M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Samson’s Weakness
16 Now Samson went to (A)Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” they (B)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light, then we will kill him.” 3 Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.
4 After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 The (C)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “(D)Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and [a]how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and [b]how you may be bound to afflict you.” 7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it [c]touches fire. So his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me [d]how you may be bound.” 11 He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes [e]which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” For the men were lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped [f]the ropes from his arms like a thread.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me [g]how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my [h]hair with the web [i][and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his [j]hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.
Delilah Extracts His Secret
15 Then she said to him, “(E)How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” 16 It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was [k]annoyed to death. 17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a (F)Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his [l]hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. 20 She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that (G)the Lord had departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.
23 Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to (H)Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said,
“Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.”
24 When the people saw him, (I)they praised their god, for they said,
“Our god has given our enemy into our hands,
Even the destroyer of our country,
Who has slain many of us.”
25 It so happened when [m]they were in high spirits, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he [n]entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. 26 Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them.
Samson Is Avenged
28 (J)Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord [o]God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once (K)be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with [p]all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. 31 Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. (L)Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for (A)the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left (B)to go to (C)Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3 And there he spent three months, and when (D)a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for (E)Syria, he decided to return through (F)Macedonia. 4 And [a]he was accompanied by Sopater of (G)Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by (H)Aristarchus and Secundus of the (I)Thessalonians, and (J)Gaius of (K)Derbe, and (L)Timothy, and (M)Tychicus and (N)Trophimus of [b](O)Asia. 5 But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for (P)us at (Q)Troas. 6 (R)We sailed from (S)Philippi after (T)the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at (U)Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.
7 On (V)the first day of the week, when (W)we were gathered together to (X)break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his [c]message until midnight. 8 There were many (Y)lamps in the (Z)upper room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a young man named [d]Eutychus sitting [e]on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and (AA)fell upon him, and after embracing him, he (AB)said, “[f]Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” 11 When he had gone back up and had (AC)broken the bread and [g]eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were [h]greatly comforted.
Troas to Miletus
13 But (AD)we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go [i]by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to (AE)Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past (AF)Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in [j](AG)Asia; for he was hurrying (AH)to be in Jerusalem, if possible, (AI)on the day of Pentecost.
Farewell to Ephesus
17 From Miletus he sent to (AJ)Ephesus and called to him (AK)the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them,
“You yourselves know, (AL)from the first day that I set foot in [k]Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me [l]through (AM)the plots of the Jews; 20 how I (AN)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and [m]from house to house, 21 solemnly (AO)testifying to both Jews and Greeks of (AP)repentance toward God and (AQ)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, bound by the [n]Spirit, (AR)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that (AS)the Holy Spirit solemnly (AT)testifies to me in every city, saying that (AU)bonds and afflictions await me. 24 But (AV)I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may (AW)finish my course and (AX)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to (AY)testify solemnly of the gospel of (AZ)the grace of God.
25 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about (BA)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 Therefore, I [o]testify to you this day that (BB)I am [p]innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I (BC)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole (BD)purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all (BE)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you [q]overseers, to shepherd (BF)the church of God which (BG)He [r]purchased [s]with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure (BH)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing (BI)the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away (BJ)the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of (BK)three years I did not cease to admonish each one (BL)with tears. 32 And now I (BM)commend you to God and to (BN)the word of His grace, which is able to (BO)build you up and to give you (BP)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 (BQ)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that (BR)these hands ministered to my own needs and to the (BS)men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 When he had said these things, he (BT)knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And [t]they began to weep aloud and [u](BU)embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 [v]grieving especially over (BV)the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were (BW)accompanying him to the ship.
Message to the Exiles
29 Now these are the words of the (A)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King (B)Jeconiah and the (C)queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of (D)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have (E)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘(F)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their [a]produce. 6 Take (G)wives and [b]become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. 7 (H)Seek the [c]welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and (I)pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its [d]welfare you will have [e]welfare.’ 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your (J)prophets who are in your midst and your diviners (K)deceive you, and do not listen to [f](L)the dreams which [g]they dream. 9 For they (M)prophesy falsely to you in My name; (N)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.
10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When (O)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My (P)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the (Q)plans that I [h]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for (R)welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a (S)hope. 12 Then you will (T)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will (U)listen to you. 13 You will (V)seek Me and find Me when you (W)search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be (X)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will (Y)restore your [i]fortunes and will (Z)gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will (AA)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’
15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up (AB)prophets for us in Babylon’— 16 for thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did (AC)not go with you into exile— 17 thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the (AD)sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like (AE)split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will (AF)make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a (AG)curse and a horror and a (AH)hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have (AI)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by (AJ)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. 20 You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have (AK)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are (AL)prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. 22 Because of them a (AM)curse will be [j]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon (AN)roasted in the fire, 23 because they have (AO)acted foolishly in Israel, and (AP)have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have (AQ)spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who (AR)knows and am a witness,” declares the Lord.’”
24 To (AS)Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent (AT)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to (AU)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the [k](AV)overseer in the house of the Lord over every (AW)madman who (AX)prophesies, to (AY)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, 27 now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of (AZ)Anathoth who prophesies to you? 28 For he has (BA)sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be (BB)long; (BC)build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their [l]produce.’”’”
29 (BD)Zephaniah the priest read this letter [m]to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, 31 “Send to (BE)all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning (BF)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has (BG)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has (BH)made you trust in a lie,” 32 therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to (BI)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his [n]descendants; he will (BJ)not have anyone living among this people, (BK)and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has [o](BL)preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”
Jesus before Pilate
15 (A)Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole [a](B)Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. 2 (C)Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He *answered him, “It is as you say.” 3 The chief priests began to accuse Him [b]harshly. 4 Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” 5 But Jesus (D)made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.
6 (E)Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. 7 The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. 9 Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd (F)to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 They shouted [c]back, “Crucify Him!” 14 But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus (G)scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 (H)The soldiers took Him away into (I)the [d]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman [e](J)cohort. 17 They *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; 18 and they began to acclaim Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They kept beating His head with a [f]reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. 20 After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.
21 (K)They *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and (L)Rufus), to bear His cross.
The Crucifixion
22 (M)Then they *brought Him to the place (N)Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 They tried to give Him (O)wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. 24 And they *crucified Him, and *(P)divided up His garments among themselves, casting [g]lots for them to decide [h]what each man should take. 25 It was the [i](Q)third hour [j]when they crucified Him. 26 The inscription of the charge against Him [k]read, “(R)THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
27 They *crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 28 [[l]And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] 29 Those passing by were [m]hurling abuse at Him, (S)wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to (T)destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “(U)He saved others; [n]He cannot save Himself. 32 Let this Christ, (V)the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” (W)Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
33 (X)When the [o](Y)sixth hour came, darkness [p]fell over the whole land until the [q](Z)ninth hour. 34 At the (AA)ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “(AB)Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “[r]Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” 37 (AC)And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 (AD)And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 (AE)When the centurion, who was standing [s]right in front of Him, saw [t]the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was [u]the Son of God!”
40 (AF)There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of [v]James (AG)the [w]Less and Joses, and (AH)Salome. 41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and [x](AI)minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.
Jesus Is Buried
42 (AJ)When evening had already come, because it was (AK)the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a (AL)prominent member of the Council, who himself was (AM)waiting for the kingdom of God; and he (AN)gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And ascertaining this from (AO)the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 (AP)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.
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