M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
8 Ephraimites (arguing angrily with Gideon): Why did you treat us this way? Why didn’t you tell us you were going to battle against the Midianites so that we could join you?
Gideon: 2 Really now, what have I accomplished in comparison to you? Wouldn’t you say that the gleanings left from Ephraim’s grapes are better quality than the choicest of Abiezer’s? 3 God has given the Midianite captains Oreb and Zeeb into your hands, and you have taken care of them. What have I and my 300 soldiers done compared to that?
And they were calmed by this explanation.
4 Gideon came to the Jordan, he and his 300 men, all of them tired and hungry, but they crossed to continue the chase. 5 So he spoke to the people of Succoth.
Gideon: Please give some bread to my followers, for they are exhausted, and we are on the trail of the kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna.
Leaders of Succoth: 6 Have you already chopped off the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna that we should go to the trouble of feeding your army?
Gideon: 7 All right, then. When the Eternal has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and thistles.
8 From Succoth, Gideon went up to Penuel and had the same conversation with them, asking for bread and being answered by the men of Penuel just as by the men of Succoth.
Gideon: 9 When I return here victorious, I will tear down your tower!
10 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with an army of about 15,000 men, all that was left from the armies of the east, for they had lost 120,000 soldiers. 11 Gideon approached them by the caravan trail east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked them when they least expected it. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he followed and captured them, throwing their forces into complete disarray.
13 When Gideon, son of Joash, returned from fighting by way of the Heres Pass, 14 he captured and questioned a boy from Succoth and got from him the names of 77 leaders and elders of the town.
15 Then Gideon came to Succoth.
Gideon: Look, here are Zebah and Zalmunna. Remember when you taunted me about them, saying, “Have you already chopped off the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna that we should worry about feeding your exhausted soldiers?”
16 So he took the leaders of the city, and with the desert thorns and thistles, he flailed the flesh of the men of Succoth. 17 He also shattered the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the town.
18 Then Gideon approached the two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna.
Gideon: What can you tell me about the men you killed at Tabor?
Zebah and Zalmunna: They were just like you—like the sons of a king.
Gideon: 19 They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Eternal lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you now.
20 Gideon directed his firstborn son, Jether, to kill them, but Jether was afraid and couldn’t draw his sword since he was only a boy.
Zebah and Zalmunna: 21 Come and kill us yourself for a man is measured by his strength.
So Gideon executed them, and he took the crescents that had adorned the necks of their camels.
22 Then the people of Israel spoke to Gideon.
People: Rule over us—you, your son, and then your grandson, for you have rescued us from the oppression of Midian.
Gideon (refusing): 23 I will not rule over you, and neither will my son. The Eternal will reign over you.
24 But I have a request to make. Each of you, give me one of the earrings you have taken as plunder.
(The enemy they defeated had gold earrings, as was the fashion of the Ishmaelites.)
People: 25 We will certainly do that.
So they spread a cloak, and each of the men threw in an earring he had taken as spoils of battle; 26 and the weight of the gold earrings was over 42 pounds of gold, which does not include the crescents, the ornaments, and the purple garments they had taken from the kings of Midian, and the collars they had taken from the necks of their camels.
27 Gideon made it into a priestly vest, sometimes used in seeking oracles, and put it in his hometown of Ophrah. But the people of Israel made an idol of it, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family as well.
28 This is how Midian was subdued by the people of Israel, and Midian never lifted up its head to trouble them again. During the time of Gideon, the land had 40 years of peace. 29 Jerubbaal (Gideon), son of Joash, went to live in his own home. 30 Gideon had 70 sons who were his own children, for he had many wives and concubines, 31 and his concubine in Shechem bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
32 Gideon, son of Joash, died after many years of life and was buried with his father Joash at Ophrah in the land of the Abiezrites.
Gideon is one of the most powerful judges of Israel: he attacks and overthrows kings; he plunders their royal treasures; and after his great success against the land of Midian, the people of God actually want to make him their king. This desire is logical. Other peoples have kings to lead them into battle and to rule over them. Why not them? But this is not God’s desire for His people, and Gideon knows that pain, destruction, and bloodshed follow when someone pursues the throne against God’s will. Gideon tells them he will not rule them—and neither will his sons—so they can get that idea out of their heads. But the thirst for power leads to intrigue, and one of Gideon’s sons plays on the people’s continual desire for order at the hand of a king.
