M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
15 Later, during the time of the wheat harvest, Samson tried to return to his wife, bringing with him a young goat.
Samson: I want to go in and be with my wife.
But his father-in-law refused.
Samson’s Father-in-law: 2 When you left us, I thought you didn’t want her anymore. So I gave her to your companion from the feast. Anyway her younger sister is much prettier than she is. Why don’t you take her instead?
Samson: 3 This time no one will blame me when I hurt the Philistines.
4 Samson went and caught 300 foxes. Tying them tail-to-tail, he put a torch between each pair of tails 5 so that when they were lit, the foxes ran into the fields of the Philistines and burned everything up. The grain standing in the fields burned, as well as the grain that had been gathered up along with the olive groves and the vineyards.
Philistines (seeing the disaster): 6 Who did this?
Other Philistines: Samson, the son-in-law of the man from Timnah, because he gave Samson’s wife away to his best man.
So the Philistines went and set their house afire, and Samson’s wife and her father were burned alive.
Samson: 7 Is this how it’s going to be? Then I won’t stop until I have taken great revenge on you.
8 So he fought them mercilessly and killed many of them. And then he went and hid out in a cave near the rock of Etam.
9 A company of Philistines went up then and camped in Judah, where they made a raid against Lehi.
Men of Judah (to the company of Philistines): 10 Why are you doing this?
Philistines: We’ve come up to capture Samson, to make him suffer the way he has made us suffer.
Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the rock of Etam to talk to Samson.
Men of Judah (to Samson): 11 Are you crazy? The Philistines are our masters! They have the upper hand. Don’t you know what you’re doing to us?
Samson: I’m only paying them back for what they have done to me.
Men of Judah: 12 We’ve come to capture you and take you to the Philistines.
Samson: Will you swear not to kill me yourselves?
Men of Judah: 13 We agree not to kill you, but we will tie you up and hand you over to them.
So they tied him with two new ropes and led him away from the cave near the rock of Etam. 14 When the Philistines at Lehi saw them coming, they raised a mighty shout and ran to seize Samson. At that moment, the Spirit of the Eternal came upon Samson, and he immediately had great strength. He broke free of the ropes on his arms, as if they were no more than string burned with fire, and the bonds fell from his hands. 15 Grabbing up a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he began fighting them. That day he killed 1,000 Philistines.
16 Samson (singing): With the jawbone of a donkey,
I have piled them high.
With the jawbone of a donkey,
I have killed 1,000 men.
17 When he finished his triumphant song, he threw away the jawbone, and he called that place Ramath-lehi, “the high place of the jawbone.” 18 He was now very thirsty from his exertion, and he cried to the Eternal.
Samson: You have given this great victory into my hands. But am I going to die of thirst now and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines?
19 Then God split open a place in the rock at Lehi so that water gushed out. When Samson drank, he found his strength returned and his spirit revived. So that place was called En-hakkore, “the spring of the one who called,” and it is still in Lehi to this day.
20 Samson judged and delivered Israel during the days of the Philistines for 20 years.
19 1, 7 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul’s overland journey brought him back to Ephesus. He encountered a group of about a dozen disciples there.[a]
Paul: 2 Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?
John’s Disciples: We’ve never heard about the Holy Spirit.
Paul: 3 Well then, what kind of ceremonial washing through baptism[b] did you receive?
John’s Disciples: We received the ritual cleansing of baptism[c] that John taught.
Paul: 4 John taught the truth—that people should be baptized with renewed thinking and turn toward God. But he also taught that the people should believe in the One whose way he was preparing, that is, Jesus the Anointed.
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized, this time in the name of our Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them in the same way the original disciples experienced at Pentecost: they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Both Apollos and this small band of John’s disciples hear an incomplete gospel. The church is called not only to bring the gospel to those who have never heard, but also to expand the truth to those who understand only partial truth. All people are on a journey to know God—no one has “arrived.” Everyone has something more to learn because the truth constantly reveals itself.
