M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Dinah Is Attacked
34 Dinah was the daughter of Leah and Jacob. At this time Dinah went out to visit the women of that land. 2 Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that land, saw Dinah. He took her and raped her. 3 Shechem fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her. 4 He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me so I can marry her.”
5 Jacob learned how Shechem had disgraced his daughter. But Jacob’s sons were out in the field with the cattle. So Jacob said nothing until they came home. 6 And Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob.
7 When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were very angry, because Shechem had done such a wicked thing to Israel. It was wrong for him to have raped Jacob’s daughter. A thing like this should not be done.
8 But Hamor talked to the brothers of Dinah. He said, “My son Shechem is deeply in love with Dinah. Please let him marry her. 9 Marry our people. Give your women to our men as wives. And take our women for your men as wives. 10 You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.”
11 Shechem also talked to Jacob and to Dinah’s brothers. He said, “Please accept my offer. I will give anything you ask. 12 Ask as much as you want for the payment for the bride. I will give it to you. Just let me marry Dinah.”
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with lies. They were angry because Shechem had disgraced their sister Dinah. 14 The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you to marry our sister. You are not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 But we will allow you to marry her if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us. 16 Then your men can marry our women, and our men can marry your women. Then we will live in your land and become one people. 17 If you refuse to be circumcised, we will take Dinah and leave.”
18 What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem. 19 So Shechem went quickly to be circumcised because he loved Jacob’s daughter.
Now Shechem was the most respected man in his family. 20 So Hamor and Shechem went to the gate of their city. They spoke to the men of their city. They said, 21 “These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. There is enough land for all of us. Let us marry their women. And we can let them marry our women. 22 But our men must agree to one thing. All our men must agree to be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land. And we will be one people. 23 If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” 24 All the men who had come to the city gate heard this. And they agreed with Hamor and Shechem. And every man was circumcised.
25 Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords. They made a surprise attack on the city. And they killed all the men there. 26 Simeon and Levi killed Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. 27 Jacob’s sons went among the dead bodies and stole everything that was in the city. This was to pay them back for what Shechem had done to their sister. 28 So the brothers took the flocks, herds and donkeys. And they took everything in the city and in the fields. 29 They took every valuable thing those people owned. They even took the wives and children and everything that was in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.”
31 But the brothers said, “We will not allow our sister to be treated like a prostitute.”
A Man with Demons Inside Him
5 Jesus and his followers went across the lake to the region of the Gerasene[a] people. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man came to him from the caves where dead people were buried. This man, who lived in the caves, had an evil spirit living in him. 3 No one could tie him up, not even with a chain. 4 Many times people had used chains to tie the man’s hands and feet. But he always broke the chains off. No one was strong enough to control him. 5 Day and night he would wander around the burial caves and on the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones. 6 While Jesus was still far away, the man saw him. He ran to Jesus and knelt down before him. 7-8 Jesus said to the man, “You evil spirit, come out of that man.”
But the man shouted in a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, promise God that you will not punish me!”
9 Then Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”
The man answered, “My name is Legion,[b] because I have many spirits in me.” 10 The man begged Jesus again and again not to send the spirits out of that area.
11 A large herd of pigs was eating on a hill near there. 12 The evil spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs. Let us go into them.” 13 So Jesus allowed them to do this. The evil spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs rushed down the hill into the lake and were drowned. There were about 2,000 pigs in that herd.
14 The men who took care of the pigs ran away. They went to the town and to the countryside, telling everyone about this. So people went out to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who had had the many evil spirits. The man was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind. The people were frightened. 16 Some people were there who saw what Jesus had done. They told the others what had happened to the man who had the demons living in him. And they also told about the pigs. 17 Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area.
18 Jesus was getting ready to leave in the boat. The man who was freed from the demons begged to go with him.
19 But Jesus would not allow the man to go. Jesus said, “Go home to your family and friends. Tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man left and told the people in the Ten Towns[c] about the great things Jesus had done for him. All the people were amazed.
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals A Sick Woman
21 Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake. There, a large crowd gathered around him. 22 A ruler from the synagogue, named Jairus, came to that place. Jairus saw Jesus and bowed before him. 23 The ruler begged Jesus again and again. He said, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her. Then she will be healed and will live.” 24 So Jesus went with the ruler, and many people followed Jesus. They were pushing very close around him.
25 A woman was there who had been bleeding for the past 12 years. 26 She had suffered very much. Many doctors had tried to help her. She had spent all the money she had, but she was not improving. She was getting worse. 27 When the woman heard about Jesus, she followed him with the people and touched his coat. 28 The woman thought, “If I can even touch his coat, that will be enough to heal me.” 29 When she touched his coat, her bleeding stopped. She could feel in her body that she was healed.
