M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

3 These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not fought in the wars of Canaan. ² (The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites who had not fought in those wars how to fight.) ³ These are the nations: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the people of Sidon, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. ⁴ Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites—to see if they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors by Moses.

⁵ The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁶ The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people, and they allowed their daughters to marry the sons of those people. Israel also served their gods.

Othniel, the First Judge

⁷ The Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the idols of Baal and Asherah. ⁸ So the Lord was angry with Israel and allowed Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia to rule over the Israelites for eight years. ⁹ When Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord sent someone to save them. Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, saved the Israelites. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord entered Othniel, and he became Israel’s judge. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia. ¹¹ So the land was at peace for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud, the Judge

¹² Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel because of the evil Israel did. ¹³ Eglon got the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took Jericho, the city of palm trees. ¹⁴ So the people of Israel were ruled by Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ When the people cried to the Lord, he sent someone to save them. He was Ehud, son of Gera from the people of Benjamin, who was left-handed. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the payment he demanded. ¹⁶ Ehud made himself a sword with two edges, about eighteen inches long, and he tied it to his right hip under his clothes. ¹⁷ Ehud gave Eglon king of Moab the payment he demanded. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After he had given Eglon the payment, Ehud sent away the people who had carried it. ¹⁹ When he passed the statues near Gilgal, he turned around and said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.”

The king said, “Be quiet!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room. ²⁰ Ehud went to King Eglon, as he was sitting alone in the room above his summer palace.

Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right hip. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly! ²² Even the handle sank in, and the blade came out his back. The king’s fat covered the whole sword, so Ehud left the sword in Eglon. ²³ Then he went out of the room and closed and locked the doors behind him.

²⁴ When the servants returned just after Ehud left, they found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was relieving himself. ²⁵ They waited for a long time. Finally they became worried because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them and saw their king lying dead on the floor!

²⁶ While the servants were waiting, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the statues and went to Seirah. ²⁷ When he reached the mountains of Ephraim he blew the trumpet. The people of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.

²⁸ He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has helped you to defeat your enemies, the Moabites.” So Israel followed Ehud and captured the crossings of the Jordan River. They did not allow the Moabites to cross the Jordan River. ²⁹ Israel killed about ten thousand strong and able men from Moab; not one escaped. ³⁰ So that day Moab was forced to be under the rule of Israel, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.

Shamgar, the Judge

³¹ After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath saved Israel. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with a sharp stick used to guide oxen.

Stephen’s Speech

7 The high priest said to Stephen, “Are these things true?”

² Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. ³ God said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the land I will show you.’^{[a] 4} So Abraham left the country of Chaldea and went to live in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God sent him to this place where you now live. ⁵ God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that he would give this land to him and his descendants, even before Abraham had a child. ⁶ This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and will mistreat them for four hundred years. ⁷ But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land and will worship me in this place.’^{[b] 8} God made an agreement with Abraham, the sign of which was circumcision. And so when Abraham had his son Isaac, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same for his sons, the twelve ancestors^[c] of our people.

⁹ “Jacob’s sons became jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰ and saved him from all his troubles. The king of Egypt liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. The king made him governor of Egypt and put him in charge of all the people in his palace.

¹¹ “Then all the land of Egypt and Canaan became so dry that nothing would grow, and the people suffered very much. Jacob’s sons, our ancestors, could not find anything to eat. ¹² But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons there. This was their first trip to Egypt. ¹³ When they went there a second time, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph’s family. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent messengers to invite Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt along with all his relatives (seventy-five persons altogether). ¹⁵ So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and his sons died. ¹⁶ Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.)

¹⁷ “The promise God made to Abraham was soon to come true, and the number of people in Egypt grew large. ¹⁸ Then a new king, who did not know who Joseph was, began to rule Egypt. ¹⁹ This king tricked our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to leave their babies outside to die. ²⁰ At this time Moses was born, and he was very beautiful. For three months Moses was cared for in his father’s house. ²¹ When they put Moses outside, the king’s daughter adopted him and raised him as if he were her own son. ²² The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew, and he was a powerful man in what he said and did.

²³ “When Moses was about forty years old, he thought it would be good to visit his own people, the people of Israel. ²⁴ Moses saw an Egyptian mistreating one of his people, so he defended the Israelite and punished the Egyptian by killing him. ²⁵ Moses thought his own people would understand that God was using him to save them, but they did not. ²⁶ The next day when Moses saw two men of Israel fighting, he tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you hurting each other?’ ²⁷ The man who was hurting the other pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? ²⁸ Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’^{[d] 29} When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian where he was a stranger. While Moses lived in Midian, he had two sons.

³⁰ “Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai. ³¹ When Moses saw this, he was amazed and went near to look closer. Moses heard the Lord’s voice say, ³² ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’^[e] Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. ³³ The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. ³⁴ I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries and have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’^[f]

³⁵ “This Moses was the same man the two men of Israel rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’^[g] Moses is the same man God sent to be a ruler and savior, with the help of the angel that Moses saw in the burning bush. ³⁶ So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for forty years. ³⁷ This is the same Moses that said to the people of Israel, ‘God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people.’^{[h] 38} This is the Moses who was with the gathering of the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.

