M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Rise of Abimelek
9 Abimelek son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to visit his mother’s brothers. He spoke to them and to the entire clan of his mother’s household, saying, 2 “Please announce this in the hearing of all the citizens[a] of Shechem: What is better for you? If seventy men—all of the sons of Jerubbaal—rule over you, or if one man rules over you? Also remember this—I am your own flesh and blood.”
3 His mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem. So their hearts were inclined toward Abimelek, because they said, “He is our brother.”
4 They gave him seventy pieces[b] of silver from the house of Baal of the Covenant. With the money, Abimelek hired worthless, reckless men, who traveled with him. 5 He came to his father’s household at Ophrah, and he murdered his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal—seventy men slaughtered on one stone. Only one remained alive, Jotham son of Jerubbaal, the youngest, for he had hidden himself. 6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered together, and they went and crowned Abimelek as king by the oak tree next to the memorial pillar that was in Shechem.
7 When Jotham was told, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and called out with a loud voice, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, and God will listen to you.”
Jotham’s Parable
8 One day the trees went to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, “Be king over us.” 9 But the olive tree said to them, “Should I stop producing my rich oil, with which both God and men are honored, to go and sway over the other trees?”
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, “Come, you be king over us.” 11 But the fig tree said to them, “Should I stop producing my sweetness and my good fruit to go and sway over the other trees?”
12 Then the trees said to the grape vine, “Come, you be king over us.” 13 But the vine said to them, “Should I stop producing my new wine, which gladdens both God and men, to go and sway over the other trees?”
14 Finally all the trees said to the bramble, “Come, you be king over us.”
15 So the bramble said to the trees, “If you are sincere about anointing me to be king over you, come, seek refuge in my shade. But if you are not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”
16 Jotham said, “So now, if you acted in truth and integrity when you made Abimelek king, and if you have treated Jerubbaal and his household well, and if you have dealt with him as his hands dealt with you— 17 My father waged war for you and put his life at grave risk and delivered you from the hand of Midian. 18 Yet you have risen up against the house of my father today, and you have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have crowned Abimelek, son of his concubine, as king over the citizens of Shechem, because he is your relative. 19 If you have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his household this day, rejoice in Abimelek, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, may fire come out from Abimelek and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and may fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelek.”
21 With that, Jotham fled and escaped to Be’er,[c] where he remained because of Abimelek his brother.
The Fall of Abimelek
22 After Abimelek ruled over Israel three years, 23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelek, 24 so that the violence perpetrated against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal would come back on Abimelek, and their blood would be charged to their brother Abimelek, who killed them, and to the citizens of Shechem, who supported him when he killed his brothers.
25 In opposition to Abimelek, the citizens of Shechem set up ambushes on the mountains, and they robbed everyone who went by along the road. This was reported to Abimelek.
26 At this time Ga’al son of Ebed and his brothers had come to Shechem and settled there, and the citizens of Shechem put their trust in him.
27 The people of Shechem went out into the fields and gathered grapes from their vineyards. They trod the grapes into wine and held a thanksgiving festival. They went to the house of their god and ate and drank, and they cursed Abimelek.
28 Ga’al son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelek? Why should the city of Shechem serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his representative? Serve the descendants of Hamor, the founding father of Shechem, but why should we serve Abimelek? 29 If only someone would give this people into my hand! I would remove Abimelek!”
So he said to Abimelek, “Get a bigger army and come out!”
30 When Zebul, ruler of the city, heard the words of Ga’al son of Ebed, he was hot with anger. 31 He secretly sent messengers to Abimelek, saying, “Look, Ga’al son of Ebed and his brothers have been coming to Shechem, and now they are stirring up the city against you. 32 So now, get up tonight, you and the troops who are with you, and hide yourselves in the countryside. 33 When morning comes, at sunrise, get up early and make an attack on the city. Then when Ga’al and the people with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”
34 So Abimelek and all the troops who were with him set out in the middle of the night and set an ambush for Shechem, in four units.
35 Ga’al son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city gate. Then Abimelek and the troops with him rose up from their hiding places.
36 When Ga’al saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look! People are coming down from the mountains.”
But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing shadows on the mountains and mistaking them for men.”
37 But Ga’al spoke up again. He said, “No, look! There are people coming down from the navel of the land,[d] and one unit is coming from the direction of the Oak of the Fortune Tellers.”
