M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Gideon Wins over the Midianites

8 Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “What is this you have done to us? Why did you not call us when you went to fight against Midian?” They were angry when they argued with him. ² But he said to them, “What have I done to compare with you? Are not the grapes that are left of Ephraim better than all the grapes gathered of Abiezer? ³ God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands. What was I able to do to compare with you?” They were no longer angry when he said that.

⁴ Then Gideon and the 300 men with him came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were tired but they kept going. ⁵ Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “I ask of you, give loaves of bread to the people who are following me. For they are tired and weak. I am going after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” ⁶ But the leaders of Succoth said, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” ⁷ Gideon said, “The Lord will give Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand. Then I will beat your bodies with the thorns and thistles from the desert.” ⁸ From there he went up to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. The men of Penuel gave him the same answer as the men of Succoth. ⁹ So he said to the men of Penuel, “When I return safe, I will tear down this tower.” ¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor. With them were their armies, about 15,000 men. These were all who were left of the whole army of the people of the east. For 120,000 men who fought with swords had been killed. ¹¹ Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents east of Nobah and Jogbehah. And he fought against the army by surprise. ¹² Zebah and Zalmunna ran away. Gideon went after them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna. The whole army was afraid.

¹³ Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the way of Heres. ¹⁴ He caught a young man from Succoth and asked him questions. The young man wrote down for him the rulers and leaders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵ Then Gideon came to the men of Succoth and said, “See, here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You laughed at me about these men, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your weak and tired men?’” ¹⁶ Then he took the leaders of the city and with thorns and thistles from the desert, he punished the men of Succoth. ¹⁷ Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

¹⁸ Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you. Each one looked like the son of a king.” ¹⁹ Gideon said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” ²⁰ Then he said to Jether his first-born son, “Stand up and kill them.” But the boy did not pick up his sword. He was afraid because he was still a boy. ²¹ Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Stand up yourself and kill us. For as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. And he took the religious objects that were on their camels’ necks.

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also. For you have set us free from the power of Midian.” ²³ But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you. And my son will not rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” ²⁴ Gideon said to them, “I only ask that each of you give me the gold objects you have taken to be worn on the ear.” (They had objects to be worn on the ear because they were Ishmaelites.) ²⁵ And they said, “For sure we will give them.” So they spread out a coat, and every one of them threw into it an object he had taken. ²⁶ The gold objects Gideon had asked for were as heavy as 1,700 pieces of gold money. He took the objects and purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian also. And he took the religious objects that were around the camels’ necks. ²⁷ Gideon made it into a holy vest and put it in his city, Ophrah. All Israel worshiped it there. So it became a trap to Gideon and those of his house. ²⁸ Midian was put under the power of the people of Israel. They did not lift up their heads any more. And the land had peace for forty years, during the life of Gideon.

The Death of Gideon

²⁹ Joash’s son Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) went and lived in his own house. ³⁰ Gideon had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. ³¹ The woman in Shechem who acted as his wife gave birth to Gideon’s son also. He was given the name Abimelech. ³² Gideon the son of Joash died when he was very old. He was buried in the grave of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ As soon as Gideon was dead, the people of Israel started again to worship the false gods of Baal. They made Baal-berith their god. ³⁴ The people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, Who had saved them from the power of all those around who hated them. ³⁵ They did not show kindness to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon). They did not remember all the good he had done to Israel.

The King Makes It Hard for the Church

12 At that time King Herod used his power to make it hard for the Christians in the church. ² He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword. ³ When he saw that it made the Jews happy, he took hold of Peter also. This was during the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt. ⁴ Herod took Peter and put him in prison and had sixteen soldiers watch him. After the special religious gathering was over, he planned to bring Peter out to the people.

Peter Goes Free

⁵ So Peter was held in prison. But the church kept praying to God for him. ⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him out for his trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. He was tied with two chains. Soldiers stood by the door and watched the prison.

⁷ All at once an angel of the Lord was seen standing beside him. A light shone in the building. The angel hit Peter on the side and said, “Get up!” Then the chains fell off his hands. ⁸ The angel said, “Put on your belt and shoes!” He did. The angel said to Peter, “Put on your coat and follow me.” ⁹ Peter followed him out. He was not sure what was happening as the angel helped him. He thought it was a dream.

¹⁰ They passed one soldier, then another one. They came to the big iron door that leads to the city and it opened by itself and they went through. As soon as they had gone up one street, the angel left him.

The Christians Find It Hard to Believe Peter Is Free

¹¹ As Peter began to see what was happening, he said to himself, “Now I am sure the Lord has sent His angel and has taken me out of the hands of Herod. He has taken me also from all the things the Jews wanted to do to me.” ¹² After thinking about all this, he went to Mary’s house. She was the mother of John Mark. Many Christians were gathered there praying.

¹³ When Peter knocked at the gate, a girl named Rhoda went to see who it was. ¹⁴ She knew Peter’s voice, but in her joy she forgot to open the gate. She ran in and told them that Peter was standing outside the gate.

¹⁵ They said to her, “You are crazy.” But she said again that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.” ¹⁶ Peter kept knocking. When they opened the gate and saw him, they were surprised and wondered about it. ¹⁷ He raised his hand and told them not to talk but to listen to him. He told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He said, “Tell all these things to James and to the other Christian brothers.” Then he went to another place.

The Death of Herod

¹⁸ In the morning the soldiers were very troubled about what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ Herod looked for him but could not find him. He asked the soldiers who watched the prison about Peter. Herod said that the soldiers must be killed because Peter got away. Then Herod went down from the country of Judea to the city of Caesarea to stay for awhile.

