M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

2 The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows: ² “I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man. ³ Observe the charge of Adonai your God to go in his ways and keep his regulations, mitzvot, rulings and instructions in accordance with what is written in the Torah of Moshe; so that you will succeed in all you do and wherever you go. ⁴ If you do, Adonai will fulfill what he promised me when he said, ‘If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Isra’el.’

⁵ “Moreover, you are aware of what Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah did to me, that is, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Isra’el, Avner the son of Ner and ‘Amasa the son of Yeter — he killed them, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet. ⁶ Therefore, act according to your wisdom; don’t let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

⁷ “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gil‘adi. Include them with those who eat at your table, because they came and stood with me when I was fleeing from Avshalom your brother.

⁸ “Finally, you have with you Shim‘i the son of Gera the Binyamini, from Bachurim. He laid a terrible curse on me when I was on my way to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at the Yarden; so I swore to him by Adonai that I would not have him put to death with the sword. ⁹ Now, however, you should not let him go unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him — you will bring his gray head down to the grave with blood.”

¹⁰ Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. ¹¹ David had ruled Isra’el for forty years — seven years in Hevron and thirty-three years in Yerushalayim.

¹² Shlomo sat on the throne of David his father; and his rule had become firmly established, ¹³ when Adoniyah the son of Haggit came to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo. She asked, “Have you come as a friend?” He answered, “Yes, as a friend.” ¹⁴ Then he continued, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Go on.” ¹⁵ He said, “You know that the kingdom should have been mine, that all Isra’el was looking to me to be their ruler. No matter; the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, because Adonai gave it to him. ¹⁶ But now I ask one favor of you; don’t deny me.” “Go on,” she said. ¹⁷ He said, “Please speak to Shlomo the king — for he won’t say ‘No’ to you — and ask him to give me Avishag the Shunamit as my wife.” ¹⁸ Bat-Sheva said, “All right, I will speak to the king on your behalf.”

¹⁹ So Bat-Sheva went to King Shlomo to speak to him on behalf of Adoniyah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a throne set up for the king’s mother, so that she sat at his right. ²⁰ She said, “I am asking one small favor of you; don’t deny me.” The king said to her, “Ask, mother; I won’t deny you.” ²¹ She said, “Let Avishag the Shunamit be given to Adoniyah your brother as his wife.” ²² King Shlomo answered his mother, “Why are you asking Avishag the Shunamit for Adoniyah? Ask the kingdom for him too! After all, he’s my older brother! Yes, for him, and for Evyatar the cohen and for Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah!” ²³ Then King Shlomo swore by Adonai, “May God do terrible things to me and worse if Adoniyah hasn’t condemned himself to death with this request! ²⁴ Now therefore, as Adonai lives, who has established me, put me on the throne of David my father and set up a dynasty for me, as he promised, Adoniyah will certainly be put to death today.” ²⁵ King Shlomo commissioned B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, and he struck him down, so that he died.

²⁶ To Evyatar the cohen the king said, “You, get yourself to ‘Anatot, to your own fields. You deserve to die; but I won’t put you to death just now; since you did carry the ark of Adonai Elohim before David my father; and you suffered together with my father in everything he suffered.” ²⁷ So Shlomo forced Evyatar out of his task as cohen to Adonai, so that what Adonai had said in Shiloh about the family of ‘Eli might be fulfilled.

²⁸ When the news came to Yo’av, he fled to the tent of Adonai and took hold of the horns of the altar; for Yo’av had given his support to Adoniyah, even though he had not supported Avshalom. ²⁹ King Shlomo was told, “Yo’av has fled to the tent of Adonai; he’s there by the altar.” Shlomo sent B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada with the order, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰ B’nayah came to the tent of Adonai and said to him, “The king says: leave!” He answered, “No, I’d rather die here.” B’nayah brought the message back to the king, “This is what Yo’av said to me.” ³¹ The king answered him, “Do what he said — strike him down, and bury him. In this way you will take away from me and my father’s family the blood which Yo’av shed for no reason. ³² Adonai will bring his blood back on his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he — he killed them with the sword without my father David’s awareness: Avner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Isra’el, and ‘Amasa the son of Yeter, commander of the army of Y’hudah. ³³ In this way their blood will return on the head of Yo’av and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his family and his throne there will be peace forever from Adonai.” ³⁴ So B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada went up, struck him down and killed him; he was buried in his own house in the desert. ³⁵ The king put B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada in charge of the army instead of him, and the king replaced Evyatar with Tzadok the cohen.

³⁶ The king summoned Shim‘i and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Yerushalayim, and live there; don’t go outside the city walls. ³⁷ Know for a fact that on the day you go out and cross Vadi Kidron, you will certainly die; your blood will be on your own head.” ³⁸ Shim‘i answered the king, “What you have said is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shim‘i lived in Yerushalayim for a long time.

³⁹ But after three years, two of Shim‘i’s slaves ran away and went to Akhish son of Ma‘akhah, king of Gat. They told Shim‘i, “Your slaves are in Gat.” ⁴⁰ So Shim‘i set out, saddled his donkey and went to Akhish in Gat to look for his slaves; then Shim‘i returned, bringing his slaves from Gat.

