M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ephraim Tribe Fights Jephthah's Army
12 The men of the Ephraim tribe got together an army and went across the Jordan River to Zaphon to meet with Jephthah. They said, “Why did you go to war with the Ammonites without asking us to help? Just for that, we're going to burn down your house with you inside!”
2 “But I did ask for your help,” Jephthah answered. “That was back when the people of Gilead and I were having trouble with the Ammonites, and you wouldn't do a thing to help us. 3 So when we realized you weren't coming, we risked our lives and attacked the Ammonites. And the Lord let us defeat them. There's no reason for you to come here today to attack me.”
4 But the men from Ephraim said, “You people of Gilead are nothing more than refugees from Ephraim. You even live on land that belongs to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.”[a]
So Jephthah called together the army of Gilead, then they attacked and defeated the army from Ephraim. 5 The army of Gilead also posted guards at all the places where the soldiers from Ephraim could cross the Jordan River to return to their own land.
Whenever one of the men from Ephraim would try to cross the river, the guards would say, “Are you from Ephraim?”
“No,” the man would answer, “I'm not from Ephraim.”
6 The guards would then tell them to say “Shibboleth,” because they knew that people of Ephraim could say “Sibboleth,” but not “Shibboleth.”
If the man said “Sibboleth,” the guards would grab him and kill him right there. Altogether, 42,000 men from Ephraim were killed in the battle and at the Jordan.
7 Jephthah was a leader[b] of Israel for six years, before he died and was buried in his hometown Mizpah[c] in Gilead.
Ibzan
8 Ibzan, the next leader[d] of Israel, came from Bethlehem. 9 He had 30 daughters and 30 sons, and he let them all marry outside his clan.
Ibzan was a leader for seven years, 10 before he died and was buried in Bethlehem.
Elon
11 Elon from the Zebulun tribe was the next leader[e] of Israel. He was a leader for ten years, 12 before he died and was buried in Aijalon that belonged to the Zebulun tribe.
Abdon
13-15 Abdon the son of Hillel was the next leader[f] of Israel. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, and each one of them had his own donkey.[g] Abdon was a leader for eight years, before he died and was buried in his hometown of Pirathon, which is located in the part of the hill country of Ephraim where Amalekites used to live.
Timothy Works with Paul and Silas
16 Paul and Silas went back to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a follower named Timothy. His mother was also a follower. She was Jewish, and his father was Greek. 2 The Lord's followers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy, 3 and Paul wanted him to go with them. But Paul first had him circumcised, because all the Jewish people around there knew that Timothy's father was Greek.[a]
4 As Paul and the others went from city to city, they told the followers what the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem had decided, and they urged them to follow these instructions. 5 The churches became stronger in their faith, and each day more people put their faith in the Lord.
Paul's Vision in Troas
6 Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. 7 After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. 8 So they went on through[b] Mysia until they came to Troas.
9 During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there.
Lydia Becomes a Follower of the Lord
11 We sailed straight from Troas to Samothrace, and the next day we arrived in Neapolis. 12 From there we went to Philippi, which is a Roman colony in the first district of Macedonia.[c]
We spent several days in Philippi. 13 Then on the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to a place by the river, where we thought there would be a Jewish meeting place for prayer. We sat down and talked with the women who came. 14 One of them was Lydia, who was from the city of Thyatira and sold expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of the Lord God, and he made her willing to accept what Paul was saying. 15 Then after she and her family were baptized, she kept on begging us, “If you think I really do have faith in the Lord, come stay in my home.” Finally, we accepted her invitation.
Paul and Silas Are Put in Jail
16 One day on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl. She had a spirit in her that gave her the power to tell the future. By doing this she made a lot of money for her owners. 17 The girl followed Paul and the rest of us, and she kept yelling, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved.”
18 This went on for several days. Finally, Paul got so upset that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to leave this girl alone!” At once the evil spirit left her.
19 When the girl's owners realized they had lost all chances for making more money, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into court. 20 They told the officials, “These Jews are upsetting our city! 21 They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip. 23 After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. 24 The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. 26 Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don't harm yourself! No one has escaped.”
29 The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. 30 After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, “What must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home.”
32 Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord. 33 While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized. 34 They were very glad they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat.
35 The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. 36 The jailer told Paul, “The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace.”
37 But Paul told the police, “We are Roman citizens,[d] and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out.”
38 When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid. 39 So they came and apologized. They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town. 40 But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lord's followers and encouraged them. Then they left.
Seventy Years of Exile
25 1-2 (A) In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah,[a] which was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar[b] was king of Babylonia, the Lord told me to speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. So I told them:
3 For 23 years now, ever since the thirteenth year that Josiah[c] was king, I have been telling you what the Lord has told me. But you have not listened.
4 The Lord has sent prophets to you time after time, but you refused to listen. 5 They told you that the Lord had said:
Change your ways! If you stop doing evil, I will let you stay forever in this land that I gave your ancestors. 6 I don't want to harm you. So don't make me angry by worshiping idols and other gods.
