M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Achan Sins Against the Lord
7 But the Israelites weren’t faithful to the Lord. They didn’t destroy what had been set apart to him. So they did not do what they had been told to do. Achan had taken some of those things. So the Lord became very angry with Israel. Achan was the son of Karmi. Karmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Achan and all his relatives were from the tribe of Judah.
2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven east of Bethel. Joshua told the men, “Go up and check out the area around Ai.” So the men went up and checked it out.
3 Then they returned to Joshua. They said, “The whole army doesn’t have to go up and attack Ai. Send only two or three thousand men. They can take the city. Don’t make the whole army go up there. Only a few people live in Ai.” 4 So only about 3,000 troops went up. But the men of Ai drove them away. 5 They chased the Israelites from the city gate all the way to Shebarim. They killed about 36 of them on the way down. So the Israelites were terrified.
6 Joshua and the elders of Israel became sad. Joshua tore his clothes. He fell in front of the ark of the Lord with his face to the ground. He remained there until evening. The elders did the same thing. They also sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, “Lord and King, why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan River? Did you want to hand us over to the Amorites? Did you want them to destroy us? I wish we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Lord, our enemies have driven us away. What can I say? 9 The Canaanites will hear about it. So will everyone else in the country. They will surround us. They’ll erase any mention of our name from the face of the earth. Then what will you do when people don’t honor your great name anymore?”
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! What are you doing down there on your face? 11 Israel has sinned. I made a covenant with them. I commanded them to keep it. But they have broken it. They have taken some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. They have stolen. They have lied. They have taken the things they stole and have put them with their own things. 12 That is why the Israelites can’t stand up against their enemies. They turn their backs and run. That’s because I have decided to let them be destroyed. You must destroy the things you took that had been set apart to me. If you do not, I will not be with you anymore.
13 “Go and set the people apart. Tell them, ‘Make yourselves pure. Get ready for tomorrow. Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, wants you to do. He says, “People of Israel, you have kept some of the things that had been set apart to me to be destroyed. You can’t stand up against your enemies until you get rid of those things.”
14 “ ‘In the morning, come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses will come forward group by group. The group the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. And the men in the family the Lord chooses will come forward one by one. 15 Whoever is caught with the things that had been set apart to the Lord will be destroyed by fire. Everything that belongs to that person will also be destroyed. He has broken the Lord’s covenant. He has done a very terrible thing in Israel!’ ”
16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes. The tribe of Judah was chosen. 17 The groups of Judah came forward. The group of Zerah was chosen. Joshua had the group of Zerah come forward by families. The family of Zimri was chosen. 18 He had their men come forward one by one. Achan was chosen. Achan was the son of Karmi. Karmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Zerah was from the tribe of Judah.
19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, the Lord is the God of Israel. So give him glory and honor him by telling the truth! Tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It’s true! I’ve sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. Here is what I’ve done. 21 I saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia among the things we had taken. I saw five pounds of silver. And I saw a gold bar that weighed 20 ounces. I wanted them, so I took them. I hid them in the ground inside my tent. The silver is on the bottom.”
22 So Joshua sent some messengers. They ran to Achan’s tent. And there was everything, hidden in his tent! The silver was on the bottom. 23 They brought the things out of the tent. They took them to Joshua and all the Israelites. And they spread them out in the sight of the Lord.
24 Then Joshua and all the people grabbed Achan, the son of Zerah. They took the silver, the robe and the gold bar. They took Achan’s sons and daughters. They took his cattle, donkeys and sheep. They also took his tent and everything he had. They carried all of it out to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”
Then all the people killed Achan by throwing stones at him. They also killed the rest of his family with stones. They burned all of them up. 26 They placed a large pile of rocks on top of Achan’s body. The place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. That pile is still there to this day. After the people killed Achan, the Lord was no longer angry with them.
137 We were sitting by the rivers of Babylon.
We wept when we remembered what had happened to Zion.
2 On the nearby poplar trees
we hung up our harps.
3 Those who held us as prisoners asked us to sing.
Those who enjoyed hurting us ordered us to sing joyful songs.
They said, “Sing one of the songs of Zion to us!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while we are in another land?
5 Jerusalem, if I forget you,
may my right hand never be able to play the harp again.
6 If I don’t remember you,
may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth so I can’t sing.
May it happen if I don’t consider Jerusalem
to be my greatest joy.
7 Lord, remember what the people of Edom did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down!” they cried.
“Tear it down to the ground!”
8 People of Babylon, you are sentenced to be destroyed.
Happy is the person who pays you back
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the person who grabs your babies
and smashes them against the rocks.
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.
