M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
18 During this period, Israel had no king, and the tribe of Dan was searching for a territory they could call their own because at that time they had not been assigned land among the other peoples of Israel. 2 So the people of Dan chose five brave men from out of the entire tribe, men from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol, to explore the land and to seek a new home for them. “Go and explore the land,” was their charge.
When they reached the hill country of Ephraim, they stayed in Micah’s home. 3 As they came near Micah’s house, they recognized from his speech that the Levite priest was not from around there.
Danite Spies (to the young Levite): Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?
Levite: 4 To make a long story short, Micah made all this happen for me and put me to work. I serve him as his priest.
Danite Spies: 5 Ask the True God if our mission will succeed.
Levite: 6 Go in peace. The Eternal is watching over you on this mission.
7 The five spies went on their way and came to Laish, in the northern of the land of Canaan, where they observed that the people seemed to live without concern for their security, like the people of Sidon, quiet and without suspicion, lacking in nothing, and in peace. They were far from Sidon and were not allied with anyone.
8 So the men returned to their people at Zorah and Eshtaol, who wanted to hear their report. They told their people about the land of Laish.
Danite Spies: 9 Come on, let’s gather our forces and go to war against them, for we have seen the land and it is good. Why are you just sitting there? Don’t waste another minute here. Let’s go in and take that land. 10 When you get there, you’ll see that they don’t suspect any danger. The land is large and is full of every good thing on earth, and God has given it into our hands.
11 Then 600 men from the tribe of Dan armed themselves for war and set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 These warriors of Dan went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim, or city of forests, in Judah, which is why the place just to the west is still called Mahaneh-dan, camp of Dan. 13 From there, they entered the hill country of Ephraim and approached Micah’s house. 14 The five spies who had scouted out the land of Laish spoke to their fellow warriors.
Danite Spies: Did you know that in these houses (the village where Micah lived) are a priestly vest, their household gods, and a cast image of silver? Give some thought to what you would like to do now.
15 They turned and went in the direction of the young Levite’s house at Micah’s place and greeted him. 16 So the 600 Danite warriors waited outside the gate, ready to attack, 17 while the five men who had spied out the land were to go inside to take the sacred objects: the ritual vestment, the household gods, and the cast image of silver. The priest stood at the gates with the warriors; 18 and when the five took the priestly vest, household gods, and the cast image of silver, he said to them,
Levite: What are you doing?
Danite Spies: 19 Be quiet. Keep silent, come with us, and be a father and a priest to us. Isn’t it better for you to be priest and father to an entire tribe and clan of Israel than to a single household?
20 The priest agreed. He took possession of the ritual vestment, household idols, and carved image and joined the people of Dan on their journey. 21 They traveled on, putting their children, livestock, and their possessions in front of the procession. 22 But when they had traveled some distance from Micah’s home, his friends who lived nearby gathered together and chased after the people of Dan.
When they caught up to them, 23 they shouted after the people of Dan.
Danites (to Micah): What’s wrong? What brings so many of you out after us?
Micah: 24 What’s wrong? You steal my household gods and my priest and go off, and where does that leave me? What do you mean, “What’s wrong?”
Danites: 25 You would be wise to lower your voice, or else some hot-tempered individuals among us are likely to attack you. Then you’ll lose your life and the lives of those you care about.
26 With this the people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to protest any further, so he turned and went back home.
27 The people of Dan, having taken Micah’s household gods and his priest, came to Laish; and there they attacked those people who were quiet and without suspicion, killed them without mercy, and burned down their city. 28 No one came to save the people of Laish, since they were far from Sidon and had no treaties with anyone. This all happened in the valley that is near Beth-rehob, house of a broad place. The Danites rebuilt the city there and lived in it. 29 They changed the name of the city from Laish to Dan, after their ancestor and namesake who was born to Israel (also called Jacob). 30 There the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan (son of Gershom, son of Moses) and his sons became the priests to Dan and were their priests until the people of Israel were taken off into captivity. 31 They kept the carved image of Micah as their own for as long as the house of the True God was at Shiloh.
