M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Angel of the Lord at Bokim
2 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you to the land I promised to give your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my agreement with you. 2 But you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You must destroy their altars.’ But you did not obey me. How could you do this? 3 Now I tell you, ‘I will not force out the people in this land. They will be your enemies, and their gods will be a trap for you.’”
4 After the angel gave Israel this message from the Lord, they cried loudly. 5 So they named the place Bokim.[a] There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
Joshua Dies
6 Then Joshua sent the people back to their land. 7 The people served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who lived after Joshua and who had seen what great things the Lord had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred ten. 9 They buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
The People Disobey
10 After those people had died, their children grew up and did not know the Lord or what he had done for Israel. 11 So they did what the Lord said was wrong, and they worshiped the Baal idols. 12 They quit following the Lord, the God of their ancestors who had brought them out of Egypt. They began to worship the gods of the people who lived around them, and that made the Lord angry. 13 The Israelites quit following the Lord and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth. 14 The Lord was angry with the people of Israel, so he handed them over to robbers who took their possessions. He let their enemies who lived around them defeat them; they could not protect themselves. 15 When the Israelites went out to fight, they always lost, because the Lord was not with them. The Lord had sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites suffered very much.
God Chooses Judges
16 Then the Lord chose leaders called judges,[b] who saved the Israelites from the robbers. 17 But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. They were not faithful to God but worshiped other gods instead. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they quickly turned away and did not obey. 18 When their enemies hurt them, the Israelites cried for help. So the Lord felt sorry for them and sent judges to save them from their enemies. The Lord was with those judges all their lives. 19 But when the judges died, the Israelites again sinned and worshiped other gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.
20 So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me. 21 I will no longer defeat the nations who were left when Joshua died. 22 I will use them to test Israel, to see if Israel will keep the Lord’s commands as their ancestors did.” 23 In the past the Lord had permitted those nations to stay in the land. He did not quickly force them out or help Joshua’s army defeat them.
Seven Leaders Are Chosen
6 The number of followers was growing. But during this same time, the Greek-speaking followers had an argument with the other followers. The Greek-speaking widows were not getting their share of the food that was given out every day. 2 The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together and said, “It is not right for us to stop our work of teaching God’s word in order to serve tables. 3 So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your own men who are good, full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will put them in charge of this work. 4 Then we can continue to pray and to teach the word of God.”
5 The whole group liked the idea, so they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip,[a] Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (a man from Antioch who had become a follower of the Jewish religion). 6 Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands[b] on them.
7 The word of God was continuing to spread. The group of followers in Jerusalem increased, and a great number of the Jewish priests believed and obeyed.
Stephen Is Accused
8 Stephen was richly blessed by God who gave him the power to do great miracles and signs among the people. 9 But some people were against him. They belonged to the synagogue of Free Men[c] (as it was called), which included people from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They all came and argued with Stephen.
10 But the Spirit was helping him to speak with wisdom, and his words were so strong that they could not argue with him. 11 So they secretly urged some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak against Moses and against God.”
12 This upset the people, the elders, and the teachers of the law. They came and grabbed Stephen and brought him to a meeting of the leaders. 13 They brought in some people to tell lies about Stephen, saying, “This man is always speaking against this holy place and the law of Moses. 14 We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and that Jesus will change the customs Moses gave us.” 15 All the people in the meeting were watching Stephen closely and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.
15 Then the Lord said to me: “I would not feel sorry for the people of Judah even if Moses and Samuel prayed for them. Send them away from me! Tell them to go! 2 When they ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ tell them: ‘This is what the Lord says:
Those who are meant to die
will die.
Those who are meant to die in war
will die in war.
Those who are meant to die from hunger
will die from hunger.
Those who are meant to be taken captive
will be taken captive.’
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send war to kill, dogs to drag the bodies away, and the birds of the air and wild animals to eat and destroy the bodies. 4 I will make the people of Judah hated by everyone on earth because of what Manasseh did in Jerusalem. (Manasseh son of Hezekiah was king of the nation of Judah.)
5 “Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?
Who will be sad and cry for you?
Who will go out of his way to ask how you are?
6 Jerusalem, you have left me,” says the Lord.
“You keep going farther and farther away,
so I have taken hold of you and destroyed you.