30 At once Jesus felt power go out from him. So he stopped and turned around. Then he asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 The followers said, “There are so many people pushing against you! And you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus continued looking around to see who had touched him. 33 The woman knew that she was healed. So she came and bowed at Jesus’ feet. Shaking with fear, she told him the whole story. 34 Jesus said to the woman, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace. You will have no more suffering.”
35 Jesus was still speaking to her when some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. The men said, “Your daughter is dead. There is now no need to bother the teacher.”
36 But Jesus paid no attention to what the men said. He said to the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; only believe.”
37 Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him to Jairus’s house. 38 They came to the house of the synagogue ruler, and Jesus found many people there crying loudly. There was much confusion. 39 Jesus entered the house and said to the people, “Why are you crying and making so much noise? This child is not dead. She is only asleep.” 40 But they only laughed at Jesus. He told all the people to leave. Then he went into the room where the child was. He took the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room with him. 41 Then he took hold of the girl’s hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means, “Little girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42 The girl stood right up and began walking. (She was 12 years old.) The father and mother and the followers were amazed. 43 Jesus gave the father and mother strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl some food.
Job, the Good Man
1 A man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was an honest man and innocent of any wrong. He honored God and stayed away from evil. 2 Job had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen and 500 female donkeys. And he had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 Job’s sons took turns holding feasts in their homes. And they invited their sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 After a feast was over, Job would send and have them made clean. Early in the morning Job would offer a burnt offering for each of them. He thought, “My children may have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this every time.
Satan Appears Before God
6 One day the angels came to show themselves before the Lord. Satan[a] also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been wandering around the earth. I have been going back and forth in it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him. He is an honest man and innocent of any wrong. He honors God and stays away from evil.”
9 But Satan answered God, “Job honors God for a good reason. 10 You have put a wall around him, his family and everything he owns. You have blessed the things he has done. So his flocks of sheep and herds of cattle are large. They almost cover the land. 11 But reach out your hand and destroy everything he has. Then he will curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “All right, then. Everything Job has is in your power. But you must not touch Job himself.” Then Satan left the Lord’s presence.
13 One day Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine together. They were at the oldest brother’s house. 14 A messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing. And the donkeys were eating grass nearby. 15 And the Sabeans attacked and carried them away. They killed the servants with swords. And I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
16 The messenger was still speaking when another messenger came in. He said, “Lightning from God fell from the sky. It burned up the sheep and the servants. And I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
17 The second messenger was still speaking when another messenger came in. He said, “The Babylonians sent three groups of attackers. They swept down and stole your camels. They killed the servants. And I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
18 The third messenger was still speaking when another messenger came in. He said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine together. They were at the oldest brother’s house. 19 Suddenly a great wind came in from the desert. It struck all four corners of the house at once. The house fell in on your sons and daughters. And they are all dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you!”
20 When Job heard this, he got up. To show how sad he was he tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he bowed down to the ground to worship God. 21 He said:
“I was naked when I was born.
And I will be naked when I die.
The Lord gave these things to me. And he has taken them away.
Praise the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job did not sin. He did not blame God.
Right with God
5 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through our faith,[b] Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. 3 And we also have joy with our troubles because we know that these troubles produce patience. 4 And patience produces character, and character produces hope. 5 And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.
6 Christ died for us while we were still weak. We were living against God, but at the right time, Christ died for us. 7 Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good man someone might possibly die. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners. In this way God shows his great love for us.
9 We have been made right with God by the blood of Christ’s death. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. 10 I mean that while we were God’s enemies, God made us his friends through the death of his Son. Surely, now that we are God’s friends, God will save us through his Son’s life. 11 And not only that, but now we are also very happy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus we are now God’s friends again.
Adam and Christ
12 Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. And this is why all men must die—because all men sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before the law of Moses. But God does not judge people guilty of sin if there is no law. 14 But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die. Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin in the same way had to die.
Adam was like the One who was coming in the future. 15 But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that they received from God was much greater. Many people received God’s gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. 16 After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. God’s free gift came after many sins. And the gift makes people right with God. 17 One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and the great gift of being made right with him. They will surely have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 So one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, one good act that Christ did makes all people right with God. And that brings true life for all. 19 One man disobeyed God, and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God, and many will be made right. 20 The law came to make people have more sin. But when people had more sin, God gave them more of his grace. 21 Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave people more of his grace so that grace could rule by making people right with him. And this brings life forever through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.