Bible Reading Plan

2 Samuel 15

Chapter 15

Absalom's Conspiracy

¹ Now it came about after this that ^(C1)Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men ^(F1)to run ahead of him.² And Absalom used to rise early and ^(C1)stand beside the road to the gate; and when any man who had a lawsuit was to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out to him and say, "From what city are you?" And he would say, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel."³ Then Absalom would say to him, "See, ^(C1)your ^(F1)claims are good and right, but you have no one to listen to you on the part of the king."⁴ Moreover, Absalom would say, "^(C1)Oh that someone would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has a lawsuit or claim could come to me, and I would give him justice!"⁵ And whenever a man approached to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and ^(C1)kiss him.⁶ Absalom dealt this way with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; ^(C1)so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

⁷ Now it came about at the end of ^(F1)four years that Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the LORD, in ^(C1)Hebron.⁸ "For your servant ^(C1)made a vow while I was living in Geshur in Aram, saying, '^(C2)If the LORD will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.'"⁹ The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he got up and went to Hebron.¹⁰ But Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, '^(C1)Absalom is king in Hebron!'"¹¹ Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, ^(C1)who were invited and ^(C2)went ^(F1)innocently, for they did not know anything.¹² And Absalom sent for ^(C1)Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city ^(C2)Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for ^(C3)the people continually increased with Absalom.

David Flees Jerusalem

¹³ Then a messenger came to David, saying, "^(C1)The hearts of the people of Israel are ^(F1)with Absalom."¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, "^(C1)Arise and let's flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go quickly, or he will hurry and overtake us, and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword."¹⁵ Then the king's servants said to the king, "Behold, your servants will do whatever my lord the king chooses."¹⁶ So the king left, and all his household ^(F1)with him; but ^(C1)the king left ten concubines behind to take care of the house.¹⁷ The king left, and all the people ^(F1)with him, and they stopped at the last house.¹⁸ Now all of his servants passed by beside him, and ^(C1)all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^(C2)six hundred men who had come ^(F1)with him from Gath, passed by before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(C1)Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you go with us too? Return and stay with ^(F1)your king, since you are a foreigner and an exile as well; return to your own place.²⁰ "You came only yesterday, so should I make you wander with us today, while ^(C1)I go wherever I go? Return and take your brothers back; ^(C2)mercy and ^(F1)truth be with you."²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, "As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^(C1)wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there assuredly shall your servant be!"²² Then David said to Ittai, "Go and cross over the brook Kidron." So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the ^(F1)little ones who were with him.²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over ^(C1)the brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward ^(C2)the way of the wilderness.

²⁴ Now behold, ^(C1)Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, ^(C2)carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(C3)Abiathar came up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city.²⁵ And the king said to Zadok, "Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the LORD, then ^(C1)He will bring me back and show me both it and ^(C2)His habitation.²⁶ "But if He says this: '^(C1)I have no delight in you,' then here I am, ^(C2)let Him do to me as seems good ^(F1)to Him."²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Are you not ^(C1)a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your ^(C2)two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.²⁸ "See, I am going to wait ^(C1)at the river crossing places of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me."²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

³⁰ And David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and ^(C1)his head was covered, and he was walking ^(C2)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his own head, and they were going up, weeping as they went.³¹ Now someone informed David, saying, "^(C1)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." And David said, "LORD, please ^(C2)make the advice of Ahithophel foolish."

