M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Lord Calls Barak Through Deborah
4 After Ehud died, the people of Israel again did what Yahweh considered evil. 2 So Yahweh used King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled at Hazor, to defeat them. The commander of King Jabin’s army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 The people of Israel cried out to Yahweh for help. King Jabin had 900 chariots made of iron and had cruelly oppressed Israel for 20 years.
4 Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet. She was the judge in Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. The people of Israel would come to her for legal decisions.
6 Deborah summoned Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali. She told him, “Yahweh Elohim of Israel has given you this order: ‘Gather troops on Mount Tabor. Take 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun with you. 7 I will lead Sisera (the commander of Jabin’s army), his chariots, and troops to you at the Kishon River. I will hand him over to you.’”
8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
9 Deborah replied, “Certainly, I’ll go with you. But you won’t win any honors for the way you’re going about this, because Yahweh will use a woman to defeat Sisera.”
Barak Defeats Jabin
So Deborah started out for Kedesh with Barak. 10 Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali together at Kedesh. Ten thousand men went to fight under his command. Deborah also went along with him.
11 Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites (the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law). Heber went as far away as the oak tree at Zaanannim near Kedesh and set up his tent.
12 The report reached Sisera that Barak, son of Abinoam, had come to fight at Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera summoned all his chariots (900 chariots made of iron) and all his troops from Harosheth Haggoyim to come to the Kishon River.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Attack! This is the day Yahweh will hand Sisera over to you. Yahweh will go ahead of you.”
So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men behind him. 15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his chariots, and his whole army into a panic in front of Barak’s deadly assault. Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth Haggoyim. So Sisera’s whole army was killed in combat. Not one man survived.
17 Meanwhile, Sisera fled on foot toward the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Sisera did this because King Jabin of Hazor and Heber’s family were on peaceful terms. 18 When Jael came out of her tent, she met Sisera. She told him, “Sir, come in here! Come into my tent. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she hid him under a tent curtain.
19 Sisera said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink. I’m thirsty.” But instead she gave him milk to drink and covered him up again.
20 He said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent. If anyone comes and asks if there has been a man around here, tell them no.”
21 When Sisera had fallen sound asleep from exhaustion, Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and walked quietly toward him with a hammer in her hand. She hammered the tent peg through his temples into the ground. So Sisera died.
22 Barak was still pursuing Sisera. When Jael came out of her tent, she met him. She said to him, “Come in! I have something to show you—the man you’ve been looking for.” So Barak went into her tent. He saw Sisera lying there dead with the tent peg through his temples.
23 So on that day, Elohim used the people of Israel to crush the power of King Jabin of Canaan. 24 The Israelites became stronger and stronger until they destroyed him.
8 Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.
On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2 Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.
3 Saul tried to destroy the church. He dragged men and women out of one home after another and threw them into prison.
Some Samaritans Become Believers
4 The believers who were scattered went from place to place, where they spread the word. 5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah. 6 The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said. They listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7 Evil spirits screamed as they came out of the many people they had possessed. Many paralyzed and lame people were cured. 8 As a result, that city was extremely happy.
9 A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. 10 Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” 11 They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. 12 However, when Philip spread the Good News about the kingdom of God and the one named Yeshua Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. 13 Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (Before this the Holy Spirit had not come to any of the Samaritans. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Yeshua.) 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money 19 and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. 21 You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. 22 So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. 23 I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”
24 Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”
25 After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.
Philip Tells an Ethiopian about Jesus
26 An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So Philip went.
An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. 28 As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.
29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”
30 Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31 The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.
32 This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:
“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He was like a sheep that is silent
when its wool is cut off.
He didn’t open his mouth.
33 When he humbled himself,
he was not judged fairly.
Who from his generation
will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”
34 The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Yeshua.
36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?”[a] 38 The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.
40 Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.
17 The Lord says, “Judah’s sin is written with an iron pen.
It is engraved with a diamond point
on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
2 Even their children remember their altars
and their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah
beside large trees on high hills
3 and on mountains in the open country.[a]
I will turn your wealth and all your treasures into loot.
I will do this because of your worship sites and your sin
throughout all your territory.
4 You will lose the inheritance that I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you haven’t heard of.
I will do this because you have stirred up the fire of my anger.
It will burn forever.
5 “This is what Yahweh says:
Cursed is the person who trusts humans,
who makes flesh and blood his strength
and whose heart turns away from Yahweh.
6 He will be like a bush in the wilderness.
He will not see when something good comes.
He will live in the dry places in the desert,
in a salty land where no one can live.
7 Blessed is the person who trusts Yahweh.
Yahweh will be his confidence.
8 He will be like a tree that is planted by water.
It will send its roots down to a stream.
It will not be afraid in the heat of summer.
