M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Midianite Oppression
6 Then Bnei-Yisrael did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, so Adonai gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2 Midian maintained an upper hand over Israel, and because of Midian Bnei-Yisrael made themselves hideouts in the mountains—caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever Israel had done their sowing, the Midianites, Amalekites and people from the east would come up and raid them. 4 They would set up camp by them, destroy the produce of the land as far as Gaza, and leave nothing in Israel to live on—not a sheep, ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their cattle and their tents, invade like a multitude of locusts. Both they and their camels were innumerable, and they would come to the land to ruin it. 6 So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and Bnei-Yisrael cried out to Adonai.
7 Now it came about when Bnei-Yisrael cried out to Adonai because of Midian, 8 that Adonai sent a prophet to Bnei-Yisrael, and he said to them, “Thus says Adonai, God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage. 9 Then I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all your oppressors, and drove them out from before you and gave you their land. 10 Then I said to you, “I am Adonai your God. You are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are dwelling. But you have not obeyed My voice.’”
Calling of Gideon
11 Then the angel of Adonai came and sat under the terebinth that was at Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress—in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the angel of Adonai appeared to him and said to him, “Adonai is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 But Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if Adonai is with us, then why has all this befallen us? So where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about saying ‘Didn’t Adonai bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Adonai has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 Then Adonai turned toward him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent you?”[a]
15 Then he said to him, “Me, my Lord? With what would I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 But Adonai said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you will strike down Midian as if it were one man.”
17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, then please, show me a sign that it is really You talking with me. 18 Please, don’t leave from here, until I come to You and bring out my offering and lay it before You.”
So He said, “I will stay until you come back.”
19 Then Gideon went in and prepared a kid and matzot from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to Him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 Then the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the matzah and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” So he did so. 21 Then the angel of Adonai put out the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the matzah. Fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the matzah. Then the angel of Adonai vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon realized that He was the angel of Adonai, Gideon said, “Alas, my Lord Adonai! For I have seen the angel of Adonai face to face!”
23 But Adonai said to him, “Shalom to you. Fear not, you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to Adonai and called it “Adonai-shalom.” To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 Now it came to pass the same night that Adonai said to him, “Take the young bull that belongs to your father and a second bull of seven years old, pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, cut down the Asherah that is beside it, 26 build an altar to Adonai your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole that you will cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his male servants and did as Adonai had spoken to him. But since he was too afraid of his father’s household and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it at night.
28 Now when the townspeople arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, the Asherah pole that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered up on the altar that was built. 29 So they said one to another, “Who did this thing?” And when they inquired and asked around, they said: “Gideon son of Joash did this thing.” 30 Then the townspeople said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and even cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it.”
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “So you’re going to defend Baal? You’re going to rescue him? Whoever defends him will be put to death in the morning! If he is a god, let him defend himself—since someone has broken down his altar.” 32 So on that day he was called Jerubbaal saying, “Let Baal contend with him, since he broke down his altar.”
33 Now all the Midianites, the Amalekites and the people of the east gathered together, crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Ruach Adonai clothed Gideon, and he blew the shofar, and Abiezer rallied behind him. 35 Then he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also rallied behind him. Then he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, and they came up to join them.
Signs of the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to deliver Israel by my hand, as You have spoken, 37 see, I am putting a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You have spoken.” 38 And it was so. When he rose up early next day, he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not Your anger burn against me if I speak once more. Let me please test once more with the fleece—let it now be dry only on the fleece, but let there be dew over all the ground.” 40 God did so that night, since it was dry only on the fleece, and there was dew over all the ground.
The Centurion’s Vision
10 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort. 2 He was a devout man, revering God with all his household. He gave tzedakah generously to the people and prayed to God continually. 3 About the ninth hour of the day,[a] he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said to him, “Your prayers and tzedakah have gone up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, also named Peter. 6 He is being entertained as a guest by Simon the tanner, whose house is beside the sea.”
7 When the angel speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a soldier from among those attached to his command. 8 After he explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Peter’s Vision
9 The next day, as the soldiers were traveling and approaching the city, Peter went up to the rooftop to pray, at about the sixth hour. [b] 10 Now he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heavens opened, and something[c] like a great sheet coming down, lowered by its four corners to the earth. 12 In it were all sorts of four-footed animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For never have I eaten anything unholy or unclean.”[d]
15 Again a voice came to him, a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not consider unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and the sheet was immediately taken up to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was puzzling about what the vision he had seen might mean, behold, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and appeared before the gate. 18 They called out and began to ask whether Simon, also called Peter, was staying in this place as a guest.
19 Now while Peter was mulling over the vision, the Ruach said to him, “Look here, three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitating, because I Myself have sent them.”
21 Going down to the men, Peter said, “Here, I’m the one you’re looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”
22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well-spoken of by all the Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message from you.”
