M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Gideon Pursues Zebah and Zalmunna
8 The men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?”[a] And they quarreled with him severely. 2 And he said to them, “What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” And their anger[b] against him subsided when he said that.[c]
4 Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who were with him, weary and pursuing. 5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me,[d] for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 The officials of Succoth said, “Is the hand[e] of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 Gideon said, “Well then, when Yahweh gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness.” 8 He went from there to Penuel, and he spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered. 9 And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely,[f] I will tear down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army[g] of the people of the east; those that fell in battle were one hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen.[h] 11 And Gideon went up the route of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the army[i] when it was off its guard.[j] 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he routed[k] the entire army.[l]
13 Then Gideon son of Jehoash returned from the battle by way of[m] the ascent of Heres.[n] 14 He captured a young man from Succoth[o] and questioned him. The young man listed[p] for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 He came to the men of Succoth, and he said, “Here is Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Is the palm[q] of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give food to your weary men?’” 16 He took the elders of the city and the thorn bushes and briers of the wilderness, and he trampled[r] the men of Succoth with them. 17 He broke down the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city.
18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What type were the men whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you;[s] each one of them had the appearance of the sons of the king.” 19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up, kill them.” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a boy. 21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up yourself, and strike us, for as is the man, so is his power.”[t] So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your sons, and your sons’ son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; Yahweh will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you,[u] that each of you give to me an ornamental ring from his plunder.” (They had ornamental rings of gold, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 They said, “We will gladly give them,” and they spread out a garment, and everyone threw there an ornamental ring of his plunder. 26 The weight of the ornamental rings of gold that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the crescents, pendants, and purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and apart from the pendants that were on the necks of their camels. 27 Gideon made an ephod out of it, and he put it in his town in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. 28 And Midian was subdued before the Israelites,[v] and they did not again lift up their head, and the land rested for forty years in the days of Gideon.
The Death of Gideon
29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring,[w] for he had many wives. 31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore for him a son, and he named him[x] Abimelech. 32 And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.[y]
33 And it happened, as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites[z] returned and prostituted themselves after the Baals, and they made for themselves Baal-Berith as god. 34 The Israelites[aa] did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hand of their enemies from all around, 35 nor did they show favor[ab] to the house of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in accordance with all the good that he did for Israel.
Herod Kills James and Imprisons Peter
12 Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them.[a] 2 So he executed James the brother of John with a sword. 3 And when he[b] saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (Now this was during the feast[c] of Unleavened Bread.) 4 After he[d] had arrested him,[e] he also put him[f] in prison, handing him[g] over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out for public trial[h] after the Passover. 5 Thus Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was fervently being made to God by the church for him.
Peter Rescued by an Angel
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood near him,[i] and a light shone in the prison cell. And striking Peter’s side, he woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!”[j] And his chains fell off of his[k] hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals!” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me!” 9 And he went out and[l] was following him.[m] And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing a vision. 10 And after they[n] had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out and[o] went forward along one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him.
11 And when[p] Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and all that the Jewish people expected!”[q] 12 And when he[r] realized this,[s] he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (who is also called Mark), where many people were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when[t] he knocked at the door of the gateway, a female slave named[u] Rhoda came up to answer. 14 And recognizing Peter’s voice, because of her[v] joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and[w] announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting[x] it was so. And they kept saying,[y] “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter was continuing to knock, and when they[z] opened the door[aa] they saw him and were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his[ab] hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and to the brothers,” and he departed and[ac] went to another place.
18 Now when[ad] day came, there was not a little commotion among the soldiers as to what then had become of Peter. 19 And when[ae] Herod had searched for him and did not find him,[af] he questioned the guards and[ag] ordered that they be led away to execution. And he came down from Judea to Caesarea and[ah] stayed there.
Herod’s Gruesome Death
20 Now he was very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. So they came to him with one purpose, and after[ai] persuading Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,[aj] they asked for peace, because their country was supported with food from the king’s country. 21 So on an appointed day Herod, after[ak] putting on royal clothing and sitting down on the judgment seat, began to deliver a public address to them. 22 But the people began to call out loudly,[al] “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because[am] he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and[an] died. 24 But the word of God kept on increasing[ao] and multiplying.
25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to[ap] Jerusalem when they[aq] had completed their[ar] service, having taken along with them[as] John (who is also called Mark).
A Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,[a] 2 “Please inquire of Yahweh on behalf of us, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps Yahweh will do with us according to all his miraculous acts, so that he may go up from against us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands,[b] with which you are fighting against them, the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the center of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand, and with strong arm, and in anger,[c] and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both humankind and animal; by a great plague they will die. 7 And afterward,”[d] declares[e] Yahweh, “I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with the edge[f] of the sword. He will not take pity on them, and he will not have compassion, nor will he show compassion.”’
The Way of Life and the Way of Death
8 “And to this people you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am setting before you[g] the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city will die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the plague. And he who goes out and goes over to the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you will live, and his life will be to him as booty. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good,” declares[h] Yahweh. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’
A Series of Messages for the House of the King of Judah
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O house of David, thus says Yahweh,
“Execute judgment in the morning, justice,
and deliver the one who has been seized
from the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and it burns,
and there is no one who quenches it[i]
because of the evil of your deeds.
13 Look, I am against you,
O inhabitants[j] of the valley,
O rock of the plain,” declares[k] Yahweh;
“you who say, ‘Who can descend against us,
or who can enter into our hiding place?’
14 And I will punish you
according to the fruit of your deeds,” declares[l] Yahweh,
“And I will kindle a fire in its forest,
and it will devour all its surroundings.”’”
Human Traditions and God’s Commandments
7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him. 2 And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their[a] bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually,[b] thus[c] holding fast to the traditions of the elders. 4 And when they come[d] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions[e] which they have received and[f] hold fast to—for example,[g] the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)[h] 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their[i] bread with unclean hands?” 6 So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their[j] lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me.
7 And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’[k]
8 Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep[l] your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[m] and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die[n].’[o] 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his[p] father or to his[q] mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received[r] from me is corban”[s] (that is, a gift to God), 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his[t] father or his[u] mother, 13 thus[v] making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”
Defilement from Within
14 And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by[w] going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”[x] 17 And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? 19 For it does not enter into his heart but into his[y] stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus[z] declaring all foods clean. 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. 21 For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy,[aa] abusive speech, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
A Syrophoenician Woman’s Great Faith
24 And from there he set out and[ab] went to the region of Tyre. And when he[ac] entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and yet he was not able to escape notice. 25 But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, when she[ad] heard about him, came and[ae] fell down at his feet, 26 Now the woman was a Greek—a Syrophoenician by nationality—and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it[af] to the dogs!” 28 But she answered and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “Because of this statement, go! The demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she[ag] went to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
A Man Deaf and Unable to Speak Healed
31 And again he went away from the region of Tyre and[ah] came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his[ai] hand on him. 33 And he took him away from the crowd by himself and[aj] put his fingers into his ears, and after[ak] spitting, he touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). 35 And[al] his ears were opened and his difficulty in speaking was removed[am] and he began to speak normally. 36 And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them not to, they proclaimed it[an] even more instead. 37 And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
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