M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

21 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” ² The people came to Bethel and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely. ³ They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”

⁴ On the next day, the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ⁵ The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” ⁶ The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel today. ⁷ How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?” ⁸ They said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah?” Behold, no one came from Jabesh Gilead to the camp to the assembly. ⁹ For when the people were counted, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there. ¹⁰ The congregation sent twelve thousand of the most valiant men there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. ¹¹ This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain with a man.” ¹² They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³ The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. ¹⁴ Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead. There still weren’t enough for them. ¹⁵ The people grieved for Benjamin, because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” ¹⁷ They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. ¹⁸ However, we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’” ¹⁹ They said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.” ²⁰ They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, ²¹ and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we didn’t take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’”

²³ The children of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them. ²⁴ The children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they each went out from there to his own inheritance. ²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.

25 Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ² Then the high priest and the principal men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they begged him, ³ asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem, plotting to kill him on the way. ⁴ However Festus answered that Paul should be kept in custody at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to depart shortly. ⁵ “Let them therefore”, he said, “that are in power among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong in the man, let them accuse him.”

⁶ When he had stayed among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he sat on the judgment seat, and commanded Paul to be brought. ⁷ When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many and grievous charges which they could not prove, ⁸ while he said in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.”

⁹ But Festus, desiring to gain favor with the Jews, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be judged by me there concerning these things?”

¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well. ¹¹ For if I have done wrong and have committed anything worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die; but if none of those things is true that they accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go.”

¹³ Now when some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. ¹⁴ As he stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix; ¹⁵ about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for a sentence against him. ¹⁶ I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man to destruction before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had opportunity to make his defense concerning the matter laid against him. ¹⁷ When therefore they had come together here, I didn’t delay, but on the next day sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they brought no charges against him of such things as I supposed; ¹⁹ but had certain questions against him about their own religion and about one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. ²⁰ Being perplexed how to inquire concerning these things, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. ²¹ But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of the emperor, I commanded him to be kept until I could send him to Caesar.”

²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

²³ So on the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and they had entered into the place of hearing with the commanding officers and the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom all the multitude of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and as he himself appealed to the emperor, I determined to send him, ²⁶ of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, that, after examination I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to also specify the charges against him.”

35 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.”

³ Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, with his brothers, all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; ⁴ and I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the princes, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold. ⁵ I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶ But they said, “We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, neither you nor your children, forever. ⁷ You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, or have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land in which you live as nomads.’ ⁸ We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters; ⁹ and not to build houses for ourselves to dwell in. We have no vineyard, field, or seed; ¹⁰ but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. ¹¹ But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come! Let’s go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we will dwell at Jerusalem.’”

¹² Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words?” says Yahweh. ¹⁴ “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment; but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, and you have not listened to me. ¹⁵ I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Every one of you must return now from his evil way, amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers;’ but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me. ¹⁶ The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me.”’

¹⁷ “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.’”

¹⁸ Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you,’ ¹⁹ therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab the son of Rechab will not lack a man to stand before me forever.’”

A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite.

For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David.