M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 1[a]
Naomi’s Life in Moab. 1 In the days of the judges,[b] a famine broke out in the land. A certain man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the land of Moab along with his wife and his two sons. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech and his wife was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They traveled to the land of Moab and dwelt there.
3 Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They both married Moabite women. The name of one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years,[c] 5 both Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving the woman bereft of her husband and two sons.
6 [d]She set out with her two daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, for in Moab she had heard how the Lord had come to the aid of his people, giving them food to eat. 7 She and her two daughters-in-law set out from the place where they had been living and took the road leading back to the land of Judah. 8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Each of you should go back to your mother’s house. May the Lord show you as much kindness as you have shown to those who died and to me. 9 May the Lord grant each of you consolation in the home of a husband.” She then kissed them, and they wept aloud. 10 They said to her, “We will go with you back to your people.” 11 But Naomi replied, “Go back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Do I still have any sons in my womb who might become your husbands? 12 Go back, my daughters. Go your way. I am too old even to have a husband. Even if I thought that there was still hope for me and I slept with a husband tonight and gave birth to sons, 13 would you wait for them to grow up? Would you stay unmarried for them? No, my daughters, for it greatly grieves me on your account that the hand of the Lord has been raised against me.”
14 Ruth Stays with Naomi. They cried out loud again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 Then she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth answered, “Please do not insist on my leaving you or forsaking you. Wherever you go I will go, and wherever you live I will live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.[e] 17 Wherever you die, I will die and be buried there. May the Lord do this to me and even worse if anything other than death separates me from you.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
19 Life in Bethlehem. So they both traveled on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was a commotion among all of the inhabitants of the city on account of them. The women exclaimed, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She told them, “Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara. The Almighty has made my life so very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi? The Lord has brought witness against me; the Almighty has afflicted me.”
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, went with her. They left the land of Moab and they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Chapter 26
Paul’s Defense before Agrippa. 1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: 2 “I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that it is before you today that I am to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 particularly since you are well acquainted with all our Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I implore you to listen to me patiently.
4 “The Jews all know my way of life from my youth, which I first lived among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known about me from my youth, and they could testify, if they were willing, that I belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 6 But now I am on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors.
7 “Our twelve tribes worship night and day with intense devotion in the hope of seeing its fulfillment. It is because of this hope that I am accused by the Jews, O king. 8 Why should it seem incredible to any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “I myself once thought that I had to do everything possible against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With the authorization of the chief priests, I not only sent many of the saints[a] to prison, but when they were being condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 In all the synagogues, I tried by inflicting repeated punishments to force them to blaspheme, and I was so enraged with fury against them that I even pursued them to foreign cities.
12 “On one such occasion, I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, as I was on my way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’[b]
15 “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 Get up now and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as my servant and as a witness to what you have seen of me and what you will yet see. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. 18 You are to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light[c] and from the power of Satan to God. Thus, they may obtain forgiveness of their sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated through faith in me.’
19 “And so, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven. 20 Rather, I started to preach, first to the people in Damascus, and then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, calling on them to repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 “But I have had help from God to this very day, and I stand here and testify to both the lowly and the great. I assert nothing more than what the Prophets and Moses said would occur: 23 that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles.”
24 Reactions to Paul’s Speech. While Paul was still speaking in his own defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane.” 25 But he replied, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. What I am asserting is true and reasonable. 26 The king understands these matters, and to him I now speak freely. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, for all this was not done in a corner.[d] 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets?[e] I know that you do.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a brief time you can persuade me to become a Christian?” 29 Paul responded, “Whether in a short time or longer, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”
30 Then the king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them. 31 And as they were leaving, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Chapter 36[a]
Baruch Writes the Prophecies on a Scroll.[b] 1 In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day when I first spoke to you, during the reign of Josiah, until today. 3 Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disasters that I intend to inflict upon them, they will all turn back from their evil ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins.
4 Then Jeremiah summoned Baruch, the son of Neriah, and dictated everything that the Lord had spoken to him so that Baruch might write it all on a scroll. 5 He also gave Baruch the following instruction. “Inasmuch as I am prevented from entering the house of the Lord, 6 you yourself must go there, and on a fast day, in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house, you shall read from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote at my dictation.