8 For three months, Paul continued his standard practice: he went week by week to the synagogue, speaking with great confidence, arguing with great persuasiveness, proclaiming the kingdom of God. 9-10 Once again, some members of the synagogue refused to believe and insulted the Way[d] publicly before the whole synagogue community. Paul withdrew and took those with him who had become disciples. For the next two years, he used the public lecture hall of Tyrannus, presenting the Word of the Lord every day, debating with all who would come. As a result, everyone in the region, whether Jews or Greeks, heard the message. 11 Meanwhile, God did amazing miracles through Paul. 12 People would take a handkerchief or article of clothing that had touched Paul’s skin and bring it to their sick friends or relatives, and the patients would be cured of their diseases or released from the evil spirits that oppressed them.
13-14 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists noticed Paul’s success in this regard, so they tried to use the name of Jesus, the King, in an exorcism they were performing.
Imagine this: There are seven of them, all sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva, gathered around a demonized man in a house.
One of the Jewish Exorcists: I command you to depart, by the Jesus proclaimed by Paul!
Evil Spirit: 15 Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?
16 Then the man leaps up, attacks them all, rips off their clothing, and beats them so badly that they run out of the house stark naked and covered in bruises.
17 Word of this strange event spread throughout Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. Everyone was shocked and realized that the name of Jesus was indeed powerful and praiseworthy. 18 As a result, a number of people involved in various occult practices came to faith. They confessed their secret practices and rituals. 19 Some of them had considerable libraries about their magic arts; they piled up their books and burned them publicly. Someone estimated the value of the books to be 50,000 silver coins. 20 Again, word spread, and the message of the Lord overcame resistance and spread powerfully.
21 Eventually Paul felt he should move on again. The Holy Spirit confirmed that he should first travel through Macedonia and Achaia and then return to Jerusalem.
Paul: I must eventually see Rome.
22 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed a while longer in Asia. 23 It was during this time that a major incident occurred involving the Way.
In most cities, the Jews stand in opposition to the Way; but in this instance, the outsiders cause the disturbance.
24 An idol maker named Demetrius had a profitable business, for himself and for others, making silver shrines for Artemis (also known as Diana by the Romans), one of the deities worshiped in Ephesus.
25 Picture this: Demetrius calls a meeting of all the artisans who are similarly employed in idol making. Everyone in the idol industry comes together.
Demetrius: Men, we are all colleagues in this fine line of work. We’re making a good living doing what we’re doing. But we’d better wake up, or we’re all going to go broke.
26 You’ve heard about this fellow Paul. Here in Ephesus, he’s already convinced a large number of people to give up using idols. He tells them that our products are worthless. He’s been doing this same kind of thing almost everywhere in Asia. 27 It’s bad enough that he is slandering our fine and honorable profession, but do you see where this will lead? If his lies catch on, the temple of Artemis itself will be called a fraud. The great goddess of our region, the majestic deity who is revered here in Asia and around the world, will be disgraced.
28 The crowd goes wild with rage. They start chanting.
Crowd: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
29 Soon the whole city is filled with confusion, and a mob forms. They find Paul’s Macedonian travel companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, and drag them to the theater. 30 Paul wants to go confront the crowd and protect his friends, but the disciples hold him back. 31 Even some provincial officials of Asia who are friendly to Paul send him an urgent message, warning him to stay away from the theater.
32 Enraged voices are shouting on top of each other, some saying one thing, some saying something else. The crowd is completely out of control. Most of the people don’t even know what caused the commotion in the first place. 33 Some of the Jewish people push a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd, hoping he can calm the disturbance. He raises his hands to silence the crowd and gets a few sentences out; 34 but then the crowd realizes he’s a Jew, and once again they start chanting.
Crowd: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
For two solid hours they keep the chant going.
35 Finally the town clerk manages to calm the crowd.
Town Clerk: My fellow citizens of Ephesus, everyone in the world knows that our great city is the caretaker of the temple of Artemis! Everyone knows that we are the home of the great statue that fell from heaven! 36 Our status as the economic center of the idolmaking industry is not in danger, so please, calm down. Don’t do anything rash. 37 The men whom you have seized aren’t temple robbers, nor have they blasphemed our great goddess. 38 If Demetrius and the artisans who share his important trade have a legal complaint, don’t bring it here to the theater; take it to the courts—they’re open today. 39 If you need to charge someone with a crime or launch an inquiry, take the matter to the regional judges. 40 We need to do this according to regulations, or we’ll all be charged with rioting. This kind of behavior can’t be justified.
