M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fabled wisdom, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. A very great retinue of aides and servants accompanied her, including camel loads of spices, gold, and jewels. 2 And Solomon answered all her problems. Nothing was hidden from him; he could explain everything to her. 3 When she discovered how wise he really was, and how breathtaking the beauty of his palace, 4 and how wonderful the food at his tables, and how many servants and aides he had, and when she saw their spectacular uniforms and his stewards in full regalia, and saw the size of the men in his bodyguard, she could scarcely believe it!
5 Finally she exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard about you in my own country is true! 6 I didn’t believe it until I got here and saw it with my own eyes. Your wisdom is far greater than I could ever have imagined. 7 What a privilege for these men of yours to stand here and listen to you talk! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God! How he must love Israel to give them a just king like you! He wants them to be a great, strong nation forever.”
9 She gave the king a gift of over a million dollars in gold, and great quantities of spices of incomparable quality, and many, many jewels.
10 King Hiram’s and King Solomon’s crews brought gold from Ophir, also sandalwood and jewels. 11 The king used the sandalwood to make terraced steps for the Temple and the palace and to construct harps and lyres for the choir. Never before had there been such beautiful instruments in all the land of Judah.
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba gifts of the same value as she had brought to him, plus everything else she asked for! Then she and her retinue returned to their own land.
13-14 Solomon received a quarter of a billion dollars worth of gold each year from the kings of Arabia and many other lands that paid annual tribute to him. In addition, there was a trade balance from the exports of his merchants. 15 He used some of the gold to make 200 large shields, each worth $100,000, 16 and 300 smaller shields, each worth $50,000. The king placed these in the Forest of Lebanon Room in his palace. 17 He also made a huge ivory throne overlaid with pure gold. 18 It had six gold steps and a footstool of gold; also gold armrests, each flanked by a gold lion. 19 Gold lions also stood at each side of each step. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it! 20 All of King Solomon’s cups were solid gold, as were all the furnishings in the Forest of Lebanon Room. Silver was too cheap to count for much in those days!
21 Every three years the king sent his ships to Tarshish, using sailors supplied by King Hiram, to bring back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 So King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king in all the earth. 23 Kings from every nation came to visit him and to hear the wisdom God had put into his heart. 24 Each brought him annual tribute of silver and gold bowls, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules.
25 In addition, Solomon had 4,000 stalls of horses and chariots, and 12,000 cavalrymen stationed in the chariot cities as well as in Jerusalem to protect the king. 26 He ruled over all kings and kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far away as the border of Egypt. 27 He made silver become as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones in the road! And cedar was used as though it were common sycamore. 28 Horses were brought to him from Egypt and other countries.
29 The rest of Solomon’s biography is written in the history of Nathan the prophet and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and also in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
30 So Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for forty years. 31 Then he died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Rehoboam became the new king.
1 From: Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James.
To: Christians everywhere—beloved of God and chosen by him. 2 May you be given more and more of God’s kindness, peace, and love.
3 Dearly loved friends, I had been planning to write you some thoughts about the salvation God has given us, but now I find I must write of something else instead, urging you to stoutly defend the truth that God gave once for all to his people to keep without change through the years. 4 I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God’s punishment. The fate of such people was written long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 My answer to them is: Remember this fact—which you know already—that the Lord saved a whole nation of people out of the land of Egypt and then killed every one of them who did not trust and obey him. 6 And I remind you of those angels who were once pure and holy but turned to a life of sin.[a] Now God has them chained up in prisons of darkness, waiting for the judgment day. 7 And don’t forget the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, all full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities were destroyed by fire and continue to be a warning to us that there is a hell in which sinners are punished.
8 Yet these false teachers carelessly go right on living their evil, immoral lives, degrading their bodies and laughing at those in authority over them, even scoffing at the Glorious Ones. 9 Yet Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, when he was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body, did not dare to accuse even Satan, or jeer at him, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these men mock and curse at anything they do not understand, and like animals, they do whatever they feel like, thereby ruining their souls.
11 Woe upon them! For they follow the example of Cain who killed his brother; and like Balaam, they will do anything for money; and like Korah, they have disobeyed God and will die under his curse.
12 When these men join you at the love feasts of the church, they are evil smears among you, laughing and carrying on, gorging and stuffing themselves without a thought for others. They are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much, but producing nothing. They are like fruit trees without any fruit at picking time. They are not only dead, but doubly dead, for they have been pulled out, roots and all, to be burned.
13 All they leave behind them is shame and disgrace like the dirty foam left along the beach by the wild waves. They wander around looking as bright as stars, but ahead of them is the everlasting gloom and darkness that God has prepared for them.
14 Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, knew about these men and said this about them: “See, the Lord is coming with millions of his holy ones. 15 He will bring the people of the world before him in judgment, to receive just punishment and to prove the terrible things they have done in rebellion against God, revealing all they have said against him.” 16 These men are constant gripers, never satisfied, doing whatever evil they feel like; they are loudmouthed “show-offs,” and when they show respect for others, it is only to get something from them in return.
17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, 18 that in the last times there would come these scoffers whose whole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. 19 They stir up arguments; they love the evil things of the world; they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.
20 But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
21 Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. 22 Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. 23 Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.
24-25 And now—all glory to him who alone is God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are his from the beginning; his they are and his they evermore shall be. And he is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into his glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy. Amen.