22 Paul: Brothers and fathers, please let me defend myself against these charges.
2 When they heard him speaking Aramaic, a hush came over the crowd.
Paul: 3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia. I was raised here in Jerusalem and was tutored in the great school of Gamaliel. My education trained me in the strict interpretation of the law of our ancestors, and I grew zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I encountered a movement known as the Way, and I considered it a threat to our religion, so I persecuted it violently. I put both men and women in chains, had them imprisoned, and would have killed them— 5 as the high priest and the entire council of elders will tell you. I received documentation from them to go to Damascus and work with the brothers there to arrest followers of the Way and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains so they could be properly punished. 6 I was on my way to Damascus. It was about noon. Suddenly a powerful light shone around me, 7 and I fell to the ground. A voice spoke: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” 8 I answered, “Who are You, Lord?” The voice replied, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, the One you persecute.”
9 My companions saw the light, but they didn’t hear the voice. 10 I asked, “What do You want me to do, Lord?” The Lord replied, “Get up and go to Damascus; you will be given your instructions there.” 11 Since the intense light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus. 12 I was visited there by a devout man named Ananias, a law-keeping Jew who was well spoken of by all the Jews living in Damascus. 13 He said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!” I could immediately see again, beginning with Ananias standing before me. 14 Then he said, “You have been chosen by the God of our ancestors to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the voice of God. 15 You will tell the story of what you have seen and heard to the whole world. 16 So now, don’t delay. Get up, be ceremonially cleansed through baptism,[a] and have your sins washed away, as you call on His name in prayer.”
17 I returned to Jerusalem, and I was praying here in the temple one day. I slipped into a trance 18 and had a vision in which Jesus said to me, “Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem fast! The people here will not receive your testimony about Me.” 19 I replied, “But Lord, they all know that I went from synagogue to synagogue imprisoning and beating everyone who believed in You. 20 They know what I was like and how I stood in approval of the execution of Stephen, Your witness, when he was stoned. I even held the coats of those who actually stoned him.” 21 Jesus replied, “Go, for I am going to send you to distant lands to teach the outsiders.”
These Jewish leaders are prepared to squabble with Paul about the law. But in his wisdom, Paul disarms them with his story. He is one of them; and on his journey to defend Judaism against these Christian heretics, he encountered the living God. How can anyone dispute his experience? He was trained by trustworthy Jews and lived his life according to their strict interpretation of the law. When Paul invites his audience into his experience with the supernatural, it makes debating the finer points of the law seem ridiculous. It would be like antagonizing Moses while he reiterated God’s message heard through the burning bush. But prejudice is apparently stronger than any divine message. Paul has them hanging on to every word from his mouth, until he speaks of the outsiders. The crowd immediately rises from their silence into a furious rage. The message is clear—if your revelation extends beyond our people, we will hear nothing of it. How could all of these students of the Hebrew Scriptures have been so ignorant about God’s intentions to rescue all people? The prophets declared God’s plan to offer grace to Jews and non-Jews, but no one in this crowd considered that good news.
22 They were listening quietly up until he mentioned the outsiders.
Crowd (shouting): Away with him! Such a man can’t be allowed to remain here. Kill him! He must die!
23 Chaos broke out again. People were shouting, slamming their coats down on the ground, and throwing fistfuls of dust up in the air. 24 The commandant ordered the soldiers to bring Paul to the barracks and flog him until he confessed to whatever he had done to stir up this outrage.
25 Back at the barracks, as they tied him up with leather thongs, Paul spoke to a nearby officer.
Paul: Is this legal—for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?
26 The officer went and spoke to the commandant.
Officer: What can you do about this? Did you know this fellow is a Roman citizen?
Commandant (rushing to Paul’s side): 27 What’s this? Are you really a Roman citizen?
Paul: Yes.
Commandant: 28 I paid a small fortune for my citizenship.
Paul: I was born a citizen.
29 Hearing this, those who were about to start the flogging pulled back, and the commandant was concerned because he had arrested and bound a citizen without cause. 30 He still needed to conduct an investigation to uncover the Jews’ accusations against Paul. So the next day, he removed the ties on Paul and called a meeting with the chief priests and council of elders. He brought Paul in and had him stand before the group.
