M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Samson Wins over the Philistines

15 But later Samson visited his wife during grain gathering time with a young goat. Samson said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him go in. ² Her father said, “I thought you hated her. So I gave her to your friend. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Let her be yours instead.” ³ Samson said to him, “This time I will be without blame when I hurt the Philistines.” ⁴ So Samson went and caught 300 foxes. He tied them together tail to tail. And he put a fire stick between the tails of every two foxes. ⁵ Then he set fire to the sticks and let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines. So the standing grain and cut grain and vines and olive trees were burned up. ⁶ The Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they were told, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because the Timnite took his wife and gave her to his friend.” So the Philistines came and burned her and her father with fire. ⁷ Samson said to them, “For sure I will punish you for acting like this. After that I will stop.”

⁸ He killed many of them without mercy. Then Samson went down and lived in the opening of the rock of Etam.

⁹ The Philistines went and set up their tents in Judah, and spread out in Lehi. ¹⁰ The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” The Philistines said, “We have come to take Samson and do to him as he did to us.” ¹¹ Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the opening of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this that you have done to us?” Samson said to them, “I have done to them as they did to me.” ¹² They said to him, “We have come to take you and give you to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me that you will not kill me.” ¹³ So they said to him, “No, we will only tie you up and give you to them. We will not kill you.” So they tied him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When Samson came to Lehi, the Philistines came with a loud noise to meet him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power. The ropes on his arms became as weak as a burning plant, and fell from his hands. ¹⁵ Samson found a jawbone of a donkey and took it in his hand. He killed 1,000 men with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said, “With the bone of a donkey there are bodies upon bodies. With the bone of a donkey I have killed 1,000 men.” ¹⁷ When he was done speaking, he threw the bone from his hand. And he called that place Ramath-lehi. ¹⁸ Then Samson became very thirsty. He called to the Lord and said, “You have taken us away from trouble by the hand of Your servant. Now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of those who have not gone through our religious act?” ¹⁹ But God broke open a place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned. He received new life. So he called the place En-hakkore. It is in Lehi to this day. ²⁰ Samson ruled Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

Christians in Ephesus Are Filled with the Holy Spirit

19 While Apollos was in the city of Corinth, Paul went through the hill country to get to the city of Ephesus. He found a few followers there. ² He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you put your trust in Christ?” They said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ He asked them, “How were you baptized?” They answered, “The way John baptized.” ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized those who were sorry for their sins and turned from them. He told the people to put their trust in Jesus Who was coming later.”

⁵ The people there were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus when they heard this. ⁶ When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them. They started to talk in special sounds and to speak God’s Word. ⁷ There were about twelve men.

Paul Preaches in a Place of Worship and in a School in Ephesus

⁸ For three months Paul went into the Jewish place of worship and spoke without fear. He taught them things about the holy nation of God. ⁹ Some let their hearts grow hard. They would not put their trust in Christ. These spoke against the Christian religion in front of other people. Then Paul took the followers away from the others. He taught them each day in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ He did this for two years. All the Jews and the Greeks in the countries of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.

Paul Does Powerful Works

¹¹ God used Paul to do powerful special works. ¹² Pieces of cloth and parts of his clothes that had been next to his body were put on sick people. Then they were healed of their diseases and demons came out of them.

¹³ There were Jews who went from city to city trying to put demons out of people. Some of these tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus on those who had demons. They said, “I speak to you in the name of Jesus, the One Paul preaches about.” ¹⁴ A Jewish leader of the people by the name of Sceva had seven sons. These sons were trying to do this. ¹⁵ The demon said, “I know Jesus. I know about Paul. But who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man with the demon jumped on the sons. He had power over them and beat them. They ran out of the house with no clothes on and they were hurt.

¹⁷ All the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus heard about it. Because of this all the people became afraid. And the name of the Lord Jesus was held in great honor. ¹⁸ Many Christians came and told of the wrong things they were doing. ¹⁹ Many of those who did witchcraft gathered their books together and burned them in front of everyone. These books were worth 50,000 pieces of silver money. ²⁰ The Word of the Lord became well-known.

