M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Danites Seek a New Home
18 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of Dan was seeking an inheritance for itself to settle in, for to that day no territory had fallen to them for an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel. 2 So the children of Dan sent five men from their clan, out of their entire population, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it, and said to them, “Go, explore the land.”
When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. 3 When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite. So they turned aside there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”
4 He said to them, “Thus and thus Micah did for me—he hired me and I became his priest.”
5 “Please inquire of God,” they said to him, “so we may know whether our way that we are going will be successful.”
6 “Go in peace,” the priest said to them. “The way that you are going has Adonai’s approval.”
7 Then the five men left and came to Laish, and saw the people there living securely, like the Zidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. For there was no humiliation or anything oppressive in the land. Moreover, they were distant from the Zidonians and had no dealings with anybody.
8 When they came back to their kinsmen at Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen asked them, “What do you say?”
9 “Arise, let’s go up against them!” they said. “For we have seen the land—see, it’s very good. Yet you’re sitting still! Don’t be sluggish! Go enter, possess the land! 10 When you get there, you will come to unsuspecting people. The land is spacious. For God has put it in your hand—a place where there is no lack of anything on the earth.”
11 So from the Danite clan from Zorah and Eshtaol, 600 men set out, armed with weapons of war. 12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-Dan to this day—behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 From there they passed on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.
14 Then the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household idols, a carved image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do.”
15 So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s house, and asked him about his welfare. 16 Now the 600 men of the children of Dan, armed with their weapons of war, were standing by the entrance of the gate. 17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered there. They took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols and the molten image, while the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.
18 Now after these had gone into Micah’s house and taken the carved image, the ephod, the household idols and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19 “Be quiet!” they said to him. “Put your hand on your mouth and go with us and be to us a father and a priest! Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man or to be priest to a tribe and a clan in Israel?” 20 So the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols and the carved image, and went along among the people.
21 So they turned and set off, and placed the little ones and the cattle and the goods in front of them. 22 When they were at a good distance from Micah’s house, the men that were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered and caught up with the children of Dan. 23 They called out to the children of Dan, who turned their faces around and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you have called them out?”
24 “You have taken away my gods which I made,” he said, “and the priest, and walked away! What do I have left? And how then do you say to me, ‘What’s the matter with you?’”
25 But the children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest bitter fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the children of Dan went on their way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and came to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and struck them with the edge of the sword, and they burned the town with fire. 28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in the valley near Beth-rehob.
Then they rebuilt the town and lived in it. 29 So they called the name of the town Dan, after the name of their father Dan born to Israel; however, the former name of the town was Laish. 30 The children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image. Jonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the exile from the land. 31 So they set them up Micah’s carved image that he had made, all the time that the House of God was in Shiloh.
Paul’s Testimony on the Temple Stairs
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense which I now present to you.” 2 When they heard that Paul was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even more quiet. Then he said, 3 “I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, trained strictly according to the Torah of our fathers, being zealous for God just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prisons— 5 as the kohen gadol and all the council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers, and I went to Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem even those who were there in chains—to be punished.
6 “But it happened that as I was traveling and drawing near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly flashed all around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Yeshua ha-Natzrati, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
“And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up, and go to Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’
11 “But since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. 12 Then a certain Ananias—a devout man according to the Torah, well spoken of by all the Jewish people living there— 13 came to me. Standing before me, he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, look up!’ In that very moment, I looked and saw him!
14 “And he said, ‘The God of our fathers handpicked you to know His will—to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why are you waiting? Get up and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on His Name.’
17 “It happened that when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance; 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about Me.’
19 “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another, I was imprisoning and beating those trusting in You. 20 Even when the blood of Your witness Stephen was spilled, I too was standing by and approving, and guarding the clothing of those who were killing him.’
21 “And he said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 Up to this statement they listened to him. Then they raised their voices, saying, “Away from the earth with this fellow! For he’s not fit to live!”
The Romans Intervene
23 As they were crying out and flinging off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, [a] 24 the commander ordered Paul to be brought into headquarters. He said Paul should be examined by lashing, so that he might find out why they were shouting against him so. 25 But when they stretched him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen without due process?”
26 Now when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is Roman.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you Roman?”
And he said, “Yes.”
28 The commander answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.”
Paul said, “But I was born so.”
29 Therefore, those who were about to interrogate him instantly drew back from him. And the commander also was afraid when he found out that Paul was a Roman and that he had bound him.
Delivered to the Council
30 But on the next day, desiring to know exactly why Paul had been accused by the Judeans, he released him and commanded the ruling kohanim and all the Sanhedrin to meet together. And he brought Paul and set him before them.