Jude
1 Subject: a message from the Lord.
To: Zephaniah (son of Cushi, grandson of Gedaliah, great-grandson of Amariah, and great-great-grandson of Hezekiah). When: During the reign of Josiah (son of Amon) king of Judah.[a]
2 “I will sweep away everything in all your land,” says the Lord. “I will destroy it to the ground. 3 I will sweep away both men and animals alike. Mankind and all the idols that he worships—all will vanish. Even the birds of the air and the fish in the sea will perish. 4 I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every remnant of those who worship Baal; I will put an end to their idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. 5 They go up on their roofs and bow to the sun, moon, and stars. They ‘follow the Lord,’ but worship Molech too! I will destroy them. 6 And I will destroy those who formerly worshiped the Lord, but now no longer do, and those who never loved him and never wanted to.”
7 Stand in silence in the presence of the Lord. For the awesome Day of his Judgment has come; he has prepared a great slaughter of his people and has chosen their executioners.[b] 8 “On that Day of Judgment I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all others wearing heathen clothing.[c] 9 Yes, I will punish those who follow heathen customs and who rob and kill to fill their masters’ homes with evil gain of violence and fraud. 10 A cry of alarm will begin at the farthest gate of Jerusalem, coming closer and closer until the noise of the advancing army reaches the very top of the hill where the city is built.
11 “Wail in sorrow, you people of Jerusalem. All your greedy businessmen, all your loan sharks—all will die.
12 “I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to find and punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to God, thinking he will leave them alone. 13 They are the very ones whose property will be plundered by the enemy, whose homes will be ransacked; they will never have a chance to live in the new homes they have built. They will never drink wine from the vineyards they have planted.
14 “That terrible day is near. Swiftly it comes—a day when strong men will weep bitterly. 15 It is a day of the wrath of God poured out; it is a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, of clouds, blackness, 16 trumpet calls, and battle cries; down go the walled cities and strongest battlements!
17 “I will make you as helpless as a blind man searching for a path because you have sinned against the Lord; therefore, your blood will be poured out into the dust and your bodies will lie there rotting on the ground.”
18 Your silver and gold will be of no use to you in that day of the Lord’s wrath. You cannot ransom yourselves with it.[d] For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a speedy riddance of all the people of Judah.
23 Then the entire Council took Jesus over to Pilate, the governor.[a] 2 They began at once accusing him: “This fellow has been leading our people to ruin by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is our Messiah—a King.”
3 So Pilate asked him, “Are you their Messiah—their King?”[b]
“Yes,” Jesus replied, “it is as you say.”
4 Then Pilate turned to the chief priests and to the mob and said, “So? That isn’t a crime!”
5 Then they became desperate. “But he is causing riots against the government everywhere he goes, all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!”
6 “Is he then a Galilean?” Pilate asked.
7 When they told him yes, Pilate said to take him to King Herod, for Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction; and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. 8 Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, for he had heard a lot about him and had been hoping to see him perform a miracle.
9 He asked Jesus question after question, but there was no reply. 10 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the other religious leaders stood there shouting their accusations.
11 Now Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus; and putting a kingly robe on him, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate—enemies before—became fast friends.
13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, along with the people, 14 and announced his verdict:
“You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt against the Roman government.[c] I have examined him thoroughly on this point and find him innocent. 15 Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us—nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. 16 I will therefore have him scourged with leaded thongs and release him.”
17-18 [d]But now a mighty roar rose from the crowd as with one voice they shouted. “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for starting an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) 20 Pilate argued with them, for he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 Once more, for the third time, he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. I will therefore scourge him and let him go.” 23 But they shouted louder and louder for Jesus’ death, and their voices prevailed.
24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 And he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder, at their request. But he delivered Jesus over to them to do with as they would.
26 As the crowd led Jesus away to his death, Simon of Cyrene, who was just coming into Jerusalem from the country, was forced to follow, carrying Jesus’ cross. 27 Great crowds trailed along behind, and many grief-stricken women.
28 But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the days are coming when the women who have no children will be counted fortunate indeed. 30 Mankind will beg the mountains to fall on them and crush them, and the hills to bury them. 31 For if such things as this are done to me, the Living Tree, what will they do to you?”[e]
32-33 Two others, criminals, were led out to be executed with him at a place called “The Skull.” There all three were crucified—Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side.
34 “Father, forgive these people,” Jesus said, “for they don’t know what they are doing.”
And the soldiers gambled for his clothing, throwing dice for each piece. 35 The crowd watched. And the Jewish leaders laughed and scoffed. “He was so good at helping others,” they said, “let’s see him save himself if he is really God’s Chosen One, the Messiah.”
36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink—of sour wine. 37 And they called to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 A signboard was nailed to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40-41 But the other criminal protested. “Don’t you even fear God when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn’t done one thing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “Today you will be with me in Paradise. This is a solemn promise.”
44 By now it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land[f] for three hours, until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone—and suddenly[g] the thick veil hanging in the Temple split apart.
46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I commit my spirit to you,” and with those words he died.[h]
47 When the captain of the Roman military unit handling the executions saw what had happened, he was stricken with awe before God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.”[i]
48 And when the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw that Jesus was dead, they went home in deep sorrow. 49 Meanwhile, Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him down from Galilee, stood in the distance watching.
50-52 Then a man named Joseph, a member of the Jewish Supreme Court, from the city of Arimathea in Judea, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He was a godly man who had been expecting the Messiah’s coming and had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other Jewish leaders. 53 So he took down Jesus’ body and wrapped it in a long linen cloth and laid it in a new, unused tomb hewn into the rock at the side of a hill.[j] 54 This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation for the Sabbath.
55 As the body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw it carried into the tomb. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to embalm him; but by the time they were finished it was the Sabbath, so they rested all that day as required by the Jewish law.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.