M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Some Nations Remain in the Land
3 These are the nations that Yahweh left, to test Israel by them (that is, to test all those who had not experienced[a] any of the wars of Canaan, 2 in order that the generations of Israel would know war, to teach those who had not experienced it[b] before): 3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites,[c] the Sidonians,[d] and the Hivites[e] living on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon up to Lebo-Hamath. 4 They were left for testing Israel, to know whether they would keep the commands of Yahweh that he commanded their ancestors[f] through the hand of Moses. 5 And the Israelites[g] lived in the midst of the Canaanites,[h] the Hittites,[i] the Amorites,[j] the Perizzites,[k] the Hivites,[l] and the Jebusites.[m] 6 And they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.[n]
Othniel
7 The Israelites[o] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They forgot Yahweh their God, and they served the Baals and the Asheroth.[p] 8 And the anger of Yahweh was kindled[q] against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Aram Naharaim; and the Israelites[r] served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. 9 The Israelites[s] cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a deliverer for the Israelites[t] who delivered them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 And the spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and he prevailed over[u] Cushan-Rishathaim. 11 So the land rested forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 And again the Israelites[v] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and Amalekites,[w] and he went and defeated Israel, and they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the Israelites[x] served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
15 And the Israelites[y] cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite and a left-handed man.[z] And the Israelites[aa] sent a tribute to Eglon king of Moab through him.[ab] 16 Ehud made for himself a short, two-edged[ac] sword (a cubit in length), and he fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. 17 Then he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 When Ehud[ad] had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he turned back from the sculptured stones[ae] that were near Gilgal, and he said, “I have a secret message[af] for you, O king.” And he[ag] said, “Silence!” So all those standing in his presence went out, 20 and Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool upper room. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God[ah] for you.” So he got up from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand for the sword on his right thigh, and he thrust it into his[ai] stomach. 22 And the handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not draw back the sword from his stomach; and it went protruding out the back.[aj] 23 And Ehud went out the vestibule, and he closed the doors of the upper room and locked them behind him.
24 After he left, his servants returned. When they saw that the doors of the upper room were locked, they thought,[ak] “Surely he is relieving himself[al] in the cool inner room.” 25 And they waited so long they became embarrassed because he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened the doors, and there their lord was lying on the ground dead.
26 And Ehud escaped while they delayed. He passed by the sculptured stones[am] and escaped to Seirah. 27 And when he arrived he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites[an] went down from the hill country with him leading them. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me! Yahweh has given Moab your enemies into your hand.” So they went down after him, and they captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab; and they did not allow anyone to cross over. 29 And they struck Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all strong and able men;[ao] no one escaped. 30 And Moab was subdued on that day under the hand of Israel. And the land rested eighty years.[ap]
Shamgar
31 And Shamgar son of Anath came after him, and he killed six hundred Philistines with the goad of an ox; he also delivered Israel.
Stephen’s Defense
7 And the high priest said, “Is it so concerning these things?” 2 So he said, “Men—brothers and fathers—listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he[a] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and[b] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. 5 And he did not give him an inheritance in it—not even a footstep[c]—and he promised to give it[d] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, although he did not have[e][f] a child. 6 But God spoke like this: ‘His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat them[g] four hundred years, 7 and the nation that[h] they will serve as slaves, I will judge,’ God said, ‘and after these things they will come out[i] and will worship me in this place.’[j] 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did so with[k] Jacob, and Jacob did so with[l] the twelve patriarchs. 9 And the patriarchs, because they[m] were jealous of Joseph, sold him[n] into Egypt. And God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all[o] his household. 11 And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. 12 So when[p] Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And on the second visit[q] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. 14 So Joseph sent and[r] summoned his father Jacob and all his[s] relatives, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. 16 And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 “But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 19 This man deceitfully took advantage of our[t] people and[u] mistreated our ancestors, causing them to abandon their infants[v] so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. He[w] was brought up for three months in his[x] father’s house, 21 and when[y] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and brought him up as her own son.[z] 22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds.
23 “But when he was forty years old,[aa] it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he[ab] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended him[ac] and avenged[ad] the one who had been oppressed by[ae] striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he thought his[af] brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day, he made an appearance to them while they[ag] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile[ah] them in peace, saying, ‘Men and brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?’ 27 But the one who was doing wrong to his[ai] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 You do not want to do away with me the same way[aj] you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’[ak] 29 And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 “And when[al] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. 31 And when[am] Moses saw it,[an] he was astonished at the sight, and when[ao] he approached to look at it,[ap] the voice of the Lord came: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!’[aq] So Moses began trembling and[ar] did not dare to look at it.[as] 33 And the Lord said to him, ‘Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen[at] the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’[au] 35 This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?’[av]—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer with the help[aw] of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
37 “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’[ax] 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who with our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 39 to whom our fathers were not willing to become obedient, but rejected him[ay] and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go on before us! For this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him!’[az] 41 And they manufactured a calf in those days, and offered up a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing[ba] in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets:
‘You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me
for forty years in the wilderness, did you,[bb] house of Israel?
