M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 28
Assembly at Jerusalem.[a] 1 David summoned all the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions for the service of the king, the captains of the thousands, the captains of the hundreds, the officials in charge of all the goods and possessions of the king and his sons, together with the other officials, the mighty men, and the brave warriors to Jerusalem. 2 King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren, my people. I had my heart set upon building a house to serve as a resting place for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the footstool of our God. I made preparations for building it, 3 but God said to me, ‘You will not build a house for my name for you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’
4 “Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, has chosen me from my father’s entire household to be the king over Israel forever, and from Judah he chose me as leader, from the house of Judah, the household of my father and the sons of my father. It pleased him to make me king over all of Israel. 5 From my sons, from my many sons whom the Lord has given me, the Lord has chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, will build my temple and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he carefully observes my commandments and my ordinances, as they are doing today.’
8 “Now therefore, in the sight of all of Israel and the assembly of the Lord and in the hearing of our God, I charge you to carefully observe all of the commandments of the Lord, your God, so that you might possess this good land and it might be an inheritance for your descendants forever.
9 “And you, Solomon, my son, know that God is your father. Serve him with all your heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart, and he understands the ponderings of every thought. If you seek him, you will find him, but if you abandon him, then he will cast you off forever. 10 Take heed, now, that the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
11 Temple Plans Given to Solomon. David then gave Solomon, his son, the plans for the porch of the temple, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the seat of mercy.[b] 12 The plans included everything that the Spirit had inspired concerning the courtyards of the temple of the Lord, all of the surrounding chambers, the treasury of the temple of the Lord, and the treasury for the dedicated objects.
13 He also told him about the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all of the work to be done in the service of the temple of the Lord, as well as, for all the vessels used in the service of the temple of the Lord.
14 He gave the weight of the gold and all the golden implements for the various forms of service, and the weight of the silver in the implements for the various forms of service. 15 He also told him the weight for the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of the gold for each of the lampstands and their lamps, the weight of the silver for the lampstands and their lamps, according to the use of each of the lampstands. 16 He told him the weight of the gold for each of the tables for the shewbread and likewise the weight of the silver for the silver tables. 17 He told him the weight of the pure gold for the forks, the sprinkling bowls, and the pitchers, the weight of gold for each of the basins, and the weight of the silver for each of the silver dishes. 18 He told him the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the pattern for the chariot, that is, the golden cherubim with outstretched wings that covered the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.
19 David said, “This is all in writing for the hand of the Lord was upon me; he gave me understanding of all of the details of the plan.”
20 David also said to Solomon, his son, “Be strong! Be brave! Do it! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord, the God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor will he abandon you until you have finished all of the work in service of the temple of the Lord. 21 Behold, the divisions for the priests and the Levites for all of their service in the temple of the Lord are completed, and you will have at your disposition every type of workman skillful in every craft. The leaders and the people will obey your every command.”
Warning against False Teachers[a]
Chapter 2
False Teachers Will Arise. 1 Just as there were false prophets who arose among the people, so there will be false teachers among you. They will introduce their disruptive views and even deny the very Master who redeemed them, thus bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will be seduced by their licentious ways, and because of these teachers the way of truth will be brought into disrepute. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with concocted stories.
The Condemnation of False Teachers. However, their condemnation has been hanging over them for a long time, and the destruction awaiting them does not slumber. 4 For God did not spare the angels who sinned, but he cast them into the dark abyss to be chained, where they are being held until the judgment.[b] 5 Nor did he spare the ancient world,[c] even though he saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, one of eight, when he brought a flood upon the world with its godless people.
6 God also reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, thereby condemning them to total ruin and making them an example of what awaited the ungodly. 7 However, he rescued Lot, an upright man who was sickened by the licentiousness of the lawless society in which he lived 8 for that man was greatly tormented in his righteous soul by the crimes that he saw and about which he was told day after day.
9 Therefore, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials and to hold the wicked for punishment until the Day of Judgment. 10 Above all, he will punish those who succumb to the desires of their corrupt human nature and show no respect for authority.
The Ways of False Teachers. Bold and headstrong, they are not afraid to insult celestial beings, 11 whereas angels, despite their superior strength and power, do not bring slanderous accusations against such men in the Lord’s presence.[d] 12 These men are like wild beasts, mere creatures of instinct born to be caught and killed.
They pour abuse on things they do not understand, and in their corruption they also will be destroyed, 13 receiving the penalty[e] for doing wrong. They regard it as a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. While they share your table, they are ugly blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures.
14 They have eyes that are always on the trail of adultery, insatiable in their desire for sinful pursuits. They seduce unstable people, and their hearts are fixed on greed. Truly, they are an accursed brood.[f] 15 They have abandoned the straight path and have gone astray, following in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor,[g] who loved to receive payment for wrongdoing. 16 However, he received a rebuke for his crime when a mute donkey spoke with a human voice and put a stop to the prophet’s madness.