²¹ After this, Paul thought he would go through the countries of Macedonia and Greece. Then he would go to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have been there, I must go to the city of Rome also.” ²² He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. Paul stayed in the countries of Asia awhile longer.

The Meeting of the Silver Workmen in Ephesus

²³ During that time there was much trouble about the Christians. ²⁴ A man named Demetrius made small silver buildings for the worship of Diana. His workmen received much money for their work. ²⁵ He called his workmen together and other men who made these small silver buildings. He said to them, “Men, you know we make much money from this work. ²⁶ Now you hear that Paul has turned away many people in Ephesus as well as in Asia. He tells them that gods made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ It could be that our work will not be respected. Not only that, the house of worship for the god of Diana will be worth nothing and her greatness will be destroyed. All the countries of Asia and the world worship her.”

²⁸ They became angry when they heard this and cried out, “Great is Diana of Ephesus.” ²⁹ The whole city was filled with loud cries. They caught Gaius and Aristarchus. These two men from Macedonia were with Paul. They gathered around them at the meeting place in the city.

³⁰ Paul wanted to stand in front of all the people but his followers would not let him. ³¹ Some of the city leaders who were his friends told him not to go to the meeting. ³² All this time some were crying out one thing and some another. The meeting was all noise. Most of the people did not know why they had come together. ³³ Then the Jews pushed Alexander to the front. Alexander held his hand up and was going to speak. ³⁴ As soon as they saw he was a Jew, they cried out with a loud voice for two hours, “Great is Diana of Ephesus!”

³⁵ One of the city leaders stopped the noise. He spoke, “Men of Ephesus, everyone knows our city is where the god of Diana is kept. That is the stone god that fell from the sky. ³⁶ Everyone knows this is true, so you must not cry out or do anything foolish. ³⁷ The men you brought here do not rob houses of worship or talk against our god. ³⁸ If Demetrius and his workmen have something against anyone, we have special days for courts. Let them go to court. ³⁹ If you want anything else, it should be done in another meeting. ⁴⁰ We are in danger of being asked about this trouble today. There is no good reason we can give for this meeting.” ⁴¹ When he had said this, he told them to leave.

Jeremiah and the False Preacher Hananiah

28 In that same year, in the beginning of the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the man from Gibeon who told what would happen in the future, spoke to me in the house of the Lord. He said to me in front of the religious leaders and all the people, ² “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the crossbar across the shoulders of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I will bring back to this place all the objects of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from here and carried to Babylon. ⁴ I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the people of Judah who were taken to Babylon,’ says the Lord. ‘For I will break the cross-bar of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵ Then Jeremiah, the man of God, spoke to Hananiah, the man who told what would happen, in front of the religious leaders and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. ⁶ And Jeremiah, the man who spoke for God, said, “Let it be so! May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have spoken come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the objects of the Lord’s house and all the people of Judah. ⁷ Yet listen now to what I am about to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The men who spoke for God before us from long ago spoke of war and trouble and disease coming to many lands and great nations. ⁹ As for the man who told that peace would come, when his word comes to pass, then that man will be known as the one that the Lord has sent.” ¹⁰ Then Hananiah, the man who told what would happen, took the cross-bar from the neck of Jeremiah the man of God and broke it. ¹¹ And Hananiah said in front of all the people, “The Lord says, ‘In this way I will break the cross-bar of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.’” Then Jeremiah the man of God went his way.

¹² Some time after Hananiah had broken the cross-bar from off the neck of Jeremiah, the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘The Lord says, “You have broken the cross-bars of wood, but you have made bars of iron in their place.” ¹⁴ For the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “I have put the cross-bar of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And they will serve him. I have given him the animals of the field also.”’” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah who spoke for God said to Hananiah who told what would happen, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you. And you have made these people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ So the Lord says, ‘See, I am about to take you from the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have spoken against the right and power of the Lord.’” ¹⁷ So Hananiah, who had said these things in God’s name, died in the seventh month of the same year.