41 So he succeeds in dispersing the crowd.
28 One day in the fifth month of the same year (this was early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the fourth year), a prophet from Gibeon named Hananiah (son of Azzur) contradicted me in front of the priests and all the people who had come to worship in the temple of the Eternal.
Hananiah: 2 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, says: “I will break the yoke Babylon’s king has placed upon you. 3 Within two years, I will bring back the items King Nebuchadnezzar took from My temple and carried away to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back Jeconiah (son of Jehoiakim), king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah taken with him to Babylon. This is what I, the Eternal One, declare: ‘I will break the yoke that Babylon’s king has placed upon you!’”
5 Then Jeremiah the prophet addressed Hananiah the prophet in front of the priests and all the people who had come to worship in the temple of the Eternal.
Jeremiah: 6 May it be so! May the Eternal do just as you said. May He confirm that your prophecy is true by bringing back the items stolen from the temple. Better yet, may He bring all of the exiles home from Babylon.
7 But now hear what I have to say to you and to all these people listening to us: 8 Long before either of us was here, in the days of old, there were prophets who spoke strong words against many nations and kingdoms. They, too, predicted war, famine, and disease; and they have been proven right. 9 Now, as for the prophet who prophecies peace, how are we to know whether he is a true prophet sent by the Eternal? Only when that prediction comes true.
10 At this point, the prophet Hananiah grabbed the yoke from around Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 He then turned to the people and said:
Hananiah: This is what the Eternal says: “This is how I will break the yoke King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon forced you and all the nations to wear. I will remove it from your neck within two years.”
And with that, the prophet Jeremiah walked away.
12 Not long after Hananiah had broken the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck, the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 13 Go to Hananiah and tell him, “This is what the Eternal says: ‘You may have broken a wooden yoke, but now you will get a yoke of iron that you could never break.’ 14 For this is what the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, declares: ‘I have put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations, and they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Even the wild animals of the field will obey Him.’”
Jeremiah (to Hananiah): 15 Listen, Hananiah! The Eternal has not sent you, but still the people of this nation have believed your lies. 16 So the Eternal now says this to you: “Pay attention. I am about to wipe you from the face of the earth. Because you have stirred up rebellion against Me with your words, you will die this year.”
17 Later that year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.
Later Christians will try to use this chapter to predict exactly when Jesus will come and how the world will end. But to do that is to do exactly the opposite of what Jesus intends as He speaks these words. He makes it very clear that He doesn’t want anyone to use this description of signs to predict an exact time and date for His coming; even He Himself doesn’t know that time and date, and no one else needs to know either. Instead, the purpose is to warn them to stay ready and alert.
14 The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away. The Jewish leaders—the chief priests and the scribes—gathered to discuss how they might secretly arrest Jesus and kill Him.
Jewish Leaders: 2 We can’t do it during the festivals. It might create an uproar.
3 While Jesus was eating dinner in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came into the house carrying an alabaster flask filled with a precious, sweet-smelling ointment made from spikenard. She came to Jesus, broke the jar, and gently poured out the perfume onto His head.
4 Some of those around the table were troubled by this and grumbled to each other.
Dinner Guests: Why did she waste this precious ointment? 5 We could have sold this ointment for almost a year’s wages,[a] and the money could have gone to the poor!
Their private concerns turned to public criticism against her.
Jesus: 6 Leave her alone. Why are you attacking her? She has done a good thing. 7 The poor will always be with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you want. But I won’t always be with you. 8 She has done what she could for Me—she has come to anoint My body and prepare it for burial. 9 Believe Me when I tell you that this act of hers will be told in her honor as long as there are people who tell the good news.
The disciples can’t see any value in pouring so much perfume on Jesus. It is obviously a waste. The woman is demonstrating her love for Him with an abandon and an emotional commitment that few people have ever shown, and He appreciates her love and her faith. To Him, it is more than a gesture; it is a practical preparation for His imminent death and burial. No one else there can see what use her action is; but to Jesus, it is incredibly precious—so much so that He promises to make sure her action is never forgotten.
10 It was after this that Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to meet the chief priests with the intention of betraying Jesus to them. 11 When they heard what he proposed, they were delighted and promised him money. So from that time on, Judas thought and waited and sought an opportunity to betray Jesus.