23 So Peter invited them in to be his guests. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
Peter Goes to Cornelius
24 The following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
26 But Peter pulled him up, saying, “Stand up! I too am just a man.”
27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found many people gathered. 28 He said to them, “You yourselves know that it is not permitted for a Jewish man to associate with a non-Jew or to visit him. Yet God has shown me that I should call no one unholy or unclean. 29 So I came without objection when I was sent for. I ask, then, what is the reason why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius declared, “Four days ago at this hour, I was praying minchah[e] in my house. Suddenly, a man stood in front of me in shining clothes. 31 He says, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your tzedakah remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “I truly understand that God is not one to show favoritism, [f] 35 but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. 36 You know the message He sent to Bnei-Yisrael, proclaiming shalom through Messiah Yeshua—He is Lord of all. 37 You know the message that has spread throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the immersion that John proclaimed. 38 You know how God anointed Yeshua of Natzeret with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and power—how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him. 39 We are witnesses to all He did, both in the Judean countryside and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, 40 but God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be visible— 41 not to all the people, but to us, witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God. We ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to proclaim to the people and to testify that He is the One ordained by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about Him—that everyone who puts his trust in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
The Ruach Falls on the Gentiles
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Ruach ha-Kodesh fell on all those hearing the message. 45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were astonished, because the gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and magnifying God.
Then Peter answered, 47 “Can anyone refuse water for these to be immersed, who have received the Ruach ha-Kodesh just as we did?” 48 So he commanded them to be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.
Shattering a Clay Jar
19 Thus said Adonai: “Go, buy a potter’s clay jar, take some elders of the people, some elders of the kohanim, 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words that I will tell you, 3 and say, “Hear the word of Adonai, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: ‘I am about to bring such a catastrophe on this place that whoever hears about it, his ears will tingle. 4 For they have forsaken Me and have alienated this place, by burning sacrifices in it to other gods, which neither they nor their forefathers, nor the kings of Judah have known. They have also filled this place with the blood of innocents. 5 They have built high places for Baal, in order to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal—something I never commanded, nor mentioned, nor did it ever come into My mind.’”
6 “Therefore behold, the days are coming”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“when this place will no longer be called Topheth or The Valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 So I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will have them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of them that seek their life. I will give their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror and a hissing—every one passing by will be stunned and hiss because of all her wounds. 9 And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone will eat his companion’s flesh during the siege and distress, which their enemies and those who seek their life will inflict on them.
10 “Then you will shatter the jar in the presence of the people who accompany you, 11 and say to them, thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘Even so I will shatter this people and this city, as one shatters a potter’s jar, which can never be made whole again. So they will be burying in Topheth, for there will be no other place to bury.’”
12 “Thus I will do to this place”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“and to its inhabitants, making this city as Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be as defiled as the place Topheth—all the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to the whole heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where Adonai had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of Adonai’s House, and said to all the people, 15 thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “I am about to bring on this city and on all her towns the whole disaster that I pronounced against it, because they stiffened their neck, rather than hearing My words.”
Power Over Demons
5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 As soon as Yeshua got out of the boat, a man from the graveyard[a] with an unclean spirit met Him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain. 4 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been ripped apart by him and the shackles broken. No one was strong enough to tame him. 5 And through it all, night and day, at the graveyard and in the mountains, he kept screaming and gashing himself with stones.
6 When he saw Yeshua from a distance, he ran and bowed down before Him. 7 Crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What’s between You and me, Yeshua, Ben El Elyon? I’m warning you, in the name of God, do not torment me!”
8 For Yeshua had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Yeshua began questioning him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, “My name is Legion,[b] for we are many.” 10 He kept begging Him not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside nearby. 12 The unclean spirits urged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” 13 So Yeshua gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the cliff and were drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen ran away and told the town and countryside, and they came to see what had happened. 15 Now they came to Yeshua and saw the madman who had had the legion. He was sitting there, dressed in clothes and in his right mind. The people were scared.
16 Those who had seen it described in detail what had happened to the man plagued by a demon, and they also told about the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Yeshua to leave their country. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been infested with demons kept begging to remain with Him. 19 Yeshua did not let him, but He told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much Adonai has done for you, how He showed you mercy.”
20 So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis[c] how much Yeshua had done for him. And all were amazed.
Power in His Touch
21 When Yeshua had crossed over in the boat again to the other side, a big crowd gathered around Him; and He was by the sea. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, comes. Seeing Him, he falls at His feet. 23 He begs Him a great deal, saying, “My little daughter is near death! Come and lay hands on her so that she may be healed and live!”
24 So Yeshua went off with him, and a big crowd was following Him and pressing upon Him. 25 And there was a woman with a blood flow for twelve years, [d] 26 who had suffered much under many doctors. She had spent all that she had without benefit; instead, she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Yeshua, she came through the crowd from behind and touched His garment. 28 For she kept saying, “If I touch even His clothes, I shall be healed.”
29 Right away the blood flow stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her disease. 30 At once Yeshua, knowing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 His disciples responded, “You see the crowd pressing upon You and you say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 But He kept looking around to see who had done this.
33 But the woman, scared and shaking, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in shalom and be healed from your disease.”
35 While Yeshua was still speaking, messengers come from the house of the synagogue leader, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why do you still trouble the Teacher?”
36 But ignoring what they said, Yeshua tells the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, Jacob, and John, the brother of Jacob.
38 They come to the house of the synagogue leader. He sees a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 After entering, He said to them, “Why make such a fuss and weep? The child didn’t die, but is sleeping.”
40 They start jeering at Him. But after sending all of them out, He takes the child’s father and mother, and those with Him, and enters where the child was. 41 Then, taking hold of the child’s hand, He tells her, “Talitha koum,”[e] which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up.” 42 Immediately, the girl stood up and began to walk around! (She was twelve years old.) And they were overcome with astonishment. 43 But He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said something to eat should be given to her.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.