I was tired of holding back my anger.
7 I have separated the people of Judah with my pitchfork
and scattered them at the city gates of the land.
My people haven’t changed their ways.
So I have destroyed them
and taken away their children.
8 There are more widows than grains of sand in the sea.
I brought a destroyer at noontime
against the mothers of the young men of Judah.
I suddenly brought pain and fear
on the people of Judah.
9 When the enemy attacked, a woman with seven sons felt faint because they would all die.
She became weak and unable to breathe.
Her bright day became dark from sadness.
She felt shame and disgrace.
And everyone else left alive in Judah
I will hand over to the enemies, too!” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Second Complaint
10 Mother, I am sorry that you gave birth to me
since I must accuse and criticize the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything,
but everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said,
“I have saved you for a good reason.
I have made your enemies beg you
in times of disaster and trouble.
12 No one can smash a piece of iron or bronze
that comes from the north.
13 Your wealth and treasures
I will give to others free of charge,
because the people of Judah have sinned
throughout the country.
14 I will make you slaves to your enemies
in a land you have never known.
My anger is like a hot fire,
and it will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand.
Remember me and take care of me.
Punish for me those who are hurting me.
Don’t destroy me while you remain patient with them.
Think about the shame I suffer for you.
16 Your words came to me, and I listened carefully to them.
Your words made me very happy,
because I am called by your name,
Lord God All-Powerful.
17 I never sat with the crowd
as they laughed and had fun.
I sat by myself, because you were there,
and you filled me with anger at the evil around me.
18 I don’t understand why my pain has no end.
I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed.
Will you be like a brook that goes dry?
Will you be like a spring that stops flowing?
19 So this is what the Lord says:
“If you change your heart and return to me, I will take you back.
Then you may serve me.
And if you speak things that have worth,
not useless words,
then you may speak for me.
Let the people of Judah turn to you,
but you must not change and be like them.
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to this people,
as strong as a wall of bronze.
They will fight against you,
but they will not defeat you,
because I am with you.
I will rescue you and save you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will save you from these wicked people
and rescue you from these cruel people.”
John Prepares for Jesus
1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God,[a] 2 as the prophet Isaiah wrote:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way.” Malachi 3:1
3 “This is a voice of one
who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.’” Isaiah 40:3
4 John was baptizing people in the desert and preaching a baptism of changed hearts and lives for the forgiveness of sins. 5 All the people from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him. They confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothes made from camel’s hair, had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 This is what John preached to the people: “There is one coming after me who is greater than I; I am not good enough even to kneel down and untie his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Baptized
9 At that time Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10 Immediately, as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven open. The Holy Spirit came down on him like a dove, 11 and a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you.”
12 Then the Spirit sent Jesus into the desert. 13 He was in the desert forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels came and took care of him.
Jesus Chooses Some Followers
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, preaching the Good News from God. 15 He said, “The right time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News!”
16 When Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw Simon[b] and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 18 So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
19 Going a little farther, Jesus saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 Jesus immediately called them, and they left their father in the boat with the hired workers and followed Jesus.
Jesus Forces Out an Evil Spirit
21 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day He went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught like a person who had authority, not like their teachers of the law. 23 Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted, 24 “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”
25 Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him.
27 The people were so amazed they asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives commands to evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 As soon as Jesus and his followers left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon[c] and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and the people told Jesus about her. 31 So Jesus went to her bed, took her hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began serving them.
32 That evening, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick and had demons in them. 33 The whole town gathered at the door. 34 Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses, and he forced many demons to leave people. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.
35 Early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus woke and left the house. He went to a lonely place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus answered, “We should go to other towns around here so I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.” 39 So he went everywhere in Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and forcing out demons.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
40 A man with a skin disease came to Jesus. He fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “You can heal me if you will.”
41 Jesus felt sorry for the man, so he reached out his hand and touched him and said, “I will. Be healed!” 42 Immediately the disease left the man, and he was healed.
43 Jesus told the man to go away at once, but he warned him strongly, 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well.[d] This will show the people what I have done.” 45 The man left there, but he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him, and so he spread the news about Jesus. As a result, Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived, but people came to him from everywhere.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.