M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
5 The king of Syria had high admiration for Naaman, the commander-in-chief of his army, for he had led his troops to many glorious victories. So he was a great hero, but he was a leper. 2 Bands of Syrians had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a little girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.
3 One day the little girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy!”
4 Naaman told the king what the little girl had said.
5 “Go and visit the prophet,” the king told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to carry to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman started out, taking gifts of $20,000 in silver, $60,000 in gold, and ten suits of clothing. 6 The letter to the king of Israel said: “The man bringing this letter is my servant Naaman; I want you to heal him of his leprosy.”
7 When the king of Israel read it, he tore his clothes and said, “This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can kill and give life? He is only trying to get an excuse to invade us again.”
8 But when Elisha the prophet heard about the king of Israel’s plight, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet of God here in Israel.”
9 So Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s home. 10 Elisha sent a messenger out to tell him to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed of every trace of his leprosy! 11 But Naaman was angry and stalked away.
“Look,” he said, “I thought at least he would come out and talk to me! I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call upon the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? If it’s rivers I need, I’ll wash at home and get rid of my leprosy.” So he went away in a rage.
13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!”
14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the prophet had told him to. And his flesh became as healthy as a little child’s, and he was healed! 15 Then he and his entire party went back to find the prophet; they stood humbly before him and Naaman said, “I know at last that there is no God in all the world except in Israel; now please accept my gifts.”
16 But Elisha replied, “I swear by Jehovah my God that I will not accept them.”
Naaman urged him to take them, but he absolutely refused. 17 “Well,” Naaman said, “all right. But please give me two muleloads of earth to take back with me, for from now on I will never again offer any burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord.[a] 18 However, may the Lord pardon me this one thing—when my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the Lord pardon me when I bow too.”
19 “All right,” Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.
20 But Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, said to himself, “My master shouldn’t have let this fellow get away without taking his gifts. I will chase after him and get something from him.”
21 So Gehazi caught up with him. When Naaman saw him coming, he jumped down from his chariot and ran to meet him.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
22 “Yes,” he said, “but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hills of Ephraim have just arrived, and he would like $2,000 in silver and two suits to give to them.”
23 “Take $4,000,” Naaman insisted. He gave him two expensive robes, tied up the money in two bags, and gave them to two of his servants to carry back with Gehazi. 24 But when they arrived at the hill where Elisha lived,[b] Gehazi took the bags from the servants and sent the men back. Then he hid the money in his house.
25 When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”
“I haven’t been anywhere,” he replied.
26 But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realize that I was there in thought when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing and olive farms and vineyards and sheep and oxen and servants? 27 Because you have done this, Naaman’s leprosy shall be upon you and upon your children and your children’s children forever.”
And Gehazi walked from the room a leper, his skin as white as snow.
2 Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all he is going to do for them.
2 Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord.[a] 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth: 5 That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, 6 by giving his life for all mankind.
This is the message that at the proper time God gave to the world. 7 And I have been chosen—this is the absolute truth—as God’s minister and missionary to teach this truth to the Gentiles and to show them God’s plan of salvation through faith.
8 So I want men everywhere to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from sin and anger and resentment. 9-10 And the women should be the same way, quiet and sensible in manner and clothing. Christian women should be noticed for being kind and good, not for the way they fix their hair or because of their jewels or fancy clothes. 11 Women should listen and learn quietly and humbly.
12 I never let women teach men or lord it over them. Let them be silent in your church meetings. 13 Why? Because God made Adam first, and afterwards he made Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was fooled by Satan, but Eve, and sin was the result. 15 So God sent pain and suffering to women when their children are born, but he will save their souls if they trust in him, living quiet, good, and loving lives.
9 It was now the first year of the reign of King Darius, the son of Ahasuerus. (Darius was a Mede but became king of the Chaldeans.) 2 In that first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the book of Jeremiah the prophet that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.[a] 3 So I earnestly pleaded with the Lord God to end our captivity and send us back to our own land.[b]
As I prayed, I fasted and wore rough sackcloth, and I sprinkled myself with ashes 4 and confessed my sins and those of my people.
“O Lord,” I prayed, “you are a great and awesome God; you always fulfill your promises of mercy to those who love you and keep your laws. 5 But we have sinned so much; we have rebelled against you and scorned your commands. 6 We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, whom you sent again and again down through the years, with your messages to our kings and princes and to all the people.
