M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 16
1 The word of the Lord then came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, condemning Baasha: 2 “I lifted you up out of the dust and appointed you as ruler over my people Israel, but you have walked in the ways of Jeroboam and you have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking my anger at their sins. 3 Therefore, I will wipe out Baasha and the descendants of his house. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. 4 Those who belong to Baasha who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who belong to him who die in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.”
5 As for the other deeds of Baasha, what he did, and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
6 Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. Elah, his son, reigned in his stead.
Elah’s Reign. 7 The word of the Lord came through Jehu the prophet, the son of Hanani, to condemn Baasha and his house for all the evil he had done in the sight of the Lord. He provoked him to anger through the deeds of his hands, for he did the same things as the house of Jeroboam and because he wiped it out.
8 Elah, the son of Baasha, began to reign over Israel in Tirzah during the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, the king of Judah, and he reigned for two years.
9 Then Zimri, his servant and the commander of half of his chariots, plotted against him. He was in Tirzah, and he got drunk in the house of Arza, the major-domo of the palace in Tirzah. 10 Zimri entered and struck him and killed him during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Asa, the king of Judah, and he reigned in his stead. 11 As soon as he began to reign, he struck down all of Baasha’s household. He did not leave a single person who pees against the wall, whether he be one of his relatives or one of his friends. 12 Zimri wiped out the entire house of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord which condemned Baasha through Jehu, the prophet. 13 This was because of the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah, his son, and because they caused Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger over their worthless idols.
14 As to the other deeds of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
15 Zimri’s Reign. Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Asa, the king of Judah.
The people were camped near Gibbethon, a Philistine city. 16 When the people camped there heard, “Zimri had plotted against and killed the king,” they made Omri, the commander of the army, king over all of Israel that very day in the camp. 17 Omri and all of Israel departed from Gibbethon and they besieged Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city had been captured, he went up into the citadel of the king’s palace and he set the palace on fire around himself and he died. 19 This was because of the sins that he had committed, doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walking in the ways of Jeroboam, in his sin, and causing Israel to sin.
20 As for the other deeds of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he plotted, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
21 Civil War. The people of Israel were then divided into two factions. Half of them followed Tibni, the son of Ginath, as king, and the other half followed Omri. 22 The people who supported Omri defeated the people who followed Tibni, the son of Ginath. Tibni died, and Omri became the king.
23 Omri’s Reign.[a] It was during the thirty-first year of the reign of Asa, the king of Judah, that Omri began to reign over Israel. He reigned for twelve years, six of them from Tirzah.
24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he built a city upon the hill and named it Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the hill.
25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, worse than any of those who preceded him. 26 He walked in the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, in his sin, causing Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger over their worthless idols.
27 As to the other deeds of Omri, what he did, and his accomplishments, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 28 Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his stead.
29 Ahab’s Reign.[b]Ahab, the son of Omri, began to reign over Israel during the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Asa, the king of Judah. Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years.
30 Ahab, the son of Omri, did more evil in the sight of the Lord than any of those who preceded him. 31 As if it were not enough that he committed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, he also married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Sidonians, and he went after and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also set up an Asherah, and Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than all of the kings of Israel who preceded him.
34 During his time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundation over Abiram, his eldest, and he built its gates over Segub, his youngest. This was just as the word of the Lord had foretold through Joshua, the son of Nun.[c]
Exhortation To Live as Christians
Chapter 3
Seek the Things That Are Above.[a] 1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 2 Fix your thoughts on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
A New Self.[b] 5 And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry).[c] 6 Because of these practices, the wrath of God will fall on those who are disobedient. 7 In the life you formerly lived, you used to do these things. 8 But now you must cast them all aside—anger, rage, malice, slander, and foul language out of your lips.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Now there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian,[d] slave and free man. Rather, Christ is all and in all.
12 Characteristics of Life in Common.[e] As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another, and forgive one another if anyone has reason to be offended with another. You must forgive just as the Lord has forgiven you.
14 Over all these put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it was for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ[f] with all its richness dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 The Christian Family.[g]Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they lose heart.
22 Slaves and Masters. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only when you are being observed or in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, out of reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as if you were doing it for the Lord and not for others, 24 since you know that you will receive from the Lord an inheritance as your reward for you are serving the Lord Christ. 25 But anyone who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done. There will not be any favoritism shown.
Chapter 46
Sabbath Offerings. 1 Thus says the Lord God: The east gate of the inner court must remain closed during the six working days. However, it shall be opened on the Sabbath and on the day of the new moon. 2 The prince is to enter from the outside through the vestibule of the gate and stand by the doorposts of the gate. Then the priest must offer his burnt offerings and his peace offerings, and he shall bow down at the threshold of the gate. After this, he will go out, but the gate is not to be closed until evening. 3 The people of the land shall worship before the Lord at the entrance of the gate on the Sabbaths and the days of the new moon.
