M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Naomi and Ruth
1 1-2 There was a time when judges ruled Israel. During that time there was a famine in Judah. A man who lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, had a wife and two sons. His name was Elimelech. Elimelech's wife was called Naomi, and his sons were called Mahlon and Kilion. They were from Ephrathah's clan. Because there was not enough food in Judah, Elimelech and his family left Bethlehem. They went to live as strangers in Moab.[a]
3 Elimelech died while they were living in Moab. Naomi and her two sons remained there alone. 4 Then Naomi's sons married women from Moab. Mahlon married a woman called Ruth. Kilion married a woman called Orpah. 5 After they had all lived in Moab for about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion died. Now Naomi was completely alone, without her husband or her sons.[b]
6 Naomi received news from Judah that the Lord had helped his people.[c] There was now enough food in Judah again. So Naomi decided to leave Moab and return to Judah with Ruth and Orpah.
7 Naomi and her sons' wives left their home in Moab. They began to travel together on the way back to Judah. 8 On the way, Naomi said to Ruth and Orpah, ‘Listen! You should return to your mothers' homes in Moab and stay there. Your husbands are dead now. You have been kind to them and to me. I pray that the Lord will be as kind to you. 9 I also pray that God will give to each of you another husband and a new home.’ Naomi kissed them and said ‘goodbye’. Ruth and Orpah began to weep loudly. 10 They said to Naomi, ‘No! We will go with you to live with your people.’
11 But Naomi said, ‘My daughters, you should return to your own country. You should not choose to come back to Judah with me. I will not give birth to any more sons for you to marry them. 12 Return to your own country, my daughters. I am too old to marry another husband. Even if I did marry a man immediately, when might I give birth to sons? 13 I am sure that you do not want to wait until they are old enough for you to marry them! Would you wait all that time and not marry anyone else? So, my daughters, you must not return to Judah with me. You should not have to share my pain. The Lord has turned against me.’
14 Ruth and Orpah wept loudly again. Orpah kissed Naomi and she said ‘goodbye’. But Ruth would not leave Naomi. She held on to her. 15 Naomi said to Ruth, ‘Look! Orpah has returned to her family. She has returned to serve the gods of Moab. Go back home with her.’
16 Ruth said to Naomi, ‘Do not say that I must leave you. I will go with you, wherever you go. I will live wherever you live. You belong to Israel's people. I will belong to them too. Your God will be my God. 17 I will die in the same place that you die. That is where people will bury me. I will stay beside you until death makes us separate. If I ever leave you, the Lord should punish me.’
18 Then Naomi understood that Ruth would not agree to return to her own country. So she stopped saying that Ruth should leave her.
Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem
19 Naomi and Ruth travelled together to Bethlehem. When they arrived there, the people were very surprised. The women from the town said, ‘Is this really Naomi?’
20 Naomi said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, instead.[d] The Almighty God has made my life very sad. 21 I left here with everything that I needed. Now the Lord has brought me back here with nothing. The Almighty Lord has turned against me, so that I have suffered. It is not right for you to call me Naomi.’
22 That is how Naomi returned from Moab with Ruth. Ruth was from Moab. She was the wife of Naomi's son Mahlon. Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem when the harvest of barley was beginning.
Paul speaks to Agrippa
26 King Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You may now say what you think about this problem.’
Paul raised his hand so that people would listen to him. 2 He said, ‘King Agrippa, I am happy that you are here. I ask you to listen to me today. These Jews say that I have done some bad things. I will explain to you what is really true about all these things. 3 You yourself know all about the Jews. You know about how we live. You also know the things that we argue about with each other. So please be patient and listen to me.
4 The Jewish people have known me since I was born. They all know how I have lived among them. They knew me in the region where I was born. When I came to Jerusalem, they also know how I lived there. 5 So they have known me for a long time. They could tell you that I always obeyed our Jewish laws. They know that I was a Pharisee. I carefully obeyed God's Law, as a Pharisee does. But maybe they do not want to tell you all that. 6 So what is the reason that I stand here today for you to judge me? It is because I believe in God's promise to our ancestors. 7 He promised a great thing to our 12 Israelite families. We all expect to receive what God has promised to us. That is why we Jews always worship God, in the day and in the night. Like these Jews here, I believe in God's great promise. But that is the reason that they speak against me. 8 Is it impossible for God to cause dead people to become alive again? You should surely believe me when I say that.
