M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Five Kings Attack Gibeon
10 Now it happened that when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction (just (A)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had (B)made peace with Israel and were [a]within their land, 2 they (C)feared exceedingly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3 Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word (D)to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon, for it has (E)made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” 5 So the five kings of (F)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.
6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not [b]abandon your slaves; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and (G)all the people of war with him and all the valiant warriors. 8 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “(H)Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not [c]one of them shall stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly—he had gone up, marching all night from Gilgal. 10 (I)And Yahweh threw them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them with a great slaughter at Gibeon and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 Now it happened as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that (J)Yahweh threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died [d]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh gave over the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“O (K)sun, stand still at Gibeon,
And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.”
13 (L)So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.
Is it not written in (M)the book of Jashar? And (N)the sun stood in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, when Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for (O)Yahweh fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.
Joshua Captures Makkedah
16 And these (P)five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Then it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and assign men by it to keep watch over them, 19 but as for you, do not stand there; pursue your enemies and [e]attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand.” 20 Now it happened when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a very great slaughter (Q)until they were completely destroyed, and the survivors—those of them who survived—[f]had entered the fortified cities, 21 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one so much as [g]lifted his tongue against any of the sons of Israel.
22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so and (R)brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 Now it happened that when they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near, (S)put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua then said to them, “(T)Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus Yahweh will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.” 26 So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he (U)hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening. 27 Now it happened that at [h]sunset Joshua gave a command, and (V)they took them down from the trees and threw them down into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.
28 Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; (W)he [i]devoted [j]it to destruction and every [k]person who was in it. He left no survivor. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah (X)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Israel Captures Kings by Yahweh’s Sword
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to (Y)Libnah and fought against Libnah. 30 And Yahweh gave it also with its king into the hands of Israel, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor remaining in it. Thus he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. 32 And Yahweh gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and he captured it on the second day and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
33 Then Horam king of (Z)Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people down until [l]there was no survivor remaining for him.
34 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. 35 And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person who was in it, he devoted to destruction on that day according to all that he had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to (AA)Hebron, and they fought against it. 37 And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he devoted it and every person who was in it to destruction.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to (AB)Debir, and they fought against it. 39 And he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted every person who was in it to destruction. He left no survivor remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.
40 Thus Joshua struck all the land—(AC)the hill country and the [m]Negev and the [n]Shephelah and the slopes—as well as (AD)all their kings. He left no survivor remaining, but (AE)he devoted to destruction all who breathed, just as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of (AF)Goshen even as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time because (AG)Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Give Heed to My Cry
A [a]Maskil of David. When he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice to Yahweh, I (A)cry aloud;
With my voice to Yahweh, I (B)make supplication.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)distress before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was faint within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
That there is (G)no one who regards me;
(H)A way of escape has been destroyed from me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give heed to my cry of lamentation,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
To give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will encircle me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
My Soul Reaches for You
A Psalm of David.
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
(R)Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your (S)faithfulness, in Your (T)righteousness!
2 And (U)do not enter into judgment with Your slave,
For (V)no one living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
He has crushed my life (W)to the ground;
He (X)has made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (Y)my spirit was faint within me;
My heart was [d](Z)appalled within me.
5 I (AA)remember the days of old;
I (AB)meditate on all You have done;
I (AC)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (AD)stretch out my hands to You;
My (AE)soul reaches for You like a weary land. [e]Selah.
7 (AF)Answer me quickly, O Yahweh, my (AG)spirit wastes away;
(AH)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (AI)those who go down to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your (AJ)lovingkindness (AK)in the morning;
For I trust (AL)in You;
Cause me to know the (AM)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (AN)lift up my soul.
9 (AO)Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh,
I have concealed myself in You.
10 (AP)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (AQ)Your good Spirit (AR)lead me on level [f]ground.
11 (AS)For the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, (AT)revive me.
(AU)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [g](AV)cut off my enemies
And cause all those who assail my soul to (AW)perish,
For (AX)I am Your slave.
Yahweh Calls Israel to Return to Him
4 “If you will (A)return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh,
“Then you should return to Me.
And (B)if you will put away your detested things from My presence
And will not waver
2 And you will (C)swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’
(D)In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;
Then the (E)nations will [a]be blessed in Him,
And (F)in Him they will boast.”
