M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Birth of Samson
13 Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So he let the Philistines rule over them for 40 years.
2 There was a man named Manoah from the city of Zorah. Manoah was from the tribe of Dan. He had a wife, but she could not have children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife. He said, “You have not been able to have children. But you will become pregnant and have a son! 4 Don’t drink wine or beer. Don’t eat anything that is unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son. You must never cut his hair because he will be a Nazirite. He will be given to God from birth. He will begin the work of saving Israel from the power of the Philistines.”
6 Then Manoah’s wife went to him and told him what had happened. She said, “A man from God came to me. He looked like an angel from God. His appearance was frightening. I didn’t ask him where he was from. And he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will be pregnant and will have a son. Don’t drink wine or beer. Don’t eat anything that is unclean. The reason is that the boy will be a Nazirite to God. He will be that from his birth until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah said a prayer to the Lord: “Lord, I beg you to let the man of God come to us again. Let him teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born to us.”
9 God heard Manoah’s prayer. The angel of God came to Manoah’s wife again. This was while she was sitting in a field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 So she ran to tell him, “He is here! The man who appeared to me the other day is here!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
The man said, “I am.”
12 So Manoah asked, “When what you say happens, what kind of life should the boy live? What should he do?”
13 The angel of the Lord said, “Your wife must do everything I told her to do. 14 She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink any wine or beer. She must not eat anything that is unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her to do.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay awhile. We want to cook a young goat for you.”
16 The angel of the Lord answered, “Even if I stay awhile, I would not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? We want to know. Then we may honor you when what you have said really happens.”
18 The angel of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful for you to understand.” 19 Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He also offered some grain as a gift to the Lord. The Lord did an amazing thing. Manoah and his wife watched what happened. 20 The flames went up to the sky from the altar. As the fire burned, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire! When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed facedown on the ground. 21 The angel of the Lord did not appear to them again. Then Manoah understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord. 22 Manoah said, “We have seen God! Surely we will die because of this!”
23 But his wife said to him, “The Lord does not want to kill us. If he wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering or grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things. And he would not have told us all this.”
24 So the woman gave birth to a boy. She named him Samson. Samson grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25 The Spirit of the Lord began to work in Samson. This was while he was in the city of Mahaneh Dan. It is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
17 Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica. In that city there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 Paul went into the synagogue as he always did. On each Sabbath day for three weeks, Paul talked with the Jews about the Scriptures. 3 He explained and proved that the Christ must die and then rise from death. He said, “This Jesus I am telling you about is the Christ.” 4 Some of the Jews were convinced and joined Paul and Silas. Many of the Greeks who worshiped the true God and many of the important women joined them.
5 But the Jews became jealous. They got some evil men from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot. They ran to Jason’s house, looking for Paul and Silas. The men wanted to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. 6 But they did not find them. So they dragged Jason and some other believers to the leaders of the city. The people were yelling, “These men have made trouble everywhere in the world. And now they have come here too! 7 Jason is keeping them in his house. All of them do things against the laws of Caesar. They say that there is another king called Jesus.”
8 When the people and the leaders of the city heard these things, they became very upset. 9 They made Jason and the others put up a sum of money. Then they let the believers go free.
Paul and Silas Go to Berea
10 That same night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. There Paul and Silas went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 These Jews were better than the Jews in Thessalonica. They were eager to hear the things Paul and Silas said. These Jews in Berea studied the Scriptures every day to find out if these things were true. 12 So, many of them believed. Many important Greek men and women also believed. 13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they came there, too. They upset the people and made trouble. 14 So the believers quickly sent Paul away to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15 The men who took Paul went with him to Athens. Then they carried a message from Paul back to Silas and Timothy. It said, “Come to me as soon as you can.”
Paul in Athens
16 Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was troubled because he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 In the synagogue, he talked with the Jews and the Greeks who worshiped the true God. He also talked every day with people in the marketplace.
