M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Oppression of Philistines and Ammonites

10 Now after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, ^(A)arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. ² He judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

³ After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities ^[a]in the land of Gilead ^(B)that are called ^[b]Havvoth-jair to this day. ⁵ And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

⁶ Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, ^(C)served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, ^(D)the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus ^(E)they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. ⁷ The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He ^(F)sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ They ^[c]afflicted and crushed the sons of Israel ^[d]that year; for eighteen years they afflicted all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan ^[e]in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. ⁹ The sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

¹⁰ Then the ^(G)sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.” ¹¹ The Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not deliver you ^(H)from the Egyptians, ^(I)the Amorites, ^(J)the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? ¹² Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites ^(K)oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hands. ¹³ Yet ^(L)you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. ^14 (M)Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” ¹⁵ The sons of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned, ^(N)do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.” ^16 (O)So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord; and ^[f](P)He could bear the misery of Israel no longer.

¹⁷ Then the sons of Ammon were summoned and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in ^(Q)Mizpah. ¹⁸ The people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Jephthah the Ninth Judge

11 Now ^(R)Jephthah the Gileadite was a ^[g]valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead ^[h]was the father of Jephthah. ² Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of ^(S)Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves ^[i]about Jephthah, and they went out with him.

⁴ It came about after a while that ^(T)the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. ⁵ When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; ⁶ and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.” ⁷ Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “^(U)Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?” ⁸ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and ^(V)become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” ⁹ So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up ^[j]to me, will I become your head?” ¹⁰ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “^(W)The Lord is ^[k]witness between us; surely we will do ^[l]as you have said.” ¹¹ Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at ^(X)Mizpah.

Acceptance and Opposition

14 In ^(A)Iconium ^(B)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner ^(C)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of ^(D)Greeks. ² But ^(E)the Jews who ^[a](F)disbelieved stirred up the ^[b]minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against ^(G)the brethren. ³ Therefore they spent a long time there ^(H)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that ^[c](I)signs and wonders be done by their hands. ^4 (J)But the ^[d]people of the city were divided; and some ^[e]sided with ^(K)the Jews, and some with ^(L)the apostles. ⁵ And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and ^(M)the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to ^(N)stone them, ⁶ they became aware of it and fled to the cities of ^(O)Lycaonia, ^(P)Lystra and ^(Q)Derbe, and the surrounding region; ⁷ and there they continued to ^(R)preach the gospel.

⁸ At ^(S)Lystra ^(T)a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. ⁹ This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, ^(U)when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had ^(V)faith to be ^[f]made well, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” ^(W)And he leaped up and began to walk. ¹¹ When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the ^(X)Lycaonian language, “^(Y)The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas, ^[g]Zeus, and Paul, ^[h]Hermes, because he was ^[i]the chief speaker. ¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was ^[j]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and ^(Z)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. ¹⁴ But when ^(AA)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ^(AB)tore their ^[k]robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also ^(AC)men of the same nature as you, and ^(AD)preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these ^[l](AE)vain things to a ^(AF)living God, ^(AG)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ^16 [m]In the generations gone by He ^(AH)permitted all the ^[n]nations to ^(AI)go their own ways; ¹⁷ and yet ^(AJ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and ^(AK)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, ^[o]satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹ But ^(AL)Jews came from ^(AM)Antioch and ^(AN)Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they ^(AO)stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. ²⁰ But while ^(AP)the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to ^(AQ)Derbe. ²¹ After they had ^(AR)preached the gospel to that city and had ^(AS)made many disciples, they returned to ^(AT)Lystra and to ^(AU)Iconium and to ^(AV)Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of ^(AW)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in ^(AX)the faith, and saying, “^(AY)Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³ When ^(AZ)they had appointed ^(BA)elders for them in every church, having ^(BB)prayed with fasting, they ^(BC)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴ They passed through ^(BD)Pisidia and came into ^(BE)Pamphylia. ²⁵ When they had spoken the word in ^(BF)Perga, they went down to Attalia. ²⁶ From there they sailed to ^(BG)Antioch, from ^(BH)which they had been ^(BI)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had ^[p]accomplished. ²⁷ When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to ^(BJ)report all things that God had done with them and ^[q]how He had opened a ^(BK)door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they spent ^[r]a long time with ^(BL)the disciples.

