M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 24[a]
Renewing the Covenant. 1 Joshua then gathered all of the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders of Israel along with their leaders, their judges, and their officers, and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all of the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river in times of old, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then I took Abraham from the other side of the river and I led him all through the land of Canaan. I multiplied his descendants, giving him Isaac. 4 I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. I gave Mount Seir to Esau to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 “I sent Moses and Aaron and I plagued Egypt with what I did in their midst. Afterward, I brought you out. 6 Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt. You came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen into the Red Sea. 7 They cried to the Lord, and he caused darkness to descend between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea down upon them, and it covered them. Your own eyes have seen what I did in Egypt. You then dwelt in the wilderness for a long time. 8 I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought against you, and I gave them up into your hands so that you might take possession of the land, and I crushed them before you. 9 Then Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel. He sent for and summoned Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. He therefore blessed you, and so I delivered you out of his hands. 11 You crossed over the Jordan and arrived at Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you along with the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I delivered them into your hands. 12 I sent hornets before you to drive them out before you, including the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your sword or your bow that did it. 13 I gave you a land on which you did not labor, I gave you cities which you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant. 14 Therefore, you must fear the Lord and serve him with sincerity and fidelity. Put aside the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
16 [b]The people said, “God forbid that we should abandon the Lord to serve other gods. 17 It was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, the land of our bondage. He performed great wonders in our sight. He preserved us all along the journey that we made, and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 The Lord drove out all the people before us, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God, he will not forgive your sins or your transgressions. 20 If you turn away from the Lord to serve foreign gods, then he will turn away from you. He will punish you and wipe you out, even after the good that he has done for you.”
21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will serve as your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” They answered, “We are witnesses.” 23 He continued, “Then put away the foreign gods from among you. Bend your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord, our God, and obey his voice.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day. He established statutes and ordinances for them in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. He took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that is in the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “This stone will be a witness for us. It has heard all of the words that the Lord spoke to us. It will therefore be a witness for you, lest you deny your God.” 28 Joshua then sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
29 The Death of Joshua. After this happened, Joshua, the son of Nun, died. He was one hundred and ten years old. 30 They buried him within his own inheritance in Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the Lord during Joshua’s entire lifetime, and during the lifetime of the elders who survived Joshua, for they had known all of the works that the Lord had performed on Israel’s behalf. 32 The bones of Joseph, that the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried in Shechem in the parcel of land that Jacob had bought for one hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, who himself was the father of Shechem. It was an inheritance for the descendants of Joseph. 33 Eleazar, the son of Aaron, then died. They buried him at Gibeah, the place that Phinehas, his son, had been given in the hill country of Ephraim.
Chapter 4
First Phase of the Trial: A Warning.[a] 1 While they were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard,[b] and the Sadducees came over to them, 2 greatly annoyed that they were teaching and proclaiming to the people the resurrection of the dead through Jesus. 3 Therefore, they arrested them and placed them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who had listened to their message became believers, their total approaching five thousand.
5 On the next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John,[c] Alexander, and all who belonged to the high priestly family. 7 They then brought the apostles before them and asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if you are interrogating us today in regard to a good deed done to someone who was crippled and how he was healed, 10 let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel that it was in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, and whom God raised from the dead, that this man standing before you was cured. 11 This is
‘the stone rejected by you, the builders,
that has become the cornerstone.’
12 There is no salvation in anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved.”
13 They were amazed to see the fearlessness shown by Peter and John and to discover that they were uneducated ordinary men. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, 14 but, when they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they could not say anything in reply. 15 They ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin discussed the matter.
16 Then they said, “What are we going to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem is aware that a notable sign has been worked through them, and we clearly cannot deny it. 17 But to stop the news from spreading any further among the people, let us issue them a warning never again to speak to anyone in his name.”
18 Therefore, they summoned them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 However, Peter and John answered them, “You be the judges about whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. 20 We cannot possibly refrain from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After threatening them once again, they released them, for they could find no way to punish them inasmuch as the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who had been miraculously healed was over forty years old.
