M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
7 So the people of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the Lord and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill.(A) They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.
Victory at Mizpah
2 Time went by until twenty years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel longed for the Lord. 3 Samuel told them, “If you(B) are returning to the Lord(C) with all your heart,(D) get rid of the foreign gods(E) and the Ashtoreths that are among you, set your hearts on the Lord, and worship only him.(F) Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths(G) and only worshiped the Lord.
5 Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah,(H) and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.”(I) 6 When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence.(J) They fasted that day,(K) and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.”(L) And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, so that he will save us from the Philistines.”
9 Then Samuel took a young lamb(M) and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.(N) 10 Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines approached to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly(O) against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.(P) 11 Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.
12 Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright(Q) between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,[a] explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued(R) and[b] did not invade Israel’s territory again.(S) The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life. 14 The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel judged Israel throughout his life.(T) 16 Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations. 17 Then he would return to Ramah(U) because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
Israel’s Demand for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.(V) 2 His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.(W) 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.(X)
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.(Y) 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”(Z)
6 When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.(AA) 8 They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me,[c] since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. 9 Listen to them, but solemnly warn them(AB) and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”
10 Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. 12 He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties,(AC) to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.(AD) 15 He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. 16 He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle,[d] and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves,(AE) but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”(AF)
19 The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us,(AG) and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the Lord. 22 “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”(AH)
Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”
The New Life in Christ
6 What should we say then?(A) Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?(B) 2 Absolutely not!(C) How can we who died to sin(D) still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized(E) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?(F) 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death,(G) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead(H) by the glory of the Father,(I) so we too may walk in newness[a] of life.(J) 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death,(K) we will certainly also be[b] in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self[c](L) was crucified with him(M) so that the body ruled by sin[d] might be rendered powerless(N) so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died(O) is freed[e] from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ,(P) we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead,(Q) will not die again. Death no longer rules over him.(R) 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin(S) and alive to God in Christ Jesus.[f]
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey[g] its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts[h] of it to sin(T) as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God,(U) and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law(V) but under grace.(W)
From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God
15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?(X) Absolutely not!(Y) 16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone[i] as obedient slaves,(Z) you are slaves of that one you obey(AA)—either of sin leading to death(AB) or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin,(AC) you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed[j] over,(AD) 18 and having been set free from sin,(AE) you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 I am using a human analogy(AF) because of the weakness of your flesh.[k] For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.[l](AG) 21 So what fruit was produced[m] then from the things you are now ashamed of?(AH) The outcome of those things is death.(AI) 22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God,(AJ) you have your fruit, which results in sanctification(AK)—and the outcome is eternal life!(AL) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.(AM)
God’s Judgment against His People in Egypt
44 This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—at Migdol,(A) Tahpanhes,(B) Memphis,(C) and in the land of Pathros:(D) 2 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities. Look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them(E) 3 because of the evil they committed to anger me,(F) by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your ancestors did not know.(G) 4 So I sent you all my servants the prophets time and time again,[a](H) saying, ‘Don’t commit this detestable action that I hate.’ 5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods. 6 So my fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets(I) so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.
7 “So now, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby(J) from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.(K) 8 You are angering me by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to stay for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an example for cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.(L) 9 Have you forgotten the evils of your ancestors, the evils of Judah’s kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed my instruction or my statutes that I set before you and your ancestors.
11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster,(M) to cut off all Judah.(N) 12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah,(O) those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest,(P) they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn,(Q) execration, and disgrace.(R) 13 I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague. 14 Then the remnant of Judah—those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt—will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing[b] to return to stay,(S) for they will not return except for a few fugitives.”
The People’s Stubborn Response
15 However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by—a great assembly—and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah, 16 “As for the word you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you! 17 Instead, we will do everything we promised:[c] we will burn incense to the queen of heaven[d] and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities(T) and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster, 18 but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end.”(U)
19 And the women said,[e] “When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it apart from our husbands’ knowledge(V) that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
20 But Jeremiah responded to all the people—the men, women, and all the people who were answering him: 21 “As for the incense you burned in Judah’s cities(W) and in Jerusalem’s streets—you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—did the Lord not remember them? He brought this to mind. 22 The Lord can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed,(X) so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an example for cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today. 23 Because you burned incense and sinned against the Lord and didn’t obey the Lord(Y) and didn’t follow his instruction, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.”
24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt.(Z) 25 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Keep your vows!’
26 “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,(AA) says the Lord, that my name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt,(AB) saying, “As the Lord God lives.” 27 I am watching over them for disaster and not for good,(AC) and everyone from Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off. 28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number,(AD) and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs! 29 This will be a sign to you’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘that I will punish you in this place, so you may know that my words of disaster concerning you will certainly come to pass.(AE) 30 This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand over Pharaoh Hophra,(AF) Egypt’s king, to his enemies, to those who intend to take his life, just as I handed over Judah’s King Zedekiah(AG) to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, who was his enemy, the one who intended to take his life.’”
Psalm 20
Deliverance in Battle
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble;(A)
may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.(B)
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.(C)
3 May he remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt offering.(D)Selah
4 May he give you what your heart desires(E)
and fulfill your whole purpose.(F)
5 Let us shout for joy at your victory(G)
and lift the banner in the name of our God.(H)
May the Lord fulfill all your requests.(I)
6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed;(J)
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories from his right hand.(K)
7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.(L)
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.(M)
9 Lord, give victory to the king!(N)
May he[a] answer us on the day that we call.
Psalm 21
The King’s Victory
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, the king finds joy in your strength.
How greatly he rejoices in your victory!(O)
2 You have given him his heart’s desire(P)
and have not denied the request of his lips.(Q)Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you place a crown of pure gold on his head.(R)
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.(S)
5 His glory is great through your victory;
you confer majesty and splendor on him.(T)
6 You give him blessings forever;(U)
you cheer him with joy in your presence.(V)
7 For the king relies on the Lord;
through the faithful love of the Most High
he is not shaken.(W)
8 Your hand will capture all your enemies;
your right hand will seize those who hate you.(X)
9 You will make them burn
like a fiery furnace when you appear;
the Lord will engulf them in his wrath,
and fire will devour them.(Y)
10 You will wipe their progeny from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.[b](Z)
11 Though they intend to harm[c] you
and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.(AA)
12 Instead, you will put them to flight
when you ready your bowstrings to shoot at them.(AB)
13 Be exalted, Lord, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.(AC)
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