M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 29

Offerings for the Temple. ¹ King David then said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced; the work, however, is great, for this palace is not meant for human beings, but for the Lord God.^{(A) 2} For this reason I have stored up for the house of my God, as far as I was able, gold for what will be made of gold, silver for what will be made of silver, bronze for what will be made of bronze, iron for what will be made of iron, wood for what will be made of wood, onyx stones and settings for them, carnelian and mosaic stones, every other kind of precious stone, and great quantities of marble.^{(B) 3} But now, because of the delight I take in the house of my God, in addition to all that I stored up for the holy house, I give to the house of my God my personal fortune in gold and silver: ⁴ three thousand talents of Ophir gold, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the rooms,^{(C) 5} for the various utensils to be made of gold and silver, and for every work that is to be done by artisans. Now, who else will contribute generously and consecrate themselves this day to the Lord?”^(D)

⁶ Then the heads of the families, the tribal commanders of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and those who had command of the king’s affairs came forward willingly^{(E) 7} and contributed for the service of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.^{(F) 8} Those who had precious stones gave them into the keeping of Jehiel the Gershonite for the treasury of the house of the Lord.^{(G) 9} The people rejoiced over these free-will offerings, for they had been contributed to the Lord wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.^(H)

David’s Prayer. ¹⁰ Then David blessed the Lord in the sight of the whole assembly. David said:

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the means to contribute so freely? For everything is from you, and what we give is what we have from you. ¹⁵ For before you we are strangers and travelers, like all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without a future.^{(J) 16} Lord our God, all this wealth that we have brought together to build you a house for your holy name comes from you and is entirely yours. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you put hearts to the test and that you take pleasure in integrity. With a whole heart I have willingly given all these things, and now with joy I have seen your people here present also giving to you generously. ¹⁸ Lord, God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,^(K) keep such thoughts in the hearts and minds of your people forever, and direct their hearts toward you. ¹⁹ Give to my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to keep your commandments, precepts, and statutes, that he may carry out all these plans and build the palace for which I have made preparation.”

²⁰ Then David told the whole assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their ancestors, bowing down in homage before the Lord and before the king. ²¹ On the following day they brought sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, together with their libations and many other sacrifices for all Israel; ²² and on that day they ate and drank in the Lord’s presence with great rejoicing.

Solomon Anointed. Then for a second time^[a] they proclaimed David’s son Solomon king, and they anointed him for the Lord as ruler, and Zadok as priest. ²³ Thereafter Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king succeeding his father David; he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.^{(L) 24} All the commanders and warriors, and also all the other sons of King David, swore allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord exalted Solomon greatly in the eyes of all Israel, giving him a glorious reign such as had not been enjoyed by any king over Israel before him.^(M)

David’s Death. ²⁶ Thus David, the son of Jesse, had reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ He was king over Israel for forty years: he was king seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.^{(N) 28} He died at a ripe old age, rich in years and wealth and glory, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king.^(O)

²⁹ Now the deeds of King David, first and last, are recorded in the history of Samuel the seer, the history of Nathan the prophet, and the history of Gad the seer,^{(P) 30} together with the particulars of his reign and valor, and of the events that affected him and all Israel and all the kingdoms of the earth.

IV. The Delay of the Second Coming

Chapter 3

Denial of the Parousia. ^1 [a]This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; through them by way of reminder I am trying to stir up your sincere disposition, ² to recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and savior through your apostles.^{(A) 3} Know this first of all, that in the last days scoffers^[b] will come [to] scoff, living according to their own desires^{(B) 4} and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?^[c] From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation.”^{(C) 5} They deliberately ignore the fact that the heavens existed of old and earth was formed out of water and through water^[d] by the word of God;^{(D) 6} through these the world that then existed was destroyed,^(E) deluged with water.^{[e] 7} The present heavens and earth have been reserved by the same word for fire, kept for the day of judgment and of destruction of the godless.^(F)

^8 [f]But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years^[g] and a thousand years like one day.^{(G) 9} The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.^{(H) 10} But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,^[h] and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.^(I)

Exhortation to Preparedness.^{[i] 11} Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought [you] to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,^{(J) 12 [j]}waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,^(K) because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. ¹³ But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth^[k] in which righteousness dwells.^(L)

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace. ¹⁵ And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you,^{(M) 16} speaking of these things^[l] as he does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures.

V. Final Exhortation and Doxology^[m]

¹⁷ Therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, be on your guard not to be led into the error of the unprincipled and to fall from your own stability.^{(N) 18} But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory now and to the day of eternity. [Amen.]^(O)

III. Announcement of Judgment

Chapter 6

Chapter 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep.^{(A) 1 [a]}The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, ² but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^{(B) 3} So to them he addressed this parable. ^4 (C)“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one^(D) until he finds it?^{(E) 5} And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy ⁶ and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.^(F)

The Parable of the Lost Coin. ⁸ “Or what woman having ten coins^[b] and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ ¹⁰ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Lost Son. ¹¹ Then he said, “A man had two sons, ¹² and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. ¹³ After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.^{(G) 14} When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. ¹⁵ So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. ¹⁶ And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. ¹⁷ Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. ¹⁸ I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ ²² But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. ²⁵ Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. ²⁷ The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. ³⁰ But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. ³² But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”