Its leaves will turn green.
It will not be anxious during droughts.
It will not stop producing fruit.
9 “The human mind is the most deceitful of all things. It is incurable.
No one can understand how deceitful it is.
10 I, Yahweh, search minds and test hearts.
I will reward each person for what he has done.
I will reward him for the results of his actions.
11 A person who gets rich dishonestly is like a partridge
that hatches eggs it did not lay.
During his lifetime, he will lose his wealth.
In the end, he will be a godless fool.”
12 Our holy place is a glorious throne,
highly honored from the beginning.
13 O Yahweh, the Miqweh Yisrael, all who abandon you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in dust,
because they abandon Yahweh,
the fountain of life-giving water.
14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed.
Rescue me, and I will be rescued.
You are the one I praise.
15 People keep asking me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Let it come.”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
and I have not longed for the day of destruction.
You know what came out of my mouth.
17 Do not terrorize me.
You are my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Put my persecutors to shame,
but do not let me be put to shame.
Terrify them,
but do not let me be terrified.
Bring the day of disaster on them,
and destroy them completely.
The Blessing That Comes from Observing the Day of Worship as a Holy Day
19 This is what Yahweh said to me: Stand at People’s Gate, where the kings of Judah go in and out. Then stand at every gate in Jerusalem. 20 Tell everyone: “Listen to the word of Yahweh, you kings of Judah, all the people of Judah, and all those who live in Jerusalem, and go through these gates. 21 This is what Yahweh says: Watch out! If you value your lives, do not carry anything on the day of worship or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring anything out of your homes on the day of worship. Do not do any work, but observe the day of worship as a holy day, as I told your ancestors. 23 Your ancestors did not obey me or pay attention to me. They were impossible to deal with and would not listen or accept discipline.
24 “Now,” declares Yahweh, “you must listen to me and not bring anything through the gates of this city on the day of worship. You must observe the day of worship as a holy day by not doing any work on it. 25 If you do this, then the kings and princes who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city. They and their princes will ride in chariots and on horses along with the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This city will always have people living in it.
26 “People will come from the cities of Judah, from all around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the foothills, from the mountains, and from the Negev. They will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense. They will also bring thank offerings to Yahweh’s temple. 27 But you must listen to me and observe the day of worship as a holy day by not carrying anything through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of worship. If you don’t do this, I will set its gates on fire. The fire will burn down the palaces in Jerusalem, and you won’t be able to put it out.”
Jesus Heals on the Day of Worship(A)
3 Yeshua went into a synagogue again. A man who had a paralyzed hand was there. 2 The people were watching Yeshua closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of worship so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong.
3 So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stand in the center of the synagogue.” 4 Then he asked them, “Is it right to do good or to do evil on the day of worship, to give a person back his health or to let him die?”
But they were silent. 5 Yeshua was angry as he looked around at them. He was deeply hurt because their minds were closed. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and his hand became normal again.
6 The Pharisees left, and with Herod’s followers they immediately plotted to kill Yeshua.
Many People Are Cured(B)
7 Yeshua left with his disciples for the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, and from across the Jordan River, and from around Tyre and Sidon followed him. They came to him because they had heard about everything he was doing. 9 Yeshua told his disciples to have a boat ready so that the crowd would not crush him. 10 He had cured so many that everyone with a disease rushed up to him in order to touch him. 11 Whenever people with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 He gave them orders not to tell people who he was.
Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles(C)
13 Yeshua went up a mountain, called those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve whom he called apostles.[a] They were to accompany him and to be sent out by him to spread the Good News. 15 They also had the authority to force demons out of people.
16 He appointed these twelve: Simon (whom Yeshua named Peter), 17 James and his brother John (Zebedee’s sons whom Yeshua named Boanerges, which means “Thunderbolts”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed Yeshua).
Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul(D)
20 Then Yeshua went home. Another crowd gathered so that Yeshua and his disciples could not even eat. 21 When his family heard about it, they went to get him. They said, “He’s out of his mind!”
22 The experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem said, “Beelzebul is in him,” and “He forces demons out of people with the help of the ruler of demons.”
23 Yeshua called them together and used this illustration: “How can Satan force out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. 25 And if a household is divided against itself, that household will not last. 26 So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot last. That will be the end of him.
27 “No one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property. First he must tie up the strong man. Then he can go through the strong man’s house and steal his property.
28 “I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. 29 But whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30 Yeshua said this because the experts in Moses’ Teachings had said that he had an evil spirit.
The True Family of Jesus(E)
31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent someone to ask him to come out. 32 The crowd sitting around Yeshua told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 He replied to them, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 34 Then looking at those who sat in a circle around him, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 35 Whoever does what God wants is my brother and sister and mother.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.