M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Samson’s Philistine Wife

14 Samson went down to Timnah. There he saw a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² He returned and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah. She is one of the daughters of the Philistines. Now get her for me as a wife.” ³ But his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your family or among all our people? Must you take a wife from the Philistines who have not gone through the religious act of the Jews?” Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she looks good to me.” ⁴ His father and mother did not know that it was the Lord’s leading. For He was planning a way to go against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

⁵ Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. They came as far as the grape-fields of Timnah. There a young lion came running toward him, making a loud noise. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power. Samson tore the lion apart like one tears a young goat. He had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷ Then Samson went down and talked to the woman. She looked good to him. ⁸ When he returned later to take her, he turned to look at the dead lion. He saw that a lot of bees and some honey were inside the lion’s body. ⁹ So he took the honey out with his hands and went on his way, eating as he went. He came to his father and mother and gave some honey to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had taken the honey out of the lion’s body.

¹⁰ Then his father went down to the woman. Samson made a special supper there. The young men used to do this. ¹¹ When the people saw him, they brought thirty friends to be with him. ¹² And Samson said to them, “Let me see if you can answer this question. If you can find the answer within the seven days of the special supper, I will give you thirty linen coats and thirty pieces of clothing. ¹³ But if you cannot answer me, you must give me thirty linen coats and thirty pieces of clothing.” And they said to him, “Ask your question. Let us hear it.” ¹⁴ So Samson said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet. Now what does this mean?” But they could not answer the question in three days.

¹⁵ On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Make your husband tell us the answer. Or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you asked us to come here so you can make us poor? Is it not true?” ¹⁶ So Samson’s wife cried in front of Samson, saying, “You only hate me. You do not love me. You have asked my people a question. And you have not told me the answer.” Samson said to her, “See, I have not told the answer to my father or mother. Should I tell it to you?” ¹⁷ But she cried in front of him for seven days while their special supper lasted. On the seventh day Samson told her the answer because she begged him so much. Then she told the answer to her people. ¹⁸ So the men of the city said to Samson before the sun went down on the seventh day, “What is more sweet than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” Samson said to them, “If you had not plowed with my young cow, you would not have found the answer.” ¹⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him with power. Samson went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of the town. He took their clothing and gave it to the men who answered his question. He was very angry and returned to his father’s house. ²⁰ Samson’s wife was given to his friend who had been his best man at his wedding.

Paul Goes to Corinth

18 After that Paul went from the city of Athens and came to the city of Corinth. ² He met a Jew there named Aquila who was born in the country of Pontus. He had lived in the country of Italy a short time. His wife Priscilla was with him. Claudius, who was the leader of the country, had told all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla. ³ They made tents for a living. Paul did the same kind of work so he stayed with them and they worked together.

⁴ Every Day of Rest he would go to the Jewish place of worship and teach both Jews and Greeks. ⁵ Silas and Timothy came down from the country of Macedonia. Then Paul used all his time preaching to the Jews. He taught that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ But they worked against Paul and said bad things about him. He shook his clothes and said, “Whatever happens to you is your own doing. I am free from your guilt. From now on I will go to the people who are not Jews.”

⁷ Paul went from there and came to the house of a man named Titus Justus who worshiped God. His house was next to the Jewish place of worship. ⁸ Crispus was the leader of the Jewish place of worship. He and his family believed in the Lord. Many of the people of Corinth who heard Paul became Christians and were baptized.

⁹ Paul saw the Lord in a dream one night. He said to Paul, “Do not be afraid. Keep speaking. Do not close your mouth. ¹⁰ I am with you. No one will hurt you. I have many people in this city who belong to Me.” ¹¹ For a year and a half Paul stayed there and taught them the Word of God.

