion standing alongside each of the armrests. 20 There were twelve lions standing upon the six steps, with one on each side of the step. Nothing like this had ever been made in any other kingdom.
21 All of King Solomon’s goblets were made of gold, and all of the other utensils in the palace made from Lebanon wood were also made from the finest gold. Nothing was made from silver, for it was not considered to be worth anything in Solomon’s time.
22 The king also had ships of Tarshish at sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons with them. 23 King Solomon was greater in wealth and wisdom than all of the other kings on the earth.
24 Solomon’s Acclaim. Everyone on the earth sought to visit Solomon to listen to his wisdom which God had placed in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone brought him presents of things made from silver, things made from gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and donkeys.
26 Solomon’s Chariots and Horses. Solomon collected chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand, four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed them in cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem. Cedar became as common as the sycamore that abounds in the Shephelah.[d] 28 Solomon brought horses from Egypt and Cilicia. The king’s merchants bought them in Cilicia. 29 They imported chariots from Egypt that cost six hundred silver shekels and horses that cost one hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all of the Hittite and Aramean kings.
Introduction
Chapter 1
Address.[a] 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with their bishops and deacons: 2 grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Joyful Prayer for the Philippians.[b] 3 I give thanks to my God every time I think of you. 4 I always pray for you, interceding for you with joy 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.[c]
7 It is only right for me to feel this way toward you, because I hold you in my heart, for you have all shared with me in God’s grace, both during my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 Indeed, God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And for this I pray: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and full insight 10 to enable you to discover what is really important, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 filled with the fruits of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
News and Instructions
12 To Live Is Christ.[d] Brethren, I want you to know that what has happened to me has actually helped spread the gospel, 13 for my imprisonment has become known not only throughout the praetorium[e] but to everyone else as well. 14 And the majority of the brethren having taken encouragement in the Lord from my imprisonment, dare more than ever to proclaim the word without fear.
15 It is true that some are proclaiming Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others are doing so with goodwill. 16 These latter ones do so out of love, aware that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not in sincerity, but in an effort to increase my suffering while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter, as long as in every way, with false motives or true, that Christ is proclaimed? And in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and with the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will result in deliverance for me. 20 It is my firm expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but will act with complete fearlessness, now as always, so that Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by my life or by my death.
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.[f] 22 But if I continue living in the body, that will mean fruitful work for me. Hence, I do not know which I should choose. 23 I am pulled in opposite directions. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better, 24 but, it is a more urgent need for you that I remain in the body.
25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with all of you to ensure your progress and joy in the faith. 26 Thus, you will rebound with joy in Christ Jesus when I return to be with you once again.
27 Striving and Suffering for Christ.[g] Only live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or simply hear news of you from a distance, I will know that you are standing firm and united in spirit, striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and being in no way intimidated by those who oppose you.
This will be a clear sign to them of their forthcoming destruction as well as of your salvation. All of this is in accord with God’s design. 29 For it has been granted you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. 30 You are taking part in the same struggle that you have seen in me and that you now hear I am experiencing.[h]
The New Israel[a]
The Future Temple
Chapter 40
The Man with a Measuring Rod. 1 During the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the fall of the city, on that very day the hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me there. 2 In divine visions, he brought me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain, to the south of which a city seemed to have been built.
3 When he had brought me there, I beheld a man whose appearance was like that of bronze. He had a linen cord[b] and a measuring rod in his hand, and he was standing in the gateway. 4 The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen attentively, and pay close attention to all that I will show you. That is the reason why you were brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything that you see.”
5 Then I beheld an outer wall that surrounded the temple on all sides. The length of the measuring rod that the man was holding was six cubits long, each cubit[c] being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. He measured the thickness and the height of the wall; each was one rod.
The East Gate. 6 Then he went to the gate which faced eastward, mounted its steps, and measured the gate’s threshold; it was one rod deep. 7 Each cell was one rod long and one rod wide, and the walls between the cells measured five cubits. The threshold of the gate adjoining the vestibule of the gate at the inner end measured one rod.
8 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, 9 which was eight cubits, and its pilasters, which were two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. 10 Inside the east gate were three cells on each side. All of them were identical in size, and the pilasters on either side were also of equal size.
11 After this, he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway, which was ten cubits, while its length was thirteen cubits. 12 There was a wall, one cubit high, in front of each cell, and the cells were six cubits square. 13 He then measured the width of the gate from the back wall of one cell to the back of the cell on the opposite side. The width was twenty-five cubits from wall to wall. 14 After this, he measured the vestibule, which was twenty cubits, and also the pilasters adjoining the court on either side, which were six cubits.