7 But you refused to listen to my prophets. So I, the Lord, say that you have made me angry by worshiping idols, and you are the ones who were hurt by what you did. 8 You refused to listen to me, 9 and now I will let you be attacked by nations from the north, and especially by my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. You and other nearby nations will be destroyed and left in ruins forever. Everyone who sees what has happened will be shocked, but they will still make fun of you. 10 (B) I will put an end to your parties and wedding celebrations; no one will grind grain or be here to light the lamps at night. 11 (C) This country will be as empty as a desert, because I will make all of you the slaves of the king of Babylonia for 70 years.
12 When that time is up, I will punish the king of Babylonia and his people for everything they have done wrong, and I will turn that country into a wasteland forever. 13 My servant Jeremiah has told you what I said I will do to Babylonia and to the other nations, and he wrote it all down in this book. I will do everything I threatened. 14 I will pay back the Babylonians for every wrong they have done. Great kings from many other nations will conquer the Babylonians and force them to be slaves.
The Cup Full of God's Anger
15 The Lord God of Israel showed me a vision in which he said, “Jeremiah, here is a cup filled with the wine of my anger. Take it and make every nation drink some. 16 They will vomit and act crazy, because of the war this cup of anger will bring to them.”
17 I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and I went to the kings of the nations and made each of them drink some. 18 I started with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and the king and his officials were removed from power in disgrace. Everyone still makes insulting jokes about them and uses their names as curse words. 19 The second place I went was Egypt, where everyone had to drink from the cup, including the king and his officials, the other government workers, the rest of the Egyptians, 20 and all the foreigners who lived in the country.
Next I went to the king of Uz, and then to the four kings of Philistia, who ruled from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what was left of Ashdod.[d] 21 Then I went to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, 22 and to the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and their colonies across the sea. 23-24 After this, I went to the kings of Dedan, Tema, Buz, the tribes of the Arabian Desert,[e] 25 Zimri, Elam, Media, 26 and the countries in the north, both near and far.
I went to all the countries on earth, one after another, and finally to Babylonia.[f]
27 The Lord had said to tell each king, “The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, commands you to drink from this cup that is full of the wine of his anger. It will make you so drunk that you will vomit. And when the Lord sends war against the nations, you will be completely defeated.”
28 The Lord told me that if any of them refused to drink from the cup, I must tell them that he had said, “I, the Lord All-Powerful, command you to drink. 29 Starting with my own city of Jerusalem, everyone on earth will suffer from war. So there is no way I will let you escape unharmed.”
30 The Lord told me to say:
From my sacred temple
I will roar like thunder,
while I trample my people
and everyone else
as though they were grapes.
31 My voice will be heard
everywhere on earth,
accusing nations of their crimes
and sentencing the guilty
to death.
Disaster Is Coming
32 The Lord All-Powerful says:
You can see disaster spreading
from far across the earth,
from nation to nation
like a horrible storm.
33 When it strikes, I will kill so many people that their bodies will cover the ground like manure. No one will be left to bury them or to mourn.
The Leaders of Judah Will Be Punished
34 The Lord's people are his flock,
and you leaders
were the shepherds.
But now it's your turn
to be butchered like sheep.
You'll shatter like fine pottery
dropped on the floor.[g]
So roll on the ground,
crying and mourning.
35 You have nowhere to run,
nowhere to hide.
* 36-37 Listen to the cries
of the shepherds,
as the Lord's burning anger
turns[h] peaceful meadows
into barren deserts.
38 Like a lion leaving its den,
the Lord has abandoned
his people
to the destruction of war.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
(Matthew 21.1-11; Luke 19.28-40; John 12.12-19)
11 Jesus and his disciples reached Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. When they were getting close to Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 He told them, “Go into the next village. As soon as you enter it, you will find a young donkey that has never been ridden. Untie the donkey and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks why you are doing this, say, ‘The Lord[a] needs it and will soon bring it back.’ ”
4 The disciples left and found the donkey tied near a door that faced the street. While they were untying it, 5 some of the people standing there asked, “Why are you untying the donkey?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said, and the people let them take it.
7 The disciples led the donkey to Jesus. They put some of their clothes on its back, and Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread clothes on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields.[b]
9 (A) In front of Jesus and behind him, people went along shouting,
“Hooray![c]
God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord!
10 God bless the coming kingdom
of our ancestor David.
Hooray for God
in heaven above!”
11 After Jesus had gone to Jerusalem, he went into the temple and looked around at everything. But since it was already late in the day, he went back to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
Jesus Puts a Curse on a Fig Tree
(Matthew 21.18,19)
12 When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. 13 From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were none, because it wasn't the season for figs. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.
Jesus in the Temple
(Matthew 21.12-17; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)
15 After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. 16 Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple. 17 (B) Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.
A Lesson from the Fig Tree
(Matthew 21.20-22)
20 As the disciples walked past the fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it was completely dried up, roots and all. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree. Then Peter said, “Teacher, look! The tree you put a curse on has dried up.”
22 Jesus told his disciples:
Have faith in God! 23 (C) If you have faith in God and don't doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. 24 Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.
25-26 (D) Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.[d]
A Question about Jesus' Authority
(Matthew 21.23-27; Luke 20.1-8)
27 Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. And as he was walking through the temple, the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses came over to him. 28 They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
29 Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. 30 Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
31 They thought it over and said to each other, “We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 32 On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet. So we can't say it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.”
They were afraid of the crowd 33 and told Jesus, “We don't know.”
Jesus replied, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”
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