12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the customary day when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, His disciples wondered where they would celebrate the feast.
Disciples: Where do You want us to go and make preparations for You to eat the Passover meal?
13 So again He sent two of His disciples ahead and told them to watch for a man carrying a jar of water.
Jesus: Follow that man; 14 and wherever he goes in, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, ‘Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with My disciples?’” 15 He will take you upstairs and show you a large room furnished and ready. Make our preparations there.
16 So the two left and went into the city. All was as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the meal in the upper room. 17 That evening Jesus and the twelve arrived and went into the upper room; 18 and each reclined around the table, leaning upon an elbow as he ate.
Jesus: I tell you in absolute sincerity, one of you eating with Me tonight is going to betray Me.
19 The twelve were upset. They looked around at each other.
Disciples (one by one): Lord, it’s not I, is it?
Jesus: 20 It is one of you, the twelve—one of you who is dipping your bread in the same dish that I am.
21 The Son of Man goes to His fate. That has already been predicted in the Scriptures. But still, it will be terrible for the one who betrays Him. It would have been better for him if he had never been born.
22 As they ate, Jesus took bread, offered a blessing, and broke it. He handed the pieces to His disciples.
Jesus: Take this [and eat it].[b] This is My body.
23 He took a cup of wine; and when He had given thanks for it, He passed it to them, and they all drank from it.
Jesus: 24 This is My blood, a covenant[c] poured out on behalf of many. 25 Truly I will never taste the fruit of the vine again until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
This moment has been commemorated for two thousand years. Exactly what Jesus meant by calling the bread and wine His body and blood has been debated for centuries. By eating the bread and drinking the wine, believers participate not only in this supper but also in His death and resurrection because the bread is torn and the wine is poured, just as His body was torn and His blood poured out.
Just as Jesus’ physical body housed the Spirit of God, the physicality of the bread and wine has a spiritual significance. Otherwise, we wouldn’t need to eat the bread and drink the wine to celebrate this moment—it would be enough for us to read the story and remember what happened. But we, too, are physical as well as spiritual; and our physical actions can have spiritual importance.
26 After the meal, they sang a psalm and went out of the city to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus: 27 All of you will desert Me tonight. It was written by Zechariah,
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.[d]
28 But when I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.
Peter (protesting): 29 It doesn’t matter who else turns his back on You. I will never desert You.
Jesus: 30 Peter, mark My words. This very night before the cock crows twice, you will have denied Me three times.
Peter (insisting): 31 No, Teacher. Even if it means that I have to die with You, I’ll never deny You.
All the other disciples said similar things.
32 They came at length to a garden called Gethsemane.
Jesus: Stay here. I’m going a little farther to pray and to think.
33 He took Peter, James, and John with Him; and as they left the larger group behind, He became distressed and filled with sorrow.
Jesus: 34 My heart is so heavy; I feel as if I could die. Wait here for Me, and stay awake to keep watch.
35 He walked on a little farther. Then He threw Himself on the ground and prayed for deliverance from what was about to come.
Jesus: 36 Abba, Father, I know that anything is possible for You. Please take this cup away so I don’t have to drink from it. But whatever happens, let Your will be done—not Mine.
37 He got up, went back to the three, and found them sleeping.
Jesus (waking Peter): Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you wait with Me for just an hour? 38 Stay awake, and pray that you aren’t led into a trial of your own. It’s true—even when the spirit is willing, the body can betray it.
39 He went away again, and prayed again the same prayer as before—pleading with God but surrendering to His will.
40 He came back and found the three asleep; and when He woke them, they didn’t know what to say to Him.
41 After He had gone away and prayed for a third time, He returned to find them slumbering.
Jesus: Again? Still sleeping and getting a good rest? Well, that’s enough sleep. The time has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up now, and let’s go. The one who is going to betray Me is close by.
In the moments before Jesus’ death, He really knows what it feels like to be human and afraid. Jesus knows exactly what is about to happen to Him and exactly how bad it will be. Now that the time has come, He feels all the natural human emotions.