7 “O Lord, you are righteous; but as for us, we are always shamefaced with sin, just as you see us now; yes, all of us—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel, scattered near and far wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. 8 O Lord, we and our kings and princes and fathers are weighted down with shame because of all our sins.
9 “But the Lord our God is merciful and pardons even those who have rebelled against him.
10 “O Lord our God, we have disobeyed you; we have flouted all the laws you gave us through your servants, the prophets. 11 All Israel has disobeyed; we have turned away from you and haven’t listened to your voice. And so the awesome curse of God has crushed us—the curse written in the law of Moses your servant. 12 And you have done exactly as you warned us you would do, for never in all history has there been a disaster like what happened at Jerusalem to us and our rulers. 13 Every curse against us written in the law of Moses has come true; all the evils he predicted—all have come. But even so we still refuse to satisfy the Lord our God by turning from our sins and doing right.
14 “And so the Lord deliberately crushed us with the calamity he prepared; he is fair in everything he does, but we would not obey. 15 O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by removing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. Lord, do it again! Though we have sinned so much and are full of wickedness, 16 yet because of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn away your furious anger from Jerusalem, your own city, your holy mountain. For the heathen mock at you because your city lies in ruins for our sins.
17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead! Let your face shine again with peace and joy upon your desolate sanctuary—for your own glory, Lord.
18 “O my God, bend down your ear and listen to my plea. Open your eyes and see our wretchedness, how your city lies in ruins—for everyone knows that it is yours. We don’t ask because we merit help, but because you are so merciful despite our grievous sins.
19 “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen to me and act! Don’t delay—for your own sake, O my God, because your people and your city bear your name.”
20 Even while I was praying and confessing my sin and the sins of my people, desperately pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain, 21 Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, flew swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice 22 and said to me, “Daniel, I am here to help you understand God’s plans. 23 The moment you began praying a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, for God loves you very much. Listen and try to understand the meaning of the vision that you saw!
24 “The Lord has commanded 490 years[c] of further punishment upon Jerusalem and your people. Then at last they will learn to stay away from sin, and their guilt will be cleansed; then the kingdom of everlasting righteousness will begin, and the Most Holy Place in the Temple will be rededicated, as the prophets have declared. 25 Now listen! It will be 49 years plus 434 years[d] from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes! Jerusalem’s streets and walls will be rebuilt despite the perilous times.
26 “After this period of 434 years, the Anointed One will be killed, his kingdom still unrealized . . . and a king will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. They will be overwhelmed as with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 This king will make a seven-year treaty with the people, but after half that time, he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and their offerings; then, as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the Enemy shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God. But in God’s time and plan, his judgment will be poured out upon this Evil One.”
117 Praise the Lord, all nations everywhere. Praise him, all the peoples of the earth. 2 For he loves us very dearly, and his truth endures. Praise the Lord.
118 Oh, thank the Lord, for he’s so good! His loving-kindness is forever.
2 Let the congregation of Israel praise him with these same words: “His loving-kindness is forever.” 3 And let the priests of Aaron chant, “His loving-kindness is forever.” 4 Let the Gentile converts chant, “His loving-kindness is forever.”
5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me. 6 He is for me! How can I be afraid? What can mere man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side; he will help me. Let those who hate me beware.
8 It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in men. 9 It is better to take refuge in him than in the mightiest king!
10 Though all the nations of the world attack me, I will march out behind his banner and destroy them. 11 Yes, they surround and attack me; but with his flag flying above me I will cut them off. 12 They swarm around me like bees; they blaze against me like a roaring flame. Yet beneath his flag I shall destroy them. 13 You did your best to kill me, O my enemy, but the Lord helped me. 14 He is my strength and song in the heat of battle, and now he has given me the victory. 15-16 Songs of joy at the news of our rescue are sung in the homes of the godly. The strong arm of the Lord has done glorious things! 17 I shall not die but live to tell of all his deeds. 18 The Lord has punished me but not handed me over to death.
19 Open the gates of the Temple[a]—I will go in and give him my thanks. 20 Those gates are the way into the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. 21 O Lord, thank you so much for answering my prayer and saving me.
22 The stone rejected by the builders has now become the capstone of the arch![b] 23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see! 24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 O Lord, please help us. Save us. Give us success. 26 Blessed is the one who is coming, the one sent by the Lord.[c] We bless you from the Temple.
27-28 Jehovah God is our light. I present to him my sacrifice upon the altar, for you are my God, and I shall give you this thanks and this praise. 29 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is so good! For his loving-kindness is forever.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.