¹² Gallio was leader of the country of Greece. All the Jews worked against Paul and brought him in front of the court. ¹³ They said, “This man is trying to get people to worship God against the Law.” ¹⁴ Paul was ready to speak, but Gallio said to the Jews, “If this were something bad or a wrong doing, I would listen to you. ¹⁵ But because it is about words and names and your own Law, you will have to take care of it yourselves. I do not want to judge who is right or wrong in things like this.” ¹⁶ And he sent them out of his court.

¹⁷ Then all the Greek people took Sosthenes, the leader of the Jewish place of worship, and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio did not let this trouble him.

Paul Goes Back to Antioch

¹⁸ Paul stayed in Corinth many days longer. Then he said good-bye and left the followers. He went by ship to the country of Syria with Priscilla and Aquila going with him. In the city of Cenchrea he had his hair cut short because of a promise he had made to God. ¹⁹ They came to the city of Ephesus. Priscilla and Aquila stayed there. Paul went to the Jewish place of worship and argued with the Jews. ²⁰ They wanted him to stay longer but he would not. ²¹ As he left them, he said, (*“I must go to the special supper at Jerusalem.) I will return again to you if God wants me to.” Then he got on a ship and left Ephesus. ²² He stopped in the city of Caesarea to greet the people in the church. Then he went down to the city of Antioch. ²³ Paul stayed there for some time. Then he went from city to city through the countries of Galatia and Phrygia. In each place he helped the Christians become strong in the faith.

Aquila and Priscilla Help Apollos in Ephesus

²⁴ A Jew by the name of Apollos had come to Ephesus. He was from the city of Alexandria. He could talk to people about the Holy Writings very well. ²⁵ He had been taught in the way of the Lord. And with a strong desire in his heart, he taught about Jesus. What he said was true, but he knew only about the baptism of John.

²⁶ He began to speak without fear in the Jewish place of worship. Aquila and Priscilla heard him. They took him to their house and taught him much more about the things of God. ²⁷ Apollos wanted to cross over to Greece. The Christians wrote a letter to the followers there asking them to be good to him. When he got there, he was much help to those who had put their trust in Christ. ²⁸ In front of everyone he proved with great power that the Jews were wrong. He showed from the Holy Writings that Jesus was the Christ.

Judah Will Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the rule of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ² The Lord said to me, “Make ropes and a cross-bar for carrying a load, and put them on your neck. ³ Then send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon. Send them with the men who bring news to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. ⁴ Tell them to go to their leaders, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, and this is what you should say to your leaders: ⁵ “I have made the earth, and the men and the animals that are on it by My great power and by My long arm. And I will give it to the one who is right in My eyes. ⁶ Now I have given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant. And I have given him the wild animals of the field to serve him. ⁷ All the nations will serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time for his land comes. Then many nations and great kings will make him their servant. ⁸ But if any nation will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the load of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, hunger, and disease,” says the Lord, “until I have destroyed it by his hand. ⁹ So do not listen to your men who tell of their special dreams, your men who tell what is going to happen in the future, or your wonder workers who use their secret ways. They say to you, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ But they are lying to you, and will cause you to be taken far from your land. I will drive you out, and you will die. ¹¹ But the nation that brings its neck under the cross-bar of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will let stay on its own land,” says the Lord. “And its people will take care of the fields and live there.”’”

¹² I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way, saying, “Bring your necks under the cross-bar of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why will you and your people die by the sword, hunger, and disease, as the Lord has said would happen to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Do not listen to the men who tell of their dreams and say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they are telling you a lie. ¹⁵ I have not sent them,” says the Lord. “They speak false words in My name, so that I may drive you out, and that you may die, both you and the men who tell these things to you.”

¹⁶ Then I said to the religious leaders and to all these people, “The Lord says: Do not listen to the men who speak in God’s name saying, ‘See, the objects of the Lord’s house will soon be returned from Babylon,’ for they are telling you a lie. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city be destroyed? ¹⁸ But if they are true men of God, and if the Word of the Lord is with them, let them now pray to the Lord of All. Let them ask that the objects which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord of All says about the pillars, the brass pool, the stands, and the rest of the objects that are left in this city. ²⁰ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take these things from Jerusalem to Babylon when he took Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ So this is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says about the objects that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem. He says, ²² ‘They will be carried to Babylon, and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back to this place.’”