23 The Community’s Prayer for the Apostles.[d] As soon as they were released, they went back[e] to the community and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, “Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and of everything that is in them, 25 you said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our ancestor David, your servant,
‘Why do the Gentiles rage
and the peoples devise futile plots?
26 The kings of the earth take their stand,
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord and against his Anointed.’
27 “Indeed, in this very city both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel plotted against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do whatever your hand and your decree had predestined to take place. 29 And now, O Lord, be aware of their threats, and grant that your servants may proclaim your word with all boldness, 30 as you stretch out your hand to heal and as signs and wonders are accomplished through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 When they had finished their prayer, the place where they were gathered together shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the word of God fearlessly.
32 Life of the First Community—II.[f] The entire community of believers was united in heart and soul. No one claimed any of his possessions as his own, for everything was held in common. 33 With great power, the apostles bore witness to the resurrection[g] of the Lord Jesus, and they were all greatly respected. 34 There was never anyone among them in need, because those who were the owners of lands or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, 35 and lay them at the feet of the apostles, to be distributed to any who were in need.
36 Barnabas.[h] One such instance involved Joseph, a Levite and a native of Cyprus, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement.” 37 He sold a field that belonged to him and then brought the money to the apostles and laid it at their feet.
Chapter 13[a]
Warnings to Judah. 1 The Lord said to me: Go forth and purchase for yourself a loincloth. Wrap it around your loins, but do not dip it in water. 2 I purchased the loincloth as instructed by the Lord and wrapped it around my loins.
3 Then the Lord spoke to me a second time, saying: 4 Take the loincloth that you purchased and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates and conceal it there in a cleft of the rock. 5 So I went to the Euphrates and hid it as the Lord had commanded me.
6 After a long period of time, the Lord said to me: Go now to the Euphrates and retrieve the loincloth that I instructed you to hide there. 7 And so I returned to the Euphrates and searched for the cleft, and I then retrieved the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But the loincloth had now rotted and was good for nothing.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Thus says the Lord: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the enormous pride of Jerusalem. 10 Because these wicked people refuse to listen to my words and stubbornly follow their own inclinations as they run after other gods to serve them and worship them, they will become like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, in the hope that they would become my people, my praise, and my pride. But they refused to listen.
12 The Shattered Wineflask. Therefore, proclaim this message to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Every wineflask should be filled with wine. If they reply, “Do you think we do not know that every wineflask is meant to be filled with wine?” 13 say to them in reply: Thus says the Lord: I will fill all the inhabitants of this land with wine until they are drunk—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 Then I will smash them one against the other, parents and children together, says the Lord. I will show no pity, I will not spare or show compassion, when I destroy them.
A Vision of Exile
15 Listen carefully and suppress your pride,
for it is the Lord who speaks.
16 Give glory to the Lord, your God,
before the darkness descends,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at twilight,
before the light you hope for
will gradually turn to gloom
and then into thick darkness.
17 If your pride does not allow you to listen,
I will weep in secret for you.
My eyes will be filled with tears
because the Lord’s flock is being led into captivity.
18 [b]Say to the king and the queen mother,
“Descend from your thrones,
since your glorious crowns
have fallen from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negeb are besieged,
and no one will be able to offer them relief.
All Judah has been taken into exile;
every inhabitant has been led away.
Jerusalem’s Shame
20 Lift up your eyes and behold
those who are coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
21 What will you say when they appoint as your rulers
those whom you chose as your allies?
Will not pangs seize you
like those of a woman in labor?
22 And if you should ask yourself,
“Why has all this happened to me?”
it is because of your many grievous sins
that your skirts have been stripped away
and you have been violated.
23 Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin
or a leopard change its spots?
Neither are you able to do good
when you are schooled in evil.
24 I will scatter you like chaff
that is driven by the desert wind.
25 This is your lot, says the Lord,
the portion I have measured out to you,
because you have forgotten me
and placed your trust in false gods.
26 I myself will tear off your skirts
so that your shame will be seen.