In front of those who think they are gods
I will sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple.
I will praise your name,
because you are always loving and faithful.
You have honored your holy word
even more than your own fame.
3 When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, may all the kings on earth praise you
when they hear about what you have decided.
5 Lord, may they sing about what you have done,
because your glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is high above all, he cares for the lowly.
Though he is in heaven above, he sees them on earth below.
7 Trouble is all around me,
but you keep me alive.
You reach out your hand to put a stop to the anger of my enemies.
With your powerful right hand you save me.
8 Lord, you will show that I was right to trust you.
Lord, your faithful love continues forever.
You have done so much for us, so don’t stop now.
1 These are the words Jeremiah received from the Lord. Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah. Jeremiah was one of the priests at Anathoth. That’s a town in the territory of Benjamin. 2 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came in the 13th year that Josiah was king over Judah. Josiah was the son of Amon. 3 After Josiah, his son Jehoiakim was king over Judah. The Lord’s message also came to Jeremiah during the whole time Jehoiakim ruled. The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah while Zedekiah was king over Judah. He did this until the fifth month of the 11th year of Zedekiah’s rule. That’s when the people of Jerusalem were forced to leave their country. Zedekiah was the son of Josiah. Here is what Jeremiah said.
The Lord Appoints Jeremiah to Speak for Him
4 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,
5 “Before I formed you in your mother’s body I chose you.
Before you were born I set you apart to serve me.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 “You are my Lord and King,” I said. “I don’t know how to speak. I’m too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I’m too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to. You must say everything I command you to say. 8 Do not be afraid of the people I send you to. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand. He touched my mouth and spoke to me. He said, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 Today I am appointing you to speak to nations and kingdoms. I give you authority to pull them up by the roots and tear them down. I give you authority to destroy them and crush them. I give you authority to build them up and plant them.”
11 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“The branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly. I am watching to see that my word comes true.”
13 Another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord asked me, “What do you see?”
“A pot that has boiling water in it,” I answered. “It’s leaning toward us from the north.”
14 The Lord said to me, “Something very bad will be poured out on everyone who lives in this land. It will come from the north. 15 I am about to send for all the armies in the northern kingdoms,” announces the Lord.
“Their kings will come to Jerusalem.
They will set up their thrones at the very gates of the city.
They will attack all the walls that surround the city.
They will go to war against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will judge my people.
They have done many evil things.
They have deserted me.
They have burned incense to other gods.
They have worshiped the gods
their own hands have made.
17 “So get ready! Stand up! Tell them everything I command you to. Do not let them terrify you. If you do, I will terrify you in front of them. 18 Today I have made you like a city that has a high wall around it. I have made you like an iron pillar and a bronze wall. Now you can stand up against the whole land. You can stand against the kings and officials of Judah. You can stand against its priests and its people. 19 They will fight against you. But they will not win the battle over you. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.
What Makes People “Unclean”?
15 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked, 2 “Why don’t your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings! 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, ‘Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’ (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9) 5 But suppose people have something that might be used to help their parents. You allow them to say it is instead ‘a gift set apart for God.’ 6 So they do not need to honor their father or mother with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings. 7 You pretenders! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
8 “ ‘These people honor me by what they say.
But their hearts are far away from me.
9 Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)
10 Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not make them ‘unclean.’ It’s what comes out of their mouth that makes them ‘unclean.’ ”
12 Then the disciples came to him. They asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were angry when they heard this?”
13 Jesus replied, “They are plants that my Father in heaven has not planted. They will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave the Pharisees. They are blind guides. If one blind person leads another blind person, both of them will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said, “Explain this to us.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see? Everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body. 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart. Those are the things that make someone ‘unclean.’ 19 Evil thoughts come out of a person’s heart. So do murder, adultery, and other sexual sins. And so do stealing, false witness, and telling lies about others. 20 Those are the things that make you ‘unclean.’ But eating without washing your hands does not make you ‘unclean.’ ”
The Faith of a Woman From Canaan
21 Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, “Send her away. She keeps crying out after us.”
24 Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”
25 Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
29 Jesus left there. He walked along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to him. They brought blind people and those who could not walk. They also brought disabled people, those who could not speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed. Those who could not speak were speaking. The disabled were made well. Those not able to walk were walking. Those who were blind could see. So the people praised the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, “I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don’t have anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. If I do, they will become too weak on their way home.”
33 His disciples answered him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “Where could we get enough bread to feed this large crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples. And the disciples passed them out to the people. 37 All of them ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. 38 The number of men who ate was 4,000. Women and children also ate. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat. He went to the area near Magadan.
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