Jesus Tells of the House of God ^(A)

13 Jesus went out of the house of God. One of His followers said to Him, “Teacher, look at the big stones and these great buildings!” ² Jesus said, “Do you see these great buildings? All these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left standing on another.”

Jesus Teaches on the Mount Of Olives

³ Jesus sat down on the Mount of Olives at a place where He could see the house of God. Peter and James and John and Andrew came to Him. They asked without anyone else hearing, ⁴ “Tell us when this will be. What are we to look for when these things are to happen?”

What to Look for Before Jesus Returns

⁵ Jesus began to say to them, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way. ⁶ Many people will come using My name. They will say, ‘I am Christ.’ They will turn many to the wrong way. ⁷ When you hear of wars and much talk about wars, do not be surprised. These things have to happen. But the end is not yet. ⁸ Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. The earth will shake and break apart in different places. There will be no food for people. There will be much trouble. These things are the beginning of much sorrow and pain.

It Will Be Hard for Those Who Believe

⁹ “Watch out for yourselves. They will take you to the courts. In the places of worship they will beat you. You will be taken in front of rulers and in front of kings because of Me. You will be there to tell them about Me. ¹⁰ The Good News must first be preached to all the nations.

¹¹ “When you are put into their hands, do not be afraid of what you are to say or how you are to say it. Whatever is given to you to say at that time, say it. It will not be you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² A brother will hand over a brother to death. A father will hand over his son. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by all people because of Me. But he who stays true to the end will be saved.

Days of Trouble and Pain and Sorrow

¹⁴ “You will see a very sinful man-made god standing in the house of God where it has no right to stand. Then those in the country of Judea should run to the mountains. It was spoken of by the early preacher Daniel. ^(B) The one who reads this should understand. ¹⁵ He that is on the top of the house should not take the time to get anything out of his house. ¹⁶ He that is in the field should not go back to get his coat. ¹⁷ It will be hard for women who will soon be mothers. It will be hard for those feeding babies in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that it will not be during the winter. ¹⁹ In those days there will be much trouble and pain and sorrow. It has never been this bad from the beginning of time and never will be again. ²⁰ If the Lord had not made those days short, no life would have been saved. Because of God’s people whom He has chosen, He made the days short.

The False Religious Teachers

²¹ “If anyone says to you, ‘See! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. ²² Some will come who will say they are Christ. False preachers will come. These people will do special things for people to see. They will do surprising things, so that if it can be, God’s people will be led to believe something wrong. ²³ See! I have told you about these things before they happen.

Jesus Will Come Again in His Greatness

²⁴ “After those days of much trouble and pain and sorrow are over, the sun will get dark. The moon will not give light. ²⁵ The stars will fall from the sky. The powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and shining-greatness. ²⁷ He will send His angels. They will gather together God’s people from the four winds. They will come from one end of the earth to the other end of heaven.

The Picture-Story of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Now learn something from the fig tree. When the branch begins to grow and puts out its leaves, you know summer is near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see all these things happen, you know the Son of Man is near. He is even at the door. ³⁰ For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will not pass away before all these things have happened.

³¹ “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. ³² But no one knows the day or the hour. No! Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.

³³ “Be careful! Watch and pray. You do not know when it will happen. ³⁴ The coming of the Son of Man is as a man who went from his house to a far country. He gave each one of his servants some work to do. He told the one standing at the door to watch. ³⁵ In the same way, you are to watch also! You do not know when the Owner of the house will be coming. It may be in the evening or in the night or when the sun comes up or in the morning. ³⁶ He may come when you are not looking for Him and find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to all. Watch!”