M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Achan’s Sin and Its Consequences
7 The people of Israel proved to be disloyal about the things claimed by the Lord. Achan, son of Carmi, grandson of Zabdi, great-grandson of Zerah, and a member of the tribe of Judah, took something that had been claimed by the Lord. So Yahweh became angry with the people of Israel.
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go, look at that country.” So the men went and looked at Ai.
3 They came back to Joshua and told him, “You don’t need to send all the troops. Only about two or three thousand men are needed to destroy Ai. Don’t tire the troops out by sending all of them. There are only a few troops in Ai.”
4 So about three thousand men were sent. However, they fled from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the city gate to the slope of the stone quarries. Israel’s troops lost heart and were scared stiff.
6 Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes in grief. They put dust on their heads and bowed down to the ground in front of Yahweh’s ark. They stayed there until evening. 7 Joshua said, “Adonay Yahweh, why did you bring these people across the Jordan River? Was it to hand us over to the Amorites so that they could destroy us? I wish we had been content to live on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Adonay, what else can I say after Israel ran away from its enemy? 9 When the Canaanites and everyone who lives in the land hears about it, they will surround us and remove every memory of us from the earth. What will you do then so that your great name will be remembered?”
10 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Get up! What are you doing bowing on the ground? 11 Israel has sinned. They have ignored the requirements[a] that I have placed on them. They have taken what I claimed for myself and put it among their own goods. They have not only stolen, but they have also lied.
12 “The people of Israel will not be able to defend themselves against their enemies. They will run away from their enemies because the people of Israel are now claimed for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy what I have claimed for myself.
13 “Get up! Tell the people, ‘Get ready for tomorrow by performing the ceremonies to make yourselves holy. This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says: You have what I claimed for myself, Israel. You will not be able to defend yourselves against your enemies until you get rid of what I have claimed. 14 In the morning come forward by tribes to the tent of meeting. The tribe Yahweh selects will come forward by families. Then the family Yahweh selects will come forward by households, and the household Yahweh selects will come forward man by man. 15 The man who is selected, along with everything he has, must be burned because he has stolen what the Lord has claimed. He has ignored Yahweh’s requirements and done a godless thing in Israel.’”
16 Joshua got up early in the morning. He had Israel come forward by tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected. 17 Then he had the families of Judah come forward, and the family of Zerah was selected. Then he had the family of Zerah come forward man by man, and Zabdi was selected. 18 Then he had Zabdi’s household come forward man by man, and Achan was selected. Achan from the tribe of Judah was the son of Carmi, grandson of Zabdi, and great-grandson of Zerah.
19 Joshua said to Achan, “Son, give honor and praise to Yahweh Elohim of Israel! Tell me what you have done. Don’t hide anything from me.”
20 Then Achan answered Joshua, “It’s true. I have sinned against Yahweh Elohim of Israel. This is what I did: 21 I saw a fine robe from Babylonia, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing about one pound among the loot. I wanted them, so I took them. You will find them buried inside my tent with the silver beneath them.”
22 Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. The loot was buried inside with the silver beneath it. 23 They took the loot from the tent and brought it to Joshua and all the people of Israel. Then they laid it out in the presence of Yahweh.
24 Joshua and all Israel took Achan (son of Zerah), the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, and his tent—everything he had—and brought them to the valley of Achor [Disaster].
25 Then Joshua said, “Why did you bring this disaster on us? Yahweh will bring disaster on you today!” And all Israel stoned Achan and his family to death. Then they burned the bodies and piled stones over them. 26 They made such a large pile of stones over Achan that it is still there today. Then Yahweh withdrew his burning anger. For this reason that place is still called the valley of Achor today.
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and cried
as we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our lyres on willow trees.
3 It was there that those who had captured us demanded that we sing.
Those who guarded us wanted us to entertain them.
They said, “Sing a song from Zion for us!”
4 How could we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the lyre.
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 O Yahweh, remember the people of Edom.
Remember what they did the day Jerusalem was captured.
They said, “Tear it down! Tear it down to its foundation.”
8 You destructive people of Babylon,
blessed is the one who pays you back
with the same treatment you gave us.
9 Blessed is the one who grabs your little children
and smashes them against a rock.
Psalm 138
By David.
1 I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will make music to praise you in front of the false gods.
2 I will bow toward your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name because of your mercy and truth.
You have made your name and your promise greater than everything.
3 When I called, you answered me.
You made me bold by strengthening my soul.[a]
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
because they have heard the promises you spoke.
5 They will sing this about the ways of Yahweh:
“Yahweh’s honor is great!”