32 The Eternal spoke again to Jeremiah in the 10th year of Zedekiah’s reign as king of Judah. This was also the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king of Babylon. 2 At this time, Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah the prophet was being held in the court of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. 3 Zedekiah king of Judah had ordered him held there and leveled this charge against him:
Zedekiah: Why do you continue to prophesy such things? You tell us the Eternal says, “Look! I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4 King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Chaldean forces. He will be turned over to the king of Babylon and have to stand eye-to-eye before this powerful ruler. 5 Nebuchadnezzar will order Zedekiah to be taken to Babylon, where he will stay until I am ready to visit him. This is what I, the Eternal One promise: if you try to fight the Chaldeans, you will fail.”
Jeremiah (to Zedekiah): 6 The message of the Eternal came to me through my cousin: 7 “Look! Hanamel (son of Shallum, your uncle), is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth; as my nearest relative, it is your right to buy it before I offer it to anyone else.[a] It is also your duty to keep it in the family.’” 8 And just as He had predicted, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was being held in the court of the guard. He said, “Jeremiah, buy my field in your hometown of Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. It’s your right to buy and redeem it so that it stays in our family.” Then I realized this message was from the Eternal.
9 So I bought the field in Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin for seven ounces of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed in front of witnesses; after weighing out the silver on the scales, I paid Hanamel. 11 Two copies of the deed were made. I took the sealed copy along with the terms and conditions of the purchase and the unsealed copy and 12 handed them to my trusted friend and confidant, Baruch (son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah). I did all of this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all of the people of Judea who were there that day in the court of the guard. 13 In the presence of all those people, I directed Baruch: 14 “The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, says: ‘Take both the sealed deed and the unsealed deed and place them in a clay jar to preserve them. I want this deed of sale to last for a long time.’ 15 For this is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and the God of Israel, promises: ‘The day will come when My people will buy houses and vineyards and fields again in this land.’”
16 After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch (son of Neriah), I prayed to the Eternal: 17 “Eternal Lord, with Your outstretched arm and Your enormous power You created the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too difficult for You. 18 You show loyal love and endless mercy to thousands. But You also allow the damaging effects of the parents’ sins to fall into the laps of their children. You are the great and powerful God; the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, is Your solemn name. 19 Your instructions are great, and Your actions are too wondrous for words. You see all that happens on this earth; You know what everyone does, and You deal with each fairly. 20 What miraculous signs and wonders You did in the land of Egypt! You continue to perform them for Israel and the rest of humanity to this day! You have made a great name for yourself among the nations, and we still remember Your great works today. 21 You rescued Your people Israel out of Egypt with miraculous signs and wonders—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a power too terrible for words. 22 But You did not stop there, O gracious God. Then You gave them this land, the very land You had promised to their ancestors, an abundant land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They entered this land and conquered it as You led them. But even as they settled in, they refused to listen to Your voice and live as You instructed. They rebelled against Your entire law. So You caused these disastrous consequences to fall on them. 24 Look! The siege ramps are built against the walls of the city. Soon the Chaldeans will begin the assault. Because of war, famine, and disease, the enemy will soon have control of the city. It is all happening as You said it would. 25 But You, Eternal Lord, tell me, “Buy Hanamel’s field with your own money in the presence of witnesses”—even as You hand over the city of Jerusalem to the Chaldeans.
For almost two years the Babylonians have tightened their grip: food supplies are dwindling, disease is rampant, and there is little hope supplies or relief might get through to besieged Jerusalem.
26 Then the Eternal spoke to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 27 Look! I am the Eternal, the God of all living things. Is anything too difficult for Me? 28 I tell you this: I am about to hand this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Chaldean army, and they will conquer it. 29 The Chaldeans who are now assaulting the city will enter and set everything on fire. They will set houses ablaze where people set up shrines on roofs to burn incense to Baal and pour out drink offerings to other gods. Their offerings have ignited My anger. 30 The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight since their early days. They have done nothing except kindle My anger with their handmade idols and the way they live their lives. 31 From the day Jerusalem was built until this very moment, the people have stirred My anger and provoked My wrath; so now I am forced to remove this city completely from My sight. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have angered Me with their wickedness—from their kings and their officials to their priests and prophets, from the people of Judah to the citizens of Jerusalem. 33 They have all turned their backs to Me instead of their faces. They have refused to listen and learn from My instruction, even though I tried to teach them again and again. 34 They even put up their detestable idols in My temple, defiling the very place that is supposed to honor Me! 35 They built altars to another master[b] in the valley of Ben-hinnom so they’d have a place to sacrifice their own children to Molech! I never demanded they do such a thing—it never even crossed My mind that they would do such a disgusting evil or that Judah would sin like that.
