M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction
21 Now the Israelites had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.”(A) 2 And the people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.(B) 3 They said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, why has it come to pass that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?” 4 On the next day, the people got up early and built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being.(C) 5 Then the Israelites said, “Who out of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?” For a solemn oath had been taken concerning whoever did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah, saying, “That one shall be put to death.” 6 But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. 7 What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters as wives?”(D)
8 Then they said, “Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly. 9 For when the roll was called among the people, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 10 So the congregation sent twelve thousand soldiers there and commanded them, “Go, put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, including the women and the little ones. 11 This is what you shall do; every male and every woman who has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.”(E) 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man and brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole congregation sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them.(F) 14 Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, but they did not suffice for them.
15 The people had compassion on Benjamin because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.(G) 16 So the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since there are no women left in Benjamin?” 17 And they said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, in order that a tribe may not be blotted out from Israel. 18 Yet we cannot give any of our daughters to them as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.”(H) 19 So they said, “Look, the yearly festival of the Lord is taking place at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and south of Lebonah.”(I) 20 And they instructed the Benjaminites, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards 21 and watch; when the young women of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and each of you carry off a wife for himself from the young women of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.(J) 22 Then if their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Be generous and allow us to have them, because we did not capture in battle a wife for each man. But neither did you incur guilt by giving your daughters to them.’ ”(K) 23 The Benjaminites did so; they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they abducted. Then they went and returned to their territory and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.(L) 24 So the Israelites departed from there at that time by tribes and families, and they went out from there to their own territories.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.(M)
Paul Appeals to the Emperor
25 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him(A) 3 and requested, as a favor to them against Paul,[a] to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way.(B) 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly.(C) 5 “So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.”
6 After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.(D) 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against the emperor.”(E) 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?”(F) 10 Paul said, “I am standing before the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. 11 Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death, but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.”(G) 12 Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, “You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.”
Festus Consults King Agrippa
13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. 14 Since they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix.(H) 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him.(I) 16 I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the charge.(J) 17 So when they met here, I lost no time but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought.(K) 18 When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes[b] that I was expecting. 19 Instead, they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died but whom Paul asserted to be alive.(L) 20 Since I was at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.[c](M) 21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor.”(N) 22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”(O)
Paul Brought before Agrippa
23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in.(P) 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.(Q) 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving death, and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him.(R) 26 But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write, 27 for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”
The Rechabites Commended
35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:(A) 2 Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.(B) 3 So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the Lord into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold.(C) 5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups, and I said to them, “Have some wine.”(D) 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘You shall never drink wine, neither you nor your children,(E) 7 nor shall you ever build a house or sow seed, nor shall you plant a vineyard or even own one, but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you reside.’(F) 8 We have obeyed the charge of our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,(G) 9 and not to build houses to live in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. 11 But when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”(H)
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Can you not learn a lesson and obey my words? says the Lord.(I) 14 The command has been carried out that Jonadab son of Rechab gave to his descendants to drink no wine, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I myself have spoken to you persistently, and you have not obeyed me.(J) 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, “Turn now every one of you from your evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall live in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not incline your ear or obey me.(K) 16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their ancestor gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.(L) 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.(M)
18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab son of Rechab shall not lack a descendant to stand before me for all time.(N)
Psalm 7
Plea for Help against Persecutors
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,(A)
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.(B)
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,(C)
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,(D)
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God;[a] you have appointed a judgment.(E)
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seat[b] on high.(F)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.(G)
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God.(H)
10 God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.(I)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who has indignation every day.(J)
12 If one does not repent, God[c] will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;(K)
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.(L)
14 See how they conceive evil
and are pregnant with mischief
and bring forth lies.(M)
15 They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.(N)
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.(O)
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness
and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.(P)
Psalm 8
Divine Majesty and Human Dignity
To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.(Q)
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.(R)
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;(S)
4 what are humans that you are mindful of them,
mortals[d] that you care for them?(T)
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God[e]
and crowned them with glory and honor.(U)
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,(V)
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!(W)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.