9 I myself wanted to work against Jesus, the man from Nazareth, and against his message. 10 That is what I was doing in Jerusalem. The leaders of the priests gave me authority to put many of the believers in prison. I agreed with our leaders when they said, “These people must die.”
11 I went to our Jewish meeting places to take hold of believers. I told my men to punish them. I tried to make the believers say bad things against God. I was very angry with them. So I even travelled to cities in other countries to punish them.
12 For that reason, one day I was travelling to Damascus. The leaders of the priests in Jerusalem had sent me there. They had given me authority to take hold of the believers there. 13 Listen to this, King Agrippa! I was travelling along the road at midday. Suddenly I saw a very bright light in the sky. It was much brighter than the sun. It shone all round me and also round the men who were with me. 14 All of us fell down to the ground. I heard a voice that spoke to me in my own language, Hebrew.[a] He said “Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me? You are like an ox that kicks against its master's stick. So you are hurting yourself.”[b]
15 “Lord, who are you?” I asked.
He replied, “I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me. 16 Now you must get up. Stand on your feet. I have chosen you to be my servant. That is why I have appeared to you today. You must tell other people about what you have seen. After that, I will show you other things that you must tell people. 17 I will send you to speak about me to Jews and to Gentiles. Some of them will want to hurt you. But I will keep you safe. 18 You will help them to understand what is really true. They are like people who live in the dark. Teach them what is true about me. Then they will be like people who live in the light. Now Satan has power over them. Lead them from there into God's kingdom. Then God will forgive them for the wrong things that they have done. Because they believe in me, God will accept them as his own people.” ’
Paul tells Agrippa and Bernice about his work for God
19 ‘So you should know this, King Agrippa. I obeyed the things that I heard from heaven that day. 20 First, I taught God's message to the Jews in Damascus. Then I also taught God's message to the Jews in Jerusalem and in all of Judea region. Later I also spoke to the Gentiles. I said to all of them, “You must stop doing wrong things. You must turn to God. You must do good things. That will show that you have really changed how you live.” 21 That is the reason that the Jews took hold of me in the yard of the temple. That is also the reason why they wanted to kill me. 22 But God has helped me every day, even until today. So now I stand here and I can tell you what is true. I say the same thing to people who are very important and to people who are not important. I am telling you the same things that Moses and God's other prophets wrote about. They also said that these things would happen. 23 They said that God's special Messiah would have much pain and he would die. But God would raise him up to be alive again. He would be the first dead person to become alive and not die again. In that way, he would show God's message and bring light to people. He would save both Jewish people and Gentiles. That is what the prophets and Moses wrote. And I say the same thing.’
24 While Paul was still speaking to Agrippa, Festus shouted at him, ‘Paul, your mind is confused! You have learned many things. But all these things are making you crazy.’
25 Paul said, ‘Festus, sir, I am not crazy. Everything that I have said is true. It is not difficult to understand. 26 King Agrippa knows about these things. He understands what I am talking about. None of these things happened in secret places. So I am sure that he has heard news about all this. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe what God's prophets taught? I know that you do believe them.’
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Can you change what I believe in this short time? Should I become a Christian already? Is that what you think?’
29 Paul answered him, ‘It is not important if it takes a long time or a short time. I pray to God for you and for everyone who is listening to me today. I pray that you may all become like me. But I would not want you to become a prisoner like me!’
30 Then King Agrippa, the ruler Festus, and Bernice all got ready to leave. Everyone else there also stood up. 31 After they left the meeting room, they said to each other, ‘This man has not done anything bad. We should not kill him, or even hold him in prison.’