27 Your adulteries, your cries of lustful pleasure,
your shameless acts of prostitution:
all these abominable deeds of yours
I have observed on the hills of the countryside.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will it be
before you are made clean?
Chapter 27
Jesus Is Handed Over to Pilate.[a] 1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in council to decide how to put him to death. 2 They bound him and led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
Judas Hangs Himself.[b] 3 When Judas discovered that Jesus, whom he betrayed, had been condemned he was seized with a sense of remorse, and he brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” They replied, “Of what importance is that to us? That is your responsibility.” 5 Flinging the silver pieces into the temple, he departed. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests retrieved the silver coins and said, “It is not lawful for us to deposit this into the temple treasury, for it is blood money.” 7 They conferred together, and then used it to purchase the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 This is the reason why that field to this very day is called the Field of Blood.
9 Thus was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:[c]
“And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price set on his head by the people of Israel,
10 and they used them to purchase the potter’s field
as the Lord had commanded me.”
11 Jesus Is Questioned by Pilate.[d]Meanwhile, Jesus was brought into the presence of the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said so.”[e] 12 And when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he offered no reply. 13 Pilate then said to him, “Have you not heard how many charges they have brought against you?” 14 But he did not offer a single word in response, much to the governor’s amazement.[f]
15 Jesus Is Sentenced to Death. Now on the occasion of the feast, the governor’s custom was to release to the people one prisoner whom they had designated. 16 At that particular time, they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. 17 Therefore, after the people had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over.
19 While he was still seated on the judge’s bench, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man. I have been greatly troubled today by a dream that I had about him.”[g]
20 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the elders had persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 Therefore, when the governor asked them, “Which of the two men do you want me to release to you?” they shouted, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate asked them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them shouted, “Let him be crucified!” 23 He asked, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they only screamed all the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was about to occur, he took some water and washed his hands[h] in full view of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” 25 With one voice the entire crowd cried out, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”[i] 26 He then released Barabbas to them, and after Jesus had been scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
27 Jesus Is Crowned with Thorns.[j] Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they placed it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. Then, bending the knee before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They also spat upon him and, taking the reed, used it to strike him on the head. 31 And when they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the robe, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him away to crucify him.
32 The Way of the Cross. As they went out, they encountered a man from Cyrene,[k] named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
33 Jesus Is Crucified on Calvary. When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull,[l] 34 they offered him some wine to drink that had been mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink the mixture.[m] 35 And after they had crucified him,[n] they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down there to keep guard over him. 37 Above his head was inscribed the charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Two thieves were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.[o]
39 Those people who passed by jeered at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who claimed you could destroy the temple and rebuild it within three days, save yourself! If you truly are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41 In much the same way, the chief priests, together with the scribes and the elders, joined in the mockery, saying, 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; now let God deliver him if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 The thieves who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
45 Jesus Dies on the Cross.[p] Beginning at midday, there was darkness over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 And about three o’clock[q] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47 On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 One of them immediately ran off to get a sponge, which he soaked in vinegar, put on a stick, and gave to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 Then Jesus again cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit.
51 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and rocks were split apart. 52 The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.[r] 54 Now when the centurion and those who were keeping watch over Jesus with him witnessed the earthquake and all that was happening, they were terrified, and they said, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.”
55 Many women were also present, looking on from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and ministered to him. 56 Among these were Mary Magdalene,[s] Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb.[t] When evening came, there arrived a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. So Pilate ordered that it be handed over to him.
59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb that he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled an immense stone against the entrance of the tomb and departed. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulcher.
62 The Guard at the Tomb. The next day, on the morning after the preparation day,[u] the chief priests and the Pharisees came to Pilate in a group 63 and said to him, “Your Excellency, we recall that while he was still alive, this impostor said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ 64 Therefore, issue orders that the tomb be kept under surveillance until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may go there and steal his body, and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This final deception would be worse than the first.”
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go and make the grave as secure as you can.” 66 And so they went forth and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard.
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