17 Such people are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of darkness has been reserved. 18 They speak boastful words devoid of meaning, and by arousing licentious desires of the flesh they entice people who are just escaping from living in error.
19 They promise them freedom, although they themselves are slaves of depravity.[h] For people are slaves of whatever has mastered them. 20 If they have escaped the world’s defilements through coming to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then again become entangled and are overpowered, they are worse off in this latter state than they were before.
21 It would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back and abandon the holy commandment that was handed on to them. 22 What happened to them manifests the truth of the proverbs:
“The dog returns to its own vomit,”[i]
and
“The washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”
Chapter 5
1 But from you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,[a]
among the tiniest of the clans of Judah,
from you will come forth for me
one who is to be a ruler in Israel,
one whose origins are from the distant past,
from ancient times.
2 Therefore, the Lord will abandon them
only until she who is in labor has given birth.
Then those of the people who survive
will be reunited with the Israelites.
3 He will rise up to shepherd his flock
by the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name
of the Lord his God.
And they will live in security,
for then his greatness will be renowned
to the ends of the earth.
4 He will ensure their peace.
If Assyria Invades Our Country . . .
If the Assyrians invade our country
and set foot upon our land,
we shall raise against them seven shepherds
and appoint eight[b] men to serve as rulers.
5 They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod with drawn swords.
And we will be delivered from Assyria
if it invades our country
or treads upon our borders.
The Remnant of Jacob
6 Then the remnant of Jacob,
surrounded by many peoples,
will be like dew from the Lord,
like showers on the grass,
which do not depend upon man
or wait for any man’s bidding.
7 And among the nations the remnant of Jacob
will be surrounded by many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
trampling and tearing to pieces as it goes,
with no one able to stop the carnage.
8 Your hand will be lifted up over your foes,
and all your adversaries will be destroyed.
9 On that day, says the Lord,
I will slaughter your horses
and destroy your chariots.
10 I will demolish the cities of your land
and raze all your fortresses to the ground.
11 I will eliminate your sorcerers,
and there will be no more soothsayers among you.
12 I will cut down your images
and the sacred pillars in your midst;
you will no longer worship
the work of your hands.
13 I will uproot your sacred poles[c]
and destroy your cities.
14 In anger and fury, I will wreak vengeance
on the nations that have disobeyed me.
A Dinner Given by a Pharisee[a]
Chapter 14
Jesus Heals a Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath.[b] 1 On one Sabbath, Jesus went to dine at the home of a prominent Pharisee, and the people were watching him closely. 2 In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy, 3 and Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 When they offered no reply, he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. 5 Then he said to them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” 6 And they were unable to give him any answer.
The Parable of the Ambitious Guest.[c] 7 When he noticed how the guests were securing places of honor, he told them a parable: 8 “When you have been invited by someone to attend a wedding banquet, do not sit down in the place of honor in case someone who is more distinguished than you may have been invited, 9 and then the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then you will be embarrassed as you proceed to sit in the lowest place.
10 “Rather, when you are invited, proceed to sit in the lowest place, so that when your host arrives, he will say to you, ‘My friend, move up to a higher place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 Invite the Needy.[d] Then he said to the one who had invited him, “When you host a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, lest they invite you back and thus repay you. 13 Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then indeed will you be blessed because they have no way to repay you. But you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 The Parable of the Great Supper.[e] On hearing this, one of the dinner guests said to him, “Blessed is the man who will dine in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus said in reply, “A man gave a sumptuous banquet, to which he invited many. 17 When the hour for the banquet drew near, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited: ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have bought a parcel of land, and I must go out to inspect it. Please accept my apologies.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out. Please accept my regrets.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have just gotten married, and therefore I am unable to come.’
21 “When the servant returned, he reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became enraged, and he said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 Shortly afterward, the servant told him, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, and some room is still available.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the open roads and along the hedgerows and compel people to come,[f] so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
Conditions To Be a Disciple[g]
25 Renunciation of Everything for Jesus.[h] Great crowds were accompanying Jesus on his journey, and he turned to them and said, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother,[i] wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 [j]“Which one of you, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has sufficient funds for its completion? 29 Otherwise, if he has laid the foundation and then finds himself unable to finish the work, all who see it will ridicule him, saying, 30 ‘There goes the man who started to build but was unable to complete the work.’
31 “Or what king marching into battle against another king will not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand soldiers he can defeat the enemy coming to oppose him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the enemy is still a long distance away, he will send a delegation to ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any one of you who does not renounce all of his possessions cannot be my disciple.
34 The Simile of Salt.[k]“Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, what can be done to make it salty once again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the dungheap. Thus, it can only be thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
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