M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
24 Then Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to him at Shechem, along with their leaders—the elders, officers, and judges. So they came and presented themselves before God.
2 Then Joshua addressed them as follows: “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived east of the Euphrates River; and they worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from that land across the river and led him into the land of Canaan and gave him many descendants through Isaac, his son. 4 Isaac’s children, whom I gave him, were Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the area around Mount Seir while Jacob and his children went into Egypt.
5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron to bring terrible plagues upon Egypt; and afterwards I brought my people out as free men. 6 But when they arrived at the Red Sea, the Egyptians chased after them with chariots and cavalry. 7 Then Israel cried out to me and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians; and I brought the sea crashing in upon the Egyptians, drowning them. You saw what I did. Then Israel lived in the wilderness for many years.
8 “‘Finally I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan; and they fought against you, but I destroyed them and gave you their land. 9 Then King Balak of Moab started a war against Israel, and he asked Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you. 10 But I wouldn’t listen to him. Instead I made him bless you; and so I delivered Israel from him.
11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, and so did many others—the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Each in turn fought against you, but I destroyed them all. 12 And I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites and their people. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory! 13 I gave you land you had not worked for and cities you did not build—these cities where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.’
14 “So revere Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Worship the Lord alone. 15 But if you are unwilling to obey the Lord, then decide today whom you will obey. Will it be the gods of your ancestors beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites here in this land? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 And the people replied, “We would never forsake the Lord and worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God is the one who rescued our fathers from their slavery in the land of Egypt. He is the God who did mighty miracles before the eyes of Israel, as we traveled through the wilderness, and preserved us from our enemies when we passed through their land. 18 It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. Yes, we choose the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
19 But Joshua replied to the people, “You can’t worship the Lord God, for he is holy and jealous; he will not forgive your rebellion and sins. 20 If you forsake him and worship other gods, he will turn upon you and destroy you, even though he has taken care of you for such a long time.”
21 But the people answered, “We choose the Lord!”
22 “You have heard yourselves say it,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to obey the Lord.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses.”
23 “All right,” he said, “then you must destroy all the idols you now own, and you must obey the Lord God of Israel.”
24 The people replied to Joshua, “Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord alone.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with them that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and God. 26 Joshua recorded the people’s reply in the book of the laws of God and took a huge stone as a reminder and rolled it beneath the oak tree that was beside the Tabernacle.
27 Then Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said, so it will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word.”
28 Then Joshua sent the people away to their own sections of the country.
29 Soon after this he died at the age of 110. 30 He was buried on his own estate at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of the mountains of Gaash.
31 Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds the Lord had done for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought along when they left Egypt, were buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought[a] from the sons of Hamor. (The land was located in the territory assigned to the tribes of Joseph.)
33 Eleazar, the son of Aaron, also died; he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, at Gibeah, the city that had been given to his son Phinehas.
4 While they were talking to the people, the chief priests, the captain of the Temple police, and some of the Sadducees[a] came over to them, 2 very disturbed that Peter and John were claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. 3 They arrested them and since it was already evening, jailed them overnight. 4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so that the number of believers now reached a new high of about five thousand men!
5 The next day it happened that the Council of all the Jewish leaders was in session in Jerusalem— 6 Annas the High Priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others of the High Priest’s relatives. 7 So the two disciples were brought in before them.
“By what power, or by whose authority have you done this?” the Council demanded.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Honorable leaders and elders of our nation, 9 if you mean the good deed done to the cripple, and how he was healed, 10 let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that it was done in the name and power of Jesus from Nazareth, the Messiah, the man you crucified—but God raised back to life again. It is by his authority that this man stands here healed! 11 For Jesus the Messiah is (the one referred to in the Scriptures when they speak of) a ‘stone discarded by the builders which became the capstone of the arch.’[b] 12 There is salvation in no one else! Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them.”
13 When the Council saw the boldness of Peter and John and could see that they were obviously uneducated non-professionals, they were amazed and realized what being with Jesus had done for them! 14 And the Council could hardly discredit the healing when the man they had healed was standing right there beside them! 15 So they sent them out of the Council chamber and conferred among themselves.
16 “What shall we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have done a tremendous miracle, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We’ll tell them that if they do it again we’ll really throw the book at them.” 18 So they called them back in, and told them never again to speak about Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “You decide whether God wants us to obey you instead of him! 20 We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we saw Jesus do and heard him say.”
