M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 19
Elijah Flees to Horeb.[a] 1 Now Ahab told Jezebel about everything that Elijah had done, and all about how he had killed all of the prophets by the sword. 2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, “May the gods do this to me and more if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like their lives.”
3 He rose up and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 He went a day’s journey off into the desert. He came to a broom tree and sat down under it, and he asked to die. He said, “It is enough, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
5 As he lay there, he fell asleep under the broom tree, and, behold, an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around, and by his head there was a piece of bread that had been cooked on coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and then he laid down again.
7 The angel of the Lord touched him a second time and said, “Get up and eat, because the journey is too difficult for you.” 8 He got up, and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled for forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. 9 He entered a cave and spent the night there. The word of the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant and torn down your altars and killed your prophets by the sword. I am the only survivor, and they are seeking to take my life away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord will pass by.” There was a powerful, strong wind that tore the mountain apart and shattered rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a tiny whisper.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. The voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant and torn down your altars and killed your prophets by the sword. I am the only survivor, and they are seeking to take my life away.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go, return to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael as the king of Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as the king of Israel, and anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your stead. 17 Jehu will put to death those who escape from the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death those who escape from the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet, I have prepared a remnant in Israel of seven thousand,[b] none of whom have bent their knees to Baal nor have any of their mouths kissed him.”
19 Elisha Follows Elijah. So Elijah left that place and found the son of Shaphat who was plowing with twelve yokes of oxen preceding him (he was driving the twelfth pair himself), and he tossed his mantle on him. 20 Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother good-bye and then I will follow you.” But he said, “Go back, what have I done to you?”
21 He went back, and took a yoke of oxen and killed them. He used the oxen’s equipment to boil their meat, and he gave it to the people to eat. He then got up and followed Elijah, ministering to him.[c]
Chapter 2
Paul’s Loving Treatment of the Thessalonians.[a] 1 You yourselves are well aware, brethren, that our visit to you has not been in vain. 2 Although we had suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you surely recall, God gave us the courage to declare the gospel of God to you despite great opposition.
3 The exhortation we impart does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery. 4 God has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the gospel. Therefore, when we speak, our intention is not to please human beings but to please God who tests our hearts.
5 As you are also aware, and as God is our witness, we have never resorted to flattering words or to your sense of greed. 6 Neither did we seek praise from human beings, whether from you or from others.
7 As apostles of Christ, we could have imposed our will on you,[b] yet we were as gentle in our treatment of you as a mother nursing and caring for her own children. 8 Our affection for you was so great that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our very lives, because you had become so dear to us.
9 You surely remember, brethren, our toil and drudgery as we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, as is God, that our treatment of you who believed has been devout, upright, and blameless.
11 As you are well aware, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children, 12 urging and encouraging you and pleading with you to lead lives worthy of God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
13 The Word of God Is at Work.[c] We also unceasingly give thanks to God because, when we handed on the word of God to you, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it truly is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14 Indeed, brethren, you have become imitators of the Churches of God that are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you have suffered the same treatment from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the Prophets and also persecuted us.
They displease God and have become enemies of the entire human race 16 by trying to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way, they constantly reach the full measure of their sins. The wrath of God has begun to overtake them at last.
17 The Glory and Joy of the Apostles.[d] Brethren, when we were separated from you for a brief time—in body but not in heart—we had an intense longing to see you again face to face. 18 Therefore, we were determined to come to visit you—I, Paul, on more than one occasion—but Satan thwarted us.[e] 19 For what is our hope or our joy or our crown of honor in the presence of our Lord Jesus upon his return? Is it not you yourselves? 20 You truly are our glory and our joy.[f]
Edifying Accounts: The Acts of Daniel and His Companions[a]
Daniel and His Companions Trained for the King’s Service
Chapter 1
The Food Test.[b] 1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched into Jerusalem and laid siege to it.[c] 2 The Lord allowed King Jehoiakim of Judah to fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the temple of God, which he carried off to the land of Shinar and placed in the temple treasury of his own god.
3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring into the palace some Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility; 4 young men who were handsome and without physical defects of any kind, possessing an aptitude for every branch of knowledge and with great insight, clearly showing the necessary competence to serve in the king’s palace. Those so chosen were to be instructed in the language and the literature of the Chaldeans.
