M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Angel of the Lord at Bokim
2 The angel[a] of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I promised your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, 2 but you must not make a pact with the inhabitants of this land, and you must tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, ‘I will not drive them out before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’ ”
4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept aloud. 5 They named that place Bokim and sacrificed to the Lord there.
The Death of Joshua
6 When Joshua dismissed the people, each Israelite went to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works that the Lord had done for Israel.
8 Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
10 That entire generation passed away, and after them grew up a generation who did not know the Lord or the deeds that He had done for Israel.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
11 The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They abandoned the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed after other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They worshipped them and provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of those who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they were no longer able to stand against their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring disaster, as the Lord had said and as He had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, for they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord. They did not do as their fathers had done. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for their groaning before their oppressors and tormentors grieved the Lord. 19 When the judge died, the people turned back and acted more wickedly than their fathers, pursuing other gods to serve and worship them. They would not give up their practices and obstinate ways.
20 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has violated My covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not heeded My voice, 21 I will no longer drive out from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 so that through them I may test Israel and see whether or not they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers did.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not hurrying to drive them out; and He did not deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
The Seven Helpers
6 Now in those days, as the disciples were multiplied, there was murmuring among the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily distribution. 2 So the twelve called the multitude of disciples together and said, “It is not reasonable for us to leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Brothers, look among yourselves for seven men who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this duty. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5 And what was said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, who was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Procorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they presented before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they placed their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples grew rapidly in Jerusalem, and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.
The Arrest of Stephen
8 Now Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. 9 Then some men rose up from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and of Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 But they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and came upon him and seized him and led him to the Sanhedrin, 13 and set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”
15 All who sat in the Sanhedrin, gazing at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
The Lord Will Not Relent
15 Then the Lord said to me: Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, yet My heart would not be with this people. Cast them out of My sight and let them go! 2 It shall come to pass if they say to you, “Where should we go?” then you shall tell them: Thus says the Lord:
Those destined for death, to death;
and those destined for the sword, to the sword;
and those destined for the famine, to the famine;
and those destined for the captivity, to the captivity.
3 I will appoint over them four kinds of disaster, says the Lord: the sword to slay, the dogs to tear, the birds of the heaven, the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.
5 For who shall have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
Or who shall bemoan you?
Or who shall go aside to ask how you are doing?
6 You who have forsaken Me, says the Lord,
you keep going backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you.
I am weary of relenting!
7 I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
in the gates of the land;
I will bereave them of children. I will destroy My people,
since they did not repent from their ways.
8 Their widows will increase before Me
more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
a destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
sorrow and terrors.
9 She who has borne seven sons languishes;
she has given up the spirit;
her sun has gone down while it was yet day;
she has been ashamed and humiliated.
And the rest of them I will deliver to the sword
before their enemies,
says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Sorrow
10 Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me
as a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have not lent with usury, nor have men lent to me on usury,
yet every one of them curses me!
11 The Lord said:
Truly I will set you free for good purposes.
Truly I will cause the enemy to entreat you
in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break the northern iron
or the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give to the destroyer without price,
and that for all your sins,
even within all your borders.
14 I will make you to pass with your enemies
into a land which you do not know;
for a fire is kindled in My anger,
which shall burn upon you.
15 O Lord, You who know, remember me,
and take notice of me,
and take vengeance on my persecutors.
Because of your longsuffering, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found and I ate them.
And Your word became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of Hosts.
17 I did not sit in the assembly of mockers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
for You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual
and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed?
Shall You be altogether to me as a deceptive stream
and as waters that fail?
The Lord Reassures Jeremiah
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
If you return, then I will bring you back,
and you shall stand before Me;
and if you take out the precious from the worthless,
you will be My spokesman.
Let them return to you,
but do not return to them.
20 I will make you to this people
a fortified bronze wall;
and they shall fight against you,
but they shall not prevail against you;
for I am with you
to save you and to deliver you,
says the Lord.
21 I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and I will redeem you out of the hand of the violent.
The Preaching of John the Baptist(A)
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the Prophets:
“Look, I am sending My messenger before Your face,
who will prepare Your way before You.”[a]
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make His paths straight.’ ”[b]
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 The whole region of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He preached saying, “After me is coming One mightier than I, the straps of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism of Jesus(B)
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Coming up out of the water, He immediately saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Jesus(C)
12 The Spirit immediately drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the angels ministered to Him.
The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry(D)
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”
The Calling of the First Disciples(E)
16 As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, throwing a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 Immediately He called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed Him.
The Man With an Unclean Spirit(F)
21 They went to Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit. 24 And he cried out, “Leave us alone! What do You have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God.”
25 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” 26 When the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, it came out of him.
27 They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, “What is this? What new teaching is this? With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately His fame spread everywhere throughout the region surrounding Galilee.
The Healing of Many People(G)
29 When He came out of the synagogue with James and John, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew. 30 The mother of Simon’s wife lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
32 In the evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were possessed with demons. 33 The whole city was gathered at the door, 34 and He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. And He did not let the demons speak, because they knew Him.
A Preaching Tour(H)
35 In the morning, rising up a great while before sunrise, He went out and departed to a solitary place. And there He prayed. 36 Simon and those who were with Him followed Him, 37 and when they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is searching for You.”
38 He said to them, “Let us go into the nearby towns, that I may preach there also. For that is why I have come.” 39 So He preached in their synagogues throughout Galilee and cast out demons.
The Cleansing of a Leper(I)
40 A leper came to Him, pleading with Him and kneeling before Him, saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, extended His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will. Be clean.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, the leprosy immediately departed from him, and he was cleansed.
43 He sternly warned him, and sent him away at once, 44 saying, “See that you say nothing to anyone. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news around, so that Jesus could no more openly enter the city, but was out in remote places. And they came to Him from every quarter.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.