Bible Reading Plan

2 Samuel 6

Chapter 6

Peril in Moving the Ark

^1 (C1)Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.² And David ^(F1)departed from ^(F2)(C1)Baale-judah, with all the people who were with him, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the ^(C2)Name, the very name of the LORD of armies who ^(C3)is ^(F3)enthroned above the cherubim.³ They had mounted the ark of God on ^(C1)a new cart and moved it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart.⁴ So ^(C1)they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark.⁵ Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel ^(C1)were celebrating before the LORD ^(C2)with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with ^(F1)lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

⁶ But when they came to the ^(C1)threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah ^(C2)reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen nearly overturned it.⁷ And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and ^(C1)God struck him down there for ^(F1)his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.⁸ Then David became angry because ^(F1)of the LORD'S outburst against Uzzah; and that place has been called ^(F2)Perez-uzzah to this day.⁹ So ^(C1)David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"¹⁰ And David was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of ^(C1)Obed-edom, the Gittite.¹¹ The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD ^(C1)blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem

¹² Now it was reported to King David, saying, "The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God." ^(C1)So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-edom to ^(C2)the city of David with joy.¹³ And so it was, that ^(F1)when ^(C1)those carrying the ark of the LORD marched six paces, he sacrificed an ^(C2)ox and a fattened steer.¹⁴ And ^(C1)David was dancing before the LORD with all his strength, and David was ^(C2)wearing a linen ephod.¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with joyful shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶ Then it happened, as the ark of the LORD was coming into the city of David, that ^(C1)Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she was contemptuous of him in her heart.

¹⁷ Now they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it ^(C1)in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and ^(C2)David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.¹⁸ When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, ^(C1)he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of armies.¹⁹ Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread, one of dates, and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people left, each to his house.

²⁰ But when David returned to bless his own household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel dignified himself today! For ^(C1)he exposed himself today in the sight of his servants' female slaves, as one of the ^(C2)rabble shamelessly exposes himself!"²¹ But David said to Michal, "^(C1)I was before the LORD, who preferred me to your father and to all his house, to appoint me as ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. So I will ^(F1)celebrate before the LORD!²² "And I might demean myself even more than this and be lowly in my own sight, but with the female slaves of whom you have spoken, with them I am to be held in honor!"²³ And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

Daniel 3

Chapter 3

The King's Golden Image

¹ Nebuchadnezzar the king made a ^(C1)statue of gold, the height of which was ^(F1)sixty cubits, and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the ^(C2)province of Babylon.² Nebuchadnezzar the king also sent word to assemble the ^(C1)satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.³ Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed: "To you ^(F1)the command is given, you ^(C1)peoples, nations, and populations of all ^(F2)languages,⁵ that at the moment you ^(C1)hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^(F1)lyre, ^(F2)trigon, ^(F3)psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.⁶ "But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be ^(C1)thrown into the middle of a ^(C2)furnace of blazing fire."⁷ Therefore as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, ^(F1)lyre, trigon, psaltery, ^(F2)bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^(F3)languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Worship of the Image Refused

⁸ For this reason at that time certain ^(C1)Chaldeans came forward and ^(F1)(C2)brought charges against the Jews.⁹ They began to speak and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "^(C1)O king, live forever!¹⁰ "You, O king, have ^(C1)made a decree that every person who hears the sound of the horn, flute, ^(F1)lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, is to ^(C2)fall down and worship the golden statue.¹¹ "But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire.¹² "There are certain Jews whom you have ^(C1)appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods, nor do they worship the golden statue which you have set up."

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^(C1)rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar began speaking and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve ^(C1)my gods, nor worship the golden statue that I have set up?¹⁵ "Now if you are ready, ^(C1)at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^(F1)lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will ^(F2)immediately be ^(C2)thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^(C3)what god is there who can rescue you from my hands?"

^16 (C1)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter.¹⁷ "If it be so, our ^(C1)God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; ^(F1)and ^(C2)He will rescue us from your hand, O king.¹⁸ "^(C1)But even if He does not, ^(C2)let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up."

Daniel's Friends Protected

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with ^(C1)wrath, and his facial expression was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered ^(F1)by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.²⁰ And he ordered certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.²¹ Then these men were tied up in their ^(C1)trousers, their ^(F1)coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire.²² For this reason, because the king's ^(F1)command was ^(C1)harsh and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.²³ But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^(C1)fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up quickly; he said to his counselors, "Was it not three men that we threw bound into the middle of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Absolutely, O king."²⁵ He responded, "Look! I see four men untied and ^(C1)walking about in the middle of the fire ^(F1)unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^(C2)gods!"²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^(C1)Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^(C2)came out of the middle of the fire.²⁷ The ^(C1)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the ^(C2)fire had no ^(F1)effect on ^(F2)the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their ^(F3)(C3)trousers ^(F4)damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the ^(C1)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^(C2)sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their ^(C3)trust in Him, ^(F1)violating the king's command, and surrendered their bodies ^(C4)rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.²⁹ "Therefore I ^(C1)make a decree that any people, nation, or population of any language that speaks anything offensive against the God of ^(C2)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their ^(C3)houses made a rubbish heap, because there is ^(C4)no other god who is able to save in this way."³⁰ Then the king ^(C1)made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosperous in the province of Babylon.

Mark 3:1-19