M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Last Judges: Eli and Samuel[a]
Chapter 1[b]
Elkanah’s Pilgrimage to Shiloh. 1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives. The name of one of them was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not have any children. 3 This man would travel from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts[c] in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests there.
4 When Elkanah performed his sacrifice, he would give a portion of it to Peninnah his wife and a portion each to all of her sons and daughters, 5 but he would give a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her although the Lord had left her barren. 6 Her rival[d] provoked her and made her miserable because the Lord had left her barren. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she provoked her. This made her weep, and she refused to eat. 8 Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why are you not eating? Why are you so downhearted? Am I not worth more than ten sons to you?”
Hannah’s Prayer. 9 Once, when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was greatly distressed and she prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.[e] 11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will regard the troubles of your handmaid and will remember me, and not forget your handmaid, and you will give your handmaid a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord for his entire life, and no razor[f] will ever touch his head.”
12 As she continued to pray to the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart so that only her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, therefore, thought that she was drunk. 14 He said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15 Hannah answered, “Oh no, my lord! I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking either wine or liquor. I have been pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not account your handmaid to be a daughter of Belial. I have been speaking out of the abundance of my difficulties and my grief.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. The God of Israel grant the request you have made of him.” 18 She said, “Let your handmaid find favor in your sight.” The woman then went her way and ate, and she was not downcast anymore.
19 They arose early the next morning and worshiped before the Lord. They then went their way and came to their home in Ramah. Elkanah slept with Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.
20 The Birth of Samuel. In time it came to pass that Hannah conceived and bore a son whom she named Samuel, saying, “For I have asked the Lord for him.” 21 When Elkanah and his household went up to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Do what you think is best. Stay here until you have weaned him, only may the Lord bring his word to fulfillment.” So the woman stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.
24 Samuel’s Consecration. When she had weaned him, she took him with herself along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was still young. 25 After they sacrificed the bull, they brought the child to Eli. 26 [g]She said, “Oh my lord, as my soul lives, I am the woman who stood beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted the request that I made of him. 28 Therefore, I have dedicated him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Set Apart for the Gospel. 1 Paul,[a] a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the service of the gospel 2 that God promised beforehand through his Prophets[b] in the holy Scriptures, 3 [c]the gospel concerning his Son who according to the flesh was descended from David, 4 and who according to the Spirit of holiness was proclaimed to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
5 Through him we have received grace and our apostolic commission to proclaim the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name. 6 And you are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all of you who are God’s beloved in Rome and called to be saints:[d] grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer.[e] 8 First of all, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith has been proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is the witness on my behalf that I remember you constantly in my prayers, 10 always asking that by God’s will I may somehow be granted my desire of coming to visit you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may bestow on you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 or, rather, so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 I want you to be aware, brethren,[f] that I have often planned to visit you (although until now I have been prevented from doing so) because it has been my desire to achieve some harvest among you as I have among other Gentiles. 14 I have an obligation to Greeks and non-Greeks[g] alike, to both the educated and the ignorant. 15 Thus, I am ready to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
The Gospel of God[h]
16 Power of Salvation for All Believers. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God that offers salvation to everyone who has faith—to Jews first, and then to Gentiles as well. 17 In it the righteousness of God is revealed, beginning in faith and established in faith.[i] As it is written: “The one who is righteous will live through faith.”
Justification through Faith in Jesus[j]
The World in the Wrath of God[k]
18 Exchanging the Truth of God for a Lie. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For that which can be known about God is clearly evident to them because God has revealed it plainly to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world the invisible attributes of God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly understood and perceived through the things he has made.
Therefore, the conduct of these people is inexcusable. 21 Despite knowing God, they refused to honor him as God or give thanks to him. As a result, their speculations became foolish and their uncomprehending hearts became darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, in reality they became fools, 23 exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images fashioned in the likeness of a mortal man or birds or fourfooted animals or reptiles.
24 Therefore, God abandoned them in the sinful lusts of their hearts to impurity and the mutual degradation of their bodies. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 [l]That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. 27 Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion.
28 Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. 29 As a result, they are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice. Reveling in envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful, as they devise new ways of doing evil and rebel against their parents. 31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. 32 Although they are fully cognizant of God’s decree that those who behave in this way deserve to die, they not only do these things themselves but also praise all those who engage in such conduct.
Chapter 39
Jeremiah and Gedaliah. 1 In the tenth month of the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched into battle against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it. 2 Then, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fourth month, a breach was made in the wall of the city. 3 Thereupon, all of the officials of the king of Babylon came forward and took their seats at the middle gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, who was a high dignitary, another Nergal-sharezer, who was the chief astrologer, and all of the other dignitaries in the king’s service.
4 When King Zedekiah of Judah beheld them, he and all of his soldiers fled, departing from the city during the night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls, and they set off in the direction of the Arabah. 5 However, the army of the Chaldeans set off in pursuit of them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. After they had captured him, they took him to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamath, who passed sentence on him.
6 The king of Babylon ordered the sons of Zedekiah to be slaughtered at Riblah before their father’s eyes, and he also sentenced all the nobles of Judah to be put to death. 7 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and ordered him to be taken to Babylon bound in chains.
8 The Chaldeans burned to the ground the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they demolished the walls of Jerusa-lem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, deported to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the remaining workmen. 10 However Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and at the same time, he gave them vineyards and fields.
11 Concerning Jeremiah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave the following orders to Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, 12 “Take him and look after him. Do him no harm, but grant him whatever he requests.” 13 Then Nebuzaradan, the commander, the commander of the guard, and Nebushazban, a high-ranking dignitary, and Nergal-sharezer, an important official, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 ordered Jeremiah to be taken from the court of the guard and entrusted to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to be brought safely home. Thus he remained among his own people.
15 A Blessing for Ebed-melech. While Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him. 16 “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am now going to fulfill the words I have spoken against this city for its ruin and not for its prosperity, and those promises will be fulfilled before your very eyes.
17 “However, I will rescue you on that day, says the Lord. You will not be handed over to those whom you so greatly fear. 18 For I will save you. You will not fall by the sword, but you will escape with your life because you have placed your trust in me, says the Lord.”
Psalm 13[a]
Prayer of One in Sorrow
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 How long,[c] O Lord—will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
3 How long must I suffer anguish in my soul
and sorrow in my heart[d] day and night?
How long will my enemy lord it over me?
4 Look upon me, O Lord, my God, and answer me;
enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
5 lest my enemy say, “I have defeated him,”
and my foes exult in my collapse.
6 As for me, I trust in your kindness;[e]
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
7 I will sing to the Lord
because he has been good to me.[f]
Psalm 14[g]
Corruption and Punishment of the Godless
1 For the director.[h] Of David.
The fool says in his heart,[i]
“There is no God.”
People are depraved and their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does what is right.
2 The Lord[j] looks down from heaven
upon the entire human race,
to see if there are any who act with wisdom,
if even a single one seeks God.
3 But they have all left the right path;
all alike are corrupt.
There is no one who does what is right,
not even one.[k]
4 Have all these evildoers[l] no understanding?
They devour my people as they eat bread,
and they never call upon the Lord.
5 But later they will be filled with terror,
for God is on the side of the righteous.[m]
6 They sought to crush the hopes of the poor,[n]
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Who will accomplish the salvation of Israel
that is to come out of Zion?[o]
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will exult.
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