They Look for a Way to Put Jesus to Death ^(A)

14 It was now two days before the supper of the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt and the supper of bread without yeast. The religious leaders and the teachers of the Law tried to trap Jesus. They tried to take Him so they could put Him to death. ² These men said, “This must not happen on the day of the special supper. The people would be against it and make much trouble.”

Mary of Bethany Puts Special Perfume on Jesus ^(B)

³ Jesus was in the town of Bethany eating in the house of Simon. Simon was a man with a very bad skin disease. A woman came with a jar of special perfume. She had given much money for this. She broke the jar and poured the special perfume on the head of Jesus. ⁴ Some of them were angry. They said, “Why was this special perfume wasted? ⁵ This perfume could have been sold for much money and given to poor people.” They spoke against her.

⁶ Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her trouble? She has done a good thing to Me. ⁷ You will have poor people with you all the time. Whenever you want, you can do something good for them. You will not have Me all the time. ⁸ She did what she could. She put this perfume on My body to make Me ready for the grave. ⁹ For sure, I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached in all the world, this woman will be remembered for what she has done.”

Judas Hands Jesus Over to Be Killed ^(C)

¹⁰ Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve followers. He went to the head religious leaders of the Jews to talk about how he might hand Jesus over to them. ¹¹ When the leaders heard it, they were glad. They promised to give Judas money. Then he looked for a way to hand Jesus over.

Getting Ready for the Special Supper ^(D)

¹² The first day of the supper of bread without yeast was the day to kill an animal. It was for the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. His followers said to Jesus, “What place do You want us to make ready for You to eat this special supper?” ¹³ Jesus sent two of His followers on ahead and said to them, “Go into the city. There a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ He will go into a house. You say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, “Where is the room you keep for friends, where I can eat this special supper with My followers?”’ ¹⁵ He will take you to a large room on the second floor with everything in it. Make it ready for us.”

¹⁶ The followers went from there and came into the city. They found everything as Jesus had said. They made things ready for the special supper.

¹⁷ In the evening He came with the twelve followers. ¹⁸ They sat at the table and ate. Jesus said, “For sure, I tell you, one of you will hand Me over to be killed. He is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They were very sad. They said to Him one after the other, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the twelve followers. It is the one who is putting his hand with mine into the same dish. ²¹ The Son of Man is going away as it is written of Him. But it will be bad for that man who hands the Son of Man over to be killed! It would have been better if he had not been born!”

The First Lord’s Supper ^(E)

²² As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread. He gave thanks and broke it in pieces. He gave it to them and said, “Take, eat, this is My body.” ²³ Then He took the cup and gave thanks. He gave it to them and they all drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is My blood of the New Way of Worship which is given for many. ²⁵ For sure, I tell you, that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the holy nation of God.” ²⁶ After they sang a song, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Tells How Peter Will Lie about Him ^(F)

²⁷ Jesus said to them, “All of you will be ashamed of Me and leave Me tonight. For it is written, ‘I will kill the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will spread everywhere.’ ^{(G) 28} After I am raised from the dead, I will go before you into the country of Galilee.” ²⁹ Peter said to Him, “Even if all men are ashamed of You and leave You, I never will.” ³⁰ Jesus said to him, “For sure, I tell you, that today, even tonight, before a rooster crows two times, you will say three times you do not know Me.” ³¹ Peter spoke with strong words, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never say that I do not know You.” All the followers said the same thing.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane ^(H)

³² They came to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to His followers, “You sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took Peter and James and John with Him. He began to have much sorrow and a heavy heart. ³⁴ He said to them, “My soul is very sad. My soul is so full of sorrow I am ready to die. You stay here and watch.” ³⁵ He went a little farther and got down with His face on the ground. He prayed that this time of suffering might pass from Him if it could. ³⁶ He said, “Father, You can do all things. Take away what must happen to Me. Even so, not what I want, but what You want.”

