M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
18 2 The children of Dan send men to search the land. 11 Then come the six hundred and take the gods, and the Priest of Micah away. 27 They destroy Laish, 28 They build it again. 30 And set up Idolatry.
1 In those days there was no [a]king in Israel, and at the same time the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in: for unto that time all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
2 Therefore the children of Dan sent of their family, five men out of their coasts, even men expert in war, out of Zorah and Eshtaol, to view the land and search it out, and said unto them, [b]Go, and search out the land. Then they came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah and lodged there.
3 When they were in the house of Micah, they knew the [c]voice of the young man the Levite: and being turned in thither, they said unto him, Who brought thee hither? or what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou to do here?
4 And he answered them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his Priest.
5 Again they said unto him, Ask counsel now of God, that we may know whether the way which we go, shall be prosperous.
6 And the Priest said unto them, [d]Go in peace: for the Lord guideth your way which ye go.
7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, which dwelt careless, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and sure, because no man [e]made any trouble in the land, or usurped any dominion: also they were far from the Sidonians, and had no business with other men.
8 ¶ So they came again unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What have ye done?
9 And they answered, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and surely it is very good, and [f]do ye sit still? be not slothful to go and enter to possess the land:
10 (If ye will go, ye shall come unto a careless people, and the country is large) for God hath given it into your hand. It is a place which doth lack nothing that is in the world.
11 ¶ Then there departed thence of the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with instruments of war.
12 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjath Jearim in Judah: wherefore they called that place [g]Mahaneh Dan unto this day: and it is behind Kirjath Jearim.
13 And they went thence unto mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, [h]Know ye not, that there is in these houses an Ephod, and Teraphim, and a graven and a molten image? Now therefore consider what ye have to do.
15 And they turned thitherward and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him peaceably.
16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.
17 Then the five men that went to spy out the land, went in thither, and took the [i]graven image and the Ephod, and the Teraphim, and the molten image: and the Priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
18 And the other went into Micah’s house, and fet the graven image, the Ephod and the Teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the Priest unto them, What do ye?
19 And they answered him, Hold thy peace: lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and come with us to be our father and Priest. Whether is it better that thou shouldest be a Priest unto the house of one man, or that thou shouldest be a Priest unto a tribe and to a family in Israel?
20 And the Priest’s heart was glad, and he took the Ephod, and the Teraphim, and the graven image, and went among the [j]people.
21 And they turned and departed, and put the children, and the cattle, and the substance [k]before them.
22 ¶ When they were far off from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house, gathered together, and pursued after the children of Dan,
23 And cried unto the children of Dan: who turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee that thou makest an outcry?
24 And he said, Ye have taken away my [l]gods, which I made, and the Priest, and go your ways: and what have I more? how then say ye unto me, What aileth thee?
25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest [m]angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life with the lives of thine household.
26 So the children of Dan went their ways: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.
27 And they took the [n]things which Micah had made, and the Priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a quiet people, and without mistrust, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire:
28 And there was none to [o]help, because [p]Laish was far from Sidon, and they had no business with other men: also it was in the valley that lieth by Beth Rehob. After, they built the city, and dwelt therein,
29 (A)And called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, which was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the beginning.
30 Then the children of Dan set them up the [q]graven image: and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were the Priests in the tribe of the Danites, until the day of the [r]captivity of the land.
31 So they set them up the graven image, which Micah had made, all the while the house of God was in Shiloh.
22 1 Paul yieldeth a reason of his faith, 22 and the Jews heard him awhile: 23 But so soon as they cried out, 24 He is commanded to be scourged and examined, 27 and so declareth that he is citizen of Rome.
1 Ye men, brethren and fathers, hear my defense now towards you.
2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence, and he said,)
3 [a]I am verily a man, which am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the [b]feet of Gamaliel, and instructed according to the perfect manner of the Law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prison both men and women.
5 As also the chief Priest doth bear me witness, and all the company of the Elders: of whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring them which were there, bound unto Jerusalem, that they might be punished.
6 ¶ And so it was, as I journeyed, and was come near unto Damascus about noon, that suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
7 So I fell unto the earth, and heard a voice, saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
8 Then I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
9 Moreover they that were with me, saw indeed a light and were afraid: but they heard not the voice of him that spake unto me.
10 Then I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus: and there it shall be told thee of all things, which are appointed for thee to do.
11 So when I could not see for the glory of that light, I was led by the hand of them that were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 And one Ananias a godly man, as pertaining to the Law, having good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight: and that same hour I looked upon him.
14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and shouldest see that Just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men, of the things which thou hast seen and heard.
16 Now therefore why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, in calling on the Name of the Lord.
17 ¶ And it came to pass, that when I was come again to Jerusalem, and prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance,
18 And saw him, saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy witness concerning me.
19 Then I said, Lord, they know that I prisoned, and beat in every Synagogue them that believed in thee.
20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also stood by, and consented unto his death, and kept the clothes of them that [c]slew him.
21 Then he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
22 ¶ [d]And they heard him unto this word, but then they lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not meet that he should live.
23 And as they [e]cried and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
24 [f]The chief captain commanded him to be led into the castle, and bade that he should be scourged, and examined, that he might know wherefore they cried so on him.
25 [g]And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the Centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge one that is a Roman, and not condemned?
26 Now when the Centurion heard it, he went, and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
27 Then the chief captain came, and said to him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? And he said, Yea.
28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. Then Paul said, But I was so born.
29 Then straightway they departed from him, which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a [h]Roman, and that he had bound him.
30 On the next day, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bonds, and commanded the high Priests and all their Council to come together: and he brought Paul, and set him before them.