38 Zebul said to him, “Where is your big mouth now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelek that we should serve him?’ Aren’t these the people you despised? Go out now, and fight against him!”
39 So Ga’al went out in front of the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelek. 40 Abimelek pursued him, and Ga’al fled from him. Many fell wounded all the way up to the entrance to the city’s gatehouse. 41 Abimelek remained in Arumah, but Zebul drove out Ga’al and his brothers, so that they could not stay in Shechem.
42 The next day, when the people went out into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelek. 43 He took his people and divided them into three units and set up an ambush in the countryside.
As he kept watch, he saw people coming out of the city. He rose up against them and struck them down. 44 Abimelek and the unit that was with him rushed forward and took a position in front of the entrance to the city’s gatehouse. The other two units attacked everyone who was still out in the open country and struck them down. 45 Abimelek fought against the city all that day and captured it. He killed the people who were in it, and he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
46 When all the citizens defending the citadel of Shechem realized what was happening, they went into the vault[e] of the temple of El[f] of the Covenant. 47 When it was reported to Abimelek that all the citizens were gathered together in the citadel of Shechem, 48 Abimelek went up to Mount Zalmon—he and all the people who were with him. Abimelek took an ax in his hand and cut brushwood. He picked up the brush and placed it on his shoulder. He told the people who were with him, “Quickly do exactly what you saw me do.” 49 All the people, each man, also cut brushwood and followed Abimelek. They placed the branches against the vault and with the branches they set the vault on fire, and all the people in the citadel of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.
50 Abimelek then went to Thebez, besieged it, and captured it. 51 There was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women and all the rulers of the city fled there. They shut it up tight behind them and went up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelek came up to the tower and attacked it. He approached the entrance of the tower to burn it down.
53 A certain woman threw down an upper millstone onto the head of Abimelek, and she fractured his skull. 54 He called quickly to the young man who carried his gear and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they do not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So this young man ran him through with his sword, and Abimelek died. 55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelek was dead, they all went back, each to his place.
56 In this way God avenged the evil that Abimelek had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also returned all the evil done by the men of Shechem onto their own heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
The Holy Spirit Calls Paul and Barnabas
13 Now in the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas; Simeon, who was called Niger; Lucius of Cyrene; Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch; and Saul. 2 While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them off.
4 So they were sent out by the Holy Spirit and went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
6 When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The proconsul summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.
8 Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit and looking straight at him, 10 said, “You are full of every kind of deceit and fraud, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all righteousness! Will you never stop twisting the straight paths of the Lord? 11 Now look! The hand of the Lord is against you. You will be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went around looking for someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what happened, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
At Pisidian Antioch
13 Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But they went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Gentlemen,[a] brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, say it.”
16 Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said, “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with his uplifted arm, he led them out of it. 18 He put up with them[b] for about forty years in the wilderness. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, and he gave their land to his people as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges[c] until the time of Samuel the prophet.
21 “Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After removing him, he raised up David as their king. God testified about him: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart. He will do all that I want him to do.’[d]
23 “From this man’s descendants[e] God brought the Savior Jesus to Israel, in keeping with his promise. 24 Before he appeared publicly, John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But look! That One is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’[f]
26 “Gentlemen, brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, this message of salvation has been sent to you.[g] 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the statements of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the cross[h] and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These same individuals are now his witnesses to the people.
32 “We are preaching to you the good news about the promise that was made to our fathers. 33 God has fulfilled this promise for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm:
You are my Son.
Today I have begotten you.[i]
34 “That God would raise him from the dead never again to be subject to decay, God said in this way:
I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.[j]
35 “Therefore he also says in another place:
You will not let your Holy One see decay.[k]
36 “For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was laid to rest with his fathers, and saw decay. 37 But the One God raised did not see decay.
38 “So, gentlemen, brothers, let it be known to you that through this Jesus forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, also forgiveness from everything from which you could not be justified through the law of Moses. 39 In this Jesus, everyone who believes is justified. 40 So watch out that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:
41 Look, you scoffers,
be amazed and perish!
For I am going to do something in your days,
something you would never believe,
even if someone were to explain it to you.”[l]
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept begging them to speak again on this same subject on the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting of the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of God.[m] 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with envy and began to contradict what Paul was saying by slandering him.[n]
46 Then Paul and Barnabas responded fearlessly, “It was necessary that God’s word be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look: We are now turning to the Gentiles! 47 For this is what the Lord has instructed us:
I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.”[o]
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were rejoicing and praising the word of the Lord. All who had been appointed for eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was being carried through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 The disciples continued to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Judgment Against Three Evil Kings
22 This is what the Lord says.
Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and speak this message there.