32 King Agrippa said to Festus, ‘We could have let this man go free from the prison. But he has asked that Caesar should judge him. So we cannot let him go free.’
King Jehoiakim destroys the Lord's message
36 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Josiah's son Jehoiakim ruled Judah as king. He said, 2 ‘Write down on a scroll all the messages that I have spoken to you. Since Josiah was king until now, I have given you messages about Israel, Judah and the other nations. Write them all on a scroll. 3 That will warn the people of Judah about the very bad things that I have decided to do to them. When they hear about it, perhaps they will stop doing the evil things that they have been doing. Then I will forgive their sins and everything wrong that they have done.’
4 So Jeremiah told Neriah's son Baruch to come to him. Jeremiah spoke all the words that the Lord had told him to say. Baruch wrote them down on a scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, ‘The officers will not let me go to the Lord's temple. 6 So you must go to the temple yourself. Go on a special day when people are fasting and they have come from their towns. Read the words that you wrote on the scroll to the people, so that they can all hear them. 7 Perhaps they will ask the Lord to forgive them. Perhaps they will stop doing all the evil things that they have been doing. The Lord is very angry with them and he has warned them that he will punish them.’
8 Neriah's son Baruch did everything that the prophet Jeremiah had told him. He went to the Lord's temple. He read the Lord's message that was written on the scroll. 9 That happened in the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim ruled Judah as king. People from all Judah's towns had come to Jerusalem. They joined with the people of Jerusalem to fast and pray in the Lord's temple. 10 Baruch stood in the temple, at the entrance of the room of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan. Shaphan had been the king's secretary. Gemariah's room was in the higher yard of the temple, near the New Gate. Baruch stood there. He read the Lord's message that Jeremiah had told him to write on the scroll.
11 Micaiah, son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard the Lord's message as Baruch read it aloud. 12 Then Micaiah went to the secretary's room in the king's palace. All the king's officers were meeting there. They included: the king's secretary Elishama, Shemaiah's son Delaiah, Akbor's son Elnathan, Shaphan's son Gemariah, and Hananiah's son Zedekiah. All the officers were sitting there. 13 Micaiah told them everything that he had heard when Baruch read the scroll aloud to the people. 14 The officers sent somebody to go and speak to Baruch. They sent Jehudi, son of Nethaniah, and the grandson of Cushi's son, Shelemiah. They told him to say to Baruch, ‘Bring here to us the scroll with the words that you read aloud to the people.’
So Neriah's son Baruch went to them. He took the scroll with him in his hand. 15 The officers said to him, ‘Please sit down and read it to us.’ So Baruch read it to them. 16 They listened to the words that Baruch had written on the scroll. They looked at each other in fear. They said to Baruch, ‘We must certainly report this to the king. We must tell him about everything that you have read to us.’ 17 They also asked Baruch, ‘Please tell us how you wrote all these words. Did Jeremiah himself tell you what to write?’
18 Baruch said, ‘Yes, he told me what I should write. Then I used ink to write the words on this scroll.’[a]
19 The officers said to Baruch, ‘You and Jeremiah must go and hide yourselves. Do not tell anyone where you are.’
20 The officers put the scroll into the room of Elishama, the king's secretary, to keep it safe. Then they went to see the king. He was in the palace yard. They reported to him everything that they had heard. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from Elishama's room in the temple. Then he read the message that was written on the scroll. He read it aloud to the king and to all the officers who were standing around him. 22 It was autumn, so the king was sitting in the rooms that he used when it was cold. A fire was burning beside him. 23 Jehudi read a small section of the words that were written on the scroll. As soon as he finished each section, the king cut off that part of the scroll with a knife. He threw each piece of the scroll on the fire. The king continued to do that until fire had burned up the whole scroll. 24 As the king and his officers heard Jehudi read each section of the scroll, it did not make them afraid. None of them tore their clothes because they were upset. 25 Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah asked the king very strongly not to burn the scroll. But the king refused to listen to them. 26 Instead, the king told Prince Jerahmeel to go and find the secretary Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. Jerahmeel went with Azriel's son Seraiah and Abdeel's son Shelemiah to take hold of them. But the Lord had hidden Baruch and Jeremiah.
