M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King David in His Old Age
1 King David was now a very old man, and although his servants covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm. 2 So his officials said to him, “Your Majesty, let us find a young woman to stay with you and take care of you. She will lie close to you and keep you warm.” 3 A search was made all over Israel for a beautiful young woman, and in Shunem they found such a woman named Abishag, and brought her to the king. 4 She was very beautiful, and waited on the king and took care of him, but he did not have intercourse with her.
Adonijah Claims the Throne
5-6 (A)Now that Absalom was dead, Adonijah, the son of David and Haggith, was the oldest surviving son. He was a very handsome man. David had never reprimanded him about anything, and he was ambitious to be king. He provided for himself chariots, horses, and an escort of fifty men. 7 He talked with Joab (whose mother was Zeruiah) and with Abiathar the priest, and they agreed to support his cause. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's bodyguards were not on Adonijah's side.
9 One day Adonijah offered a sacrifice of sheep, bulls, and fattened calves at Snake Rock, near the spring of Enrogel. He invited the other sons of King David and the king's officials who were from Judah to come to this sacrificial feast, 10 but he did not invite his half brother Solomon or Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the king's bodyguards.
Solomon Is Made King
11 (B)Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and asked her, “Haven't you heard that Haggith's son Adonijah has made himself king? And King David doesn't know anything about it! 12 If you want to save your life and the life of your son Solomon, I would advise you to 13 go at once to King David and ask him, ‘Your Majesty, didn't you solemnly promise me that my son Solomon would succeed you as king? How is it, then, that Adonijah has become king?’” 14 And Nathan added, “Then, while you are still talking with King David, I will come in and confirm your story.”
15 So Bathsheba went to see the king in his bedroom. He was very old, and Abishag, the young woman from Shunem, was taking care of him. 16 Bathsheba bowed low before the king, and he asked, “What do you want?”
17 She answered, “Your Majesty, you made me a solemn promise in the name of the Lord your God that my son Solomon would be king after you. 18 But Adonijah has already become king, and you don't know anything about it. 19 He has offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves, and he invited your sons, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of your army to the feast, but he did not invite your son Solomon. 20 Your Majesty, all the people of Israel are looking to you to tell them who is to succeed you as king. 21 If you don't, as soon as you are dead, my son Solomon and I will be treated as traitors.”
22 She was still speaking, when Nathan arrived at the palace. 23 The king was told that the prophet was there, and Nathan went in and bowed low before the king. 24 Then he said, “Your Majesty, have you announced that Adonijah would succeed you as king? 25 This very day he has gone and offered a sacrifice of many bulls, sheep, and fattened calves. He invited all your sons, Joab the commander of your army,[a] and Abiathar the priest, and right now they are feasting with him and shouting, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he did not invite me, sir, or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or Solomon. 27 Did Your Majesty approve all this and not even tell your officials who is to succeed you as king?”
28 King David said, “Ask Bathsheba to come back in”—and she came and stood before him. 29 Then he said to her, “I promise you by the living Lord, who has rescued me from all my troubles, 30 that today I will keep the promise I made to you in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon would succeed me as king.”
31 Bathsheba bowed low and said, “May my lord the king live forever!”
32 Then King David sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. When they came in, 33 he said to them, “Take my court officials with you; have my son Solomon ride my own mule, and escort him down to Gihon Spring, 34 where Zadok and Nathan are to anoint him as king of Israel. Then blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 Follow him back here when he comes to sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, because he is the one I have chosen to be the ruler of Israel and Judah.”
36 “It shall be done,” answered Benaiah, “and may the Lord your God confirm it! 37 As the Lord has been with Your Majesty, may he also be with Solomon and make his reign even more prosperous than yours.”
38 So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguards put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon Spring. 39 Zadok took the container of olive oil which he had brought from the Tent of the Lord's presence, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 Then they all followed him back, shouting for joy and playing flutes, making enough noise to shake the ground.
41 As Adonijah and all his guests were finishing the feast, they heard the noise. And when Joab heard the trumpet, he asked, “What's the meaning of all that noise in the city?” 42 Before he finished speaking, Jonathan, the son of the priest Abiathar, arrived. “Come on in,” Adonijah said. “You're a good man—you must be bringing good news.”
43 “I'm afraid not,” Jonathan answered. “His Majesty King David has made Solomon king. 44 He sent Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the royal bodyguards to escort him. They had him ride on the king's mule, 45 and Zadok and Nathan anointed him as king at Gihon Spring. Then they went into the city, shouting for joy, and the people are now in an uproar. That's the noise you just heard. 46 Solomon is now the king. 47 What is more, the court officials went in to pay their respects to His Majesty King David and said, ‘May your God make Solomon even more famous than you, and may Solomon's reign be even more prosperous than yours.’ Then King David bowed in worship on his bed 48 and prayed, ‘Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has today made one of my descendants succeed me as king, and has let me live to see it!’”
49 Then Adonijah's guests were afraid, and they all got up and left, each going his own way. 50 Adonijah, in great fear of Solomon, went to the Tent of the Lord's presence and took hold of the corners of the altar.[b] 51 King Solomon was told that Adonijah was afraid of him and that he was holding on to the corners of the altar and had said, “First, I want King Solomon to swear to me that he will not have me put to death.”
52 Solomon replied, “If he is loyal, not even a hair on his head will be touched; but if he is not, he will die.” 53 King Solomon then sent for Adonijah and had him brought down from the altar. Adonijah went to the king and bowed low before him, and the king said to him, “You may go home.”
