M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jephthah and Ephraim
12 The men of Ephraim called all their soldiers together and crossed the river to the town of Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why didn’t you call us to help you fight the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]? We will burn your house down ·with you in it [over you].”
2 Jephthah answered them, “My people and I fought a great battle against the ·Ammonites [L sons/descendants of Ammon]. I called you, but you didn’t ·come to help me [L save/rescue/T deliver me from their hand]. 3 When I saw that you would not help me, I risked my own life and went against the Ammonites. The Lord ·handed them over to me [L gave them into my hand]. So why have you come to fight against me today?”
4 Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together and fought the men of Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You men of Gilead are ·nothing but deserters [or fugitives; or renegades] from Ephraim—living ·between [or in the territory of] Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 The men of Gilead captured the ·crossings [fords; 3:28] of the Jordan River ·that led to the country of [opposite] Ephraim. A person from Ephraim trying to escape would say, “Let me cross the river.” Then the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he replied no, 6 they would say to him, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth [the word means “flood” or “stream” in Hebrew].’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly [C the difference in accent gave them away (cf. Matt. 26:73)]. So if the person from Ephraim said, “Sibboleth,” the men of Gilead would kill him at the ·crossing [ford]. So forty-two thousand people from Ephraim were killed at that time.
7 Jephthah ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel for six years. Then Jephthah, the man from Gilead, died and was buried in a town in Gilead.
Ibzan, the Judge
8 After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel. 9 He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He ·let his daughters marry [L gave them in marriage to] men who were not in his ·family group [clan], and he brought thirty women who were not in his tribe to be wives for his sons. Ibzan ·judged [led] Israel for seven years. 10 Then he died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon, the Judge
11 After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel. He ·judged [led] Israel for ten years. 12 Then Elon, the man of Zebulun, died and was buried in the city of Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
Abdon, the Judge
13 After Elon died, Abdon son of Hillel from the city of Pirathon ·judged [led; 2:16] Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys [10:4]. He ·judged [led] Israel for eight years. 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the ·mountains [hill country] where the Amalekites lived.
Timothy Goes with Paul
16 Paul came to Derbe and Lystra [14:6], where a ·follower [disciple] named Timothy lived. Timothy’s mother was Jewish [C her name was Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15)] and a believer, but his father was a Greek.
2 The ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] in Lystra and Iconium [13:51] ·respected Timothy and ·said good things about [spoke well of; L testified about] him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him, but all the people living in that area knew that Timothy’s father was Greek. So Paul circumcised Timothy ·to please his mother’s people [L because of the Jews in those places]. 4 ·Paul and those with him [L They] traveled from town to town and ·gave [delivered; passed on] the ·decisions [decrees] made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches became stronger in the faith and grew larger every day.
Paul Is Called to Macedonia
6 ·Paul and those with him [L They] went through the areas of Phrygia [C a region in north central Asia Minor; 18:23] and Galatia [C either the Roman province of Galatia or the old kingdom of Galatia in its north] since the Holy Spirit ·did not let them [prohibited them to; C either through circumstances or divine revelation] ·preach the Good News [L speak the word] in Asia [C a Roman province, in present-day Turkey]. 7 When they came ·near [or opposite] the country of Mysia [C the northwest section of Asia Minor, present-day Turkey], they tried to go into Bithynia [C northern Asia Minor further east than Mysia], but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas [C a city in northwest Asia Minor]. 9 That night Paul saw in a vision a man from Macedonia [C an area across the Aegean Sea in mainland Greece]. The man stood and ·begged [urged; encouraged], “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we [C the switch to first person plural (“we”) indicates that the author, Luke, joined them (see also 20:5—21:18; 27:1—28:16)] immediately ·prepared [made plans; attempted] to leave for Macedonia, ·understanding [or convinced] that God had called us to ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel] to those people.
Lydia Becomes a Christian
11 We ·left [embarked/put out to sea from] Troas and sailed straight to the island of Samothrace [C a mountainous island in the north Aegean]. The next day we sailed to Neapolis [C city in Macedonia, the first city Paul visited on the continent of Europe]. 12 Then we went by land to Philippi, a Roman colony [C a town begun by Romans with Roman laws, customs, and privileges] and ·the leading city in that part [or one of the leading cities in that district; or a city in the first district] of Macedonia. We stayed there for several days.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river where we ·thought [expected] we would find a special place for prayer [C Philippi evidently had no synagogue because of its small Jewish population]. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them. 14 One of the listeners was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira [C in western Asia Minor] ·whose job was selling [who was a dealer/merchant in] purple cloth [C the most expensive type of material]. She was a worshiper of God [C a God-fearing Gentile; 10:2], and the Lord opened her ·mind [L heart] to pay attention to what Paul was saying. 15 She and ·all the people in her house [her household] were baptized. Then she ·invited us to her home [L urged us], saying, “If you ·think I am truly [L have judged me to be] ·a believer in [or faithful to] the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she ·persuaded us [urged us strongly] to stay with her.
