M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
20 Then all the people of Israel came out, and the whole community from Dan to Beersheba, including the Israelites in Gilead, assembled as one man before the Lord at Mizpah. 2 The pillars[a] of the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God—four hundred thousand foot soldiers, armed with swords. 3 (The people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) The people of Israel said, “Speak up! How did this evil happen?”
4 Then the Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, answered, “I, along with my concubine, came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house during the night. They intended to kill me. They abused my concubine, and she died. 6 So I took hold of my concubine, cut her into pieces, and I sent her to every region of the inheritance of Israel, because the men of Gibeah did this outrageous, foolish deed in Israel. 7 Look! All of you are descendants of Israel! Consider the matter and give your judgment.”
8 All the people then rose up as one man. They said, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to their homes. 9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will determine who goes against it by choosing lots. 10 We will choose ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel—and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand—to gather provisions for the troops. When the men of Israel arrive at Gibeah[b] in Benjamin, Israel can do to the men of Gibeah what they deserve for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city. The various groups were united as if they were one man.
12 The tribes of Israel sent men through the whole tribe[c] of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil thing that has been done among you? 13 Now, hand over the men, these worthless, wicked men from Gibeah! We will put them to death and root out this evil from Israel.”
But the people of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. 14 Instead, the people from all the cities of Benjamin gathered at Gibeah to go out for war against the people of Israel. 15 On that day the people of Benjamin mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand men armed with swords, not counting those who lived in Gibeah, from which they mustered an additional seven hundred elite men. 16 From all these troops, there were seven hundred elite soldiers who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a single hair and not miss.
17 Meanwhile, the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand men armed with swords, each of them a trained soldier.
18 They arose and went up to Bethel, and the people of Israel inquired of God, “Who will go up to lead us into the battle against the Benjaminites?”
The Lord said, “Judah will take the lead in the battle.”
19 The Israelites got up in the morning and set up camp against Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out for war against Benjamin and lined up for battle at Gibeah. 21 But the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah, and that day they struck down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of Israel!
22 The men of Israel renewed their courage and again lined up for battle in the same spot where they had lined up on the first day. 23 The people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They inquired of the Lord, “Shall we go out again to engage in battle with the people of Benjamin, our brothers?”
Again the Lord said, “Go up against them.”
24 The Israelites approached the Benjaminites on the second day. 25 Benjamin came out from Gibeah to confront them on the second day and took down an additional eighteen thousand men from among the Israelites—right down to the ground!—all of them men armed with swords.
26 After that, all the Israelites, the entire army, went up to Bethel. There they wept and sat before the Lord and fasted all that day until evening. They offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 27 The people of Israel inquired of the Lord. (The Ark of the Covenant of God was there in those days.) 28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was ministering in front of the ark in those days. He asked, “Shall I again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjaminites, or shall I stop?”
The Lord said, “Go up, because tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”
29 Then Israel positioned men in ambushes all around Gibeah. 30 The men of Israel went up against the men of Benjamin on the third day, and they lined up against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 Again the Benjaminites went out to confront the people of Israel. The Benjaminites were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike down some of the people, killing them in the open country as they had done before, along the highway that goes up to Bethel and the one to Gibeah.[d] They killed about thirty men of Israel.
32 The Benjaminites thought, “They are being struck down before us, just as they were before.”
But the Israelites had said, “We will retreat and draw them out of the city to the highways.”
33 So all the men of Israel fell back from their positions and drew up a battle line at Baal Tamar. Then the Israelites who were hiding in ambush came bursting out from their positions west of Geba.[e] 34 Ten thousand specially chosen men from all Israel came out against Gibeah. The battle was fierce, and the Benjaminites did not realize that calamity was about to fall upon them. 35 The Lord struck down Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites brought Benjamin to ruin on that day. Twenty-five thousand one hundred men, who were armed with swords, fell. 36 Then the Benjaminites saw that they were beaten.
The men of Israel had given ground to Benjamin because they were relying on the men in the ambushes that they had set up near Gibeah. 37 The hidden attackers struck quickly. They dashed into Gibeah, spread out, and struck the entire city with the edge of the sword. 38 This was the signal for the men of Israel and for those in the ambush: When they saw a great cloud of smoke coming up from the city, 39 the men of Israel were to turn back to join the battle.
Benjamin had begun to strike some of the men of Israel dead, about thirty men. So they said, “Look, they are being struck down before us, as they were in the first battle.” 40 But as a column of smoke began to rise above the city, the Benjaminites turned to look behind them, and suddenly they saw that the city was going up toward heaven like a burnt offering. 41 Then the Israelites turned back, and the Benjaminites were horrified because they realized that disaster was falling upon them. 42 They fled from the men of Israel to escape toward the wilderness, but the battle kept up with them, as Israelites from the cities all around them were striking them down. 43 The Israelites encircled Benjamin, pursued them, and overran their positions all the way to Nohah, a spot east of Gibeah. 44 From Benjamin, eighteen thousand fell, all of them strong warriors. 45 The surviving Benjaminites turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the Rock of Rimmon, but five thousand of these men were picked off along the highways. The Israelites caught up with them at Gidom and struck down two thousand more of their men.
46 So the total number of Benjaminites that fell that day was twenty-five thousand men armed with swords, all of them powerful warriors. 47 But the surviving six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the Rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the Rock of Rimmon for four months.
48 The men of Israel had turned back against the Benjaminites and struck them with the edge of the sword. They struck the entire city, including the animals and whatever else could be found. They burned down all the rest of the cities.
Paul on Trial Before Felix
24 Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They brought formal charges against Paul to the governor.
