M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Wives for the men of Benjamin's tribe
21 The Israelites had made a promise to the Lord at Mizpah. They agreed together, ‘None of us will allow our daughters to marry a man of Benjamin's tribe.’
2 After the war against Benjamin's army, the people went to Bethel to meet with God. They sat there until evening. They could not stop weeping loudly. 3 They said, ‘Lord, Israel's God, why has this terrible thing happened in Israel? We have lost one whole tribe of Israel.’
4 The next morning, the people got up early. They built an altar. They offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord there.
5 Then the Israelites asked, ‘Which people from Israel's tribes did not join us when we all met together at Mizpah?’ They asked this because they had made a serious promise at Mizpah. They had said, ‘We must punish with death anyone who does not join us here to meet with the Lord.’
6 The Israelites were very upset about what had happened to Benjamin's tribe. They said, ‘We have destroyed a whole tribe of Israel. They were our relatives. 7 How can we find women to marry the few men who are left? We all made a serious promise to the Lord that we would not let them marry our daughters.’
8 So they asked, ‘When we met with the Lord at Mizpah, which people from all Israel's tribes did not come with us?’ They realized that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the meeting. 9 When they had counted the people, there had been no men from Jabesh Gilead among them.
10 So all the Israelites decided to send an army of 12,000 soldiers to attack Jabesh Gilead. They commanded them, ‘Use your swords to kill everyone there, including the women and children. 11 This is what you must do: Kill every male and every woman who has slept with a man. But do not kill the women who have never had sex.’
12 The Israelite army attacked Jabesh Gilead. They found 400 young women who had not had sex with anyone. They took the women back to their camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
13 Then all the Israelites sent a message of peace to the men of Benjamin who were still at the rock of Rimmon. 14 So the men returned from the rock at that time. The Israelites gave the women of Jabesh Gilead that they had not killed to them. But there were not enough women for all the men of Benjamin.
15 The Israelite people were very sad about what had happened to Benjamin's tribe. The Lord had caused their tribe to become very weak. 16 The Israelite leaders asked, ‘How can we find wives for the other men of Benjamin? We killed all their own women. 17 Benjamin's people who are still alive must have children. If they do not, their whole tribe will disappear. 18 But we cannot allow our daughters to marry them. We promised that we would never do that. We said, “God himself will punish anyone who allows his daughter to marry a man of Benjamin.” 19 But every year there is a big feast at Shiloh to give honour to the Lord. That will happen soon.’
Shiloh is north of Bethel and south of Lebonah. It is on the east side of the road from Bethel to Shechem. 20 The Israelites told the men of Benjamin, ‘Go there and hide in the vineyards. 21 Watch carefully. When the young women of Shiloh come out to dance at the feast, run out from the vineyards. Each of you should catch one of the young women of Shiloh. Take them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wives. 22 Their fathers or their brothers may come to us and complain. If they do, we will say, “Please agree to help the men of Benjamin. We could not find a wife for each of them in the war. You did not choose to give your daughters to them, so you will not be guilty. The men of Benjamin caught them and took them away.” ’
23 So that is what the 200 men of Benjamin did. Each of them caught a young woman as she was dancing at the feast. They took them home to their own land to be their wives. They built their towns again and they lived in them.
24 After that, the Israelites left there. They went back home to the places where their tribes and their clans lived.
25 At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. Everyone did what they thought was right.
Festus travels to Jerusalem to speak to the leaders of the Jews
25 Three days after Festus began to rule in Caesarea, he travelled from there to Jerusalem. 2 When he arrived there, the leaders of the priests and the Jewish leaders told him about Paul. They spoke bad things against Paul. 3 They said to Festus, ‘Please listen to us. We really want you to bring Paul here to Jerusalem. You can judge him here. Then we would be very happy.’ They wanted to kill Paul while he was travelling to Jerusalem.
4 But Festus answered them, ‘Paul will remain in prison in Caesarea. I myself will return there soon. 5 So your leaders should go to Caesarea with me. If this man has done anything wrong, they can speak against him there. I will listen and I will judge.’
6 Festus stayed for another eight or ten days in Jerusalem. Then he returned to Caesarea. On the next day, he sat down on his special seat as judge. He said to his soldiers, ‘Bring Paul here!’ 7 Some of the Jewish leaders had also come from Jerusalem. When Paul came into the room, they all stood round him. They began to speak to Festus against Paul. They said that he had done very many bad things. But they could not show Festus that these things were really true.