“You shall read them also in the hearing of all the people of Judah who travel there from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will then plead before the Lord, and all of them will turn from their evil ways. For great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has threatened against this people.” 8 Then Baruch, the son of Neriah, prepared to do everything that the prophet Jeremiah had ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.
9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah, a fast before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people of Jerusalem and all those who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem. 10 Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the room of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper court, at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, in the hearing of all the people.
11 When Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord that had been read from the scroll, 12 he went down to the king’s palace and entered the scribe’s chamber, where all the officials were in session: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan, the son of Achbor, Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.
13 After Micaiah had reported to them all that he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll to the people, 14 the officials then sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shemaliah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Come to us and bring with you the scroll that you read publicly to the people.” Holding the scroll in his hand, Baruch, the son of Neriah, came into their presence.
15 “Sit down,” they said to him, “and read it to us.” Baruch read it to them, 16 and when they had heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, “We must certainly report this to the king.”
17 They then asked Baruch, “Please tell us how you came to write all these words. Were they dictated to you by Jeremiah?” 18 Baruch replied, “Jeremiah dictated all these words, and I wrote them down in ink on the scroll.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go into hiding, and be extremely careful not to let anyone know where you are.”
20 Leaving the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe, the officials then went to the court of the king, and they reported all that had occurred. 21 The king sent Jehudi for the scroll, and he brought it from the room of Elishama the scribe and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him.
22 Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter residence, and there was a fire burning in a brazier in front of him. 23 Each time Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the fire in the brazier until the entire scroll was finally consumed in the brazier’s flames.
24 However, despite hearing all these words, neither the king nor any of his officials showed the slightest alarm, nor did they tear their garments. 25 And although Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen to them. 26 Then the king ordered his son Jerahmeel, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord had hidden them.
27 After the king had burned the scroll with all the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, this word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 Take another scroll and inscribe on it everything that was written on the first scroll which King Jehoiakim of Judah has burned. 29 Also state clearly to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: Thus says the Lord: You have dared to burn that scroll, saying: Why did you write in it that the king of Babylon without question will come and destroy this land and leave it devoid of men and animals?
30 Therefore, thus says the Lord about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no descendant to succeed him on the throne of David, and his dead body will be exposed to the blazing heat of the day and icy frost at night. 31 I will punish him and his offspring and his attendants for their wickedness, and I will bring down on them and on the citizens of Jerusalem and on the people of Judah all the disasters with which I threatened them, because they paid no heed to my warnings.
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire, in addition to many more words than there had been previously.
Chapter 45[a]
Encouraging Message to Baruch. 1 This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah addressed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when Baruch inscribed these words on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah:
2 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch: 3 You said, “Woe is me, for the Lord has added further grief to my pain. I am exhausted from groaning, and I can find no respite.”
4 Say this to him, “Thus says the Lord: I intend to tear down what I have built, and to uproot what I have planted throughout the entire land. 5 Should you therefore seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them, for I intend to inflict evil upon all mankind, says the Lord. However, I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you may go.”
Psalms 9–10[a]
Psalm 9[b]
Thanksgiving for the Triumph of Justice
1 For the director.[c] According to Muth Labben. A psalm of David.
2 I will offer praise to you, O Lord,
with my whole heart;
I will recount all your wondrous deeds.[d]
3 I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name,[e] O Most High.
4 For my enemies have turned back;
in your presence they stumble and perish.
5 But you have upheld my just cause,
you who are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
6 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked,
erasing their name forever and ever.
7 The enemies have suffered endless ruin;
their cities have been utterly destroyed,
and not even their memory remains.
8 The Lord is enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
9 He governs the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
11 Those who revere your name place their trust in you,
for you never abandon those who seek you, O Lord.
12 Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion;[f]
proclaim to the nations his wondrous deeds.
13 For the avenger of blood remembers them;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
14 Have mercy on me, O Lord;
behold how my enemies afflict me,
you who save me from the gates of death.
15 Then I will recount all your praises
and rejoice in your salvation
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.[g]
16 [h]The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their feet have been caught in the snare they laid.
17 The Lord has made himself known and rendered judgment;
the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion,[i] Selah
18 The wicked will depart into the netherworld,
all the nations that turned away from God.
19 But the needy will not be forgotten forever,
nor will the hope of the afflicted ever come to naught.
20 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let man triumph;
let the nations be judged before you.
21 Strike them with fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are mere mortals. Selah
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.