2 Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials, and your people who enter these gates.
3 This is what the Lord says. Do what is just and right. Rescue the person who has been robbed from the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, to the fatherless, or to the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 If you diligently carry this out, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this house, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, then I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house will become a ruin.
6 Yes, this is what the Lord says about the house of the king of Judah.
You are like Gilead to me,
like the peak of Lebanon.
You can be sure that I will turn you into a wilderness,
like uninhabited towns.
7 I will send destroyers against you,
each of them with his weapons.
They will cut down your best cedars,
and they will throw them into the fire.
8 Many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, “Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?” 9 And the answer will be, “It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God. They worshipped other gods and served them.”
A Message About Shallum
10 Do not weep for the dead.
Do not mourn for him,
but weep bitterly for the one who is exiled,
because he will never return.
He will never see the land of his birth.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[a] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned in place of his father Josiah. He has gone out from this place, but he will never return again. 12 He will die in the place where they have led him captive. He will never see this land again.
A Message About Jehoiakim
13 Woe to him who builds his house through unrighteousness
and his roof with injustice,
who makes his neighbors work for nothing
and does not pay them,
14 who says, “I will build a huge mansion for myself
with spacious upper rooms.”
He makes large windows for it,
panels it with cedar,
and paints it red.
15 Does it make you a king when you are extravagant with cedar?
Didn’t your father eat and drink,
and do what was just and right?
Then it went well for him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and it went well.
Isn’t this what it means to know me? declares the Lord.
17 But your eyes and your heart are greedy for gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
for oppression, and committing violence.
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning
Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
They will not mourn for him,
“Oh, my brother! Oh, my sister!”
They will not mourn for him,
“Oh, my master! Oh, his glory!”
19 He will be buried with the burial of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out.
Lift your voice in Bashan.
Cry out from Abarim,
because all your lovers have been destroyed.
21 I spoke to you when you were at peace,
but you said, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way since your youth.
You have never listened to me.
22 Your shepherds will be herded by the wind.
Your lovers will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your evil.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
you who make your nest in the cedars,
how you will groan when pains come upon you,
pains like those of a woman in labor!
A Message About Coniah
24 As I live, declares the Lord, even if you, Coniah[b] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. 25 I will deliver you into the hand of those who want to take your life, those you fear. I will deliver you into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 I will throw you and the mother who bore you into another country, where neither of you were born, and there you will die. 27 They will never return to the land to which they long to return.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken pot?
Is he a jar no one wants?
Why are he and his children thrown out,
cast into a land they do not know?
29 Land, land, O land!
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says.
Record this man as childless,
a man who will not prosper in his lifetime.
None of his offspring will prosper
by sitting on David’s throne and ruling in Judah.
Jesus Feeds More Than Four Thousand
8 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, 2 “I feel compassion for the crowd because they have already stayed with me three days and do not have anything to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way. Some of them have come from a long distance.”
4 His disciples replied, “Where can anyone get enough bread to feed these people here in this deserted place?”
5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they said.
6 He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, and broke them. He gave the pieces to his disciples to distribute to the crowd, and they did so. 7 They also had a few small fish. He blessed them and said that these should be distributed as well. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. They picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand men were there. Then he sent them away. 10 Right after that, Jesus got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
A Sign From Heaven
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen I tell you: No such sign will be given to this generation.” 13 After he left them and got back into the boat, he crossed to the other side.
Watch Out for the Teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees
14 They had forgotten to take bread along except for one loaf that they had with them in the boat. 15 “Watch out,” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 They began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.
17 Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing your lack of bread? Do you still not understand or comprehend? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 You have eyes—do you not see? You have ears—do you not hear? Do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they told him.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 He said to them, “Do you still not comprehend?”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 He took hold of the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes, he placed his hands on him and asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 The man looked up and said, “I see people. To me they look like trees walking.”
25 Then Jesus placed his hands on his eyes again. The man opened his eyes and his sight was restored. He could see everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Do not go into the village.”
Jesus Is the Christ
27 Jesus went away with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
28 They told him, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others say one of the prophets.”
29 “But who do you say I am?” he asked them.
Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”[a]
30 Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
31 Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. 32 He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up the Cross
34 He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.