8 Then Paul spoke to show what was true. He said, ‘I have not done anything wrong against our Jewish laws or against the temple in Jerusalem. Also, I have not done anything wrong against your Roman ruler, Caesar.’
9 Festus wanted to make the Jewish leaders happy. So he asked Paul, ‘I would like to judge this problem in Jerusalem. Would you be happy to go there? Then I can decide if what these men are saying against you is true.’
10 Paul answered him, ‘I am already in the place where Caesar's officers judge people. This is the right place for you to judge me. I have never done anything wrong against the Jews. You yourself know very well that it is true. 11 Have I done something bad that you should kill me for it? If that is true, then I will agree to it. It is right that I should die. But these Jews are not speaking true words against me. Nobody should let them take hold of me. So now I ask you to send me to Caesar himself. I want him to be the judge.’
12 Festus talked to his officers about what Paul had said. Then he said to Paul, ‘You have asked to go to Caesar, for him to be your judge. So prepare yourself to go to Caesar!’
King Agrippa and Bernice visit Festus
13 Several days after this, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea. They wanted to say ‘welcome’ to Festus as the new ruler.[a]
14 They stayed in Caesarea for many days. While they were there, Festus explained to King Agrippa the problem about Paul. He said, ‘There is a man here that Felix left in prison. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the important Jews and the leaders of their priests spoke to me about him. They said, “Paul has done some very bad things. You should judge him and he should die.”
16 I answered them, “You are saying that this man has done wrong things. He must first stand in front of you who are speaking against him. Then he can answer you, and I can judge who is right. That is what our Roman law says must happen.”
17 So when I came back here, the Jewish leaders and the leaders of their priests came with me. I did not wait for long. On the next day I sat down on my special seat as judge. I told my soldiers to bring this man to me. 18 The men who had spoken against him stood up. I thought they would say that Paul had done some very bad thing. But they did not say that. 19 Instead, they were arguing with Paul about what the Jews teach about God. They were arguing about a man who is called Jesus. Jesus had died. But Paul was saying that he is alive. 20 I did not know how I could judge all these problems. So I told Paul, “I want to take you to Jerusalem. Would you be happy to go there? Then I will listen to what these men are saying against you. I will judge there who is right.” 21 But Paul did not want to go to Jerusalem. He said to me, “Please keep me safe here in prison. Then send me to Caesar. He himself should decide what to do with me.” So I said to my soldiers, “Guard Paul here until I send him to Caesar.” ’
22 Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear this man myself.’
Festus replied, ‘You will hear him tomorrow.’
23 The next day, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea's public meeting room. They wore beautiful clothes to show that they were great people. Some Roman soldiers' officers and important men in the city also arrived there. Festus said to his soldiers, ‘Bring Paul here to us!’ So they brought Paul into the room. 24 Festus said, ‘King Agrippa, and everyone here today, listen to me! You see this man who is standing in front of you. Many Jews in Jerusalem, and also Jews here in Caesarea, have spoken to me about him. They say very loudly, “This man has done very bad things. He should not continue to live!” 25 But I could not find any reason to kill him. He has not done anything against our law. But he has asked for Caesar himself to judge him. So I have decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I do not know what to write about him to our ruler, Caesar. So I have brought him here to stand in front of all of you. I ask you, King Agrippa, to listen carefully to what Paul says. Then we can talk about the problem together. As a result, I will know what to write about him to Caesar. 27 I need to tell Caesar what wrong things this man has done. If I cannot do that, it would not be right to send him to Rome.’
Rekab's descendants
35 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when Josiah's son Jehoiakim ruled Judah as king. 2 He said, ‘Go to the place where Rekab's descendants live. Ask them to come to the Lord's temple. Take them into one of the temple's small rooms. Give to them some wine to drink.’
3 So I went to meet with Rekab's descendants. They were Jaazaniah, son of Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah.[a] I also met with Jaazaniah's brothers and all his sons. Those were all the descendants of Rekab. 4 I took them to the Lord's temple. I took them into the room where the disciples of the prophet Hanan lived. He was the son of Igdaliah. That room was next to the room where the temple officers lived. It was also above the room where Shallum's son Maaseiah lived. He was one of the guards for the doors of the temple. 5 I put some jars of wine and some cups in front of Rekab's descendants. I said to them, ‘Drink some wine.’
6 They replied, ‘We do not drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab, son of Rekab, said to us, “You and your descendants must never drink wine. 7 You must not build houses. You must not plant seed in fields to grow crops. You must not plant vines or have a vineyard. Instead, you must always live in tents. If you live in that way, you will live for a long time as you travel around in the land.”