33 As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites turned away from the Lord, and they began to prostitute themselves again to the Baals. They made Baal-berith their chief god. 34 The people of Israel did not remember the Eternal One, their True God, who had rescued them from the oppression of enemies on every side, 35 and they were not kind to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) despite all the good he had done for Israel.
12 Back in Jerusalem, hard times came to the disciples. King Herod violently seized some who belonged to the church with the intention of mistreating them. 2 He ordered James (brother of John) to be executed by the sword, the first of those appointed as emissaries to be martyred. 3 This move pleased Jewish public opinion, so he decided to arrest Peter also. During the holy festival of Unleavened Bread, 4 he caught Peter and imprisoned him, assigning four squads of soldiers to guard him. He planned to bring him to trial publicly after the Passover holiday.
5 During Peter’s imprisonment, the church prayed constantly and intensely to God for his safety. 6 Their prayers were not answered, until the night before Peter’s execution.
Picture this event: Peter is sound asleep between two soldiers, double-chained, with still more guards outside the prison door watching for external intruders. 7 Suddenly the cell fills with light: it is a messenger of the Lord manifesting himself. He taps Peter on the side, awakening him.
Messenger of the Lord: Get up, quickly.
The chains fall off Peter’s wrists.
Messenger of the Lord: 8 Come on! Put on your belt. Put on your sandals.
Peter puts them on and just stands there.
Messenger of the Lord: Pull your cloak over your shoulders. Come on! Follow me!
9 Peter does so, but he is completely dazed. He doesn’t think this is really happening—he assumes he is dreaming or having a vision. 10 They pass the first guard. They pass the second guard. They come to the iron gate that opens to the city. The gate swings open for them on its own, and they walk into a lane. Suddenly the messenger disappears.
11 Peter finally realized all that had really happened.
Peter: Amazing! The Lord has sent His messenger to rescue me from Herod and the public spectacle of my execution which the Jews fully expected.
12 Peter immediately rushed over to the home of a woman named Mary. (Mary’s son, John Mark, would eventually become an important associate of the apostles.) A large group had gathered there to pray for Peter and his safety. 13 He knocked at the outer gate; and a maid, Rhoda, answered. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, but she was so overcome with excitement that she left him standing on the street and ran inside to tell everyone.
Rhoda: Our prayers were answered! Peter is at the front gate!
Praying Believers: 15 Rhoda, you’re crazy!
Rhoda: No! Peter’s out there! I’m sure of it!
Praying Believers: Well, maybe it’s his guardian angel or something.
16 All this time, Peter was still out in the street, knocking on the gate. Finally they came and let him in. Of course, the disciples were stunned, and everyone was talking at once. 17 Peter motioned for them to quiet down and then told them the amazing story of how the Lord engineered his escape.
On the night before his execution, Peter sleeps like a baby. Here he is, chained in a room full of soldiers while James’s blood is still moist on the ground. Although he can only assume this is his one last night before his own torturous death, he is not afraid. So peacefully does he rest, in fact, that the heavenly messenger has to prod him to wake up; and while he is walking, he questions if he is dreaming. Does the thought that believers are on their knees all day appealing to God for him give him peace? Maybe. But certainly Peter trusts that God is in control. A church that started with a few people is now over 8,000, and God is redeeming the rest of the world through these people.
Peter: Could you please get word to James, our Lord’s brother, and the other believers that I’m all right?
Then he left to find a safer place to stay.
18 But when morning came and Peter was gone, there was a huge uproar among the soldiers. 19 Herod sent troops to find Peter, but he was missing. Herod interrogated the guards and ordered their executions. Peter headed down toward the coast to Caesarea, and he remained there.
20 At this time there was major political upheaval. Herod was at odds with the populace of neighboring Tyre and Sidon, so the two cities sent a large group of representatives to meet with him. They won over one of Herod’s closest associates, Blastus, the director of the treasury; then they pressured Herod to drop his grudge. Cooperation was important to the two cities because they were all major trading partners and depended on Herod’s territory for food. 21 They struck a deal, and Herod came over to ratify it. Dressed in all his royal finery and seated high above them on a platform, he made a speech; 22 and the people of Tyre and Sidon interrupted with cheers to flatter him.