32 Jeremiah is cast into prison because he prophesied that the city should be taken of the king of Babylon. 7 He showeth that the people should come again to their own possession. 38 The people of God are his servants, and he is their Lord.
1 The word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, in the [a]tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 For then the king of Babel’s host besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the Prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the King of Judah’s house.
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, (A)Behold, I will give this city into the hands of the King of Babel, and he shall take it?
4 And Zedekiah the king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hands of the king of Babel, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his face,
5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babel, and there shall he be, until [b]I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
6 ¶ And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
7 Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum thine uncle, shall come unto thee and say, [c]Buy unto thee my field, that is in Anathoth: for the [d]title by kindred appertaineth unto thee [e]to buy it.
8 So Hanamel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison, according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my [f]field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of the possession is thine, and the purchase belongeth unto thee: buy it for thee. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9 And I bought the field of Hanamel, mine uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the silver, even seven [g]shekels, and ten pieces of silver.
10 And I wrote it in the book and signed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the silver in the balances.
11 So I took the book of the possession, being sealed [h]according to the Law, and custom, with the book that was open,
12 And I gave the book of the possession unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses, written in the book of the possession, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
13 And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Take the writings, even this book of the possession, both that is sealed, and this book that is open, and put them in an earthen [i]vessel, that they may continue a long time.
15 For the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel saith thus, Houses and fields, and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
16 ¶ Now when I had delivered the book of the possession unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying,
17 Ah Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power, and by thy stretched out arm, and there is nothing [j]hard unto thee.
18 (B)Thou showest mercy unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their [k]children after them: O God the great and mighty, whose name is the Lord of hosts,
19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work, (for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give to everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works)
20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt unto this day, and in Israel and among all men, and hast made thee a Name, [l]as appeareth this day,
21 And hast brought thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and a stretched out arm, and with great terror,
22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, even a land that floweth with milk and honey,
23 And they came in, and possessed it, but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy Law: all that thou commandedst them to do, they have not done: therefore thou hast caused this whole plague to come upon them.
24 Behold, the [m]mounts, they are come into the city to take it, and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it by means of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence, and what thou hast spoken, is come to pass, and behold, thou seest it.
25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord God, Buy unto thee the field for silver, and take witnesses: for the city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 ¶ Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,
27 Behold, I am the LORD GOD of all [n]flesh: is there anything too hard for me?
28 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, and he shall take it.
29 And the Chaldeans shall come and fight against this city, and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me unto anger.
30 For the children of Israel, and the children of Judah have surely done evil before me, from their [o]youth: for the children of Israel have surely provoked me to anger with the works of their hands, saith the Lord.
31 Therefore this city hath been unto me as a provocation of mine anger, and of my wrath, from the day that they built it, even unto this day, that I should remove it out of my sight,
32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel, and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, even they, their Kings, their Princes, their Priests, and their Prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33 And they have turned unto me the back and not the face: though I taught them, [p]rising up early, and instructing them, yet they were not obedient to receive doctrine,
34 But they set their abominations in the house (whereupon my Name was called) to defile it.
35 And they built the high [q]places of Baal, which are in the valley of [r]Ben-Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to [s]pass through the fire unto Molech, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do such abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36 And now [t]therefore, thus hath the Lord God of Israel spoken concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babel by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
37 (C)Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, wherein I have scattered them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation, and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
38 And they shall be (D)my people, and I will be their God.
39 And I will give them [u]one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever for the wealth of them, and of their children after them.
40 And I will make an everlasting [v]covenant with them, that I will never turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
41 Yea, I will delight in them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart, and with all my soul.
42 For thus saith the Lord, Like as I have brought all this great plague upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
43 And the fields shall be possessed in this land, whereof ye say, it is desolate without man or beast, and shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
44 Men shall buy [w]fields for silver, and make writings and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the plain, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord.
The [a]Psalms of David
1 Whether it was Esdras, or any other that gathered the Psalms into a book, it seemeth he did set this Psalm first in manner of a preface, to exhort all godly men to study and meditate the heavenly wisdom. For the effect hereof is, 1 That they be blessed which give themselves wholly all their life to the holy Scriptures; 4 and that the wicked contemners of God, though they seem for a while happy, yet at length shall come to miserable destruction.
1 Blessed is the man that doth not walk in the [b]counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the (A)law of the Lord, and in his [c]law doth he meditate day and night.
3 For he shall be like a (B)tree planted by the rivers of waters, that will bring forth her fruits in due season: whose leaf shall not fade: so [d]whatsoever he shall do, shall prosper.
4 [e]The wicked are not so, but as the chaff, which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the [f]judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [g]knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked shall perish.
2 The Prophet David rejoiceth, that notwithstanding his enemies’ rage, yet God will continue his kingdom forever, and advance it even to the end of the world, 10 and therefore exhorteth kings and rulers, that they would humbly submit themselves under God’s yoke, because it is in vain to resist God. Herein is figured Christ’s kingdom.
1 Why do the [h]heathen (C)rage, and the people murmur in vain.
2 The kings of the earth band themselves, and the Princes are assembled together against the Lord, and against his [i]Christ.
3 [j]Let us break their bands, and cast their cords from us.
4 (D)But he that dwelleth in the heaven shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 [k]Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure, saying,
6 Even I have set my King upon Zion mine holy mountain.
7 I will declare the [l]decree: that is, the Lord hath said unto me, (E)Thou art my son; this [m]day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the [n]ends of the earth for thy possession.
9 (F)Thou shalt crush them with a scepter of iron, and break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
10 [o]Be wise now therefore, ye kings: be learned ye judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice in trembling.
12 [p]Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye [q]perish in the way, when his wrath shall suddenly burn. Blessed are all that trust in him.
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