M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jephthah’s Battle With Ephraim

12 At that time the men of Ephraim were called to arms. They crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to wage war against the Ammonites, but you did not invite us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you in it.”

² Jephthah said to them, “I was a man involved in a bitter dispute—I and my people against the Ammonites. I called you out to arms, but you did not rescue me from their hand. ³ When I saw that you were not coming to rescue me, I took my life into my hands. I crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. So why have you come up against me this day to wage war against me?”

⁴ So Jephthah summoned all the men of Gilead and waged war against Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck down Ephraim, because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are nothing but renegades^[a] from Ephraim and Manasseh.”

⁵ The men of Gilead captured the fords across the Jordan that led to Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fleeing from the battle said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” ⁶ they said to him, “Please say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But if he instead said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce the word correctly,^[b] they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.

⁷ Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.

The Ninth Judge: Ibzan

⁸ After him Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel. ⁹ He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent the thirty daughters outside his clan for marriage, and for his sons he brought in thirty wives from outside his clan. He judged Israel for seven years. ¹⁰ Then Ibzan died, and he was buried at Bethlehem.

The Tenth Judge: Elon

¹¹ After him Elon from Zebulun judged Israel. He judged Israel for ten years. ¹² Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

The Eleventh Judge: Abdon

¹³ After him Abdon son of Hillel from Pirathon judged Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years. ¹⁵ Then Abdon son of Hillel from Pirathon died, and he was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul arrived in Derbe and in Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, who was the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. ² The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews who lived in those places, because they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the resolutions decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to keep. ⁵ So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day.

The Call to Go to Macedonia (Europe)

⁶ They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, because they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they went as far as Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. ⁹ A vision appeared to Paul during the night. A Macedonian man was standing there, urging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ As soon as he had seen the vision, we^[a] immediately made plans to proceed to Macedonia, because we concluded that God^[b] had called us to preach the good news to them.

At Philippi

¹¹ After we put out to sea from Troas, we sailed straight to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis. ¹² From there we went to Philippi, which is a leading city in that part of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for a number of days.

¹³ On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate alongside the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer.^[c] We sat down and began to talk to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ A woman named Lydia, who worshipped God, was listening. She was a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira. The Lord opened her heart to pay close attention to what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas Put in Prison

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us. She had a spirit that foretold the future, and she made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ As she followed Paul and us, she kept crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you^[d] the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ When she kept doing this for many days, Paul became so annoyed that he turned to the spirit and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

¹⁹ When her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰ They had brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are throwing our city into a state of confusion. They are Jews, ²¹ and they are teaching customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.”

²² When the crowd also joined in the attack against them, the magistrates tore off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ²³ After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ Because he received such a command, the jailer threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Earthquake and the Jailer’s Conversion

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Instantly all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he thought that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul shouted with a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling in front of Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus^[e] and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his home. ³³ At the same hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Without delay, he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Then he brought Paul and Silas into his house and set food before them. He rejoiced, because he and his whole household had come to believe in God.

Released From Prison

³⁵ At daybreak the magistrates sent officers, saying, “Release those men!” ³⁶ The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders that you should be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now they are releasing us secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

³⁸ The officers reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came and apologized to them. As they escorted them out, they requested that they leave the city. ⁴⁰ After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house. They saw the brothers, encouraged them, and then left.

Seventy Years of Exile

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. This was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. ² Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to everyone who lived in Jerusalem.

The Cup of God’s Wrath

¹⁵ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath, and make all the nations, to whom I send you, drink it. ¹⁶ They will drink, stagger, and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he had sent me drink from it— ¹⁸ to destroy them and to make them an object of horror and derision, and to make them a curse, as they are today. They are:

Then after them, the king of Sheshak^[b] will drink.

²⁷ You are to tell them that this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Drink and get drunk. Vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword I will send among you.” ²⁸ But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, then tell them, “This is what the Lord of Armies says. You must drink it. ²⁹ See, I am beginning to bring disaster to the city called by my name. Will you somehow go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord of Armies.”

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem

11 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ² and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it, and he will send it back here without delay.’”

⁴ They left and found a colt on the street, tied at a door; and they untied it. ⁵ Some who were standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ The disciples answered them just as Jesus had instructed them, and the men let them go.

⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their garments on the road. Others spread branches that they had cut from the fields. ⁹ Those who went in front and those who followed were crying out,

¹¹ Jesus went into the temple courts in Jerusalem and looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

¹² The next day, after they had set out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ When he saw a fig tree in leaf in the distance, he went to see if he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, since it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples were listening.

Jesus Cleanses His Father’s House

¹⁵ They came to Jerusalem. Jesus went into the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. ¹⁶ He would not allow anyone to carry any merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ He began to teach them: “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?^[c] But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’!”^[d]

¹⁸ The chief priests and the experts in the law heard this and were looking for a way to kill him. Indeed they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.

The Withered Fig Tree

²⁰ As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered down to the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

²² Jesus replied, “Have faith in God. ²³ Amen I tell you: Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, everything that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. ²⁶ But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.”^[e]

Jesus’ Authority Is Questioned

²⁷ They went into Jerusalem again. As he was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the elders came to him. ²⁸ They asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me.”

³¹ They discussed this with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’. . . .” (They feared the crowd, because everybody held that John really was a prophet.) ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”