M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Samson’s Marriage
14 Samson went down to the city of Timnah. There he saw a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned home, he said to his father and mother, “I saw a Philistine woman in Timnah. I want you to get her for me. I want to marry her.”
3 His father and mother answered, “Surely there is a woman from Israel you can marry. Do you have to marry a woman from the Philistines? The Philistines are not even circumcised.”
But Samson said, “Get that woman for me! She is the one I want!” 4 (Samson’s parents did not know that the Lord wanted this to happen. He was looking for a way to start a fight with the Philistines. They were ruling over Israel at this time.) 5 Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. They went as far as the vineyard near there. Suddenly, a young lion came roaring toward Samson! 6 The Spirit of the Lord entered Samson with great power. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands. For him it was as easy as tearing apart a young goat. But Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down to the city. There he talked to the Philistine woman, and he liked her.
8 Several days later Samson went back to marry her. On his way he went over to look at the body of the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in it. They had made some honey. 9 Samson got some of the honey with his hands. He walked along eating it. When he came to his parents, he gave some to them. They ate it, too. But Samson did not tell them he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion.
10 Samson’s father went down to see the Philistine woman. The custom was for the bridegroom to give a feast. So Samson gave a feast. 11 When the people saw him, they sent 30 men to be with him.
Samson’s Riddle
12 Then Samson said to the 30 men, “Let me tell you a riddle. This feast will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can, I will give you 30 linen shirts. I will also give you 30 changes of clothes. 13 But if you can’t tell me the answer, you must pay me. You must give me 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.”
So they said, “Tell us your riddle. We want to hear it.”
14 Samson said,
“Out of the eater comes something to eat.
Out of the strong comes something sweet.”
The 30 men tried for three days to figure it out. But they could not find the answer.
15 On the fourth[a] day, they came to Samson’s wife. They said, “Did you invite us here to make us poor? Trick your husband into telling us the answer to the riddle. If you don’t, we will burn you and everyone in your father’s house!”
16 So Samson’s wife went to him and began crying. She said, “You hate me! You don’t really love me! You told my people a riddle, but you won’t tell me the answer.”
Samson said, “I haven’t even told my father or mother. Why should I tell you?”
17 Samson’s wife cried for the rest of the seven days of the feast. So he finally gave her the answer on the seventh day. He told her because she kept bothering him. Then she told her people the answer to the riddle.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day of the feast, the Philistine men had the answer. They came to Samson and said,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Then Samson said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my little cow,
you would not have solved my riddle!”
19 The Spirit of the Lord entered Samson and gave him great power. Samson went down to the city of Ashkelon. He killed 30 of their men and took all their clothes and property. He gave those clothes to the men who had answered his riddle. Then he went to his father’s house very angry. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to his best man at the wedding.
Paul in Corinth
18 Later, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 Here he met a Jew named Aquila. Aquila was born in the country of Pontus. But Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, had recently moved to Corinth from Italy. They left Italy because Claudius[a] commanded that all Jews must leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. 3 They were tentmakers, just as he was. He stayed with them and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath day he talked with the Jews and Greeks in the synagogue. Paul tried to persuade these people to believe in Jesus.
5 Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia and joined Paul in Corinth. After this, Paul used all his time telling people the Good News. He showed the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But they would not accept Paul’s teaching and said some evil things. So he shook off the dust from his clothes.[b] He said to them, “If you are not saved, it will be your own fault! I have done all I can do! After this, I will go to non-Jewish people!” 7 Paul left the synagogue and moved into the home of Titius Justus. It was next to the synagogue. This man worshiped the true God. 8 Crispus was the leader of that synagogue. He and all the people living in his house believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also listened to Paul. They too believed and were baptized.
9 During the night, Paul had a vision. The Lord said to him, “Don’t be afraid! Continue talking to people and don’t be quiet! 10 I am with you. No one will hurt you because many of my people are in this city.” 11 Paul stayed there for a year and a half, teaching God’s word to the people.
Paul Is Brought Before Gallio
12 Gallio became the governor of the country of Southern Greece. At that time, some of the Jews came together against Paul and took him to the court. 13 They said to Gallio, “This man is teaching people to worship God in a way that is against our law!”
14 Paul was about to say something, but Gallio spoke to the Jews. Gallio said, “I would listen to you Jews if you were complaining about a crime or some wrong. 15 But the things you are saying are only questions about words and names—arguments about your own law. So you must solve this problem yourselves. I don’t want to be a judge of these things!” 16 Then Gallio made them leave the court.
17 Then they all grabbed Sosthenes. (Sosthenes was now the leader of the synagogue.) They beat him there before the court. But this did not bother Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch
18 Paul stayed with the believers for many more days. Then he left and sailed for Syria. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. At Cenchrea, Paul cut off his hair.[c] This showed that he had made a promise to God. 19 Then they went to Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. While Paul was there, he went into the synagogue and talked with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay with them longer, he refused. 21 He left them, but he said, “I will come back to you again if God wants me to.” And so he sailed away from Ephesus.
22 Paul landed at Caesarea. Then he went and gave greetings to the church in Jerusalem. After that, Paul went to Antioch. 23 He stayed there for a while and then left and went through the countries of Galatia and Phrygia. He traveled from town to town in these countries, giving strength to all the followers.
Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth
24 A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was born in the city of Alexandria. He was an educated man who knew the Scriptures well. 25 He had been taught about the Lord. He was always very excited when he spoke and taught the truth about Jesus. But the only baptism that Apollos knew about was the baptism that John[d] taught. 26 Apollos began to speak very boldly in the synagogue, and Priscilla and Aquila heard him. So they took him to their home and helped him better understand the way of God. 27 Now Apollos wanted to go to the country of Southern Greece, so the believers helped him. They wrote a letter to the followers there, asking them to accept him. These followers had believed in Jesus because of God’s grace. When Apollos went there, he helped them very much. 28 He argued very strongly with the Jews before all the people. Apollos clearly proved that the Jews were wrong. Using the Scriptures, he proved that Jesus is the Christ.
Nebuchadnezzar Is Made Ruler
27 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This happened when Zedekiah son of Josiah was king of Judah. 2 This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and poles. Put it on the back of your neck. 3 Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Send the messages through the messengers of these kings. Those messengers have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Tell them to give this message to their masters. Tell them, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: “Tell your masters: 5 I made the earth and everyone on it. I made all the animals on the earth. I did this with my great power and my strong arm. I can give the earth to anyone I want. 6 Now I have given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He is my servant. I will make even the wild animals obey him. 7 All nations will serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son and grandson. Then the time will come for Babylon to be defeated. Many nations and great kings will make Babylon their servant.
8 “‘“But now some nations or kingdoms might refuse to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They might refuse to be under his control. If that happens, I will punish that nation with war, hunger and terrible sickness, says the Lord. I will do it until I destroy that nation. I will use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the nation that fights against him. 9 So don’t listen to your false prophets. Don’t listen to people who use magic to tell what will happen in the future. Don’t listen to those who say they can tell what dreams mean. Don’t listen to mediums or magicians. They all tell you, ‘You will not be slaves to the king of Babylon.’ 10 They are telling you lies! They will only cause you to be taken far from your homeland. I will force you to leave your homes. And you will die in another land. 11 But some nations will put themselves under the control of the king of Babylon. They will serve him. I will let those nations stay in their own country, says the Lord. The people from those nations will live in their own land and farm it.”’”
12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “You must put yourself under the control of the king of Babylon and serve him. If you serve him and his people, you will live. 13 Why should you and your people die like those who do not serve the king of Babylon? Why should you die because of war, hunger and sickness? The Lord said this will happen. 14 But the false prophets are saying this: ‘You will never be slaves to the king of Babylon.’ Don’t listen to them because they are prophesying lies to you! 15 ‘I did not send them,’ says the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies. And they are saying the message is from me. So I will send Judah away. You will die! And those prophets who prophesy to you will die also.’”
16 Then I, Jeremiah, said to the priests and all the people, “This is what the Lord says: Those false prophets are saying that what the Babylonians took from the Temple of the Lord will be brought back soon. Don’t listen to them! They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Don’t listen to those prophets. But serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. There is no reason for you to cause Jerusalem to become a ruin. 18 They might be prophets and have the message from the Lord. If so, let them pray to the Lord of heaven’s armies. Let them pray about the things that are still in the Temple of the Lord. Let them pray about the things that are still in the king’s palace and in Jerusalem. Let them pray that all this will not be taken away to Babylon.
19 “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says about those things left in Jerusalem. In the Temple there are the pillars, the large bronze bowl, which is called the Sea, the stands that can be moved and other things. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left them in Jerusalem. 20 Nebuchadnezzar did not take these away when he took Jehoiachin king of Judah captive. Jehoiachin was the son of King Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar also took other important people away from Judah and Jerusalem. 21 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says about the things left in the Temple of the Lord and in the king’s palace and in Jerusalem: ‘All of this will also be taken to Babylon. 22 And they will stay there until the day I go to get them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back and return them to this place.’”
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
13 Jesus was leaving the Temple. One of his followers said to him, “Look, Teacher! This Temple has beautiful buildings with very big stones.”
2 Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Every stone will be thrown to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”
3 Later, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. He was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They could all see the Temple. They asked Jesus, 4 “Tell us, when will all these things happen? And what will show us that the time has come for them to happen?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Be careful that no one fools you. 6 Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the One.’ And they will fool many. 7 You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. 8 Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
9 “You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court. They will beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me. 10 But before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people. 11 When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry about what you should say. Say the things God gives you to say at that time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them over to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them over to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and cause their parents to be killed. 13 All people will hate you because you follow me. But the person who continues to be strong until the end will be saved.
14 “You will see ‘the horrible thing that destroys.’[a] You will see this thing standing in the place where it should not be.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. 15 If a person is on the roof[b] of his house, he must not go down to take anything out of his house. 16 If a person is in the field, he must not go back to get his coat. 17 At that time, it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies. 18 Pray that these things will not happen in winter. 19 This is because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world. And nothing as bad will ever happen again. 20 God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help his special people whom he has chosen. 21 At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 22 False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will do these things to try to fool them, if that is possible. 23 So be careful. For I have warned you about all this before it happens.
24 “During the days after this trouble comes,
‘The sun will grow dark.
And the moon will not give its light.
25 The stars will fall from the sky.
And everything in the sky will be changed.’ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 The Son of Man will send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.
28 “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. 29 So also when you see all these things happening, then you will know that the time is near, ready to come. 30 I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. 31 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
32 “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. 33 Be careful! Always be ready![c] You don’t know when that time will be. 34 It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it. He gives each servant a special job to do. One servant has the work of guarding the door. The man tells this servant always to be watchful. This is what I am now telling you. 35 You must always be ready. You don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the evening, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises. 36 He might come back quickly. If you are always ready, then he will not find you sleeping. 37 I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.