M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Naomi Widowed
1 Now it came about in the days (A)when the judges [a]governed, that there was (B)a famine in the land. And a certain man (C)of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab [b]with his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they (D)entered the land of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. 4 They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. 5 Then [c]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had (E)visited His people in (F)giving them food. 7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. (G)May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that (H)they may be your husbands? 12 Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is [d]harder for me than for you, for (I)the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.”
Ruth’s Loyalty
14 And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her (J)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may (K)the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” 18 When (L)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she [e]said no more to her.
19 So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, (M)all the city was stirred because of them, and [f]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me [g]Naomi; call me [h]Mara, for [i](N)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, but (O)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and [j]the Almighty has afflicted me?”
22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at (P)the beginning of barley harvest.
Paul’s Defense before Agrippa
26 (A)Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense:
2 “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; 3 [a]especially because you are an expert in all (B)customs and [b]questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “So then, all Jews know (C)my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a (D)Pharisee (E)according to the strictest (F)sect of our religion. 6 And now I am [c]standing trial (G)for the hope of (H)the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise (I)to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this (J)hope, O King, I am being (K)accused by Jews. 8 Why is it considered incredible among you people (L)if God does raise the dead?
9 “So then, (M)I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to (N)the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And this is [d]just what I (O)did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the [e]saints in prisons, having (P)received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I (Q)cast my vote against them. 11 And (R)as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being (S)furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them (T)even to [f]foreign cities.
12 “[g]While so engaged (U)as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, [h]brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And when we had (V)all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the [i](W)Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? [j]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and (X)stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to (Y)appoint you a (Z)minister and (AA)a witness not only to the things which you have [k]seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 (AB)rescuing you (AC)from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to (AD)open their eyes so that they may turn from (AE)darkness to light and from the dominion of (AF)Satan to God, that they may receive (AG)forgiveness of sins and an (AH)inheritance among those who have been sanctified by (AI)faith in Me.’
19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both (AJ)to those of Damascus first, and also (AK)at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even (AL)to the Gentiles, that they should (AM)repent and turn to God, performing deeds (AN)appropriate to repentance. 21 For this reason some Jews (AO)seized me in the temple and tried (AP)to put me to death. 22 So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day (AQ)testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what (AR)the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 [l](AS)that [m]the Christ was [n]to suffer, and [o]that (AT)by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim (AU)light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
24 While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! [p]Your great (AV)learning is [q]driving you mad.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, (AW)most excellent Festus, but I utter words [r]of sober truth. 26 For the king [s](AX)knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a [t]corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you [u]do.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “[v]In a short time you [w]will persuade me to [x]become a (AY)Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “[y]I would wish to God, that whether [z]in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these (AZ)chains.”
30 (BA)The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “(BB)This man is not doing anything worthy of death or [aa]imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been (BC)set free if he had not (BD)appealed to Caesar.”
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
36 In the (A)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Take a [a](B)scroll and write on it all the (C)words which I have spoken to you concerning (D)Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the (E)nations, from the (F)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. 3 (G)Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will (H)turn from his evil way; then I will (I)forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4 Then Jeremiah called (J)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a [b](K)scroll [c]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. 5 Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am [d](L)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. 6 So you go and (M)read from the scroll which you have (N)written [e]at my dictation the words of the Lord [f]to the people in the Lord’s house on a (O)fast day. And also you shall read them [g]to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. 7 (P)Perhaps their supplication will [h]come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for (Q)great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8 Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, (R)reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.
9 Now in the (S)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the (T)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who (U)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a (V)fast before the Lord. 10 Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the (W)chamber of (X)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the (Y)scribe, in the upper court, at the (Z)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, to all the people.
11 Now when (AA)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, 12 he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—(AB)Elishama the scribe, and (AC)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and (AD)Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 Micaiah (AE)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. 14 Then all the officials sent (AF)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah (AG)took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch (AH)read it to them. 16 When they had heard all the words, they turned in (AI)fear one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely (AJ)report all these words to the king.” 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, (AK)how did you write all these words? Was it [i]at his dictation?” 18 Then Baruch said to them, “He (AL)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, (AM)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”
The Scroll Is Burned
20 So they went to the (AN)king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of (AO)Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi (AP)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in the (AQ)winter house in the (AR)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23 When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and (AS)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24 Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were (AT)not afraid, nor did they (AU)rend their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah (AV)pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to (AW)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the (AX)Lord hid them.
The Scroll Is Replaced
27 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had (AY)burned the scroll and the words which (AZ)Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28 “(BA)Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were (BB)on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have (BC)burned this scroll, saying, ‘(BD)Why have you written on it [j]that the (BE)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?’” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have (BF)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his (BG)dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will also (BH)punish him and his [k]descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will (BI)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he (BJ)wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many [l]similar words were added to them.
Message to Baruch
45 This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to (A)Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had (B)written down these words in a book [a]at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the (C)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2 “Thus says the Lord the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Ah, woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am (D)weary with my groaning and have found no rest.”’ 4 Thus you are to say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, (E)what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land.” 5 But you, are you (F)seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to (G)bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the Lord, ‘but I will (H)give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.’”
A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.
For the choir director; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)tell of all Your [b]wonders.
2 I will be glad and (C)exult in You;
I will (D)sing praise to Your name, O (E)Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4 For You have (G)maintained [c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne [d](H)judging righteously.
5 You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have (J)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 [e]The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
7 But the (L)Lord [f]abides forever;
He has established His (M)throne for judgment,
8 And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9 [g]The Lord also will be a (O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And [h]those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not (Q)forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who (R)dwells in Zion;
(S)Declare among the peoples His deeds.
12 For (T)He who [i]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget (U)the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord;
See my affliction from those (V)who hate me,
You who (W)lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell of (X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may (Y)rejoice in Your [j]salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down (Z)in the pit which they have made;
In the (AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has (AB)made Himself known;
He has (AC)executed judgment.
In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. [k]Higgaion [l]Selah.
17 The wicked will [m](AD)return to [n]Sheol,
Even all the nations who (AE)forget God.
18 For the (AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the (AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 (AH)Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be (AI)judged before You.
20 Put them (AJ)in fear, O Lord;
Let the nations know that they are (AK)but men. Selah.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.