³⁹ “But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt. ⁴⁰ They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him.’^{[i] 41} So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it and were proud of what they had made with their own hands. ⁴² But God turned against them and did not try to stop them from worshiping the sun, moon, and stars. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says,

⁴⁴ “The Holy Tent where God spoke to our ancestors was with them in the desert. God told Moses how to make this Tent, and he made it like the plan God showed him. ⁴⁵ Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in, and God forced the other people out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same Tent they had received from their ancestors. They kept it until the time of David, ⁴⁶ who pleased God and asked God to let him build a house for him, the God of Jacob.^{[j] 47} But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.

⁴⁸ “But the Most High does not live in houses that people build with their hands. As the prophet says:

⁵¹ Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn people! You have not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you, just as your ancestors were. ⁵² Your ancestors tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the One who is good would come, but your ancestors killed them. And now you have turned against and killed the One who is good. ⁵³ You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels, but you haven’t obeyed it.”

Stephen Is Killed

⁵⁴ When the leaders heard this, they became furious. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at Stephen. ⁵⁵ But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right side. ⁵⁶ He said, “Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”

⁵⁷ Then they shouted loudly and covered their ears and all ran at Stephen. ⁵⁸ They took him out of the city and began to throw stones at him to kill him. And those who told lies against Stephen left their coats with a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ While they were throwing stones, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After Stephen said this, he died.

The Day of Disaster

16 Then the Lord spoke his word to me: ² “You must not get married or have sons or daughters in this place.”

³ The Lord says this about the sons and daughters born in this land and their mothers and fathers: ⁴ “They will die of terrible diseases, and no one will cry for them or bury them. Their bodies will lie on the ground like dung. They will die in war, or they will starve to death. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals.”

⁵ So this is what the Lord says: “Jeremiah, do not go into a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go there to cry for the dead or to show your sorrow for them, because I have taken back my blessing, my love, and my pity from these people,” says the Lord. ⁶ “Important people and common people will die in the land of Judah. No one will bury them or cry for them or cut himself or shave his head to show sorrow for them. ⁷ No one will bring food to comfort those who are crying for the dead. No one will offer a drink to comfort someone whose mother or father has died.

⁸ “Do not go into a house where the people are having a feast to sit down to eat and drink, ⁹ because this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will soon stop the sounds of joy and gladness and the happy sounds of brides and bridegrooms in this place. This will happen during your lifetime.

¹⁰ “When you tell the people of Judah these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the Lord said these terrible things to us? What have we done wrong? What sin have we done against the Lord our God?’

¹¹ “Then say to them: ‘This is because your ancestors quit following me,’ says the Lord. ‘And they followed other gods and served and worshiped them. Your ancestors left me and quit obeying my teaching. ¹² But you have done even more evil than your ancestors. You are very stubborn and do only what you want to do; you have not obeyed me. ¹³ So I will throw you out of this country and send you into a land that you and your ancestors never knew. There you can serve other gods day and night, because I will not help you or show you any favors.’

¹⁴ “People say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel out of Egypt . . . ’ But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not say this anymore. ¹⁵ They will say instead, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites from the northern land and from all the countries where he had sent them . . . ’ And I will bring them back to the land I gave to their ancestors.

¹⁶ “I will soon send for many fishermen to come to this land,” says the Lord. “And they will catch the people of Judah. After that, I will send for many hunters to come to this land. And they will hunt the people of Judah on every mountain and hill and in the cracks of the rocks. ¹⁷ I see everything they do. They cannot hide from me the things they do; their sin is not hidden from my eyes. ¹⁸ I will pay back the people of Judah twice for every one of their sins, because they have made my land unclean. They have filled my country with their hateful idols.”

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

2 A few days later, when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home. ² Many people gathered together so that there was no room in the house, not even outside the door. And Jesus was teaching them God’s message. ³ Four people came, carrying a paralyzed man. ⁴ Since they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, they dug a hole in the roof right above where he was speaking. When they got through, they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. ⁵ When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this man say things like that? He is speaking as if he were God. Only God can forgive sins.”

⁸ Jesus knew immediately what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ¹¹ “I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home.” ¹² Immediately the paralyzed man stood up, took his mat, and walked out while everyone was watching him.

The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

¹³ Jesus went to the lake again. The whole crowd followed him there, and he taught them. ¹⁴ While he was walking along, he saw a man named Levi son of Alphaeus, sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.

¹⁵ Later, as Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and “sinners,” they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ Jesus heard this and said to them, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”

Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized

¹⁸ Now the followers of John^[a] and the Pharisees often fasted^[b] for a certain time. Some people came to Jesus and said, “Why do John’s followers and the followers of the Pharisees often fast, but your followers don’t?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom do not fast while the bridegroom is still with them. As long as the bridegroom is with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth over a hole in an old coat. Otherwise, the patch will shrink and pull away—the new patch will pull away from the old coat. Then the hole will be worse. ²² Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will be ruined along with the bags. But new wine should be put into new leather bags.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

²³ One Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking through some fields of grain, his followers began to pick some grain to eat. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food? ²⁶ During the time of Abiathar the high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the holy bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And David also gave some of the bread to those who were with him.”

²⁷ Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people; they were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day. ²⁸ So then, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”