M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Dinah Is Raped
34 Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit some of the Canaanite women. 2 When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 He became very fond of Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
4 So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
5 Jacob heard that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah. His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home.
6 So Shechem’s father Hamor came to Jacob to speak with him. 7 Jacob’s sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel’s family by raping Jacob’s daughter. This shouldn’t have happened.
8 Hamor told them. “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please let her marry him. 9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves. 10 You can live with us, and the land will be yours. Live here, move about freely in this area, and acquire property here.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and her brothers, “Do me this favor. I’ll give you whatever you ask. 12 Set the price I must pay for the bride and the gift I must give her as high as you want. I’ll pay exactly what you tell me. Give me the girl as my wife.”
13 Then Jacob’s sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonored their sister Dinah. 14 They said, “We can’t do this. We can’t give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us! 15 We will give our consent to you only on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as we are. 16 Then we’ll give our daughters to you and take yours for ourselves, and we’ll live with you and become one people. 17 If you won’t agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our daughter and go.”
18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man didn’t waste any time in doing what they said because he took such pleasure in Jacob’s daughter. He was the most honored person in all his father’s family.
20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city gate to speak to the men of their city. They said, 21 “These people are friendly toward us, so let them live in our land and move about freely in the area. Look, there’s plenty of room in this land for them. We can marry their daughters and let them marry ours. 22 These people will consent to live with us and become one nation on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as they are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their personal property, and all their animals be ours? We only need to agree to do this for them. Then they’ll live with us.”
24 All the men who had come out to the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So they were all circumcised at the city gate.
25 Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man 26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They took Dinah from Shechem’s home and left. 27 Then Jacob’s sons stripped the corpses and looted the city where their sister had been dishonored. 28 They took the sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or out in the fields. 29 They carried off all the wealth and all the women and children and looted everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble! You’ve made the people living in the area, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join forces against me and attack me, my family and I will be wiped out.”
31 Simeon and Levi asked, “Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Man(A)
5 They arrived in the territory of the Gerasenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 2 As Yeshua stepped out of the boat, a man came out of the tombs and met him. The man was controlled by an evil spirit 3 and lived among the tombs. No one could restrain him any longer, not even with a chain. 4 He had often been chained hand and foot. However, he snapped the chains off his hands and broke the chains from his feet. No one could control him. 5 Night and day he was among the tombs and on the mountainsides screaming and cutting himself with stones.
6 The man saw Yeshua at a distance. So he ran to Yeshua, bowed down in front of him, 7 and shouted, “Why are you bothering me now, Yeshua, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me.” 8 He shouted this because Yeshua said, “You evil spirit, come out of the man.”
9 Yeshua asked him, “What is your name?”
He told Yeshua, “My name is Legion [Six Thousand], because there are many of us.” 10 He begged Yeshua not to send them out of the territory.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside nearby. 12 The demons begged him, “Send us into the pigs! Let us enter them!”
13 Yeshua let them do this. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned.
14 Those who took care of the pigs ran away. In the city and countryside they reported everything that had happened. So the people came to see what had happened. 15 They came to Yeshua and saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. The man was sitting there dressed and in his right mind. The people were frightened. 16 Those who saw this told what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. 17 Then the people began to beg Yeshua to leave their territory.
18 As Yeshua stepped into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him, “Let me stay with you.” 19 But Yeshua would not allow it. Instead, he told the man, “Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you.”
20 So the man left. He began to tell how much Yeshua had done for him in the Ten Cities.[a] Everyone was amazed.
Jairus’ Daughter and a Woman with Chronic Bleeding(B)
21 Yeshua again crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee in a boat. A large crowd gathered around him by the seashore.
22 A synagogue leader named Jairus also arrived. When he saw Yeshua, he quickly bowed down in front of him. 23 He begged Yeshua, “My little daughter is dying. Come, lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live.”
24 Yeshua went with the man. A huge crowd followed Yeshua and pressed him on every side.
25 In the crowd was a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. 26 Although she had been under the care of many doctors and had spent all her money, she had not been helped at all. Actually, she had become worse. 27 Since she had heard about Yeshua, she came from behind in the crowd and touched his clothes. 28 She said, “If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll get well.” 29 Her bleeding stopped immediately. She felt cured from her illness.
30 At that moment Yeshua felt power had gone out of him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “How can you ask, ‘Who touched me,’ when you see the crowd pressing you on all sides?”
32 But he kept looking around to see the woman who had done this. 33 The woman trembled with fear. She knew what had happened to her. So she quickly bowed in front of him and told him the whole truth.
34 Yeshua told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace! Be cured from your illness.”
35 While Yeshua was still speaking to her, some people came from the synagogue leader’s home. They told the synagogue leader, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 When Yeshua overheard what they said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid! Just believe.”