15 From the front of the entrance gate to the far end of its portico, the distance was fifty cubits. 16 Both the guardrooms and their pilasters had windows on the inside of the gateway, and the vestibules also had windows all around; the pilasters were decorated with palm trees.
17 The Outer Court. Then he brought me to the outer court, where there were rooms and a paved terrace all around the court. There was a total of thirty rooms. 18 The pavement was laid along the side of the gates, its width equaling the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the width of the court, from the front of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; there were one hundred cubits between them.
20 The North Gate. Then he measured the length and breadth of the gate leading into the outer court that faced north. 21 Its cells, three on either side, and its pilasters and its vestibules were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its depth was fifty cubits, and its width was twenty-five cubits.
22 Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were identical in size to those of the gate that faced toward the east. Seven steps led up to it, and its vestibule was at the inner end. 23 Opposite the north gate there was a gate that led to the inner court, exactly like the one opposite the east gate. He measured one hundred cubits from one gate to the other.
24 The South Gate. Then he led me to the south side, and I saw a gate facing south. He measured its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule; they all had the same dimensions as the others. 25 The gate and its vestibule had windows all around. Each window was fifty cubits in depth and twenty-five cubits in width.
26 There were seven steps leading up to it. Its vestibule was on the inside, and palm trees decorated its pilasters, one on either side. 27 The inner court had a gate facing south. He measured the distance from this gate to the outer gate on the south—one hundred cubits.
28 The Inner Court Gates. Then he brought me into the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate, which had the same dimensions as the others. 29 Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as those of the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
30 The vestibules of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep. 31 However, the major vestibule faced the outer court. Palm trees were carved on its pilasters, and it had a stairway of eight steps.
32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side and measured the gate, its dimensions were identical to those of the others. 33 Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as those of the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34 Its vestibule opened onto the outer court. There were palm trees carved on its pilasters, and there were eight steps leading up to it.
35 Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it. Its dimensions were identical to those of the others. 36 Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the others, and it had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 37 Its portico faced the outer court; it had a palm tree carved on its pilasters on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
38 The Side Chambers.[d]There was a room that was entered through a door in the vestibule of the gateway. That was where the burnt offerings were to be washed. 39 In the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings were slaughtered.
40 On the outside of the vestibule, near the entrance of the north gate, were two tables, and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. 41 Thus, four tables were inside the gate and four tables were outside the gate—eight tables upon which the sacrifices were slaughtered.
42 There were also four slabs of cut stone that were used for holocausts—one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and a cubit high—on which were placed the instruments for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. 43 Double-pronged hooks, a handbreadth wide, were attached to the nearby wall, and on the tables the flesh of the offering was laid.
44 Then he led me into the inner court, where there were two rooms—one on the side of the north gate, facing south; the other on the side of the south gate, facing north. 45 He said to me, “This room that faces south is for the priests who are in charge of the temple. 46 The room that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi are allowed to come near to minister to the Lord.” 47 Thereupon, he measured the court. It was a perfect square, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, with the altar standing in front of the temple.
48 The Temple. Then he brought me into the vestibule of the temple and measured the pilasters of the vestibule; it was five cubits on either side. The width of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the side walls of the gate were three cubits on either side. 49 The vestibule was twenty cubits long and twelve cubits wide. There were ten steps leading up to it, and there were pillars beside the pilasters, one on either side.
Psalm 91[a]
Security under God’s Protection
1 You who abide in the shelter of the Most High,[b]
who rest in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I place my trust.”
3 He will rescue you from the snare of the fowler[c]
and from virulent pestilence.
4 With his feathers he will shelter you,[d]
and you will take refuge under his wings;
his faithfulness serves as a protective shield.
5 You will not fear the terror by night[e]
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the plague[f] that lays waste at midday.
7 Even though a thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
such evils will not afflict you.
8 Rather, your own eyes will behold[g]
the punishment inflicted on the wicked.
9 You have made the Lord your refuge
and chosen the Most High to be your dwelling.
10 Therefore, no evil will threaten you,
no calamity will come near your dwelling.
11 [h]For he will command his angels[i] about you—
to guard you wherever you go.
12 They will lift you up with their hands,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.[j]
13 You will tread upon the asp and the viper;
you will trample the lion and the dragon.[k]
14 [l]“Because he loves me, I will deliver him,
I will raise high[m] the one who acknowledges my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer,
and I will be with him in time of distress;
I will rescue him and cause him to be honored.[n]
16 I will reward him with a long life
and show him my salvation.”[o]
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