Paul and Silas in Jail
16 Once, while we were going to the place for prayer, a ·servant [slave] girl met us. She had a ·special spirit [spirit/demon of divination/prediction; L Python spirit; C Python was the serpent god that guarded the Delphic oracle; the term came to be used of the ability to predict the future] in her, and she earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are ·servants [slaves] of the Most High God. They are telling you ·how you can be saved [L the way/path of salvation].”
18 She kept this up for many days. This ·bothered [annoyed; exasperated] Paul, so he turned and said to the spirit, “By the ·power [L name] of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” ·Immediately, [L That very hour] the spirit came out.
19 When the owners of the ·servant [slave] girl saw that their ·source for making money [hope of profit] was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the ·city rulers [leaders; authorities] in the marketplace. 20 They brought Paul and Silas to the ·Roman rulers [magistrates] and said, “These men are Jews and are ·making trouble in [disturbing] our city. 21 They are ·teaching things [advocating customs] that are not ·right [permitted; lawful] for us as Romans to [L adopt/accept or to] do.”
22 The crowd joined the attack against them. The ·Roman officers [magistrates] ·tore [stripped off] the clothes of Paul and Silas and ·had [ordered] them beaten with rods [2 Cor. 11:25]. 23 After ·being severely beaten [L many blows were laid on them], ·Paul and Silas [L they] were thrown into ·jail [prison], and the jailer was ordered to guard them ·carefully [securely]. 24 When he heard this order, he put them far inside the ·jail [prison] and ·pinned [secured; fastened] their feet ·down between large blocks of wood [in stocks; L in wood].
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing ·songs [hymns; praise songs] to God as the other prisoners listened. 26 Suddenly, there was a ·strong [great; violent] earthquake that shook the foundation of the ·jail [prison]. Then all the doors of the ·jail [prison] broke open, and all the prisoners were freed from their chains. 27 The jailer woke up and saw that the ·jail [prison] doors were open. Thinking that the prisoners had already escaped, he got his sword and was about to kill himself [C being responsible, he would suffer punishment and shame for their escape]. 28 But [L with a great/loud voice] Paul shouted, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.”
29 The jailer ·told someone to bring a light [L asked for lights]. Then he ·ran [rushed] inside and, shaking with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 He brought them outside and said, “·Men [L Lords; Sirs], what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and ·all the people in your house [your household].” 32 So ·Paul and Silas [L they] told the ·message [word] of the Lord to the jailer and all the people in his ·house [household]. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Then he and all his ·people [or family; household] were baptized immediately. 34 After this the jailer took Paul and Silas home and gave them food. He and his ·family [L household] ·were very happy [rejoiced; celebrated] because they now believed in God.
35 The next morning, the ·Roman officers [magistrates] sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let these men go free.”
36 The jailer ·said [L reported these words] to Paul, “The ·officers [magistrates] have sent an order to let you go free. You can leave now. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to ·the police [L them], “They beat us in public ·without a trial [L uncondemned], even though we are Roman citizens [C Roman law stated that citizens could not be beaten without a trial]. And they threw us in ·jail [prison]. Now they want to ·make us go away [get rid of us; throw us out] ·quietly [in secret]. No! Let them come themselves and bring us out.”
38 The police ·told [reported to] the ·Roman officers [magistrates] what Paul said. When ·the officers [L they] heard that ·Paul and Silas [L they] were Roman citizens, they were afraid. 39 So they came and ·told Paul and Silas they were sorry [apologized to them; appeased them] and took them out of ·jail [prison] and asked them to leave the city. 40 So when they came out of the ·jail [prison], they went to Lydia’s house where they saw some of the ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] and encouraged them. Then they left.
A Summary of Jeremiah’s Preaching
25 This is the message that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah. It came in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah and the first year Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. 2 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
3 The Lord has spoken his word to me again and again for these past twenty-three years. I have been a prophet since the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah. I have spoken messages from the Lord to you from that time until today, but you have not listened.