37 Yeshua allowed no one to go with him except Peter and the two brothers James and John. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Yeshua saw a noisy crowd there. People were crying and sobbing loudly. 39 When he came into the house, he asked them, “Why are you making so much noise and crying? The child isn’t dead. She’s just sleeping.”
40 They laughed at him. So he made all of them go outside. Then he took the child’s father, mother, and his three disciples and went to the child. 41 Yeshua took the child’s hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” which means, “Little girl, I’m telling you to get up!”
42 The girl got up at once and started to walk. (She was twelve years old.) They were astonished.
43 Yeshua ordered them not to let anyone know about this. He also told them to give the little girl something to eat.
Job’s Life
1 A man named Job lived in Uz. He was a man of integrity: He was decent, he feared Elohim, and he stayed away from evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep and goats, 3,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the most influential person in the Middle East.
4 His sons used to go to each other’s homes, where they would have parties. (Each brother took his turn having a party.) They would send someone to invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 When they finished having their parties, Job would send for them in order to cleanse them from sin. He would get up early in the morning and sacrifice burnt offerings for each of them. Job thought, “My children may have sinned and cursed Elohim in their hearts.” Job offered sacrifices for them all the time.
Satan Challenges the Lord
6 One day when the sons of Elohim came to stand in front of Yahweh, Satan the Accuser came along with them.
7 Yahweh asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered Yahweh, “From wandering all over the earth.”
8 Yahweh asked Satan, “Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity: He is decent, he fears Elohim, and he stays away from evil.”
9 Satan answered Yahweh, “Haven’t you given Job a reason to fear Elohim? 10 Haven’t you put a protective fence around him, his home, and everything he has? You have blessed everything he does. His cattle have spread out over the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand, and strike everything he has. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
12 Yahweh told Satan, “Everything he has is in your power, but you must not lay a hand on him!”
Then Satan left Yahweh’s presence.
Job’s First Crisis
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s home, 14 a messenger came to Job. He said, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 men from Sheba attacked. They took the livestock and massacred the servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “A fire from Elohim fell from heaven and completely burned your flocks and servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three companies and made a raid on the camels. They took the camels and massacred the servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine at their oldest brother’s home 19 when suddenly a great storm swept across the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people, and they died. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
20 Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said,
“Naked I came from my mother,
and naked I will return.
Yahweh has given,
and Yahweh has taken away!
May the name of Yahweh be praised.”
22 Through all this Job did not sin or blame Elohim for doing anything wrong.
We Are at Peace with God because of Jesus
5 Now that we have God’s approval by faith, we have peace with God because of what our Lord Yeshua Christ has done. 2 Through Christ we can approach God[a] and stand in his favor.[b] So we brag because of our confidence that we will receive glory from God. 3 But that’s not all. We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance, 4 endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. 5 We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 Look at it this way: At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for ungodly people. 7 Finding someone who would die for a godly person is rare. Maybe someone would have the courage to die for a good person. 8 Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.
9 Since Christ’s blood has now given us God’s approval, we are even more certain that Christ will save us from God’s anger. 10 If the death of his Son restored our relationship with God while we were still his enemies, we are even more certain that, because of this restored relationship, the life of his Son will save us. 11 In addition, our Lord Yeshua Christ lets us continue to brag about God. After all, it is through Christ that we now have this restored relationship with God.
A Comparison between Adam and Christ
12 Sin came into the world through one person, and death came through sin. So death spread to everyone, because everyone sinned. 13 Sin was in the world before there were any laws. But no record of sin can be kept when there are no laws. 14 Yet, death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin in the same way Adam did when he disobeyed. Adam is an image of the one who would come.
15 There is no comparison between God’s gift and Adam’s failure. If humanity died as the result of one person’s failure, it is certainly true that God’s kindness[c] and the gift given through the kindness of one person, Yeshua Christ, have been showered on humanity.
16 There is also no comparison between God’s gift and the one who sinned. The verdict which followed one person’s failure condemned everyone. But, even after many failures, the gift brought God’s approval. 17 It is certain that death ruled because of one person’s failure. It’s even more certain that those who receive God’s overflowing kindness and the gift of his approval will rule in life because of one person, Yeshua Christ.
18 Therefore, everyone was condemned through one failure, and everyone received God’s life-giving approval through one verdict. 19 Clearly, through one person’s disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person’s obedience humanity will receive God’s approval. 20 The laws in Moses’ Teachings were added to increase the failure. But where sin increased, God’s kindness increased even more. 21 As sin ruled by bringing death, God’s kindness would rule by bringing us his approval. This results in our living forever because of Yeshua Christ our Lord.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.