Most amazing of all is the prayer Jesus says in that moment: “Please take this cup away so I don’t have to drink from it.” Even though He divinely knows what is going to happen—what must happen—He still asks for a reprieve. At the same time, He submits His human desires and will to the plan of His Father: in order to experience fully what it means to be human, He has to go through even this—denying Himself and what He wants—to face certain torture and death.
43 Before He had finished talking, Judas (one of the twelve) approached with a large group of people—agents of the chief priests, scribes, and elders in Jerusalem armed with swords and clubs.
44 The signal they had arranged was a kiss. “Watch to see whom I kiss; He’s the One,” Judas had told them. “Arrest Him, and take Him into secure custody.”
45 As soon as they arrived, Judas stepped forward.
Judas (kissing Jesus): My Teacher.[e]
46 Immediately the soldiers grabbed Jesus and took Him into custody.
47 Now one of the disciples standing close by drew his sword and swung, cutting off the ear of a slave of Caiaphas, the high priest.
Jesus (calling out): 48 Am I a thief or a bandit that you have to come armed with swords and clubs to capture Me? 49 I sat teaching in the temple every day with you. You could have taken Me at any time, but you never did. Let the Scriptures be fulfilled.
50 When they saw the armed crowd take Jesus into custody, the disciples fled. 51 One of those following Jesus was a young man who was wearing nothing but a linen cloth. When people from the mob grabbed for him, 52 he wriggled out of their grasp, left them holding the cloth, and ran naked into the night.
53 They led Jesus off to see the high priest, who had gathered a council of religious and civic leaders, scribes, chief priests, and elders to hear the evidence and render some decision regarding Jesus. 54 Peter followed, at a safe distance, all the way into the courtyard of the high priest, and he sat down with the guards to warm himself at their fire. He hoped no one would notice.
55 The chief priests and other religious leaders called for witnesses against Jesus so they could execute Him, but things didn’t turn out the way they had planned. 56 There were plenty of people willing to get up and accuse Jesus falsely, distorting what Jesus had said or done; but their testimonies disagreed with each other, and the leaders were left with nothing. 57 Some gave the following distorted testimony:
Witnesses: 58 We heard Him say, “I will destroy this temple that has been made by human hands, and in three days, I will build another that is not made by human hands.”
59 But even here the witnesses could not agree on exactly what He had said.
60 The high priest stood up and turned to Jesus.
High Priest: Do You have anything to say in Your own defense? What do You think of what all these people have said about You?
61 But Jesus held His peace and didn’t say a word.
Jesus, God’s Anointed, the Liberating King, has come not as a conquering king but as a sacrificial lamb who will die without defending Himself.
He is accused of setting Himself in the place of God, but He is innocent of that accusation because He is God. He does not defend Himself because His death protects from punishment the sinners who have made themselves like God ever since Adam ate the fruit in the garden.
High Priest: Are You God’s Anointed, the Liberating King, the Son of the Blessed One?
Jesus: 62 I am. One day you will see the Son of Man “sitting at His right hand, in the place of honor and power,”[f] and “coming in the clouds of heaven.”[g]
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes.
High Priest (to the council): What else do we need to hear? 64 You have heard the blasphemy from His own lips. What do you have to say about that?
The verdict was unanimous—Jesus was guilty of a capital crime.
65 So the people began to humiliate Him. Some even spat upon Him. Then He was blindfolded, and they slapped and punched Him.
People: Come on, Prophet, prophesy for us! Tell us who just hit You.
Then the guards took Him, beating Him as they did so.
66-67 While Peter was waiting by the fire outside, one of the servant girls of the high priest saw him.
Servant Girl: You were one of those men with Jesus of Nazareth.
Peter: 68 Woman, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
He left the fire, and as he went out into the gateway, [a cock crowed.][h]
69 The servant girl saw him again.
Servant Girl: Hey, this is one of them—one of those who followed Jesus.
Peter: 70 No, I’m not one of them.
A little later, some of the other bystanders turned to Peter.
Bystander: Surely you’re one of them. You’re a Galilean. [We can tell by your accent.][i]
71 And then he swore an oath that if he wasn’t telling the truth that he would be cursed.
Peter: Listen, I don’t even know the man you’re talking about.
72 And as he said this, a cock crowed [a second time];[j] and Peter remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the cock crows [twice],[k] you will have denied Me three times.”
He began to weep.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.