4 The Lord has sent all his servants the prophets [7:25; 2 Kin. 17:13] to you over and over again, but you have not listened or ·paid any attention [L inclined/bent your ear] to them. 5 Those prophets have said, “·Stop [Turn from/Repent of] your evil ways. ·Stop doing [Turn from/Repent of] what is wrong so you can stay in the land that the Lord gave to you and your ·ancestors [fathers] to live in forever. 6 Don’t ·follow [L go after] other gods to serve them or to ·worship [bow down to] them. Don’t make me, the Lord, angry by the work of your own hands [C idols], or I will ·punish [harm] you.”
7 “But you [C people of Judah] did not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me angry by the work of your own hands [C idols], so I ·punished [harmed] you.”
8 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “Since you have not listened to my messages, 9 I will send for all the ·peoples [clans; families] of the north [C Babylon],” says the Lord, “along with my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will bring them all against Judah, those who live there, and all the nations around you, too. I will ·completely destroy [annihilate] all those countries and leave them ·in ruins [desolate] forever. ·People will be shocked when they see how badly I have destroyed those countries [L I will make them a horror and a hissing and an everlasting reproach]. 10 I will ·bring an end to [banish; cause to perish] the sounds of joy and happiness, the sounds of brides and bridegrooms [7:34; 16:9], and the sound of ·people grinding meal [L the millstone]. And I will take away the light of the lamp. 11 That whole ·area [L land] will be an ·empty desert [ruin and desolate], and these nations will ·be slaves of [serve] the king of Babylon [C Nebuchadnezzar] for seventy years [C the exile].
12 “But when the seventy years ·have passed [are completed], I will punish the king of Babylon and his entire nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their ·evil [iniquity],” says the Lord. “I will make that land a ·desert [desolation] forever. 13 I will ·make happen [L bring on this land] all the ·terrible things [L words] I said about it [C Babylonia]—everything Jeremiah prophesied about all those foreign nations, the warnings written in this book [chs. 46–51]. 14 Even they [C Babylonians] will have to serve many nations and many great kings. I will ·give them the punishment they deserve for all their own hands have done [L repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands].”
Judgment on the Nations
15 The Lord, the God of Israel, said this to me: “Take the cup of the wine of my wrath [49:12; 51:7] from my hand and make all the nations, to whom I am sending you, drink from this cup. 16 They will drink and ·stumble about [stagger; or vomit] and act like madmen because of the ·war [L sword] I am going to send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and went to those nations where he sent me and made them drink from it. 18 I served this wine to the people of Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and the kings and officers of Judah, so they would become a ruin. Then people would be shocked and would ·insult them [hiss] and ·speak evil of [curse] them. And so it has been to this day. 19 I also made these people drink of the Lord’s anger: Pharaoh the king of Egypt, his servants, his officers, all his people, 20 and all the ·foreigners there [mixed crowd]; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (the kings of the cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 the people of Edom, Moab, and ·Ammon [L the sons of Ammon]; 22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; all the kings of the coastal countries ·to the west [or across the sea]; 23 the people of Dedan and Tema and Buz; all who ·cut their hair short [L shave their temples; Deut. 14:1]; 24 all the kings of Arabia; and the kings of the ·people [L mixed crowd] who live in the ·desert [wilderness]; 25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other. I made all the kingdoms on earth drink [C from the cup of wrath] of the Lord’s anger, but the king of ·Babylon [L Sheshak; C a coded reference to Babylon] will drink from this cup after all the others.
27 “Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: Drink ·this cup [C of my anger]. Get drunk from it and vomit. Fall down and don’t get up because of the ·war [L sword] I am sending among you!’
28 “If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, say to them, ‘The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says this: You must drink [C from this cup]. 29 Look! I am ·already bringing [beginning to bring] ·disaster [harm; trouble] on this city that is called by my name [C Jerusalem]. Do you think you will not be punished? You will ·be punished [L not go unpunished]! I am ·sending [L calling for] ·war [L a sword] on all the people of the earth, says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].’
30 “You [C Jeremiah] will prophesy against them with all these words. Say to them:
‘The Lord will roar [C like a lion] from heaven [Amos 1:2]
and will ·shout [L give forth] from his holy lair [C the Temple].
He will roar loudly against his ·land [L sheepfold].
He will shout like people who walk on grapes [Is. 63:2–6; Rev. 19:15];
he will shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The ·noise [clamor] will spread all over the earth,
because the Lord will accuse all the nations.
He will ·judge and tell what is wrong with [bring an indictment against] all ·people [L flesh],
and he will kill the evil people with a sword,’” says the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“Disasters will soon ·spread [L go out]
from nation to nation.
They will come like a powerful storm
from the faraway places on earth.”