4 The burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord on the Sabbath shall consist of six lambs without blemish and one unblemished ram. 5 The grain offering presented with the ram shall be an ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be whatever he chooses to present; also, a hin of oil must be included for every ephah.
6 On the day of the new moon, the prince must offer an unblemished young bull, six unblemished lambs, and one unblemished ram. 7 As a grain offering, he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram. With the lambs, he shall provide as much as he wishes to give, adding a hin of oil for every ephah.
Ritual Regulations. 8 Whenever the prince comes in, he must enter by the porch of the gate, and he must depart by the same way. 9 When the people of the land come to worship before the Lord on designated festival days, anyone who enters by the north gate to worship must depart by the south gate, and anyone who enters by the south gate must leave by the north gate. No one may return through the gate by which he entered but must depart by the opposite gate. 10 The prince will be in their midst, coming in when they enter and also departing with them as they leave.
11 On feast days and solemn festivities, the grain offering shall be one ephah for every bull, one ephah for every ram, and as much as he wishes to give for the lambs, together with a hin of oil for every ephah. 12 When the prince makes a free-will offering to the Lord, whether a burnt offering or a peace offering, the east gate will be opened for him. After presenting his burnt offering or peace offering as he does on the Sabbath, then he will leave, and the gate will be closed after his departure.
13 The prince will offer as a daily sacrifice to the Lord, a yearling without blemish for a burnt offering. He must offer this every morning. 14 With it in addition, he must regularly provide as a grain offering, morning after morning, one-sixth of an ephah and one-third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. The presentation of this grain offering to the Lord is a mandatory decree, prescribed for all time. 15 The lamb, the grain offering, and the oil must be offered every morning as an established holocaust.
16 The Prince’s Inheritance. Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift of a portion of his inheritance to any of his sons, it will belong to his sons. That gift becomes their property by inheritance. 17 However, if he makes a gift of a portion of his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of liberation; then it must revert to the prince. Only the sons of the prince may rightfully keep their inheritance.[a]
18 On the other hand, the prince may not seize any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He must provide an inheritance for his sons out of his own property, so that none of my people will be deprived of holdings that are rightfully theirs.
19 The Temple Kitchens. Then he led me through the entrance on the side of the gate to the rooms facing north that were reserved for the priests. There before us, at the western end, he pointed to a space, 20 and he said to me, “This is the place where the priests must boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they bake the cereal offering, so that they may avoid bringing them into the outer court and thereby run the risk of transmitting holiness to the people.”
21 Then he brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners. In each of the corners, I saw that there was another court. 22 In each of the four corners of the court, there were four small courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, all four being the same size.
23 On the inside, around each of the four courts, there was a ledge of stone, with a hearth all around at the bottom of the wall. 24 Then he said to me, “These are the kitchens where the temple servants boil the sacrifices offered by the people.”
Psalm 102[a]
Prayer of an Exile
1 The prayer of one afflicted. When he is wasting away[b] and pours out his anguish before the Lord.
2 [c]O Lord, give heed to my prayer;
let my plea for help reach you.
3 Do not conceal your face[d] from my sight
in the time of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
on the day when I call out to you, answer me speedily.
4 For my days are fading away like smoke,
and my bones are burning like live coals.
5 My heart[e] is stricken, withered like grass;
I am too exhausted to eat my bread.
6 As a result of my incessant groaning,
I am now nothing more than skin and bones.
7 I am like a pelican[f] of the wilderness,
like an owl among the ruins.
8 I am sleepless[g] and I moan
like a lone sparrow on a rooftop.
9 All day long my enemies revile me;[h]
those who rage against me use my name as a curse.
10 [i]I eat ashes as though they were bread,
and I mingle tears with my drink.
11 Because of your indignation and wrath,
you have raised me up only to cast me down.
12 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I am withering away like grass.
13 [j]But, you, O Lord, are enthroned forever,
and your renown will endure for all generations.
14 You will arise and show mercy to Zion,
for it is time for you to have pity on her;
the appointed time[k] has come.
15 For her stones are precious to your servants,
and her dust causes them to weep.[l]
16 The nations will revere your name,[m] O Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will sing of your glory.
17 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and reveal himself in all his glory.[n]
18 He will answer the prayer of the destitute,
and he will not ignore their petition.
19 Let this be written[o] for future generations
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
20 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high
and gazed on the earth from heaven,
21 to hear the sighs of the prisoners
and to set free those under sentence of death.”[p]
22 Then the name of the Lord will be proclaimed in Zion,
and his praise[q] in Jerusalem
23 when all peoples and kingdoms come together
to worship the Lord.[r]
24 [s]He has taken away my strength on my life’s journey;
he has cut short my days.
25 So I said: “Do not carry me off, O my God,
before half my days are done,[t]
for your years endure from age to age.
26 [u]“Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
27 They will pass away but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like clothing,
and they will perish.[v]
28 “However, you remain always the same,
and your years will have no end.[w]
29 The children of your servants will be secure,
and their descendants will dwell in your presence.”[x]
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