Baruch and Jeremiah write another scroll
27 After the king had destroyed the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah's words, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah again. 28 He said, ‘Take another scroll. Write on it everything that was written on the first scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. 29 Then tell the king that the Lord says this: “You burned the scroll because you did not like the message that was written on it. It said that the king of Babylon would come to destroy this land, with all its people and animals. You warned Jeremiah that he should not write things like that.” 30 So now the Lord says this to you, Jehoiakim, king of Judah: “None of your descendants will rule David's kingdom of Judah. When you die, people will not bury your body. They will throw your dead body on the ground. As it lies there, the sun will burn it in the daytime. At night it will be cold with frost. 31 I will punish you, your descendants and your officers because you have all done wicked things. I will also bring terrible trouble on the people of Jerusalem and all of Judah. I will punish everyone in the way that I promised I would do. I warned them, but they did not listen to me.” ’
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll. He gave it to Neriah's son, Baruch, the secretary. Jeremiah spoke the same message that Baruch had written on the first scroll. That was the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire. They also added more messages that were like the first one.
God's message to Baruch
45 Baruch wrote down on a scroll the words that Jeremiah told him to write. That happened in the fourth year that Josiah's son, Jehoiakim, ruled Judah as king. At that time, Jeremiah said to Baruch, 2 ‘The Lord, Israel's God, says this to you, Baruch: 3 You said, “I have terrible trouble! I have a lot of pain, and the Lord has also made me very sad. I am so upset that I have become very weak. I cannot rest at all.”
4 But the Lord says this to you, Baruch: “I will soon knock down the things that I have built. I will pull out of the ground the things that I have planted. I will do that everywhere in the land. 5 If you want to become famous and important, do not hope for that to happen. I will send great trouble to all the people on the earth. But I promise that I will keep your life safe, wherever you go.” That is what the Lord says.’
This is a song that David wrote.
The leader must use the music ‘Death of the son.’
A song to thank God[a]
9 All that I am says ‘thank you’ to the Lord.
I will tell people about all the great things that you have done.
2 I will be very happy because of you.
I will sing to praise your name, Most High God.
3 Because my enemies have seen your power,
they turned back and they fell down.
You won against them.
4 You showed that I was right.
You sat on your throne
as a judge who truly decides what is right.
5 Clearly you spoke against the nations.
You destroyed the wicked people,
so that nobody will remember them ever again.
6 Down came the cities of our enemies!
You destroyed them for ever.
People will just forget them.
7 Every day the Lord will rule as king.
He sits on his throne as judge.
8 He is fair when he judges all the people in the world.
He brings justice to all the nations.
9 For people who suffer, the Lord gives them a safe place.
When trouble comes to them, he keeps them safe.
10 Everyone who knows you, Lord, trusts in you.
You will never turn away from anyone who comes to you for help.
11 Give a song to the Lord to praise him!
He rules as king in Zion.
Tell all the nations about the great things that he has done.
12 God punishes murderers,
and he takes care of people who receive pain from others.
When they call to him,
he does not refuse to help them.
13 How my enemies cause me to suffer!
Please be kind to me, Lord.
You are the one who can save me from death.
14 Then I will praise you for everyone to hear!
I will tell the people of Zion that you have saved me,
and I will be very happy!
15 Into the deep hole that they dug,
the nations themselves fell.
The net that they hid to catch me,
caught their own feet!
16 The Lord has shown us who he is.
We know that he brings justice.
Wicked people will catch themselves
in their own traps.
Higgaion.[b] Selah.
17 Justice sends the wicked people away,
into the deep hole of death.
This will happen to all the nations
that do not respect God.
18 Know this: God will not forget the poor for ever.
People who suffer should continue to hope.
19 Lord, stand up!
Do not let people turn against you!
Bring the nations to stand in front of you.
Judge them!
20 Lord, make them afraid!
Make the nations know
that they are only weak and human.
Selah.
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