The People: This is the voice of a god! This is no mere mortal!
23 Herod should have given glory to the true God; but since he vainly accepted their flattery, that very day a messenger of the Lord struck him with an illness. It was an ugly disease, involving putrefaction and worms eating his flesh. Eventually he died.
24 Through all this upheaval, God’s message spread to new frontiers and attracted more and more people. 25 Meanwhile, the time Barnabas and Saul spent in Jerusalem came to an end, and they reported back to Antioch, bringing along John, who was also called Mark.
How wild and raw are the emotions of Jeremiah in these days of anticipation! The pain and embarrassment of being publicly punished, the betrayal of his friends, and the ridicule of so many lead to an honest longing for vindication. But there are moments when God’s sustaining love fills the prophet with joy. His are not the rants of a madman. He expects to be vindicated. God has called him to speak truth to powerful people, and those words are becoming reality. To this promise, Jeremiah clings.
But as emotions often do, this sense of resolve again evaporates, leaving the painful awareness of his calling. He must continue to speak hard and frightening words to a people he still loves. He will soon witness the destruction of a country and city he still loves. At times, his task is almost unbearable; but as always, Jeremiah remains honest in his dealings with God who calls him into this role. Sometimes, pouring his heart out is all he can do.
21 It was during this ironic turn of events that the word of the Eternal came again to the prophet, Jeremiah. King Zedekiah sent Pashhur (not the son of Immer mentioned previously, but the son of Malchijah) and the priest Zephaniah (son of Maaseiah) to speak with Jeremiah.
How time changes things! Jeremiah, the rejected prophet, is now being petitioned by those in power. The same man who has been arrested and abused for prophesying God’s judgment is sent a request from the king himself because the words of Jeremiah are indeed coming true before the people’s eyes. Jerusalem now faces certain siege by the Babylonian king. Out of desperation, the same leaders who tried to silence the prophet are now asking him to speak up for them—to God!
King’s Messengers: 2 Please speak to the Eternal on our behalf. We desperately need your help because Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is attacking Judah and is about to lay siege to Jerusalem. Perhaps the Eternal will respond to you, perform a miracle, and cause this dreaded king to withdraw his forces and leave us alone.
Jeremiah: 3 Tell King Zedekiah that 4 this is what the Eternal, the God of Israel, has to say: “I will indeed rise up and turn back the weapons of war you hold in your hands, the very weapons you plan to use against the approaching enemy—the king of Babylon and his army from Chaldea that now surrounds your city walls. I will bring that enemy inside your walls, into the city itself. 5 With My strong hand and powerful arm I will rise up and fight against you, fueled by My great wrath, anger, and fury. Do you think I will fight beside you? You misunderstand. 6 I will strike those who live in this city with a plague: both man and beast will die. 7 After that,” says the Eternal, “I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his advisors, and the citizens of Jerusalem who survive the plague, the war, and the famine to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, their enemy, and those who seek their lives. In that dreadful day, he will slaughter them without mercy. He[a] will neither pity nor have compassion for them.
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): 8 Tell the people that I said, “I will give you the choice of life or death. 9 Stay in the city, and you will die by war, famine, or plague. But walk outside the city walls and surrender to the Chaldean army about to lay siege to your city, and you will live. You will be prisoners of war, but you’ll be rewarded with life. 10 For I have turned My back on this city, purposing evil instead of good. The city will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will burn it to the ground.”
11 To the royal household of Judah say, “Hear the word of the Eternal. 12 O house of David, this is what He has to say to you:
Administer justice each morning;
save the victim from the hand of the thief.
If you do not, My anger will burn and no one will be able to put it out
because they themselves have done evil.
13 I am against you, Jerusalem, enthroned high above the valley,
O rock of the plain,
You who boast, “Who will come down to fight against us,
and who will enter our homes?”
14 I will visit you, Jerusalem, and punish you for your wicked deeds.
I will start a fire in your forests that will surround you and consume everything.
So says the Eternal.
7 Then the Pharisees returned to talk with Jesus, and with them came some of the scribes and scholars from Jerusalem.
Scribes and Scholars (seeing the disciples eating): 2 Your disciples are eating bread with defiled, unwashed hands.