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

23 “^(A)Woe to the shepherds who are ^(B)destroying and scattering the ^(C)sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are ^[a]tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to ^(D)attend to you for the ^(E)evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. ³ “Then I Myself will ^(F)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. ⁴ I will also raise up ^(G)shepherds over them and they will ^[b]tend them; and they will ^(H)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, ^(I)nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

⁷ “^(Q)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ^8 (R)but, ‘As the Lord lives, who ^(S)brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”

False Prophets Denounced

¹⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,

²⁵ “I have ^(BD)heard what the prophets have said who ^(BE)prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a ^(BF)dream, I had a dream!’ ²⁶ How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the ^(BG)deception of their own heart, ²⁷ who intend to ^(BH)make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers ^(BI)forgot My name because of Baal? ²⁸ The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has ^(BJ)My word speak My word in truth. ^(BK)What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹ “Is not My word like ^(BL)fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a ^(BM)hammer which shatters a rock? ³⁰ Therefore behold, ^(BN)I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. ³¹ Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ ³² Behold, I am against those who have prophesied ^(BO)false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and ^(BP)reckless boasting; yet ^(BQ)I did not send them or command them, nor do they ^(BR)furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.

³³ “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, ‘What is the ^[g](BS)oracle of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What ^[h]oracle?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will ^(BT)abandon you.’ ³⁴ Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The ^(BU)oracle of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. ³⁵ Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘^(BV)What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶ For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord, because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have ^(BW)perverted the words of the ^(BX)living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. ³⁷ Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸ For if you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’”’ ³⁹ Therefore behold, ^(BY)I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. ⁴⁰ I will put an everlasting ^(BZ)reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”

The Transfiguration

9 And Jesus was saying to them, “^(A)Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

^2 (B)Six days later, Jesus *took with Him ^(C)Peter and ^[a]James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; ³ and ^(D)His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter *said to Jesus, “^(E)Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; ^(F)let us make three ^[b]tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud ^[c]formed, overshadowing them, and ^(G)a voice ^[d]came out of the cloud, “^(H)This is My beloved Son, ^[e]listen to Him!” ⁸ All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

^9 (I)As they were coming down from the mountain, He ^(J)gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, ^[f]until the Son of Man rose from the dead. ¹⁰ They ^[g]seized upon ^[h]that statement, discussing with one another ^[i]what rising from the dead meant. ¹¹ They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that ^(K)Elijah must come first?” ¹² And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of ^(L)the Son of Man that ^(M)He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I say to you that Elijah has ^[j]indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”

All Things Possible

^14 (N)When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were ^(O)amazed and began running up to greet Him. ¹⁶ And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” ¹⁷ And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; ¹⁸ and ^[k]whenever it seizes him, it ^[l]slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and ^[m]stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” ¹⁹ And He *answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” ²⁰ They brought ^[n]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. ²¹ And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” ²³ And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ ^(P)All things are possible to him who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” ²⁵ When Jesus saw that ^(Q)a crowd was ^[o]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I ^[p]command you, come out of him and do not enter him ^[q]again.” ²⁶ After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. ²⁸ When He came ^(R)into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” ²⁹ And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

Death and Resurrection Foretold

^30 (S)From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. ³¹ For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “^(T)The Son of Man is to be ^[r]delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” ³² But ^(U)they ^[s]did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

^33 (V)They came to Capernaum; and when He ^[t]was in ^(W)the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way ^(X)they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. ³⁵ Sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “^(Y)If anyone wants to be first, ^[u]he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ Taking a child, He set him ^[v]before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ “^(Z)Whoever receives ^[w]one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

Dire Warnings

^38 (AA)John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and ^(AB)we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. ^40 (AC)For he who is not against us is ^[x]for us. ⁴¹ For ^(AD)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink ^[y]because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴² “^(AE)Whoever causes one of these ^[z]little ones who believe to stumble, it ^[aa]would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he ^[ab]had been cast into the sea. ^43 (AF)If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into ^[ac](AG)hell, into the ^(AH)unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ [^[ad]where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into ^[ae](AI)hell, ⁴⁶ [^[af]where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ^47 (AJ)If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into ^[ag](AK)hell, ^48 (AL)where their worm does not die, and ^(AM)the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good; but ^(AN)if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you ^[ah]make it salty again? ^(AO)Have salt in yourselves, and ^(AP)be at peace with one another.”