8 We have obeyed all the rules that our ancestor Jonadab gave to us. Our wives and our children have also obeyed them. We have never drunk wine. 9 We have never built houses to be our homes. We have no fields or vineyards and we grow no crops. 10 We have always lived in tents. So we have completely obeyed our ancestor Jonadab. We have done everything that he commanded us to do. 11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked our land, we decided to come to Jerusalem. We said, “We must leave here and go to Jerusalem. We must escape from the armies of Babylon and Syria.” That is why we are now living in Jerusalem.’
12 Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah. 13 The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, said to him, ‘Go and speak to the people of Judah, including those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that I, the Lord, say this: “Learn a lesson about how you should obey me! 14 Rekab's son Jonadab commanded his descendants that they must not drink wine. They have obeyed his command. Even now, they have never drunk wine because their ancestor told them not to do that. But as for you, I have spoken to you very many times and you have not obeyed me! 15 I have sent my servants the prophets to warn you many times. They told you, ‘You must all stop doing wicked things. Instead, start doing the things that are right. Do not serve other gods and worship them. Then you will continue to live in this land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you did not listen to my message. You did not obey me. 16 The descendants of Rekab's son Jonadab obeyed the commands that their ancestor gave to them. But as for you, my people, you have not obeyed me.”
17 So the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “Listen to me! I will soon punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem with all the things that I warned them about. I spoke to them, but they did not listen. I called out to them, but they did not answer. So now I will punish them.” ’
18 Then Jeremiah said to Rekab's descendants, ‘The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “You have completely obeyed the commands of your ancestor Jonadab. You have done everything that he told you to do.” 19 So the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, also says, “There will always be a male descendant of Rekab's son Jonadab who will live to serve me.” ’
A song with music that David wrote.
He sang this song to the Lord about Benjamin's descendant, Cush.
God always does what is right[a]
7 Lord, my God, I come to you to keep me safe.
Please save me from all those people who want to catch me.
2 If you do not keep me safe,
my enemies will tear me into pieces.
They will attack me like lions do,
and nobody will be able to save me.
3-5 Lord, my God, if I have done a wrong thing,
then let my enemies chase me and catch me.
If I have done a bad thing against a friend,
let my enemies catch me.
If I have helped a friend's enemy to attack him,
let my enemies catch me!
If I am guilty of any of these things,
let my enemies knock me down to the ground.
They should leave me there,
so that I lie as a dead person in the dirt.
Selah.
6 But Lord, now do something!
Wake up and help me!
Show how angry you are against my enemies.
Punish them in the way that you know is right!
7 Bring together the people of all nations,
to stand in front of you.
Rule over them from high above.
8 You, Lord, judge the people of all nations.
Lord, Most High God, say that I am not guilty.
Truly, I am righteous and honest.
9 Stop wicked people from doing evil things.
Keep your own people safe.
You always do what is right,
and you know how we think and feel.
10 The Most High God is like a shield to keep me safe.
He takes care of good, honest people.
11 God is a judge who is fair.
Every day he is angry against wicked people.
12 If they do not change the way that they live,
God will prepare to punish them.
He will make his sword sharp,
and he will put an arrow in his bow.
13 He will prepare his dangerous weapons.
He is ready to shoot his arrows that burn with fire.
14 Look! Wicked people prepare to do evil things!
They want to cause trouble.
Like a pregnant woman,
what starts inside them comes out into the open!
They give birth to lies that deceive people.
15 Wicked people want to hurt people.
They are digging a deep hole for people to fall into.
But they fall into the hole themselves!
16 The ideas that they have to hurt other people
bring trouble on themselves!
They want to be cruel to other people,
but they themselves receive the pain!
17 So I will thank the Lord
because he does what is right.
The Lord is the Most High God,
so I will sing to praise his name!
The music leader must use special music.
This is a song that David wrote.
The sky at night[b]
8 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
The sky above shows how great you are.
2 You have taught children and babies to praise you.
You do that to show your enemies how strong you are.
Anyone who turns against you has to be quiet.
Your cruel enemies can do nothing!
3 You made the skies with your own hands.
When I look up, I see the moon and the stars.
You have put them all in their right place.
4 So why do you even think about men and women?
Why do you take care of humans?
5 You have made their place a little below God himself.[c]
You have given them honour, like kings.
6 You have chosen them to rule everything that you have made.
You have put everything under their authority.
7-8 Yes! Humans rule them all:
Farm animals and wild animals,
birds, fish and all the things that swim in the sea.
9 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.