3 For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“[b](G)Break up your fallow ground,
And (H)do not sow among thorns.
4 (I)Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My (J)wrath go forth like fire
And burn with (K)none to quench it
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
Evil from the North
5 Declare in Judah and make it heard in Jerusalem and say,
“(L)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Call out, make your voice full, and say,
‘(M)Gather yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 Lift up a (N)standard toward Zion!
Seek safety, do not stand still,
For I am bringing (O)evil from the north,
And great destruction.
7 A (P)lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a (Q)destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To (R)make your land a desolation.
Your cities will be turned into ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 For this, (S)I gird myself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the (T)burning anger of Yahweh
Has not turned back from us.”
9 “It will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “that the (U)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish; and the priests will be appalled, and the (V)prophets will be astonished.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely You have utterly (W)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘(X)You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the [c]throat.”
11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A [d](Y)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness along the way of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too full for these things—will come [e]for My purpose; now I will also speak judgments against them.
13 Behold, he (Z)goes up like clouds,
And his (AA)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are (AB)swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for (AC)we are devastated!”
14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your (AD)wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from (AE)Dan,
And makes wickedness heard from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Make mention of it to the nations, saying, ‘Behold!’
Make it heard over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a (AF)far country,
And (AG)give forth their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 Like watchmen of a field they are (AH)against her round about
Because she has (AI)rebelled against Me,’ declares Yahweh.
18 Your (AJ)ways and your deeds
Have done these things to you.
This is your evil. How (AK)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
Anguish over Judah’s Desolation
19 (AL)My [f]soul, my [g]soul! I am in anguish! [h]Oh, my heart!
My (AM)heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent
Because [i]you have heard, O my soul,
The (AN)sound of the trumpet,
The shout of war.
20 (AO)Destruction upon destruction is called out,
For the (AP)whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my (AQ)tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.
21 How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “(AR)For My people are ignorant fools,
They know Me not;
They are simpleminded children
And have no understanding.
They are wise to (AS)do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”
23 I saw on the earth, and behold, it was [j](AT)formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I saw on the mountains, and behold, they were (AU)quaking,
And all the hills [k]moved to and fro.
25 I saw, and behold, there was no man,
And all the (AV)birds of the sky had fled.
26 I saw, and behold, [l]the (AW)fruitful orchard was a wilderness,
And all its cities were torn down
Before Yahweh, before His burning anger.
27 For thus says Yahweh,
“The (AX)whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will (AY)not execute a complete destruction.
28 For this the (AZ)earth shall mourn
And the (BA)heavens above be dark
Because I have (BB)spoken; I have purposed,
And I will not [m]relent, nor will I turn from it.”
29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman (BC)every city flees;
They (BD)go into the thickets and climb up among the rocks;
(BE)Every city is forsaken,
And no man inhabits them.
30 And you, O devastated one, (BF)what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you (BG)enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your [n](BH)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.
31 For I heard a sound as of a woman in labor pains,
The distress as of one giving birth to her first child,
The sound of the daughter of Zion (BI)gasping for breath,
(BJ)Stretching out her [o]hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for my soul faints before murderers.”
Who Is Greatest in Heaven?
18 (A)At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him [b]before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [c]are converted and (C)become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever therefore will humble himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but (D)whoever (E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Stumbling Blocks
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “(G)And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9 (H)And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the [e](I)fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that (J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [f][(K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
12 “What do you think? (L)If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 In this way, it is not the will [g]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
If Your Brother Sins
15 “(M)Now if your brother sins[h], go and [i]show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that (N)by the mouth of two or three witnesses every [j]fact may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, (O)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, (P)let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, (Q)whatever you [k]bind on earth [l]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [m]loose on earth [n]shall have been loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, (R)it shall be done for them [o]by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, (S)I am there in their midst.”
Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, (T)how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to (U)seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to (V)seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason (W)the kingdom of heaven [p]may be compared to a king who wished to (X)settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand [q]talents was brought to him. 25 But since he [r](Y)did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him (Z)to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 Therefore, the slave fell to the ground and (AA)was prostrating himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And feeling compassion, the lord of that slave released him and (AB)forgave him the [s]debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred [t]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So, his fellow slave fell to the ground and was pleading with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling [u]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So, when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (AC)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 (AD)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts.”
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