M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 6
The Call of Gideon. 1 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, who therefore delivered them into the power of Midian for seven years, 2 so that Midian held Israel subject. From fear of Midian the Israelites made dens in the mountains, the caves, and the strongholds.(A) 3 For it used to be that whenever the Israelites had completed sowing their crops, Midian, Amalek, and the Kedemites[a] would come up, 4 encamp against them, and lay waste the produce of the land as far as the outskirts of Gaza, leaving no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep, ox, or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock, and their tents would appear as thick as locusts. They would be too many to count when they came into the land to lay it waste. 6 (B)Israel was reduced to utter poverty by Midian, and so the Israelites cried out to the Lord.
7 When Israel cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 (C)the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites who said to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I am the one who brought you up from Egypt; I brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the power of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you: I, the Lord, am your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are dwelling. But you did not listen to me.
11 Then the messenger of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. Joash’s son Gideon(D) was beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites, 12 and the messenger of the Lord appeared to him and said: The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior! 13 “My lord,” Gideon said to him, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds about which our ancestors told us when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ For now the Lord has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian.” 14 (E)The Lord turned to him and said: Go with the strength you have, and save Israel from the power of Midian. Is it not I who send you? 15 But he answered him, “Please, my Lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.”(F) 16 The Lord said to him: I will be with you,[b] and you will cut down Midian to the last man. 17 He answered him, “If you look on me with favor, give me a sign that you are the one speaking with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my offering and set it before you.” He answered: I will await your return.
19 So Gideon went off and prepared a young goat and an ephah[c] of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 (G)The messenger of God said to him: Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth. When he had done so, 21 the messenger of the Lord stretched out the tip of the staff he held. When he touched the meat and unleavened cakes, a fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes. Then the messenger of the Lord disappeared from sight. 22 [d]Gideon, now aware that it had been the messenger of the Lord, said, “Alas, Lord God, that I have seen the messenger of the Lord face to face!”(H) 23 The Lord answered him: You are safe. Do not fear. You shall not die. 24 So Gideon built there an altar to the Lord and called it Yahweh-shalom.[e](I) To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 That same night the Lord said to him: Take your father’s bull, the bull fattened for seven years, and pull down your father’s altar to Baal. As for the asherah[f] beside it, cut it down 26 and build an altar to the Lord, your God, on top of this stronghold with the pile of wood. Then take the fattened bull and offer it as a whole-burnt sacrifice on the wood from the asherah you have cut down. 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded him. But he was too afraid of his family and of the townspeople to do it by day; he did it at night. 28 Early the next morning the townspeople found that the altar of Baal had been dismantled, the asherah beside it cut down, and the fattened bull offered on the altar that was built. 29 They asked one another, “Who did this?” They inquired and searched until they were told, “Gideon, son of Joash, did it.” 30 So the townspeople said to Joash, “Bring out your son that he may die, for he has dismantled the altar of Baal and cut down the asherah that was beside it.” 31 But Joash replied to all who were standing around him, “Is it for you to take action for Baal, or be his savior? Anyone who takes action for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him act for himself,(J) since his altar has been dismantled!” 32 So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal,[g](K) because of the words, “Let Baal take action against him, since he dismantled his altar.”
33 Then all Midian and Amalek and the Kedemites mustered and crossed over into the valley of Jezreel, where they encamped. 34 And Gideon was clothed with the spirit of the Lord,[h](L) and he blew the horn summoning Abiezer to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they, too, were summoned to follow him; he also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they advanced to meet the others. 36 Gideon said to God, “If indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you have said, 37 I am putting this woolen fleece on the threshing floor, and if dew is on the fleece alone, while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me, as you have said.” 38 That is what happened. Early the next morning when he wrung out the fleece, he squeezed enough dew from it to fill a bowl. 39 Gideon then said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I speak once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground.” 40 That is what God did that night: the fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground.
IV. The Inauguration of the Gentile Mission
Chapter 10
The Vision of Cornelius.(A) 1 [a]Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Cohort called the Italica,[b] 2 devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously[c] to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock,[d] he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come in to him and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 He looked intently at him and, seized with fear, said, “What is it, sir?” He said to him, “Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send some men to Joppa and summon one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with another Simon, a tanner, who has a house by the sea.”(B) 7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier[e] from his staff, 8 explained everything to them, and sent them to Joppa.