²⁰ Herod was very angry with the people of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They went to him and asked for peace to be made between them and the king. They asked this because their country got food from the king’s country. The people made friends with Blastus, the king’s helper. ²¹ A day was set aside. On that day Herod put on purple clothes a king wears. He sat on his throne and spoke to the people. ²² They all started to speak with a loud voice, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” ²³ The angel of the Lord knocked him down because he did not give honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ The Word of God was heard by many people and went into more places. ²⁵ Saul and Barnabas went back to Jerusalem after they had finished their work. They took John Mark with them.

Jerusalem to Be Taken

21 This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the religious leader, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Will you speak to the Lord about us? For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. It may be that the Lord will do something for us like He did in times past, and make him leave us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, “Say this to Zedekiah: ⁴ ‘The Lord God of Israel says, “See, I will turn against you the objects of war you are using to fight with against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are gathered outside the wall to shut you in. And I will bring them into the center of this city. ⁵ I Myself will fight against you with My hand out and with a strong arm, in much anger. ⁶ I will kill both man and animal in this city. They will die of a bad disease. ⁷ After this,” says the Lord, “I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people who were not killed in this city by the disease, the sword, and hunger. I will give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of those who hate them, and into the hand of those who want to kill them. And he will kill them with the sword. He will not let them live or have pity for them.”’

⁸ “Also tell the people, ‘The Lord says, “See, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ He who lives in this city will die by the sword and by hunger and by disease. But he who goes out and gives himself up to the Babylonians whose armies shut you in will live, he will at least have his life. ¹⁰ For I have set My face against this city for trouble and not for good,” says the Lord. “It will be given to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’

Words against Judah

¹¹ “Then say to those of the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord, ¹² O house of David, the Lord says, “Do what is right every morning. Take the person who has been robbed away from the one who has made it hard for him. So My anger will not go out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of the sinful things you have done.

¹³ “See, I am against you, O you who live in the valley, O rock of the plain,” says the Lord, “you who say, ‘Who will come down against us? Or who will come into our houses?’ ¹⁴ I will punish you for what has come of what you have done,” says the Lord. “I will start a fire among your trees, and it will destroy all that is around it.”’”

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Leaders ^(A)

7 The proud religious law-keepers and some of the teachers of the Law had come from Jerusalem. They gathered around Jesus. ² They had seen some of His followers eat bread without washing their hands. ³ The proud religious law-keepers and all the Jews never eat until they wash their hands. They keep the teaching that was given to them by their early fathers. ⁴ When they come from the stores, they never eat until they wash. There are many other teachings they keep. Some are the washing of cups and pots and pans in a special way.

⁵ Then the proud religious law-keepers and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, “Why do Your followers not obey the teaching given to them by their early fathers? They eat bread without washing their hands.” ⁶ He said to them, “Isaiah told about you who pretend to be someone you are not. Isaiah wrote, ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. ⁷ Their worship of Me is worth nothing. They teach what men say must be done.’ ^{(B) 8} You put away the Laws of God and obey the laws made by men.”

⁹ Jesus said to them, “You put away the Laws of God but keep your own teaching. ¹⁰ Moses said, ‘Respect your father and mother.’ ^(C) ‘He who curses his father and mother will be put to death!’ ^{(D) 11} But you say that it is right if a man does not help his father and mother because he says he has given to God what he could have given to them. ¹² You are not making him do anything for his father and mother. ¹³ You are putting away the Word of God to keep your own teaching. You are doing many other things like this.”

¹⁴ Jesus called the people to Him again. He said, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand this. ¹⁵ It is not what goes into a man’s mouth from the outside that makes his mind and heart sinful. It is what comes out from the inside that makes him sinful. ¹⁶ You have ears, then listen!”

¹⁷ He went into the house away from all the people. His followers began to ask about the picture-story. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Do you not understand yet? Do you not understand that whatever goes into a man cannot make him sinful? ¹⁹ It does not go into his heart, but into his stomach and then on out of his body.” In this way, He was saying that all food is clean. ²⁰ He said, “Whatever comes out of a man is what makes the man sinful. ²¹ From the inside, out of the heart of men come bad thoughts, sex sins of a married person, sex sins of a person not married, killing other people, ²² stealing, wanting something that belongs to someone else, doing wrong, lying, having a desire for sex sins, having a mind that is always looking for sin, speaking against God, thinking you are better than you are and doing foolish things. ²³ All these bad things come from the inside and make the man sinful.”

Jesus Puts a Demon out of a Girl ^(E)

²⁴ Jesus went from their towns and cities to the cities of Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house and wanted to stay there without people knowing where He was. But He could not hide Himself. ²⁵ A woman who had a daughter with a demon heard of Him. She came and got down at His feet. ²⁶ The woman was not a Jew. She was from the country of Syrophenicia. She asked Jesus if He would put the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ Jesus said to her, “Let the children have what they want first. It is wrong to take children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces that fall from the children’s table.” ²⁹ He said to her, “Because of what you have said, go your way. The demon is gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰ So she went to her house and found the demon was gone and her daughter was lying on the bed.

Jesus Heals the Man Who Could Not Hear or Speak Well

³¹ Then Jesus left the cities of Tyre and Sidon. He came back to the Sea of Galilee by way of the land of Decapolis. ³² They took a man to Him who could not hear or speak well. They asked Jesus to put His hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him away from the other people. He put His fingers into the man’s ears. He spit and put His finger on the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Then Jesus looked up to heaven and breathed deep within. He said to the man, “Be opened!” ³⁵ At once his ears were opened. His tongue was made loose and he spoke as other people. ³⁶ Then Jesus told them they should tell no one. The more He told them this, the more they told what He had done. ³⁷ They were very much surprised and wondered about it. They said, “He has done all things well. He makes those who could not hear so they can hear. He makes those who could not speak so they can speak.”