M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Tribes beyond Jordan Return
22 (A)Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, (B)and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. 4 And now (C)the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to (D)love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him (E)with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua (F)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
7 Now (G)to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but (H)to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and said to [a]them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; (I)divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 9 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed from the sons of Israel at Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the (J)land of Gilead, to the land of their possession which they had possessed, according to the [b]command of the Lord [c]through Moses.
The Offensive Altar
10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance. 11 And the sons of Israel heard it [d]said, “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have (K)built an altar at the [e]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 When the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at (L)Shiloh to go up against them in war.
13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, (M)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and (N)each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the [f]thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by (O)building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day? 17 Is not (P)the iniquity of Peor [g]enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the Lord, 18 that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, (Q)He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then [h]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle [i]stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us by (R)building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Did not (S)Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”
21 Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the [j]families of Israel. 22 “The (T)Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! (U)He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the Lord do not save us this day! 23 If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if to (V)offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself require it. 24 But truly we have done this out of concern, [k]for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our [l]sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the Lord.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord.’
26 “Therefore we said, ‘Let us [m]build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; 27 rather it shall be (W)a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to (X)perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ 28 Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you.”’ 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day, by (Y)building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His [n]tabernacle.”
30 So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the [o]families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the (Z)Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”
32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel (AA)blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in war to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. 34 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad (AB)called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
The Day of Pentecost
2 When (A)the day of Pentecost [a]had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled (B)the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire [b]distributing themselves, and [c]they [d]rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all (C)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to (D)speak with other [e]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them [f]utterance.
5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, (E)devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when (F)this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own [g]language. 7 (G)They were amazed and astonished, saying, “[h]Why, are not all these who are speaking (H)Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own [i]language [j]to which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and (I)Cappadocia, (J)Pontus and [k](K)Asia, 10 (L)Phrygia and (M)Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around (N)Cyrene, and [l](O)visitors from Rome, both Jews and [m](P)proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And (Q)they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “(R)They are full of [n]sweet wine.”
Peter’s Sermon
14 But Peter, [o]taking his stand with (S)the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, (T)for it is only the [p]third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘(U)And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all [q]mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
21 ‘And it shall be that (V)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: (W)Jesus the Nazarene, (X)a man [r]attested to you by God with [s]miracles and (Y)wonders and [t]signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the (Z)predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, (AA)you nailed to a cross by the hands of [u]godless men and put Him to death. 24 [v]But (AB)God raised Him up again, putting an end to the [w]agony of death, since it (AC)was impossible for Him to be held [x]in its power. 25 For David says of Him,
‘(AD)I saw the Lord always in my presence;
For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.
26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;
Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
27 Because You will not abandon my soul to (AE)Hades,
(AF)Nor [y]allow Your [z]Holy One to [aa]undergo decay.
28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’
29 “[ab]Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the (AG)patriarch David that he both (AH)died and (AI)was buried, and (AJ)his tomb is [ac]with us to this day. 30 And so, because he was (AK)a prophet and knew that (AL)God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one [ad]of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of [ae]the Christ, that (AM)He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh [af]suffer decay. 32 This Jesus (AN)God raised up again, to which we are all (AO)witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted [ag](AP)to the right hand of God, and (AQ)having received from the Father (AR)the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has (AS)poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into [ah]heaven, but he himself says:
‘(AT)The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
36 Therefore let all the (AU)house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both (AV)Lord and [ai]Christ—this Jesus (AW)whom you crucified.”
The Ingathering
37 Now when they heard this, they were [aj]pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “[ak]Brethren, [al](AX)what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “(AY)Repent, and each of you be (AZ)baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For (BA)the promise is for you and your children and for all who are (BB)far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly (BC)testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “[am]Be saved from this (BD)perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand [an](BE)souls. 42 They were (BF)continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to (BG)the breaking of bread and [ao](BH)to prayer.
43 [ap]Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many (BI)wonders and [aq]signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed [ar]were together and (BJ)had all things in common; 45 and they (BK)began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 (BL)Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and (BM)breaking bread [as]from house to house, they were taking their [at]meals together with gladness and [au]sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and (BN)having favor with all the people. And the Lord (BO)was adding [av]to their number day by day (BP)those who were being saved.
The Broken Covenant
11 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “(A)Hear the words of this (B)covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “(C)Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your forefathers in the (D)day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the (E)iron furnace, saying, ‘(F)Listen to My voice, and [a]do according to all which I command you; so you shall be (G)My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 in order to confirm the (H)oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I said, “(I)Amen, O Lord.”
6 And the Lord said to me, “(J)Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘(K)Hear the words of this covenant and (L)do them. 7 For I solemnly (M)warned your fathers in the (N)day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, [b](O)warning persistently, saying, “(P)Listen to My voice.” 8 Yet they (Q)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the (R)words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “A (S)conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have (T)turned back to the iniquities of their [c]ancestors who (U)refused to hear My words, and they (V)have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have (W)broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am (X)bringing disaster on them which they will (Y)not be able to escape; though they will (Z)cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will (AA)go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their disaster. 13 For your gods are [d](AB)as many as your cities, O Judah; and [e]as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the (AC)shameful thing, altars to (AD)burn incense to Baal.
14 “Therefore (AE)do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will (AF)not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.
15 “What right has My (AG)beloved in My house
When (AH)she has done many vile deeds?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
[f]So that you can rejoice?”
16 The Lord called your name,
“A (AI)green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the (AJ)noise of a great tumult
He has (AK)kindled fire on it,
And its branches are worthless.
17 The Lord of hosts, who (AL)planted you, has (AM)pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have [g]done to provoke Me by [h](AN)offering up sacrifices to Baal.
Plots against Jeremiah
18 Moreover, the Lord (AO)made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle (AP)lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had (AQ)devised plots against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its [i]fruit,
And (AR)let us cut him off from the (AS)land of the living,
That his (AT)name be remembered no more.”
20 But, O Lord of hosts, who (AU)judges righteously,
Who (AV)tries the [j]feelings and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You have I [k]committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of (AW)Anathoth, who (AX)seek your life, saying, “(AY)Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not (AZ)die at our hand”; 22 therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to (BA)punish them! The (BB)young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; 23 and a remnant (BC)will not be left to them, for I will (BD)bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—(BE)the year of their punishment.”
Parable of Ten Virgins
25 “Then (A)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their (B)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were (C)prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the (D)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the (E)prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were (F)ready went in with him to (G)the wedding feast; and (H)the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 (J)Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Parable of the Talents
14 “(K)For it is just like a man (L)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five [a](M)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he (N)went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five (O)talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his [b]master’s money.
19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *(P)settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five (Q)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and (R)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will (S)put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’
22 “Also the one who had received the two (T)talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and (U)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
24 “And the one also who had received the one (V)talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
29 “(W)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into (X)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Judgment
31 “But when (Y)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then (Z)He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be (AA)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, (AB)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep (AC)on His right, and the goats (AD)on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, (AE)inherit the kingdom prepared for you (AF)from the foundation of the world. 35 For (AG)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; (AH)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 (AI)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you (AJ)visited Me; (AK)I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 (AL)The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, (AM)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘(AN)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the (AO)eternal fire which has been prepared for (AP)the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [e]take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into (AQ)eternal punishment, but the righteous into (AR)eternal life.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.