M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

18 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. ² And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodged there. ³ When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? ⁴ And he said unto them, Thus and thus hath Micah dealt with me, and he hath hired me, and I am become his priest. ⁵ And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. ⁶ And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is your way wherein ye go.

⁷ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing ^[a]authority, ^[b]that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man. ⁸ And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? ⁹ And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land. ¹⁰ When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and the land is large; for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.

¹¹ And there set forth from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war. ¹² And they went up, and encamped in Kiriath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan, unto this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ And they passed thence unto the hill-country of Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

¹⁴ Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do. ¹⁵ And they turned aside thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. ¹⁶ And the six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war. ¹⁸ And when these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said unto them, What do ye? ¹⁹ And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? ²⁰ And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

²¹ So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them. ²² When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. ²³ And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, ^[c]that thou comest with such a company? ²⁴ And he said, ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I more? and how then say ye unto me, What aileth thee? ²⁵ And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest ^[d]angry fellows fall upon you, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. ²⁶ And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

²⁷ And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire. ²⁸ And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built the city, and dwelt therein. ²⁹ And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. ³⁰ And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of ^[e]Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹ So they set them up Micah’s graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

22 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.

² And when they heard that he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and he saith,

³ I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day: ⁴ and I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. ⁵ As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. ⁶ And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. ⁷ And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁸ And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. ⁹ And they that were with me beheld indeed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. ¹⁰ And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. ¹¹ And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me I came into Damascus. ¹² And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, ¹³ came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour I ^[a]looked up on him. ¹⁴ And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. ¹⁵ For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. ¹⁷ And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me. ¹⁹ And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: ²⁰ and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him. ²¹ And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles.

²² And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. ²³ And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, ²⁴ the ^[b]chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, bidding that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know for what cause they so shouted against him. ²⁵ And when they had tied him up ^[c]with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? ²⁶ And when the centurion heard it, he went to the ^[d]chief captain and told him, saying, What art thou about to do? for this man is a Roman. ²⁷ And the ^[e]chief captain came and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea. ²⁸ And the ^[f]chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this citizenship. And Paul said, But I am a Roman born. ²⁹ They then that were about to examine him straightway departed from him: and the ^[g]chief captain also was afraid when he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰ But on the morrow, desiring to know the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. ² Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house. ³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; ⁴ and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; ⁵ and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?

⁶ And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ⁷ Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. ⁸ So Hanamel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of Jehovah, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of Jehovah. ⁹ And I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel mine uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰ And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. ¹¹ So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, ^[a]according to the law and custom, and that which was open: ¹² and I delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard. ¹³ And I charged Baruch before them, saying, ¹⁴ Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days. ¹⁵ For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.

¹⁶ Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto Jehovah, saying, ¹⁷ Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too ^[b]hard for thee, ¹⁸ who showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name; ¹⁹ great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings; ²⁰ who didst set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, ^[c]both in Israel and among other men; and madest thee a name, as at this day; ²¹ and didst bring forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²² and gavest them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; ²³ and they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them. ²⁴ Behold, the mounds, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. ²⁵ And thou hast said unto me, O Lord Jehovah, Buy thee the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

²⁶ Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷ Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? ²⁸ Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: ²⁹ and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. ³⁰ For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah. ³¹ For this city hath been to me a provocation of mine anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, ³² because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³ And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. ³⁴ But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. ³⁵ And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my ^[d]mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

³⁶ And now therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: ³⁷ Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. ³⁸ And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: ³⁹ and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: ⁴⁰ and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me. ⁴¹ Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land ^[e]assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. ⁴² For thus saith Jehovah: Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. ⁴³ And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. ⁴⁴ Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith Jehovah.

Book I

The righteous and the wicked contrasted.

The reign of Jehovah’s anointed.