³² It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the ^(C1)Archite met him with his ^(F1)coat torn, and ^(F2)dust on his head.³³ And David said to him, "If you go over with me, then you will become ^(C1)a burden to me.³⁴ "But if you return to the city and ^(C1)say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; even as I was your father's servant in time past, so now I will also be your servant,' then you can foil the advice of Ahithophel for me.³⁵ "Are Zadok and Abiathar the priests not with you there? So it shall be that ^(C1)whatever you hear from the king's house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.³⁶ "Behold ^(C1)their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and ^(C2)by them you shall send me everything that you hear."³⁷ So Hushai, ^(C1)David's friend, came into the city, and ^(C2)Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Daniel 9

Chapter 9

Daniel's Prayer for His People

¹ In the first year of ^(C1)Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to ^(C1)Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, ^(C1)seventy years.³ So I gave my ^(F1)attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.⁴ I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, and said, "Oh, Lord, the ^(C1)great and awesome God, who ^(C2)keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,^5 (C1)we have sinned, we have done wrong, and ^(F1)acted wickedly and ^(C2)rebelled, even ^(C3)turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.⁶ "Moreover, we have not ^(C1)listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.

⁷ "^(C1)Righteousness belongs to You, Lord, but to us ^(F1)(C2)open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in ^(C3)all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.⁸ "^(F1)Open shame belongs to us, LORD, to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.⁹ "To the Lord our God belong ^(C1)compassion and forgiveness, ^(F1)because we have ^(C2)rebelled against Him;¹⁰ and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His ^(F1)teachings which He ^(C1)set before us through His servants the prophets.¹¹ "Indeed, ^(C1)all Israel has violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the ^(C2)curse has gushed forth on us, along with the oath which is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.¹² "So He has ^(C1)confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our ^(F1)(C2)rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has ^(C3)not been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem.¹³ "Just as it is written in the ^(C1)Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have ^(C2)not ^(F1)sought the favor of the LORD our God by ^(C3)turning from our wrongdoing and ^(F2)giving attention to Your truth.¹⁴ "So the LORD has ^(F1)(C1)kept the disaster in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is ^(C2)righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

¹⁵ "And now, Lord, our God, You who ^(C1)brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and ^(C2)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked.¹⁶ "Lord, in accordance with all Your ^(F1)righteous acts, let now Your ^(C1)anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your ^(C2)holy mountain; for because of our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an ^(C3)object of taunting to all those around us.¹⁷ "So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for ^(F1)Your sake, Lord, ^(C1)let Your face shine on Your ^(C2)desolate sanctuary.¹⁸ "My God, ^(C1)incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and ^(C2)see our desolations and the city which is ^(C3)called by Your name; for we are not ^(F1)(C4)presenting our pleas before You based on ^(F2)any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion.¹⁹ "Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, my God, ^(C1)do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Gabriel Brings an Answer

²⁰ While I was still ^(C1)speaking and praying, and ^(C2)confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and ^(F1)presenting my plea before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,²¹ while I was still speaking in prayer, the man ^(C1)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision ^(F1)previously, ^(F2)came to me ^(F3)in my extreme weariness about the time of the ^(C2)evening offering.²² And he instructed me and talked with me and said, "Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with ^(C1)understanding.²³ "At the ^(C1)beginning of your pleas the ^(F1)command was issued, and I have come to tell you, because you are ^(F2)(C2)highly esteemed; so pay attention to the message and gain ^(C3)understanding of the vision.

Seventy Weeks and the Messiah

²⁴ "Seventy ^(F1)(C1)weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to ^(F2)finish the wrongdoing, to ^(F3)make an end of sin, to ^(C2)make atonement for guilt, to bring in ^(C3)everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and ^(F4)prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.²⁵ "So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a ^(F1)(C1)decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until ^(F2)(C2)Messiah the ^(C3)Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with ^(F3)streets and moat, even in times of distress.²⁶ "Then after the sixty-two weeks, the ^(F1)Messiah will be ^(C1)cut off and have ^(F2)nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will ^(C2)destroy the city and the sanctuary. And ^(F3)its end will come with a ^(C3)flood; even to the end ^(F4)there will be war; desolations are determined.²⁷ "And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of ^(F1)(C1)abominations will come the one who ^(F2)makes desolate, until a ^(C2)complete destruction, one that is ^(F3)decreed, gushes forth on the one who ^(F2)makes desolate."

Mark 6:1-29