The Vision of Peter. 9 [f]The next day, while they were on their way and nearing the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime.[g] 10 He was hungry and wished to eat, and while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. 11 (C)He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all the earth’s four-legged animals and reptiles and the birds of the sky. 13 A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, sir. For never have I eaten anything profane and unclean.”(D) 15 The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.”(E) 16 This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into the sky.
17 [h]While Peter was in doubt about the meaning of the vision he had seen, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon’s house and arrived at the entrance. 18 They called out inquiring whether Simon, who is called Peter, was staying there. 19 As Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said [to him], “There are three men here looking for you.(F) 20 So get up, go downstairs, and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.” 21 Then Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your being here?” 22 They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, respected by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.”(G) 23 So he invited them in and showed them hospitality.
The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him. 24 [i]On the following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 (H)When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. 26 Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a human being.” 27 While he conversed with him, he went in and found many people gathered together 28 (I)and said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean.[j] 29 And that is why I came without objection when sent for. May I ask, then, why you summoned me?”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago[k] at this hour, three o’clock in the afternoon, I was at prayer in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling robes stood before me and said, 31 ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to listen to all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
Peter’s Speech.[l] 34 Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,[m] “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.(J) 35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. 36 [n]You know the word [that] he sent to the Israelites[o] as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,(K) 37 what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,(L) 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth[p] with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.(M) 39 We are witnesses[q] of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and [in] Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. 40 This man God raised [on] the third day and granted that he be visible, 41 not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.(N) 42 He commissioned us(O) to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.[r] 43 To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The Baptism of Cornelius. 44 (P)While Peter was still speaking these things, the holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.[s] 45 The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, 46 for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter responded, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the holy Spirit even as we have?”(Q) 48 He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 49 Then they invited him to stay for a few days.
Chapter 19
Symbol of the Potter’s Flask. 1 Thus said the Lord: Go, buy a potter’s earthenware flask. Take along some of the elders of the people and some of the priests, 2 and go out toward the Valley of Ben-hinnom, at the entrance of the Potsherd Gate;[a] there proclaim the words which I will speak to you: 3 You shall say, Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to bring such evil upon this place that the ears of all who hear of it will ring. 4 All because they have forsaken me and profaned this place by burning incense to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors knew; and because the kings of Judah have filled this place with innocent blood,(A) 5 building high places for Baal to burn their children in fire as offerings to Baal—something I never considered or said or commanded.(B) 6 [b]Therefore, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when this place will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather, the Valley of Slaughter.(C) 7 In this place I will foil the plan of Judah and Jerusalem; I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hand of those who seek their lives. Their corpses I will give as food to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.(D) 8 I will make this city a waste and an object of hissing. Because of all its wounds, every passerby will be horrified and hiss. 9 I will have them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters; they shall eat one another’s flesh during the harsh siege under which their enemies and those who seek their lives will confine them.(E)
10 And you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who went with you, 11 and say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Thus will I smash this people and this city, as one smashes a clay pot so that it cannot be repaired. And Topheth shall be its burial place, for there will be no other place for burial.(F) 12 Thus I will do to this place and to its inhabitants—oracle of the Lord; I will make this city like Topheth.(G) 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Topheth, all the houses upon whose roofs they burnt incense to the whole host of heaven and poured out libations to other gods.(H)
14 When Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he stood in the court of the house of the Lord and said to all the people:(I) 15 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I will bring upon this city all the evil I have spoken against it, because they have become stubborn and have not obeyed my words.(J)
Chapter 5
The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac. 1 [a](A)They came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. 2 When he got out of the boat, at once a man[b] from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. 3 The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. 4 In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. 6 Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, 7 crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me,[c] Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” 8 (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) 9 [d]He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.”(B) 10 And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.
11 Now a large herd of swine[e] was feeding there on the hillside. 12 And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” 13 And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned. 14 The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened. 15 As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. 16 Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. 17 Then they began to beg him to leave their district. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. 19 But he would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home[f] to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” 20 Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.
Jairus’s Daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage.[g] 21 When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.(C) 22 One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.(D) Seeing him he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her[h] that she may get well and live.” 24 He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
25 There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. 28 [i]She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” 29 Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30 Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” 31 But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”(E)
35 [j]While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” 36 Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” 37 He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 [k](F)So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. 41 [l]He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” 42 The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. [At that] they were utterly astounded. 43 He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.