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers[a] argued with him. Some of them said, “This man doesn’t know what he is talking about. What is he trying to say?” Paul was telling them the Good News of Jesus’ rising from death. They said, “He seems to be telling us about some other gods.” 19 They got Paul and took him to a meeting of the Areopagus.[b] They said, “Please explain to us this new idea that you have been teaching. 20 The things you are saying are new to us. We want to know what this teaching means.” 21 (All the people of Athens and those from other countries always used their time talking about all the newest ideas.)
22 Then Paul stood before the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “Men of Athens, I can see that you are very religious in all things. 23 I was going through your city, and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: “TO A GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN.” You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I am telling you about! 24 He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples that men build! 25 This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. 26 God began by making one man. From him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they must live. 27 God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him. But he is not far from any of us: 28 ‘By his power we live and move and exist.’ Some of your own poets have said: ‘For we are his children.’ 29 We are God’s children. So, you must not think that God is like something that people imagine or make. He is not like gold, silver, or rock. 30 In the past, people did not understand God, but God ignored this. But now, God tells everyone in the world to change his heart and life. 31 God has decided on a day that he will judge all the world. He will be fair. He will use a man to do this. God chose that man long ago. And God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from death!”
32 When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. They said, “We will hear more about this from you later.” 33 So Paul went away from them. 34 But some of the people believed Paul and joined him. One of those who believed was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus. Also a woman named Damaris and some others believed.
Jeremiah’s Lesson at the Temple
26 This message came from the Lord. It was during the first year Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. 2 This is what the Lord said: “Jeremiah, stand in the courtyard of the Temple of the Lord. Give this message to all the people of the towns of Judah. They are coming to worship at the Temple of the Lord. Tell them everything I tell you to say. Don’t leave out any part of my message. 3 Maybe they will listen and stop their evil ways. I have plans to bring disaster on them because of the evil they have done. But if they change, I will change my mind about bringing disaster on them. 4 Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord says: I gave my teachings to you. You must obey me and follow my teachings. 5 You must listen to what my servants the prophets say to you. I have sent prophets to you again and again. But you did not listen to them. 6 If you don’t obey me, I will destroy my Temple in Jerusalem. I will destroy it as I destroyed my Holy Tent at Shiloh. People all over the world will curse Jerusalem.’”
7 The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah. He said all of these words in the Temple of the Lord. 8 Jeremiah finished speaking everything the Lord had commanded him to say. Then the priests, prophets and all the people grabbed Jeremiah. They said, “You must die! 9 How dare you prophesy such a thing in the name of the Lord! How dare you say that this Temple will be destroyed like the one at Shiloh! How dare you say that Jerusalem will become a desert without anyone to live in it!” All the people crowded around Jeremiah in the Temple of the Lord.
10 Now the officers of Judah heard about what was happening. So they came out of the king’s palace and went up to the Temple of the Lord. There they took their places at the entrance of the New Gate. 11 Then the priests and prophets spoke to the officers and all the other people. They said, “Jeremiah should be killed. He said bad things about Jerusalem! You heard him say it.”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officers of Judah and all the other people. He said, “The Lord sent me to say these things about this Temple and this city. Everything that you have heard is from the Lord. 13 Now change your lives! You must start doing good things. You must obey the Lord your God. If you do that, the Lord will change his mind. He will not bring on you the disaster he has told you about. 14 As for me, I am in your power. Do to me what you think is good and right. 15 But if you kill me, be sure of one thing. You will be guilty of killing an innocent person. You will make this city and everyone who lives in it guilty, too! The Lord sent me to you. The message you heard is from the Lord!”
16 Then the officers and all the people spoke. They said to the priests and the prophets, “Jeremiah must not be killed. What he told us comes from the Lord our God.”
17 Then some of the elders stood up. They spoke to all the people. 18 They said, “Micah the prophet was from the city of Moresheth. He was a prophet during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. Micah said these things to all the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
Jerusalem will be plowed like a field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks.