Why Jeremiah Bought Property
32 The word that came to Jeremiah from Adonai, in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Now at the time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For King Zedekiah of Judah had shut him up, saying: “Why do you prophesy and say, thus says Adonai: ‘I will soon give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4 and King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth and his eyes will behold his eyes; 5 and he will lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there will he remain until I take note of him,’ says Adonai—though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not succeed?”
6 So Jeremiah said: “The word of Adonai came to me, saying: 7 ‘Hanamel, son of Shallum your uncle, will soon come to you saying: ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.’” 8 So my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard as was the word of Adonai, and said to me: “Buy my field, please, which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of Adonai. 9 So I bought the field that was in Anathoth from the son of my uncle Hanamel, and weighed him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. 11 Then I took the purchase deed, both the sealed copy, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy, 12 and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my uncle’s son Hanamel and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the purchase deed, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard. 13 Then I charged Baruch before them, saying, 14 thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds—this purchase deed, both the sealed copy and the open copy—and put them in a clay jar, so they may last many days.” 15 For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.”
16 After I had given the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to Adonai, saying: 17 “Ah, my Lord Adonai! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm—nothing is too hard for You! [a] 18 You are the One doing mercy to thousands, but repaying the iniquity of the fathers into the lap of their children after them. Great, mighty God, Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name! 19 Great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. [b] 20 You set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day in Israel and among mankind, and made Yourself a Name, as to this day. 21 You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. 22 You gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They came in and possessed it. But they did not obey your voice nor walk in your Torah. They have done nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you caused all this evil to fall on them. 24 Look, the siege ramps have just come up to the city to take it. The city has been handed over to the Chaldeans fighting against it, because of the sword, the famine and the pestilence. What You have spoken has happened. Here it is, You see it. 25 Yet You said to me, my Lord Adonai: ‘Buy for yourself the field for money and call in witnesses’—even as the city is handed over to the Chaldeans.”
26 Then came the word of Adonai to Jeremiah, saying: 27 “Behold, I am Adonai, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?” 28 Therefore thus says Adonai: “I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. 29 Then the Chaldeans fighting against this city will come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses—where they burned incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke Me. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth; indeed, the children of Israel have done nothing but provoke Me with the work of their hands,” declares Adonai.
31 “Indeed this city has caused My anger and of My fury from the day that they built it up to this day,[c] so that I will remove it from before My face, 32 because of all the evil the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done to provoke Me—they, their kings, their princes, their kohanim, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33 “They have turned their back to Me and not their face. Though I taught them early and often, they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 Instead they set up their abominations in the House where My Name is called, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, to make their sons and their daughters pass through fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor did it enter My mind that they would do this loathsome thing, causing Judah to sin.”
36 Now therefore thus says Adonai, the God of Israel, concerning this city, about which you say, “It is handed over to the king of Babylon by the sword, famine, and pestilence.
37 “See, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in My anger, My fury, and great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place and cause them to dwell securely. 38 They will be My people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart[d] and one way, so they may fear Me forever; for their good and for their children after them.
40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good for them. I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me.
41 “Yes, I will delight in doing good for them, and with all My heart and all My soul I will in truth plant them in this land.”
42 For thus says Adonai: “Just as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. 43 So fields will be bought in this land, about which you are saying: ‘It will be a desolation, without man or beast; it is handed over to the Chaldeans.’ 44 Men will buy fields for money and sign and seal the deeds and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the areas around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, in the towns of the hill-country, in the towns of the foothills, and in the cities of the South—because I will bring them back from exile.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
Torah Is a Tree of Wisdom
Psalm 1
1 Happy is the one who has not walked in the advice of the wicked,
nor stood in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seat of scoffers.
2 But his delight is in the Torah of Adonai,
and on His Torah he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a planted tree over streams of water,
producing its fruit during its season.
Its leaf never droops—
but in all he does, he succeeds.
4 The wicked are not so.
For they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand during the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Adonai knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Coronation of Messianic King
Psalm 2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar,
and the peoples mutter vanity?
2 The kings of earth set themselves up[a]
and rulers conspire together[b] against Adonai
and against His Anointed One[c]:
3 “Let’s rip their chains apart,
and throw their ropes off us!”
4 He who sits in heaven laughs!
Adonai mocks them.
5 So He will speak to them in His anger,
and terrify them in His fury:
6 “I have set up My king
upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
7 I will declare the decree of Adonai.
He said to me: “You are My Son—
today I have become Your Father.[d]
8 Ask Me,
and I will give the nations as Your inheritance,
and the far reaches of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall break the nations with an iron scepter.[e]
You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s jar.”[f]
10 So now, O kings, be wise,
take warning, O judges of the earth!
11 Serve Adonai with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He become angry,
and you perish along your way—
since His wrath may flare up suddenly.
Happy is everyone taking refuge in Him!
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.