M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

11 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. ² Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. ³ David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. ⁴ David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”

⁶ David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. ⁷ When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. ⁹ But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?” ¹¹ Uriyah answered David, “The ark, Isra’el and Y’hudah stay in tents; and my lord Yo’av and the servants of my lord are camping in the countryside. So should I go into my house to eat and drink and go to bed with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” ¹² David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also; tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriyah stayed in Yerushalayim that day and the following day. ¹³ David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. ¹⁵ In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.” ¹⁶ So while Yo’av had the city under siege, he assigned Uriyah to the place where he knew the toughest defenders were. ¹⁷ The men of the city went out and fought Yo’av; a number of people fell, including some of David’s servants, with Uriyah the Hitti among the dead.

¹⁸ Yo’av sent a message to David reporting all the news concerning the war, ¹⁹ and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the war, ²⁰ he may become angry and ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Didn’t you think about the person who struck Avimelekh the son of Yerubeshet, that a woman threw an upper millstone down on him from the wall, so that he died at Tevetz? Why did you go so near the wall?’ If he says this, tell him, ‘Your servant Uriyah is dead also.’” ²² So the messenger left, and on arrival he told David all that Yo’av had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men were overpowering us and came out after us into the countryside. But we chased them back all the way to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ The archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead; also your servant Uriyah the Hitti is dead.” ²⁵ David said to the messenger, “Tell Yo’av, ‘Don’t let this matter get you down — the sword devours in one way or another. Intensify your battle against the city, and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

²⁶ When the wife of Uriyah heard that Uriyah her husband was dead, she mourned her husband. ²⁷ When the mourning was over, David sent and took her home to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son.

But Adonai saw what David had done as evil.

4 God has shown us such mercy that we do not lose courage as we do the work he has given us. ² Indeed, we refuse to make use of shameful underhanded methods, employing deception or distorting God’s message. On the contrary, by making very clear what the truth is, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ So if indeed our Good News is veiled, it is veiled only to those in the process of being lost. ⁴ They do not come to trust because the god of the ‘olam hazeh has blinded their minds, in order to prevent them from seeing the light shining from the Good News about the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we are proclaiming is not ourselves, but the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, with ourselves as slaves for you because of Yeshua. ⁶ For it is the God who once said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua.

⁷ But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. ⁸ We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry in our bodies the dying of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may be manifested in our bodies too. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being handed over to death for Yeshua’s sake, so that Yeshua’s life also might be manifested in our mortal bodies. ¹² Thus death is at work in us but life in you.

¹³ The Tanakh says, “I trusted, therefore I spoke.”^[a] Since we have that same Spirit who enables us to trust, we also trust and therefore speak; ¹⁴ because we know that he who raised the Lord Yeshua will also raise us with Yeshua and bring us along with you into his presence. ¹⁵ All this is for your sakes, so that as grace flows out to more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to overflow and bring glory to God.

¹⁶ This is why we do not lose courage. Though our outer self is heading for decay, our inner self is being renewed daily. ¹⁷ For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. ¹⁸ We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.

18 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “What does it mean, that you keep quoting this proverb in the land of Isra’el —

³ “As I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “I swear that you will never again quote this proverb in Isra’el. ⁴ Look, all lives belong to me — both the parent’s life and the child’s life are equally mine — so it is the person who sins, himself, who must die.

⁵ “Consider someone who is righteous, who does what is lawful and right. ⁶ He doesn’t eat on the mountains or raise his eyes toward the idols of the house of Isra’el; he doesn’t defile his neighbor’s wife or touch a woman during her time of menstrual impurity; ⁷ he doesn’t wrong anyone; he returns any pledged property a debtor has given as collateral for a loan; he takes nothing by robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and clothing to those who need it; ⁸ he neither demands nor accepts interest on a loan; he refrains from what is evil; and he judges honestly between one person and another. ⁹ In short, he lives according to my laws and observes my rulings, so as to act faithfully. Such a person is righteous, and he will certainly live,” says Adonai Elohim.

¹⁰ “Now suppose he is the father of a son who is a robber, a murderer, or who does any of these things to a brother — ¹¹ whereas the father himself does none of them. He eats on the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹² wrongs the poor and needy, takes by robbery, doesn’t restore pledged property, raises his eyes toward the idols, engages in disgusting practices, ¹³ demands and accepts interest. Should he live? He will not live, because he has engaged in all these disgusting practices — he must be put to death; his blood is on him.

¹⁴ “But now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father committed, thinks about them, and behaves differently. ¹⁵ He doesn’t eat on the mountains, raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Isra’el, defile his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ wrong others, keep pledged property or take by robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and clothing to those in need of it; ¹⁷ he refrains from oppressing the poor; and he neither demands nor accepts interest. He obeys my rulings and lives according to my laws. So he will not die for his father’s sins but will certainly live. ¹⁸ Yet his father, because he oppressed so cruelly, committed robbery against his brother and never did anything good among his people — he will die for his sins.

¹⁹ “You ask, ‘Why doesn’t the son bear his father’s guilt?’ When the son has done what is lawful and right, has kept all my laws and obeyed them, he will certainly live. ²⁰ The person who sins is the one that will die — a son is not to bear his father’s guilt with him, nor is the father to bear his son’s guilt with him; but the righteousness of the righteous will be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked will be his own.

²¹ “However, if the wicked person repents of all the sins he committed, keeps my laws and does what is lawful and right; then he will certainly live, he will not die. ²² None of the transgressions he has committed will be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done, he will live. ²³ Do I take any pleasure at all in having the wicked person die?” asks Adonai Elohim. “Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?

²⁴ “On the other hand, when the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness by acting in accordance with all the disgusting practices that the wicked person does, will he live? None of the righteous deeds he has done will be remembered; for the trespasses and sins he has committed, he will die.

²⁵ “So now you say, ‘Adonai’s way isn’t fair.’ Listen, house of Isra’el! Is it my way that is unfair? or your ways that are unfair? ²⁶ When the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness, he will die for it — for the wickedness he commits he will die. ²⁷ And when the wicked person turns away from all the wickedness he has committed and does what is lawful and right, he will save his life. ²⁸ Because he thinks it over and repents of all the transgressions he committed, he will certainly live, not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Isra’el says, ‘Adonai’s way isn’t fair.’ House of Isra’el, is it my ways that are unfair, or your ways that are unfair? ³⁰ Therefore, house of Isra’el, I will judge each of you according to his ways,” says Adonai Elohim. “Repent, and turn yourselves away from all your transgressions, so that they will not be a stumblingblock that brings guilt upon you. ³¹ Throw far away from yourselves all your crimes that you committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit; for why should you die, house of Isra’el? ³² I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” says Adonai Elohim, “so turn yourselves around, and live!