³⁷ Then Jesus came to the followers and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Were you not able to watch one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray so that you will not be tempted. Man’s spirit wants to do this, but the body does not have the power to do it.”

³⁹ Again Jesus went away and prayed saying the same words. ⁴⁰ He came back and found them sleeping again. Their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to Him. ⁴¹ He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! Listen, the time has come when the Son of Man will be handed over to sinners. ⁴² Get up and let us go. See! The man who will hand Me over to the head religious leader is near.”

Jesus Handed Over to Sinners ^(I)

⁴³ At once, while Jesus was talking, Judas came. He was one of the twelve followers. He came with many other men who had swords and sticks. They came from the head religious leaders of the Jews and the teachers of the Law and the leaders of the people. ⁴⁴ The man who was going to hand Jesus over gave the men something to look for. He said, “The Man I kiss is the One. Take hold of Him and take Him away.”

⁴⁵ At once Judas went straight to Jesus and said, “Teacher!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶ Then they put their hands on Him and took Him.

⁴⁷ One of the followers of Jesus who stood watching took his sword. He hit the servant owned by the head religious leader and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ Jesus said to them, “Have you come with swords and sticks to take Me as if I were a robber? ⁴⁹ I have been with you every day teaching in the house of God. You never took hold of Me. But this has happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen.” ⁵⁰ Then all His followers left Him and ran away.

⁵¹ A young man was following Him with only a piece of cloth around his body. They put their hands on the young man. ⁵² Leaving the cloth behind, he ran away with no clothes on.

Jesus Stands in Front of the Head Religious Leaders ^(J)

⁵³ They led Jesus away to the head religious leader. All the religious leaders and other leaders and the teachers of the Law were gathered there. ⁵⁴ But Peter followed a long way behind as they went to the house of the head religious leader. He sat with the helpers and got warm by the fire.

Jesus Stands in Front of the Court ^(K)

⁵⁵ The religious leaders and all the court were looking for something against Jesus. They wanted to find something so they could kill Him. But they could find nothing. ⁵⁶ Many came and told false things about Him, but their words did not agree. ⁵⁷ Some got up and said false things against Him. They said, ⁵⁸ “We have heard Him say, ‘I will destroy the house of God that was made with hands. In three days I will build another that is not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Even these who spoke against Him were not able to agree.

⁶⁰ The head religious leader stood up in front of the people. He asked Jesus, “Have You nothing to say? What about the things these men are saying against You?” ⁶¹ Jesus said nothing. Again the head religious leader asked Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Holy One?” ⁶² Jesus said, “I am! And you will see the Son of Man seated on the right side of the All-powerful God. You will see Him coming again in the clouds of the sky.”

⁶³ Then the head religious leader tore his clothes apart. He said, “Do we need other people to speak against Him? ⁶⁴ You have heard Him speak as if He were God! What do you think?” They all said He was guilty of death. ⁶⁵ Some began to spit on Him. They covered Jesus’ face, and they hit Him. They said, “Tell us what is going to happen.” Soldiers hit Him with their hands.

Peter Said He Did Not Know Jesus ^(L)

⁶⁶ Peter was outside in the yard. One of the servant-girls of the head religious leader came. ⁶⁷ She saw Peter getting warm. She looked at him and said, “You were with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁶⁸ Peter lied, saying, “I do not know Jesus and do not understand what you are talking about.” As he went out, a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹ The servant-girl saw him again. She said to the people standing around, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ He lied again saying that he did not know Jesus. Later, those who stood around said to Peter again, “For sure you are one of them. You are from the country of Galilee. You talk like they do.” ⁷¹ He began to say strong words and to swear. He said, “I do not know the Man you are talking about!”

⁷² At once a rooster crowed the second time. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him, “Before a rooster crows two times, you will say three times you do not know Me.” When he thought about it, he cried.