M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Riddle of the Lion
14 Then Samson went down to Timnah and eyed in Timnah a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 So he came back and told his father and mother saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So now get her for me as a wife.”
3 Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your kinsmen, or among all our people, that you are going to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is the right one in my eyes.”
4 But his father and mother did not know that it was of Adonai, for He was seeking a pretext against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. 5 While his father and mother went down to Timnah, Samson went to the vineyards of Timnah, and behold, a young lion came roaring at him. 6 Then the Ruach Adonai came mightily upon him, and he tore him apart as one would have split a young goat—yet he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
7 So he went down and talked with the woman, and she looked right in Samson’s eyes. 8 After a while he returned to get her, but turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion. 9 So he scraped it into his hands and went on, eating as he went. Now when he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it, though he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.
10 Then his father went down to the woman, and Samson made a banquet there, for so the young men used to do. 11 Now it came to pass, when they saw him, they brought 30 companions to be with him. 12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propose a riddle to you. If you can indeed solve it for me during the seven days of the banquet, and figure it out, then I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes; 13 but if you cannot solve it for me, then you must give me 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.”
“Propose your riddle,” they said to him. “Let’s hear it!”
14 So he said to them,
“Out of the eater came forth food,
out of the strong came forth sweet.”
But for three days they could not solve the riddle. 15 Now on the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband so that he will explain the riddle to us—or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us?”
16 So Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “You only hate me! You don’t love me! You proposed a riddle to the sons of my people—yet you haven’t explained it to me!”
“Look,” he said, “I haven’t explained it to my father or my mother, so should I explain it to you?” 17 But she wept before him the seven days while their banquet lasted. So it was on the seventh day he told her, because she nagged him. Then she told the riddle to the sons of her people. 18 So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day, before the sun went down,
“What is sweeter than honey?
And what is stronger than a lion?”
But he responded to them,
“If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer,
you wouldn’t have solved my riddle.”
19 Then the Ruach Adonai came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 of their men, took their spoil, and gave the changes of clothes to those who solved the riddle. Since his rage was burning, he went up to his father’s house. 20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion who had been his best man.
Many Respond in Corinth
18 After these things, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jewish man named Aquila—a native of Pontus having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all Jewish people to leave Rome. Paul went to see them; 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and began working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4 And he was debating every Shabbat in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jewish and Greek people.
5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became occupied with the message, urgently testifying to the Jewish people that Yeshua is the Messiah. 6 But when they resisted and reviled him, he shook out his garments[a] and said, “Your blood be upon your own heads—I am clean![b] From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 After leaving there, Paul went into the house of a man named Titius Justus, a God-fearer whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, put his faith in the Lord, along with his whole household. And many of the Corinthians, upon hearing, were believing and being immersed.
9 Now the Lord said to Paul through a vision in the night, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent! 10 For I am with you and no one shall attack you to harm you—many people in this city are for Me.” 11 So he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders made a united attack against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the Torah.”
14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jewish people, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or a vicious crime, there would be a reason to put up with you, O Jews. 15 But since it is issues about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of these.” 16 And he drove them from the judgment seat. 17 Then they all grabbed Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio paid no attention to these things.
Sailing East to Revisit Communities
18 Paul, having stayed many more days, said farewell to the brothers and set sail to Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchrea Paul had his hair cut off, for he was keeping a vow. 19 When they arrived at Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila there. But he himself went into the synagogue and debated with the Jewish people. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, 21 instead taking leave of them while saying, “God willing, I’ll return to you again.”
He set sail from Ephesus. 22 After landing at Caesarea, he went up and greeted Messiah’s community; then he went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and went one place after another throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Discipling New Leaders
24 Now a Jewish man named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, well versed in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. With a fervent spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the facts about Yeshua—while only being acquainted with the immersion of John. 26 This man began speaking out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately.
27 When Apollos wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. Upon arrival, he greatly helped those who by grace had believed. 28 For he powerfully refuted the Jewish people in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that the Messiah was Yeshua.
Jeremiah Wears a Yoke
27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from Adonai, saying— 2 thus says Adonai to me—“Make straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Then send such to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of Ammon’s children, to the king of Tyre and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of messengers that come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. 4 Charge them to their masters, saying, thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel, thus will you say to your masters: 5 ‘I have made the earth, mankind and beast which are on the face of the earth, by My great power and by My outstretched arm—and I give it to whom it seems right to Me. 6 So now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, My servant. I have even given the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations will serve him—and his son, and his grandson—until the time of his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will make him their slave.’
8 “Now it will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve the same King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,” declares Adonai, “until I have destroyed it by his hand. 9 But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreams, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 For they prophesy a lie to you, in order to remove you far from your land, so that I would drive you out and you would perish.
11 “But the nation that will bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, that nation I will let remain in its land, and they will till it and dwell in it.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
12 Then I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah with all these same words, saying: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people—and live. 13 Why should you die—you and your people—by the sword, by famine, or by pestilence, as Adonai has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you.”
15 “For I have not sent them,” says Adonai, “and they prophesy falsely in My Name, with the result that I will drive you out, and that you will perish—you and the prophets that prophesy to you.”
16 Then I spoke to the kohanim and to all this people, saying, thus says Adonai: “Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying: ‘See, the vessels of Adonai’s House will now shortly be brought back from Babylon’—for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city become a ruin? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of Adonai is with them, let them now make intercession to Adonai-Tzva’ot, that the vessels that are left in the House of Adonai, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, would not go to Babylon.”
19 For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot concerning the pillars, the sea, the bases, and the rest of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has not taken, when he carried away captive Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem, 21 yes, thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the House of Adonai, in the house of the king of Judah and at Jerusalem: 22 “They will be brought to Babylon, and there will they be until the day that I take note of them”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“and bring them up and restore them to this place.”
Signs of the End
13 As Yeshua was going out of the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look! What stones and what buildings!”
2 Yeshua said to him, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left upon another. Every one will be torn down!”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, Jacob, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Yeshua began to tell them, “Watch out that no one leads you astray! 6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to the courts, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them. 10 The Good News must first be proclaimed to all the nations. 11 When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Say whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks but the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. And children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Birth Pangs Before Deliverance
14 “But when you see ‘the abomination of desolation’[a] standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 The one on the roof must not go down, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 17 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 Pray that it will not happen in winter.
19 “For in those days there will be trouble such as has never happened,[b] not since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. 20 And unless Adonai had cut short those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He cut short the days.
21 “And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there He is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up[c] and show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the chosen. 23 So be careful! See, I have told you everything beforehand.”
Messianic Victory
24 “But in those days, after that trouble,
‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’[d]
26 And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’[e] with great power and glory. 27 Then He will send out the angels and will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from the end of the earth, to the end of heaven.”
Keep Watch
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see all these things happening, know that it is near, at the door. 30 Amen, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 32 But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, except the Father.
33 “Keep on the lookout! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man away on a journey. After leaving his house and putting his servants in charge and giving each his task, he also commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Therefore stay alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the early morning. 36 So watch in case, coming suddenly, he finds you asleep. 37 What I say to you I say to all: ‘Stay alert!’”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.