M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Five Kings Attack Gibeon
10 Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had [a]utterly destroyed it (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 [b]within their land, 2 that [c]he (C)feared greatly, 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 [d]attack 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 [e]abandon your servants; 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 The Lord said to Joshua, “(H)Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not [f]one of them shall stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly [g]by marching all night from Gilgal. 10 (I)And the Lord confounded them before Israel, and He [h]slew 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 As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, (J)the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died [i]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up 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 stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for (O)the Lord fought for Israel.
15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.
Victory at Makkedah
16 Now these (P)five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 It was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and [j]attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand.” 20 It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished [k]slaying them with a very great slaughter, (Q)until they were destroyed, and the survivors who remained of them [l]had entered the fortified cities, 21 that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one [m]uttered a word 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 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 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 the Lord 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 It came about at [n]sunset that Joshua gave a command, and (V)they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and 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 [o]utterly destroyed [p]it and every [q]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.
Joshua’s Conquest of Southern Palestine
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to (Y)Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 The Lord 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 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 The Lord 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 [r]defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.
34 And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. 35 They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he [s]utterly destroyed that day every person who was in it, 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 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, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he [t]utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to (AB)Debir, and they fought against it. 39 He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and [u]utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. 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 [v]Negev and the lowland and the slopes and (AD)all their kings. He left no survivor, but (AE)he [w]utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of (AF)Goshen even as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because (AG)the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed 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;
For there is (G)no one who regards me;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
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,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
(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 servant,
For in Your sight (V)no man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (W)to the ground;
He (X)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (Y)my spirit [e]is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is [f](Z)appalled within me.
5 I (AA)remember the days of old;
I (AB)meditate on all Your doings;
I (AC)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (AD)stretch out my hands to You;
My (AE)soul longs for You, as a [g]parched land. [h]Selah.
7 (AF)Answer me quickly, O Lord, my (AG)spirit fails;
(AH)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (AI)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (AJ)lovingkindness (AK)in the morning;
For I trust (AL)in You;
Teach me the (AM)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (AN)lift up my soul.
9 (AO)Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
[i]I take refuge 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 [j]ground.
11 (AS)For the sake of Your name, O Lord, (AT)revive me.
(AU)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [k](AV)cut off my enemies
And (AW)destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For (AX)I am Your servant.
Judah Threatened with Invasion
4 “If you will (A)return, O Israel,” declares the Lord,
“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 the Lord lives,’
(D)In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the (E)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And (F)in Him they will glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“[a](G)Break up your fallow ground,
And (H)do not sow among thorns.
4 “(I)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My (J)wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with (K)none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“(L)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘(M)Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 “Lift up a (N)standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, 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 waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 “For this, (S)put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the (T)fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”
9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the (U)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the (V)prophets will be astounded.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord [b]God! 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 (Y)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too strong for [d]this—will come [e]at My command; now I will also pronounce 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 ruined!”
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 proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a (AF)far country,
And (AG)lift 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 the Lord.
18 “Your (AJ)ways and your deeds
Have [f]brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How (AK)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
Lament over Judah’s Devastation
19 (AL)My [g]soul, my [h]soul! I am in anguish! [i]Oh, my heart!
My (AM)heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because [j]you have heard, O my soul,
The (AN)sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 (AO)Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,
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 foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to (AS)do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was [k](AT) formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were (AU)quaking,
And all the hills [l]moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the (AV)birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, [m]the (AW)fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord,
“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 [n]change My mind, 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 among the rocks;
(BE)Every city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate 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 [o](BH)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.
31 For I heard a [p]cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The [q]cry of the daughter of Zion (BI)gasping for breath,
(BJ)Stretching out her [r]hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for [s]I faint before murderers.”
Rank in the Kingdom
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 not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles 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 [d]would be better for him to have a [e]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to 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; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “(G)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 [f]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 (H)If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than [g]to have two eyes and be cast into the [h](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 [[i](K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
Ninety-nine Plus One
12 “What do you think? (L)If any man has a 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 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 So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Discipline and Prayer
15 “(M)If your brother sins[k], go and [l]show him his fault [m]in private; 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 [n]fact may be confirmed. 17 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 [o]a Gentile and [p]a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, (Q)whatever you [q]bind on earth [r]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [s]loose on earth [t]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 [u]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 [v]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 [w]ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he [x](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 So the slave fell to the ground and (AA)prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and (AB)forgave him the [y]debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred [z]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 began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling [aa]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 [ab]your heart.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.