3 Now you need to know that the Pharisees, and all Jews for that matter, held the tradition of their ancestors that hands must be washed before eating to avoid being ritually unclean. 4 Likewise, they washed when they returned from the market and followed similar purity teachings as well, from the washing of their food to the washing of their bowls, cups, and kettles.
Scribes and Pharisees: 5 Why don’t Your disciples follow the traditions passed down to us? Why do they eat their bread with defiled hands?
Jesus: 6 Isaiah prophesied wisely about your religious pretensions when he wrote,
These people honor Me with words off their lips;
meanwhile their hearts are far from Me.
7 Their worship is empty, void of true devotion.
They teach a human commandment, memorized and practiced by rote.[a]
8 When you cling blindly to your own traditions [such as washing utensils and cups],[b] you completely miss God’s command. 9 Then, indeed, you have perfected setting aside God’s commands for the sake of your tradition. 10 Moses gave you God’s commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.”[c] And also, “If you curse your father or your mother, you will be put to death.”[d] 11 But you say to your aged parents, “I’ve decided that the support you were expecting from me will now be the holy offering set aside for God.” 12 After that he is not allowed to do anything for his parents. 13 Do you think God wants you to honor your traditions that you have passed down? This is only one of many places where you are blind. 14 (to the crowd that had gathered) Listen, all of you, to this teaching. I want you to understand. 15 There is nothing outside someone that can corrupt him. Only the things that come out of a person can corrupt him. [16 All who have ears to hear, let them listen.][e]
17 When they had come in from the road, His disciples asked Him what He meant by this teaching.
Jesus: 18 Do you mean you don’t understand this one either? Whatever goes into people from outside can’t defile them 19 because it doesn’t go into their hearts. Outside things go through their guts and back out, thus making all foods pure.[f] 20 No, it’s what comes from within that corrupts. 21-22 It’s what grows out of the hearts of people that leads to corruption: evil thoughts, immoral sex, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wicked acts, treachery, sensuality, jealousy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All of these come from within, and these are the sins that truly corrupt a person.
Although Mark specifically states that Jesus is overriding the Old Testament dietary laws and declaring all foods pure, it will be a long time before the disciples are willing to act on that message. One of the biggest controversies in the early church will be the question of dietary restrictions and how the Old Testament laws ought to be observed by Jewish and non-Jewish Christian believers. However, Jesus makes it clear in this passage that His main concern has nothing to do with what people eat. Instead, He is concerned about the hearts of His followers.
24 From there Jesus and His followers traveled to the region of Tyre [and Sidon][g] on the Mediterranean coast. He hoped to slip unnoticed into a house, but people discovered His presence. 25 Shortly after He arrived, a woman whose daughter was filled with an unclean spirit heard that He was there, so she came directly to Him and prostrated herself at His feet.
26 The woman was not a Jew, but a Syrophoenician (a Greek) by birth. All the same, she came to Jesus and begged Him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter.
Jesus (shaking His head): 27 I must feed the children first. It would do no good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.
Syrophoenician Woman: 28 Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table may eat of the children’s crumbs.
Jesus (smiling and nodding): 29 This is a wise saying. Go back home. Your daughter is free of the spirit that troubled her.
30 And when she returned to her house, she discovered that it was as Jesus had told her. Her daughter lay on her bed, in her right mind, whole and healthy.
Although Jesus at first answers the Greek woman harshly, He ultimately responds to her request. By healing her daughter, He demonstrates that God’s loving presence has come to all people and not just to Jews. It’s one of the first glimpses in this Gospel of the truth that will become clearer later—the truth that, through Jesus, God is making all people, and not just one chosen nation, clean and whole.
31 Jesus traveled on His way through Tyre and Sidon, eventually returning to the region of the Sea of Galilee. From there He pressed on to the area of the Ten Cities.[h] 32 Among the sick who were brought to Him was a man who was deaf and could barely speak at all, and those who brought him begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man. 33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, alone, and touched his ears with His fingers. Then after spitting on His fingers, Jesus touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking heavenward to God, Jesus sighed and commanded,
Jesus: Open up[i] and let this man speak.
35 [Immediately][j] the man could hear, his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Jesus ordered those who had witnessed this to tell no one; but the more He insisted, the more zealously people spread the word.
People (astonished): 37 He does everything so well! He even returns sound to the deaf and mute.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.