6 Even though Yahweh is high above, he sees humble people close up,
and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
7 Even though I walk into the middle of trouble,
you guard my life against the anger of my enemies.
You stretch out your hand,
and your right hand saves me.
8 Yahweh will do everything for me.
O Yahweh, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of what your hands have made.
The Prophet Jeremiah
1 These are the words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah. He was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Josiah, son of Amon, was in his thirteenth year as king of Judah. 3 Yahweh also spoke when Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, was king of Judah and during the 11 years that Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, was king of Judah. Yahweh continued to speak to Jeremiah until the people of Jerusalem were taken away into captivity in the fifth month of the year.
The Lord Gives Jeremiah a Message for His People
4 Yahweh spoke his word to me,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb,
I knew you.
Before you were born,
I set you apart for my holy purpose.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 I, Jeremiah, said, “Adonay Yahweh, I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy!”
7 But Yahweh said to me, “Don’t say that you are only a boy. You will go wherever I send you. You will say whatever I command you to say. 8 Don’t be afraid of people. I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares Yahweh.
9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. Yahweh said to me,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms.
You will uproot and tear down.
You will destroy and overthrow.
You will build and plant.”
11 Again Yahweh spoke his word to me and asked, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then Yahweh said to me, “Right. I am watching to make sure that my words come true.”[a]
13 Again Yahweh spoke his word to me and asked, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a boiling pot, and its top is tilted away from the north.”
14 Then Yahweh said to me,
“Disaster will be poured out from the north
on all those who live in the land.
15 I am going to call every family and kingdom from the north,”
declares Yahweh.
“They will come, and they will set up their thrones
at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all the walls around the city
and all the cities of Judah.
16 I will pass sentence on my people because of all their wickedness.
They abandoned me,
burned incense to other gods,
and worshiped what their hands have made.
17 Brace yourself, Jeremiah!
Stand up, and say to them whatever I tell you to say.
Don’t be terrified in their presence,
or I will make you even more terrified in their presence.
18 Today I have made you like a fortified city,
an iron pillar, and a bronze wall.
You will be able to stand up to the whole land.
You will be able to stand up to Judah’s kings,
its officials, its priests, and all the common people.
19 They will fight you, but they will not defeat you.
I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares Yahweh.
Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings came from Jerusalem to Yeshua. They asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 He answered them, “Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? 4 For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that whoever tells his father or mother, ‘I have given to God whatever support you might have received from me,’ 6 does not have to honor his father. Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is pointless,
because their teachings are rules made by humans.’”
10 Then he called the crowd and said to them, “Listen and try to understand! 11 What goes into a person’s mouth doesn’t make him unclean.[a] It’s what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.”
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you realize that when the Pharisees heard your statement they were offended?”
13 He answered, “Any plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone! They are blind leaders. When one blind person leads another, both will fall into the same pit.”
15 Peter said to him, “Explain this illustration to us.”
16 Yeshua said, “Don’t you understand yet? 17 Don’t you know that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and then into a toilet? 18 But whatever goes out of the mouth comes from within, and that’s what makes a person unclean. 19 Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, other sexual sins, stealing, lying, and cursing come from within. 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating without washing one’s hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman(B)
21 Yeshua left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Canaanite woman from that territory came to him and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
23 But he did not answer her at all. Then his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away. She keeps shouting behind us.”
24 Yeshua responded, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”
25 She came to him, bowed down, and said, “Lord, help me!”
26 Yeshua replied, “It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said, “You’re right, Lord. But even the dogs eat scraps that fall from their masters’ tables.”
28 Then Yeshua answered her, “Woman, you have strong faith! What you wanted will be done for you.” At that moment her daughter was cured.
29 Yeshua moved on from there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain and sat there.
30 A large crowd came to him, bringing with them the lame, blind, disabled, those unable to talk, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he cured them. 31 The crowd was amazed to see mute people talking, the disabled cured, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. So they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds More Than Four Thousand(C)
32 Yeshua called his disciples and said, “I feel sorry for the people. They have been with me three days now and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they may become exhausted on their way home.”
33 His disciples asked him, “Where could we get enough bread to feed such a crowd in this place where no one lives?”
34 Yeshua asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples, and they gave the bread and fish to the people.
37 All of them ate as much as they wanted. The disciples picked up the leftover pieces and filled seven large baskets. 38 Four thousand men had eaten. (This number does not include the women and children who had eaten.)
39 After he sent the people on their way, Yeshua stepped into the boat and came to the territory of Magadan.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.