M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Danites Seek Territory
18 (A)In those days there was no king of Israel; and (B)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day [a]an inheritance had not [b]been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, [c]valiant men from (C)Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to (D)the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” 4 He said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and (E)I have become his priest.” 5 They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” 6 The priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going [d]has the Lord’s approval.”
7 Then the five men departed and came to (F)Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no [e]ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you [f]sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. 10 When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, (G)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out. 12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place [g](H)Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is [h]west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
Danites Take Micah’s Idols
14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses (I)an ephod and [i]household idols and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 15 They turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. 16 The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took (J)the graven image and the ephod and [j]household idols and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 18 When these went into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and [k]household idols and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 They said to him, “Be silent, (K)put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us (L)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod and [l]household idols and the graven image and went among the people.
21 Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. 22 When they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled and overtook the sons of Dan. 23 They cried to the sons of Dan, who turned [m]around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?” 24 He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 The sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else [n]fierce men will fall upon you and you will [o]lose your life, with the lives of your household.” 26 So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to (M)Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near (N)Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 (O)They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. 30 The sons of Dan set up for themselves (P)the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of (Q)Gershom, the son of [p]Manasseh, (R)he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the (S)house of God was at Shiloh.
Paul’s Defense before the Jews
22 “(A)Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the [a](B)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,
3 “(C)I am (D)a Jew, born in (E)Tarsus of (F)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated [b]under (G)Gamaliel, [c](H)strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as (I)you all are today. 4 (J)I persecuted this (K)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also (L)the high priest and all (M)the Council of the elders [d]can testify. From them I also (N)received letters to (O)the brethren, and started off for (P)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [e]as prisoners to be punished.
6 “(Q)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am (R)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me (S)saw the light, to be sure, but (T)did not [f]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘(U)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I (V)could not see because of the [g]brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.
12 “A certain (W)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and (X)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘(Y)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [h](Z)at that very time I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘(AA)The God of our fathers has (AB)appointed you to know His will and to (AC)see the (AD)Righteous One and to hear an [i]utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AE)a witness for Him to all men of (AF)what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? (AG)Get up and be baptized, and (AH)wash away your sins, (AI)calling on His name.’
17 “It happened when I (AJ)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (AK)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘(AL)Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (AM)I used to imprison and (AN)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (AO)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (AP)to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(AQ)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (AR)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and (AS)throwing off their cloaks and (AT)tossing dust into the air, 24 the [j]commander ordered him to be brought into (AU)the barracks, stating that he should be (AV)examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [k]with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [l]lawful for you to scourge (AW)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the [m]commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The [n]commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The [o]commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to (AX)examine him immediately [p]let go of him; and the [q]commander also (AY)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [r](AZ)put him in chains.
30 But on the next day, (BA)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he (BB)released him and ordered the chief priests and all (BC)the [s]Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Jeremiah Imprisoned
32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the (A)tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the (B)court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah, 3 because Zedekiah king of Judah had (C)shut him up, saying, “Why do you (D)prophesy, saying, ‘(E)Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to (F)give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4 and Zedekiah king of Judah will (G)not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will (H)speak with him [a]face to face and see him eye to eye; 5 and he will (I)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will (J)not succeed”’?”
6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at (K)Anathoth, for you have the (L)right of redemption to buy it.”’ 8 Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the (M)court of the guard according to the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at (N)Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the (O)word of the Lord.
9 “I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I (P)weighed out the silver for him, seventeen (Q)shekels of silver. 10 I [b](R)signed and (S)sealed the deed, and (T)called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the (U)terms and conditions and the open copy; 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to (V)Baruch the son of (W)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may [c]last a long time.” 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “(X)Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’
Jeremiah Prays and God Explains
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I (Y)prayed to the Lord, saying, 17 ‘(Z)Ah Lord [d]God! Behold, You have (AA)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! (AB)Nothing is too difficult for You, 18 who (AC)shows lovingkindness to thousands, but (AD)repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O (AE)great and (AF)mighty God. The (AG)Lord of hosts is His name; 19 (AH)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose (AI)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, (AJ)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20 who has (AK)set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have (AL)made a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21 You (AM)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror; 22 and gave them this land, which You (AN)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They (AO)came in and took possession of it, but they (AP)did not obey Your voice or (AQ)walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made (AR)all this calamity come upon them. 24 Behold, the (AS)siege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is (AT)given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the (AU)sword, the famine and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has (AV)come to pass; and behold, You see it. 25 You have said to me, O Lord [e]God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’”
26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the (AW)God of all flesh; is anything (AX)too difficult for Me?” 28 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to (AY)give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and (AZ)set this city on fire and burn it, with the (BA)houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger. 30 Indeed the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only (BB)evil in My sight from their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only (BC)provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord. 31 “Indeed this city has been to Me a (BD)provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be (BE)removed from before My face, 32 because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their (BF)kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, [f](BG)teaching again and again, they would not listen [g]and receive instruction. 34 But they (BH)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 They built the (BI)high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to (BJ)Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it [h]entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is (BK)given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.’ 37 Behold, I will (BL)gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and (BM)make them dwell in safety. 38 They shall be (BN)My people, and I will be their God; 39 and I will (BO)give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own (BP)good and for the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an (BQ)everlasting covenant with them that I will (BR)not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will (BS)put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41 I will (BT)rejoice over them to do them good and will [i]faithfully (BU)plant them in this land with (BV)all My heart and with all My soul. 42 For thus says the Lord, ‘(BW)Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to (BX)bring on them all the good that I am promising them. 43 (BY)Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “(BZ)It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44 Men will buy fields for money, [j](CA)sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the (CB)land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the [k]Negev; for I will (CC)restore their [l]fortunes,’ declares the Lord.”
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (Q)the [f]nations in an uproar
And the peoples (R)devising a vain thing?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (V)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [i]installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the [j]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and (AD)I will surely give (AE)the [k]nations as Your inheritance,
And the very (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall [l](AG)break them with a [m]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [n]earthenware.’”
10 Now therefore, O kings, (AI)show discernment;
Take warning, O [o]judges of the earth.
11 [p]Worship the Lord with [q](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [r]Do homage to (AL)the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (AM)His wrath may [s]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.