43 And you took along the tabernacle[bc] of Moloch
and the star of the god[bd] Rephan,
the images that you made, to worship them,
and I will deport you beyond Babylon!’[be]
44 The tabernacle of the testimony belonged[bf] to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed him[bg] to make it according to the design that he had seen, 45 and which, after[bh] receiving it[bi] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua when they dispossessed the[bj] nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.[bk] 47 But Solomon built a house for him. 48 But the Most High does not live in houses[bl] made by human hands, just as the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is my throne
and earth is the footstool for my feet.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’[bm]
51 “You stiff-necked people and uncircumcised in hearts and in your[bn] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so also do you! 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, 53 you who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed it!”
Stephen’s Martyrdom
54 Now when they[bo] heard these things, they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed their[bp] teeth at him. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and[bq] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 But crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one purpose. 58 And after they[br] had driven him[bs] out of the city, they began to stone[bt] him,[bu] and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they kept on stoning Stephen as he[bv] was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 And falling to his[bw] knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after he[bx] said this, he fell asleep.[by]
Jeremiah is Commanded Not to Marry
16 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[a] 2 “You shall not take for yourself a wife, there shall not be for you sons and daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 “They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies[b] will become food for the birds[c] of the air, and for the wild animals[d] of the earth.”
5 For thus says Yahweh, “You must not enter the house of the funeral meal, and you must not go to lament, and you must not show sympathy for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people,” declares[e] Yahweh, “the loyal love and the compassion. 6 Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them. 7 And they will not break bread for the mourning ceremony for them, to comfort him because of the dead. And they will not give drink to them, the cup of desolation, for their fathers,[f] or for their mothers.[g] 8 And you shall not enter the house of the banquet, to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am about to cause to disappear from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of jubilation, and the voice of joy, and the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. 10 And then[h] when you tell this people all these words and they ask you, ‘Why[i] has Yahweh pronounced against us all this great evil, and what is our iniquity, and what is our sin that we have sinned against Yahweh our God?’ 11 Then you shall say to them, ‘Because[j] your ancestors[k] have forsaken me,’ declares[l] Yahweh, ‘and they have gone after other gods, and they have served them, and they have bowed down in worship to them, and they have forsaken me, and they have not kept my laws. 12 And you have behaved badly[m] more than your ancestors,[n] and look, you are going each one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, without listening to me. 13 So I will throw you from this land to the land that you have not known, you or your ancestors,[o] and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will not show you favor.
The Nation’s Return to the Land
14 Therefore[p] look, days are coming,’ declares[q] Yahweh, ‘and it will no longer be said, “As Yahweh lives,[r] who led up the Israelites[s] from the land of Egypt,” 15 but only[t] “As Yahweh lives,[u] who led up the Israelites[v] from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them,” for I will bring them back to their ground that I gave to their ancestors.[w] 16 Look, I am sending for many fishermen,’ declares[x] Yahweh, ‘and they will fish them out, and afterward[y] I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and from the clefts of the cliffs. 17 For my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden from before me,[z] and their iniquity is not concealed from before my eyes. 18 And I will first doubly repay[aa] their iniquity and their sin because of their profaning my land with the dead bodies[ab] of their abhorrences, and with their abominations they have filled up my inheritance.’”
19 O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold,
and my refuge in the day of distress,
to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth,
and they will say, “Our ancestors[ac] have inherited only lies,[ad]
vanity, and there is no profit in them.
20 Can a human make for himself gods?
Yet they are not gods!”
21 “Therefore[ae] look, I am about to let them know,
this time I am going to let them know
my power[af] and my might,
and they will know that my name is Yahweh.”
A Paralytic Healed
2 And when he[a] entered again into Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. 2 And many had gathered, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door, and he was speaking the word to them. 3 And they came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 And when[b] they were not able to bring him[c] to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. And after[d] digging through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. 5 And when[e] Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves, said to them, “Why are you considering these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your stretcher, and go to your home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up his[f] stretcher and[g] went out in front of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything[h] like this!”
Levi Called to Follow Jesus
13 And he went out again beside the sea,[i] and all the crowd was coming to him, and he began to teach[j] them. 14 And as he[k] was passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and[l] followed him.
15 And it happened that he was dining[m] in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with[n] Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they[o] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say[p] to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when[q] Jesus heard it[r], he said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.[s] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
On Fasting
18 And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, “Why[t] do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants[u] are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, are they?[v] As long a time as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast. 20 But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment. Otherwise[w] the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear becomes worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise[x] the wine will burst the wineskins and the wine is destroyed and the wineskins too. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
23 And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while[y] plucking off the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees began to say[z] to him, “Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry— 26 how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it[aa] to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was established for people, and not people for the Sabbath. 28 So then, the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
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