The hill where the Temple stands will be covered with bushes.’
19 “Hezekiah was the king of Judah. And he did not kill Micah. No one else in Judah killed him. You know that Hezekiah feared the Lord. He wanted to please the Lord. So the Lord changed his mind. He did not bring on Judah the disaster he had promised. If we hurt Jeremiah, we will bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”
20 (Now there was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord. His name was Uriah the son of Shemaiah. Uriah was from the city of Kiriath Jearim. He preached the same things against this city and land that Jeremiah did. 21 King Jehoiakim, all his army officers and all the leaders of Judah heard Uriah preach. King Jehoiakim wanted to kill Uriah. But Uriah heard about it and was afraid. So he escaped to Egypt. 22 But King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor and some other men to Egypt. 23 They brought Uriah back from Egypt. Then they took him to King Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim ordered Uriah to be killed with a sword. His body was thrown into the burial place where poor people are buried.)
24 There was an important man named Ahikam son of Shaphan. Ahikam supported Jeremiah. So Ahikam kept Jeremiah from being killed by the people.
God Sends His Son
12 Jesus used stories to teach the people. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a hole for a winepress. Then he built a tower. He leased the vineyard to some farmers and left for a trip. 2 Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3 But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him. They sent him away with nothing. 4 Then the man sent another servant. They hit him on the head and showed no respect for him. 5 So the man sent another servant. They killed this servant. The man sent many other servants. The farmers beat some of them and killed others.
6 “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘The farmers will respect my son.’
7 “But they said to each other, ‘This is the owner’s son. This vineyard will be his. If we kill him, then it will be ours.’ 8 So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the man who owns the vineyard do? He will go to the vineyard and kill those farmers. Then he will give the vineyard to other farmers. 10 Surely you have read this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders did not want
became the cornerstone.
11 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.’” Psalm 118:22-23
12 The Jewish leaders knew that the story was about them. So they wanted to find a way to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.
The Leaders Try to Trap Jesus
13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and some men from the group called Herodians[a] to Jesus. They wanted to catch Jesus saying something wrong. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them, or not?”
15 But Jesus knew what these men were really trying to do. He said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me see it.” 16 They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on it?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.”
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. And give to God the things that are God’s.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.
Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
18 Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. 19 They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that a man’s brother might die. He leaves a wife but no children. Then that man must marry the widow and have children for the dead brother. 20 There were seven brothers. The first brother married but died. He had no children. 21 So the second brother married the widow. But he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. 22 All seven brothers married her and died. None of the brothers had any children. The woman was last to die. 23 But all seven brothers had married her. So at the time people rise from death, whose wife will the woman be?”
24 Jesus answered, “Why did you make this mistake? Is it because you don’t know what the Scriptures say? Or is it because you don’t know about the power of God? 25 When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other but will be like angels in heaven. 26 Surely you have read what God said about people rising from death. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush,[b] it says that God told Moses this: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[c] 27 God is the God of living people, not dead people. You Sadducees are wrong!”
The Most Important Command
28 One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions. So he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God, he is the only Lord. 30 Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[d] 31 The second most important command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’[e] These two commands are the most important commands.”
32 The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You were right when you said these things. God is the only Lord, and there is no other God besides him. 33 One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”
34 Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely. So Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
35 Jesus was teaching in the Temple. He asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.’ Psalm 110:1
37 David himself calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can the Christ be David’s son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.
38 Jesus continued teaching. He said, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing clothes that look important. And they love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. 39 They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. And they love to have the most important seats at the feasts. 40 They cheat widows and steal their homes. Then they try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. God will punish these people terribly.”
True Giving
41 Jesus sat near the Temple money box where people put their gifts. He watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and gave two very small copper coins. These coins were not worth even a penny.
43 Jesus called his followers to him. He said, “I tell you the truth. This poor widow gave only two small coins. But she really gave more than all those rich people. 44 The rich have plenty; they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor. But she gave all she had. And she needed that money to help her live.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.