36 Jeremiah, listen to what the Eternal God of Israel has to say about Jerusalem: you say that by war, famine, and disease this city will fall to the king of Babylon, and you are right. 37 Look! I will gather My people from all the countries where I scattered them in My righteous anger, in My great wrath and fury. I will bring them back to this place, Jerusalem, and let them live here safely under My protection. 38 They will be My people, and I will be their God. 39 I will unite them behind a single desire and purpose: to revere and worship Me forever for their own good and for the good of all who will come after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop blessing them with good things, and I will put in them a fear and respect of Me so they will not turn their backs to Me again. 41 It will be My great joy to do good things for them, and you can be sure that I will devote Myself completely to planting them anew in this land.
42 This is what I, the Eternal, declare: Just as I brought this great disaster upon My people, so will I do all these good things I have promised to them. 43 Property will be bought and sold once again in this land about which you say, “This land is a wasteland—not fit for man or beast—for it has been handed over to the Chaldeans.” 44 Property will be bought and sold once again for silver—deals will be made and deeds signed in the presence of witnesses—in the territory of Benjamin, in the vicinity of Jerusalem, in the villages of Judah and the hill country, in the villages of the western hills, and in the cities of the Negev. In all these places I will restore them from their exile.
So says the Eternal.
Book One
Book One (Psalms 1–41) is attributed almost entirely to David; all but four of the psalms (1–2; 10; 33) are ascribed to him. In Hebrew Psalm 10 is a continuation of Psalm 9 because it was composed as an acrostic poem. Likewise, many Hebrew manuscripts combine Psalm 33 with 32. Only later are these divided into separate psalms. Psalm 1 sets the stage for the entire collection by explaining that the study of the Word of God is the foundation of a meaningful, prosperous life.
Psalm 1
1 God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:
when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes,
When you avoid sin’s highway,
when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.
2 For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness.
It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.
3 You are like a tree,
planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.
Your fruit ripens in its time;
your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.
No matter what you do, you prosper.
4 For those who focus on sin, the story is different.
They are like the fallen husk of wheat, tossed by an open wind, left deserted and alone.
5 In the end, the wicked will fall in judgment;
the guilty will be separated from the innocent.
6 Their road suddenly will end in death,
yet the journey of the righteous has been charted by the Eternal.
Psalm 2
1 You are wondering: What has provoked the nations to embrace anger and chaos?[a]
Why are the people making plans to pursue their own vacant and empty greatness?
2 Leaders of nations stand united;
rulers put their heads together,
plotting against the Eternal One and His Anointed King, trying to figure out
3 How they can throw off the gentle reign of God’s love,
step out from under the restrictions of His claims to advance their own schemes.
4 At first, the Power of heaven laughs at their silliness.
The Eternal mocks their ignorant selfishness.
5 But His laughter turns to rage, and He rebukes them.
As God displays His righteous anger, they begin to know the meaning of fear. He says,
6 “I am the One who appointed My king who reigns from Zion, My mount of holiness.
He is the one in charge.”
7 I am telling all of you the truth. I have heard the Eternal’s decree.
He said clearly to me, “You are My son.
Today I have become your Father.
8 The nations shall be yours for the asking,
and the entire earth will belong to you.
9 They are yours to crush with an iron scepter,
yours to shatter like fragile, clay pots.”
10 So leaders, kings, and judges,
be wise, and be warned.
11 There is only one God, the Eternal;
worship Him with respect and awe;
take delight in Him and tremble.
12 Bow down before God’s son.
If you don’t, you will face His anger and retribution,
And you won’t stand a chance.
For it doesn’t take long to kindle royal wrath,
But blessings await all who trust in Him.
They will find God a gentle refuge.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.