⁴¹ Shlomo was told that Shim‘i had gone from Yerushalayim to Gat and back. ⁴² The king summoned Shim‘i and said to him, “Didn’t I have you swear by Adonai and forewarn you by telling you, ‘Know for a fact that on the day you leave and go anywhere outside the city, you will certainly die’? and you answered me, ‘What you’re saying is good; I hear it.’ ⁴³ Why, then, haven’t you kept the oath of Adonai and the mitzvah I charged you with?” ⁴⁴ Moreover, the king said to Shim‘i, “You know in your own heart all the terrible things you did to David my father; therefore Adonai will bring back your wickedness on your own head. ⁴⁵ But King Shlomo will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before Adonai forever.” ⁴⁶ So the king gave the order to B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, and he went out and struck him down, so that he died.

Thus the kingdom was established in Shlomo’s hands.

6 Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won’t be tempted too. ² Bear one another’s burdens — in this way you will be fulfilling the Torah’s true meaning, which the Messiah upholds. ³ For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is fooling himself. ⁴ So let each of you scrutinize his own actions. Then if you do find something to boast about, at least the boasting will be based on what you have actually done and not merely on a judgment that you are better than someone else; ⁵ for each person will carry his own load. ⁶ But whoever is being instructed in the Word should share all the good things he has with his instructor. ⁷ Don’t delude yourselves: no one makes a fool of God! A person reaps what he sows. ⁸ Those who keep sowing in the field of their old nature, in order to meet its demands, will eventually reap ruin; but those who keep sowing in the field of the Spirit will reap from the Spirit everlasting life. ⁹ So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don’t give up, we will in due time reap the harvest. ¹⁰ Therefore, as the opportunity arises, let us do what is good to everyone, and especially to the family of those who are trustingly faithful.

33 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, speak to your people; say to them, ‘Suppose I bring the sword on a country, and the people of that country take one of their men and appoint him their watchman. ³ Now if, upon seeing the sword coming against that country, he blows the shofar and warns the people; ⁴ then, if the sword comes and takes away someone who heard the sound of the shofar but paid no attention to it, the responsibility for that person’s death will be his own — ⁵ he heard the shofar but paid no attention, so the responsibility for his death is his own; whereas if he had paid attention, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the shofar, so that the people are not warned; and then the sword comes and takes any one of them, that one is indeed taken away in his guilt, but I will hold the watchman responsible for his death.’

⁷ “Likewise you, human being — I have appointed you as watchman for the house of Isra’el. Therefore, when you hear the word from my mouth, warn them for me. ⁸ When I tell the wicked person, ‘Wicked person, you will certainly die’; and you fail to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his way; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death. ⁹ On the other hand, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he doesn’t turn from his way; then he will still die guilty, but you will have saved your own life.

¹⁰ “Therefore, you, human being, say to the house of Isra’el: ‘You say, “Our crimes and sins are weighing us down, we’re pining away because of them, how can we even stay alive?”’ ¹¹ Say to them, ‘As I live,’ swears Adonai Elohim, ‘I take no pleasure in having the wicked person die, but in having the wicked person turn from his way and live. So repent! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, house of Isra’el?’

¹² “Next, you, human being, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him, once he starts committing crimes; and likewise, the wickedness of the wicked person will not cause him to fall, once he turns from his wickedness. No, the righteous person cannot live by virtue of [his former righteousness], once he starts sinning. ¹³ So if, after I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, he begins trusting in his own [former] righteousness and starts committing crimes; then none of his [former] righteous actions will be remembered; on the contrary, he will die for the evil deeds he has committed. ¹⁴ Likewise, if, after I tell the wicked person, “You must die,” he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right — ¹⁵ if the wicked person restores pledged property and returns what he stole, so that he lives by the laws that give life and does not commit evil deeds; then he will live, he will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins he committed will be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he will surely live.’

¹⁷ “Now your people say, ‘Adonai’s way isn’t fair!’ But it is their way, theirs, that isn’t fair! ¹⁸ When the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness, he will die because of it. ¹⁹ And when the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he will live because of it. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘Adonai’s way isn’t fair!’ House of Isra’el, I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

²¹ In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Yerushalayim came to me with the news, “The city has been struck.” ²² Now the hand of Adonai had been on me that evening, before the fugitive arrived — he had opened my mouth prior to his coming to me in the morning, so my mouth was open, and I was no longer mute. ²³ Then the word of Adonai came to me: ²⁴ “Human being, those living in the desolate parts of the land of Isra’el are saying, ‘Avraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many, so [how much more] is the land given to us to inherit!’ ²⁵ Therefore, tell them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘You eat [flesh] with the blood, you raise your eyes to your idols, and you shed blood — and you still expect to possess the land? ²⁶ You depend on your swords, you commit disgusting practices, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife — and you still expect to possess the land?’ ²⁷ Tell them that Adonai Elohim swears, ‘As I live, those living in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the countryside I will give to the wild animals to eat, and those in the fortresses and caves will die of the plague. ²⁸ Moreover, I will utterly desolate the land; it will cease taking pride in its power; and the mountains of Isra’el will be so desolate that no one will pass through.’ ²⁹ Then they will know that I am Adonai, when I have made the land utterly desolate, because of all the disgusting practices they have committed.

³⁰ “Now you, human being, your people are gathering and talking about you by the walls and in the doorways of houses. They’re saying to each other, each one telling his brother, ‘Come, let’s go and hear the latest word coming from Adonai.’ ³¹ So then they come to you, as people do, sit in front of you as my people, and hear your words; but they don’t act on them. For with their mouths they flatter you, but their hearts are set on their own self-interest; ³² so for them you are like a love-song sung by someone with a nice voice who can play an instrument well — they hear your words, but they don’t act on them. ³³ So when all this comes true, then, at last, they will realize that a prophet has been there with them.”