21 The Council then threatened them further and finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this wonderful miracle— 22 the healing of a man who had been lame for forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other disciples and told them what the Council had said.
24 Then all the believers united in this prayer:
“O Lord, Creator of heaven and earth and of the sea and everything in them— 25-26 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying, ‘Why do the heathen rage against the Lord, and the foolish nations plan their little plots against Almighty God? The kings of the earth unite to fight against him and against the anointed Son of God!’
27 “That is what is happening here in this city today! For Herod the king, and Pontius Pilate the governor, and all the Romans—as well as the people of Israel—are united against Jesus, your anointed Son, your holy servant. 28 They won’t stop at anything that you in your wise power will let them do. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and grant to your servants great boldness in their preaching, 30 and send your healing power, and may miracles and wonders be done by the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly preached God’s message.
32 All the believers were of one heart and mind, and no one felt that what he owned was his own; everyone was sharing. 33 And the apostles preached powerful sermons about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and there was warm fellowship among all the believers,[c] 34-35 and no poverty—for all who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph (the one the apostles nicknamed “Barnabas, the encourager.” He was of the tribe of Levi, from the island of Cyprus). 37 He was one of those who sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles for distribution to those in need.
13 The Lord said to me, Go and buy a linen loincloth and wear it, but don’t wash it—don’t put it in water at all. 2 So I bought the loincloth and put it on. 3 Then the Lord’s message came to me again. This time he said, 4 Take the loincloth out to the Euphrates River and hide it in a hole in the rocks.
5 So I did; I hid it as the Lord had told me to. 6 Then, a long time afterwards, the Lord said: Go out to the river again and get the loincloth. 7 And I did; I dug it out of the hole where I had hidden it. But now it was mildewed and falling apart. It was utterly useless!
8-9 Then the Lord said: This illustrates the way that I will rot the pride of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 This evil nation refuses to listen to me and follows its own evil desires, and worships idols; therefore, it shall become as this loincloth—good for nothing. 11 Even as a loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so I made Judah and Israel to cling to me, says the Lord. They were my people, an honor to my name. But then they turned away.
12 Tell them this: The Lord God of Israel says, All your wine jugs will be full of wine. And they will reply, Of course, you don’t need to tell us how prosperous we will be![a] 13 Then tell them: That’s not what I mean.[b] I mean that I will fill everyone living in this land with helpless bewilderment—from the king sitting on David’s throne, and the priests and the prophets, right on down to all the people. 14 And I will smash fathers and sons against each other, says the Lord. I will not let pity nor mercy spare them from utter destruction.
15 Oh, that you were not so proud and stubborn! Then you would listen to the Lord, for he has spoken. 16 Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late, before he causes deep, impenetrable darkness to fall upon you so that you stumble and fall upon the dark mountains; then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness. 17 Do you still refuse to listen? Then in loneliness my breaking heart shall mourn because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears because the Lord’s flock shall be carried away as slaves.
18 Say to the king and queen mother,[c] Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns are removed from your heads. They are no longer yours. 19 The cities of the Negeb to the south of Jerusalem have closed their gates against the enemy. They must defend themselves, for Jerusalem cannot help;[d] and all Judah shall be taken away as slaves.
20 See the armies marching from the north! Where is your flock, Jerusalem,[e] your beautiful flock he gave you to take care of? 21 How will you feel when he sets your allies over you as your rulers? You will writhe in pain like a woman having a child. 22 And if you ask yourself, Why is all this happening to me? It is because of the grossness of your sins; that is why you have been raped and destroyed by the invading army. 23 Can the Ethiopian change the color of his skin? or a leopard take away his spots? Nor can you who are so used to doing evil now start being good.
24-25 Because you have put me out of your mind and put your trust in false gods, I will scatter you as chaff is scattered by the fierce winds off the desert. This then is your allotment, that which is due you, which I have measured out especially for you. 26 I myself will expose you to utter shame. 27 I am keenly aware of your apostasy, your faithlessness to me, and your abominable idol worship in the fields and on the hills. Woe upon you, O Jerusalem! How long before you will be pure?
27 When it was morning, the chief priests and Jewish leaders met again to discuss how to induce the Roman government to sentence Jesus to death.[a] 2 Then they sent him in chains to Pilate, the Roman governor.