33 At that time those killed by the Lord will reach from one end of the earth to the other. No one will ·cry [mourn] for them or gather up their bodies and bury them. They will be left lying on the ground like dung [8:2; 9:22; 16:4].
34 Cry, you ·leaders [L shepherds]! Cry out loud!
Roll around in the ·dust [ashes], ·leaders of the people [L nobles of the flock]!
·It is now time for you to be killed [L Your days are filled for slaughter].
You will fall and be scattered,
like ·pieces of a broken [L a choice/precious] jar.
35 There will be no place for the ·leaders [L shepherds] to ·hide [L flee];
·they [L the nobles of the flock] will not escape.
36 I hear the sound of the ·leaders [L shepherds] shouting.
I hear the ·leaders of the people [L nobles of the flock] crying loudly,
because the Lord is destroying their ·land [L pastureland].
37 Those peaceful pastures will be ·like an empty desert [L devastated],
because the Lord is very angry.
38 Like a lion, he has left his den.
Their land has been ·destroyed [desolated]
because of the terrible ·war [L sword] he brought,
because of his fierce anger.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King(A)
11 As Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] were coming closer to Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his ·followers [disciples] 2 and said to them, “Go to the town ·you can see there [ahead of you; or opposite you C either Bethphage, Bethany, or another village]. When you enter it, you will ·quickly [immediately] find a ·colt [young donkey] tied, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are doing this, tell him ·its Master [the Lord; or its Owner] needs the colt and ·he will send it at once [or he will return it soon; C “he” could be either Jesus or the colt’s owner].”
4 They went into the town, found a colt tied in the street near the door of a house, and untied it. 5 Some people were standing there and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that colt?” 6 They answered the way Jesus told them to answer, and the people let them take the colt.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it [Zech. 9:9]. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut [leafy] branches in the fields and spread them on the road. 9 The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting,
“·Praise God! [L Hosanna! C A Hebrew word originally used in praying for help, but by this time a joyful shout of praise to God.]
·God bless [Blessed is] the One who comes in the name of the Lord [Ps. 118:26]!
10 ·God bless [Blessed is] the coming kingdom of our father David!
·Praise to God in heaven [L Hosanna in the highest]!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After he had looked [around] at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with ·the twelve apostles [the Twelve].
12 The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he became hungry. 13 Seeing a fig tree in leaf from far away, he went to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves, because it was not the right season for figs. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] heard him say this.
Jesus Goes to the Temple(B)
15 When Jesus ·returned [came] to Jerusalem, he went into the ·Temple [temple complex; C the large temple area, not the inner building where only the priests could go] and began to ·throw [drive] out those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of ·those who were exchanging different kinds of money [L the moneychangers], and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves [or pigeons; C moneychangers provided particular coins for the temple tax; doves or pigeons were sold for sacrifices; Lev. 5:7]. 16 Jesus refused to allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. 17 Then he taught the people, saying, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My ·Temple [L House] will be called a house for prayer for people from all nations’ [Is. 56:7]. But you ·are changing God’s house [L have made it] into a ·‘hideout for robbers’ [T den of thieves’; Jer. 7:11].”
18 The ·leading [T chief] priests and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] heard all this and began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because all the people were amazed at his teaching. 19 That evening, Jesus and his ·followers[a] [disciples] left the city.
The Power of Faith(C)
20 The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his ·followers [disciples], they saw the fig tree ·dry and dead [withered], even to the roots. 21 Peter ·remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], look! The fig tree you cursed is ·dry and dead [withered]!”
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘·Go [Be lifted up], fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your ·mind [heart] and believe that what you say will happen, ·God will do it for you [it will be done for you]. 24 So I tell you to believe that you have received ·the things [everything] you ask for in prayer, and ·God will give them to you [you will receive them]. 25 When you ·are praying [L stand praying], if you ·are angry with [have anything against] someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your ·sins [transgressions; trespasses]. |26 But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your ·sins [transgressions; trespasses].|”[b]
Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority(D)
27 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple [complex; area; courts; see 11:15], the ·leading [T chief] priests, the ·teachers of the law [scribes], and the elders came to him. 28 They said to him, “What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
29 Jesus answered, “I will ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. 30 Tell me: When John baptized people, was that authority from ·God [L heaven; C a reverential Jewish way of referring to God] or just from ·other people [human beings]?”
31 They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from ·God [L heaven],’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘It was from ·other people [human beings],’ the crowd will be against us.” (These leaders were afraid of the people, because all the people believed that John was a prophet.)
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.”
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