2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “We are enjoying a long period of peace because of you, most excellent Felix, and reforms are coming to this nation because of your foresight. 3 In every way and in every place, we acknowledge this with all gratitude. 4 But in order not to detain you any longer, I beg you in your kindness to give us a brief hearing. 5 For we have found this man to be a public menace, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. 6 He even tried to desecrate the temple, so we arrested him.[a] 8 By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn from him about all these accusations we are bringing against him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.
10 When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense. 11 You can verify for yourself that it was no more than twelve days ago when I went up to worship at Jerusalem. 12 They did not find me arguing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. 13 And they cannot prove to you the accusations they are now making against me.
14 “But I do confess to you that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything written throughout the Law and in the Prophets; 15 and I have the same hope in God that these men have, that there is going to be a resurrection[b] of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 This is the reason I continue to do my best to have a clear conscience toward both God and people.
17 “After several years, I came to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. 18 While I was doing these things, they found me ceremonially purified in the temple, without a crowd or disturbance. 19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who ought to be here before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. 20 Or let these men here state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, 21 unless this is about the one thing I shouted while standing in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”
22 Then Felix,[c] because he was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the proceedings. He said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to guard Paul, but to let him have some freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.
24 Several days later, Felix appeared in public with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 While Paul instructed him about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and replied, “Leave me for now, but when it is convenient, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that Paul would give him money,[d] and for this reason he sent for him as often as possible and talked with him.
27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. But because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
A Message for Zedekiah
34 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, along with all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth, and all the peoples that were subject to him were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities.
2 The Lord, the God of Israel, says:
Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him this is what the Lord says. I certainly am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it. 3 You will not escape his grasp. You will surely be taken and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon eye-to-eye, and he will speak with you face-to-face. You will go to Babylon.
4 Even so, hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah.
The Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword. 5 You will die in peace. Just as people made a funeral fire in honor of your fathers who were kings before you, so they will make a fire for you. They will lament for you, saying, “Alas, master!” This is my word, declares the Lord.
6 Jeremiah the prophet said all these things to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah that still remained, namely, Lachish and Azekah (for these alone remained from all of Judah’s fortified cities).
8 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem proclaiming freedom for the slaves. 9 Everyone was to free his Hebrew slaves, male and female. No one was to keep a fellow Jew in slavery. 10 All the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would set their male and female slaves free, and that no one would keep them in slavery anymore. They obeyed the agreement and set them free. 11 But after this they changed their minds. They took back the slaves they had set free, and they made them serve as male and female slaves once again.
12 It was after this that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
13 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I made a covenant with your fathers on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery. I said that 14 every seven years you are to set free any fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you. After he has served you six years, you are to set him free.[a] But your fathers did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 15 Now, after you repented and did what is right in my sight, each of you proclaimed freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before me in the house that bears my name, 16 but you have turned around and profaned my name. Each of you has taken back and enslaved his male and female slaves, whom you had set free to go where they wished. You forced them back into slavery, to serve as your male and female slaves.
17 Therefore this is what the Lord says. You have not listened to me by proclaiming freedom for your brothers and your neighbors. So I am proclaiming freedom to you, says the Lord. Freedom to fall by the sword, plague, and famine! I will make you a horror among all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 I am going to make the men who walked between the covenant pieces,[b] but who did not keep the terms of the covenant that they had made in my presence, just like the calf they cut in two and then walk between its pieces. 19 The officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the government ministers,[c] the priests, and all the people of the land who walked between the parts of the calf, 20 I will hand over to their enemies, to those who seek their lives. Their corpses will be food for the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the land.
21 I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials to those who seek their lives and to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. Watch, I will give a command, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make the cities of Judah desolate so that no one can live there.
Psalm 5
With You the Wicked Cannot Dwell
Heading
For the choir director. For flutes. A psalm by David.
Access in Prayer
1 Turn your ear to my words, O Lord.
Understand me when I sigh.
2 Pay attention to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3 Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
In the morning I lay out my requests in front of you,
and I watch for your answer.
No Access
4 For you are not a God who takes pleasure in evil.
With you the wicked cannot dwell.
5 The arrogant cannot stand before your eyes.
You hate all evildoers.
6 You put to death those who speak lies.
The Lord is disgusted with bloodthirsty, deceitful men.
Access in Prayer
7 But as for me, by your great mercy
I will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
with reverence for you.
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness.
Because of those who slander me,
make your way straight before me.
Lying Tongues
9 Nothing reliable comes out of their mouth.
From within them comes destruction.
Their throat is an open grave.
With their tongue they flatter.
10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let them fall because of their own schemes.
For their many treacherous deeds banish them,
because they have rebelled against you.
Praising Tongues
11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad.
Let them sing for joy forever.
You cover them with protection,
so those who love your name rejoice in you.
12 Yes, you bless the righteous, Lord.
You surround them with your favor as a shield.
Psalm 6
Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger
Heading
For the choir director. With stringed instruments.
According to sheminith.[a] A psalm by David.
Anxious Prayer
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger.
Do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am fading away.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are trembling,
3 and my soul is terrified.
But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, and deliver my soul.
Save me because of your mercy.
5 For in death no one remembers you.
In the grave who praises you?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
I flood my bed all night long.
With my tears I drench my couch.
7 My eyes are blurred by sorrow.
They are worn out because of all my foes.
Confident Trust
8 Turn away from me, all you evildoers,
because the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
10 They will be put to shame.
All my enemies will be terrified.
They will turn back.
They will be put to shame in an instant.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.