3 About that time Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus had been condemned to die, changed his mind and deeply regretted what he had done,[b] and brought back the money to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.
4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“That’s your problem,” they retorted.
5 Then he threw the money onto the floor of the Temple and went out and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests picked the money up. “We can’t put it in the collection,” they said, “since it’s against our laws to accept money paid for murder.”
7 They talked it over and finally decided to buy a certain field where the clay was used by potters, and to make it into a cemetery for foreigners who died in Jerusalem. 8 That is why the cemetery is still called “The Field of Blood.”
9 This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah which says,
“They took the thirty pieces of silver—the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel— 10 and purchased a field from the potters as the Lord directed me.”
11 Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the Jews’ Messiah?”[c] the governor asked him.
“Yes,” Jesus replied.
12 But when the chief priests and other Jewish leaders made their many accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.
13 “Don’t you hear what they are saying?” Pilate demanded.
14 But Jesus said nothing, much to the governor’s surprise.
15 Now the governor’s custom was to release one Jewish prisoner each year during the Passover celebration—anyone they wanted. 16 This year there was a particularly notorious criminal in jail named Barabbas, 17 and as the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning he asked them, “Which shall I release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus your Messiah?”[d] 18 For he knew very well that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy because of his popularity with the people.
19 Just then, as he was presiding over the court, Pilate’s wife sent him this message: “Leave that good man alone; for I had a terrible nightmare concerning him last night.”
20 Meanwhile the chief priests and Jewish officials persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas’s release, and for Jesus’ death. 21 So when the governor asked again,[e] “Which of these two shall I release to you?” the crowd shouted back their reply: “Barabbas!”
22 “Then what shall I do with Jesus, your Messiah?” Pilate asked.
And they shouted, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify!”
24 When Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing, he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this good man. The responsibility is yours!”
25 And the mob yelled back, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26 Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after he had whipped Jesus, he gave him to the Roman soldiers to be taken away and crucified. 27 But first they took him into the armory and called out the entire contingent. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and made a crown from long thorns and put it on his head, and placed a stick in his right hand as a scepter and knelt before him in mockery. “Hail, King of the Jews,” they yelled. 30 And they spat on him and grabbed the stick and beat him on the head with it.
31 After the mockery, they took off the robe and put his own garment on him again, and took him out to crucify him.
32 As they were on the way to the execution grounds they came across a man from Cyrene, in Africa—Simon was his name—and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 Then they went out to an area known as Golgotha, that is, “Skull Hill,” 34 where the soldiers gave him drugged wine to drink; but when he had tasted it, he refused.
35 After the crucifixion, the soldiers threw dice to divide up his clothes among themselves. 36 Then they sat around and watched him as he hung there. 37 And they put a sign above his head, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38 Two robbers were also crucified there that morning, one on either side of him. 39 And the people passing by hurled abuse, shaking their heads at him and saying, 40 “So! You can destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, can you? Well, then, come on down from the cross if you are the Son of God!”
41-43 And the chief priests and Jewish leaders also mocked him. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So you are the King of Israel, are you? Come down from the cross and we’ll believe you! He trusted God—let God show his approval by delivering him! Didn’t he say, ‘I am God’s Son’?”
44 And the robbers also threw the same in his teeth.
45 That afternoon, the whole earth[f] was covered with darkness for three hours, from noon until three o’clock.
46 About three o’clock, Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a stick and held it up to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see whether Elijah will come and save him.”
50 Then Jesus shouted out again, dismissed his spirit, and died.
51 And look! The curtain secluding the Holiest Place[g] in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke, 52 and tombs opened, and many godly men and women who had died came back to life again. 53 After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the cemetery and went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many people there.
54 The soldiers at the crucifixion and their sergeant were terribly frightened by the earthquake and all that happened. They exclaimed, “Surely this was God’s Son.”[h]
55 And many women who had come down from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John (the sons of Zebedee).
57 When evening came, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, one of Jesus’ followers, 58 went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. 59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a great stone across the entrance as he left. 61 Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting nearby watching.
62 The next day—at the close of the first day of the Passover ceremonies[i]—the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate, 63 and told him, “Sir, that liar once said, ‘After three days I will come back to life again.’ 64 So we request an order from you sealing the tomb until the third day, to prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
65 “Use your own Temple police,” Pilate told them. “They can guard it safely enough.”
66 So they sealed the stone[j] and posted guards to protect it from intrusion.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.