M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
A Tribe Is Cut Off
21 Now the men of Israel (A)had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 2 (B)So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening and lifted up their voices and wept [a]bitterly. 3 And they said, “Why, O Yahweh, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today from Israel?” 4 Now it happened the next day that the people arose early and built (C)an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For [b]they had taken a great oath concerning him (D)who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” 6 And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. 7 What shall we do for wives for those who are left? But we have (E)sworn by Yahweh not to give them any of our daughters in marriage.”
Sons of Benjamin Steal the Daughters of Shiloh
8 So they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 9 Indeed the people were [c]numbered, but behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 10 And the congregation sent 12,000 of the men of valor there and commanded them, saying, “Go and (F)strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. 11 Now this is the thing that you shall do: you (G)shall devote to destruction every man and every woman who has known, that is lain with, a man.” 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with [d]him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were (H)at the rock of Rimmon and (I)called out peace to them. 14 Then Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they did not find [e]enough for them. 15 And the people were sorry for Benjamin because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” 17 And they said, “There must be a possession for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. 18 But we cannot give them wives of our daughters.” For the sons of Israel (J)had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”
19 So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in (K)Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on [f]the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” 20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to [g](L)take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And it will be when their fathers or their brothers come to contend with us, that we shall say to them, ‘Be gracious to us concerning them because we did not take for each man of Benjamin [h]a wife in the battle, [i](M)and you did not give your daughters to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’” 23 And the sons of Benjamin did so and carried away wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they stole away. And they went and returned to their inheritance and (N)rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24 Then the sons of Israel went away from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.
25 (O)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Paul Before Festus
25 Festus then, having arrived in (A)the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from (B)Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews (C)brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with him, 3 requesting a favor against [a]Paul, that he might [b]have him brought to Jerusalem (while they (D)set an ambush to kill him on the way). 4 Festus then (E)answered that Paul (F)was being kept in custody at (G)Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you go down there with me, and if there is anything wrong [c]about the man, let them accuse him.”
6 And after he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to (H)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on (I)the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 And after Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing (J)many and serious charges against him (K)which they could not prove, 8 while Paul said in his own defense, “(L)I have committed no sin either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, (M)wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “(N)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and to be tried before me on these matters?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s (O)judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I (P)appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then when Festus had conferred with [d]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”
Festus and Agrippa Discuss Paul’s Trial
13 Now when several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at (Q)Caesarea [e]and greeted Festus. 14 And while they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was (R)left as a prisoner by Felix; 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews (S)brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 I (T)answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before (U)the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. 17 So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on (V)the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought before me. 18 When the accusers stood up, they were not bringing any charges against him for the evil deeds I was expecting, 19 but they had some (W)points of disagreement with him about their own [f](X)religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 (Y)And being perplexed about how to investigate [g]such matters, I was asking whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there to be tried on these matters. 21 But when Paul (Z)appealed to be held in custody for [h]the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” 22 Then (AA)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”
Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice
23 So, on the next day when (AB)Agrippa came [i]together with (AC)Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the hall [j]accompanied by the [k]commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the order of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom (AD)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that (AE)he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed (AF)nothing worthy of death, and since he himself (AG)appealed to [l]the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 [m]Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”
The Rechabites Listen to Jonadab
35 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of (A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the (B)Rechabites and speak to them and bring them into the house of Yahweh, into one of the (C)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of Yahweh, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the (D)man of God, which was beside the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, (E)the doorkeeper. 5 Then I put before the [a]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, “(F)Drink wine!” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for (G)Jonadab the son of (H)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall (I)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. 7 And you shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but (J)tents you shall inhabit all your days, that you may live (K)many days in the land where you (L)sojourn.’ 8 So we have (M)listened to the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to inhabit; and we (N)do not have vineyard or field or seed. 10 We have only (O)inhabited tents and have listened and have done according to all that (P)Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But it happened that when (Q)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, let us (R)come to Jerusalem before the military force of the Chaldeans and before the military force of the Arameans.’ So we have inhabited Jerusalem.”
Yahweh Warns of Judah’s Discipline
12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “(S)Will you not receive discipline by listening to My words?” declares Yahweh. 14 “The (T)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are established. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have listened to their father’s command. But I have spoken to you, (U)rising up early and speaking; yet you have (V)not listened to Me. 15 Also I have sent to you all My (W)slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying: ‘(X)Turn now every man from his evil way and make good your deeds, and (Y)do not walk after other gods to [b]serve them. Then you will (Z)inhabit the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but you have not (AA)inclined your ear or listened to Me. 16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have (AB)established the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, (AC)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the harmful evil that I have spoken against them because I (AD)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have (AE)listened to the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Jonadab the son of Rechab (AF)shall not have a man cut off from (AG)standing before Me [c]always.”’”
In You I Have Taken Refuge
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Yahweh my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Lest he tear [b]my soul (C)like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to him who [c]is at peace with me,
Or have (F)plundered my adversary without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue [d]my soul and overtake [e]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. [f]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the fury of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [g]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [h]them return on high.
8 Yahweh (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tests the hearts and [j]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [l]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and prepared it.
13 He has also prepared [m]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [n]his own skull.
17 I will give thanks to Yahweh (AC)according to His righteousness
And will (AD)sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.
How Majestic Is Your Name
For the choir director. According to the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
8 O Yahweh, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who [o](AE)displays Your splendor above the heavens!
2 (AF)From the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established [p](AG)strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make (AH)the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I (AI)see (AJ)Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The (AK)moon and the stars, which You have established;
4 (AL)What is man that You remember him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a (AM)little lower than the [q]angels,
And (AN)You crown him with (AO)glory and majesty!
6 You make him to (AP)rule over the works of Your hands;
You have (AQ)put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 (AR)O Yahweh, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
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