5 The king designated a daily allotment of food and wine from the royal table for them. After having been educated for three years, they would enter the king’s service. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief eunuch assigned them different names: Daniel would be called Belteshazzar, Hananiah would be called Shadrach, Mishael would be called Meshach, and Azariah would be called Abednego.
8 However, Daniel was determined not to defile himself by partaking of food and wine from the royal table, and he pleaded with the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement. 9 God influenced the eunuch to grant this favor and to treat Daniel with compassion. 10 However, the eunuch said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king. He has specifically designated what food and drink are to be supplied to you. If he should notice that you appear to be notably thinner than the other young men of your age, he would probably issue a command that I be beheaded.”
11 Then Daniel said to the guard whom the eunuch had assigned to supervise Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for a period of ten days, during which we will be given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 You can then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat only the food designated by the king. Then deal with your servants and treat us in accordance with what you observe.”
14 The guard agreed to this proposal and tested them for a period of ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked better nourished and healthier than any of the young men who had subsisted solely on the food provided by the king. 16 Therefore, the guard continued to withdraw the food and the wine they were to drink, and he provided them with vegetables. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and learning. In addition, Daniel was given the gift of interpreting visions and dreams of every kind.
18 When the time arrived that the king had designated for their presentation to him, the eunuch brought all the young men into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar. 19 After the king had spoken with all of them, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, all four of them were appointed to the king’s court. 20 In regard to whatever point of wisdom or understanding the king would question them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters throughout his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.[d]
Psalm 105[a]
God’s Faithfulness to the Covenant
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;[c]
proclaim his deeds among the peoples.
2 Offer him honor with songs of praise;
recount all his marvelous deeds.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts[d] of those who seek the Lord exult.
4 Reflect on the Lord and his strength;
seek his face continually.
5 Remember the marvels he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments[e] he has set forth.
6 You are the offspring of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.[f]
7 He is the Lord, our God;
his judgments prevail all over the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant[g] forever,
the promise he laid down for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.[h]
10 [i]He established it as a decree for Jacob,
and as an everlasting covenant for Israel,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your heritage.”
12 [j]When they were few in number,
an insignificant group of strangers in it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 He permitted no one to oppress them,
and in their regard he warned kings:[k]
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do no harm to my prophets.”[l]
16 Then he invoked a famine on the land
and destroyed their supply of bread.
17 But he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
18 They shackled his feet with fetters
and clamped an iron collar around his neck,
19 until what he had prophesied was fulfilled
and the word of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king ordered that he be released;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He appointed him as master of his household
and as ruler of all his possessions.
22 He was to instruct[m] his princes as he deemed fit
and to impart wisdom to his elders.
23 Then Israel went down into Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.[n]
24 God greatly increased the number of his people
and made them too strong for their foes,
25 whose hearts he then turned[o] to hate his people
and to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and worked wonders in the land of Ham.
28 [p]He sent darkness that enveloped the land,
but they rebelled against his warnings.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
and all their fish were destroyed.
30 Their land was saturated with frogs,
even in the royal chambers.
31 At his command there came hordes of flies
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He sent them hail instead of rain,
and flashes of lightning in all their land.
33 He struck down their vines and their fig trees
and demolished the trees of their country.
34 At his word the locusts came,
as well as grasshoppers beyond all count.
35 They gobbled up every green plant in the land
and devoured the produce of the soil.
36 He struck down all the firstborn of the land,
the firstfruits of their manhood.
37 Then he led out his people with silver and gold,
and there was not one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of Israel had overwhelmed them.
39 He spread a cloud over his people as a cover[q]
and a fire to give light by night.
40 At their request he supplied them with quail,
and he filled them with bread from heaven.[r]
41 He split open a rock and water gushed forth,
flowing through the wilderness like a river.[s]
42 For he remembered the sacred promise
that he had made to Abraham, his servant.
43 He led forth his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with exultation.[t]
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited the fruit of other people’s toil,
45 so that they might keep his decrees
and observe his laws.
Alleluia.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.