Preserve Your Freedom
5 Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. 3 Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. 4 Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. 5 As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. 6 For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
7 You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? 8 It was not done by God, who calls you. 9 (A)“It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. 10 But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.
11 But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. 12 I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!
13 As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. 14 (B)For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 15 But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.
The Spirit and Human Nature
16 What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. 17 (C)For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. 18 If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.
19 What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; 20 in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; 21 they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. 25 The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives. 26 We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another.
The King of Egypt Is Compared to a Crocodile
32 On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 2 “Mortal man,” he said, “give a solemn warning to the king of Egypt. Give him this message from me: You act like a lion among the nations, but you are more like a crocodile splashing through a river. You muddy the water with your feet and pollute the rivers. 3 When many nations gather, I will catch you in my net and let them drag the net ashore. 4 I will throw you out on the ground and bring all the birds and animals of the world to feed on you. 5 I will cover mountains and valleys with your rotting corpse. 6 I will pour out your blood until it spreads over the mountains and fills the streams. 7 (A)When I destroy you, I will cover the sky and blot out the stars. The sun will hide behind the clouds, and the moon will give no light. 8 I will put out all the lights of heaven and plunge your world into darkness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.
9 “Many nations will be troubled when I spread the news of your destruction through countries you never heard of. 10 What I do to you will shock many nations. When I swing my sword, kings will shudder with fright. On the day you fall, all of them will tremble in fear for their own lives.”
11 The Sovereign Lord says to the king of Egypt, “You will face the sword of the king of Babylonia. 12 I will let soldiers from cruel nations draw their swords and kill all your people. All your people and everything else that you are proud of will be destroyed. 13 I will slaughter your cattle at every water hole. There will be no people or cattle to muddy the water any more. 14 I will let your waters settle and become clear and let your rivers run calm. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. 15 When I make Egypt a desolate wasteland and destroy all who live there, they will know that I am the Lord. 16 This solemn warning will become a funeral song. The women of the nations will sing it to mourn for Egypt and all its people. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”
The World of the Dead
17 On the fifteenth day of the first month[a] of the twelfth year of our exile, the Lord spoke to me. 18 “Mortal man,” he said, “mourn for all the many people of Egypt. Send them down with the other powerful nations to the world of the dead. 19 Say to them:
“Do you think you are more beautiful than anyone else?
You will go down to the world of the dead
and lie there among the ungodly.
20 “The people of Egypt will fall with those who are killed in battle. A sword is ready to kill them all.[b] 21 The greatest heroes and those who fought on the Egyptian side welcome the Egyptians to the world of the dead. They shout: ‘The ungodly who were killed in battle have come down here, and here they lie!’
22 “Assyria is there, with the graves of her soldiers all around. They were all killed in battle, 23 and their graves are in the deepest parts of the world of the dead. All her soldiers fell in battle, and their graves surround her tomb. Yet once they terrified the land of the living.
24 “Elam is there, with the graves of her soldiers all around. They were all killed in battle, and they went down, uncircumcised, to the world of the dead. In life they spread terror, but now they lie dead and disgraced. 25 Elam lies down among those killed in battle, and the graves of her soldiers are all around her. They are all uncircumcised, all killed in battle. In life they spread terror, but now they lie dead and disgraced, sharing the fate of those killed in battle.
26 “Meshech and Tubal are there, with the graves of their soldiers all around. They are all uncircumcised, all killed in battle. Yet once they terrified the living. 27 They were not given honorable burial like the heroes of ancient times,[c] who went fully armed to the world of the dead, their swords placed under their heads and their shields[d] over their bodies. These heroes were once powerful enough to terrify the living.
28 “That is how the Egyptians will lie crushed among the uncircumcised who were killed in battle.
29 “Edom is there with her kings and rulers. They were powerful soldiers, but now they lie in the world of the dead with the uncircumcised who were killed in battle.
30 “All the princes of the north are there, and so are the Sidonians. Their power once spread terror, but now they go down in disgrace with those killed in battle and are laid to rest, uncircumcised. They share the disgrace of those who go down to the world of the dead.
31 “The sight of all these who were killed in battle will be a comfort to the king of Egypt and his army,” says the Sovereign Lord.
32 “I caused the king of Egypt to terrorize the living, but he and all his army will be killed and laid to rest with all the uncircumcised who die in battle.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
A Prayer for the Nation's Restoration[a]
80 (A)Listen to us, O Shepherd of Israel;
hear us, leader of your flock.
Seated on your throne above the winged creatures,
2 reveal yourself to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Show us your strength;
come and save us!
3 Bring us back, O God!
Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!
4 How much longer, Lord God Almighty,
will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have given us sorrow to eat,
a large cup of tears to drink.
6 You let the surrounding nations fight over our land;
our enemies insult us.
7 Bring us back, Almighty God!
Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!
8 You brought a grapevine out of Egypt;
you drove out other nations and planted it in their land.
9 You cleared a place for it to grow;
its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land.
10 It covered the hills with its shade;
its branches overshadowed the giant cedars.
11 It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea
and as far as the Euphrates River.
12 Why did you break down the fences around it?
Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes;
13 wild hogs trample it down,
and wild animals feed on it.
14 Turn to us, Almighty God!
Look down from heaven at us;
come and save your people!
15 Come and save this grapevine that you planted,
this young vine you made grow so strong!
16 Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down;
look at them in anger and destroy them!
17 Preserve and protect the people you have chosen,
the nation you made so strong.
18 We will never turn away from you again;
keep us alive, and we will praise you.
19 Bring us back, Lord God Almighty.
Show us your mercy, and we will be saved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.