M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
8 ¶ And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus that thou didst not call us when thou didst go to fight against Midian? And they chided with him sharply.
2 And he replied unto them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him when he spoke that word.
4 ¶ And Gideon came to pass the Jordan, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint from the pursuit.
5 And he said unto those of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they are faint that I may pursue after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 And the principals of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we should give bread unto thy army?
7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns and the briers of the wilderness.
8 And he went up from there to Penuel and spoke unto them likewise; and those of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9 And he spoke also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the sons of the east, for one hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword had been slain.
11 And Gideon went up by the way of those that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and smote the camp, for the camp was secure.
12 And as Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna and terrified all the host.
13 And Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle before the sun was up
14 and caught a young man of the men of Succoth and enquired of him; and he described unto him the principals of Succoth and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city and thorns and briars of the wilderness, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17 Likewise he beat down the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city.
18 ¶ Then he said unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were those whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.
19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother; as the LORD lives, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Rise up and slay them. But the youth did not draw his sword, for he feared because he was yet a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
22 ¶ Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou and thy son and thy son’s son also, for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
23 But Gideon replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.
24 And Gideon said unto them, I desire to make a request of you that ye each one would give me the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and each one cast therein the earrings of his prey.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, without the ornaments and collars and purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian and without the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
27 And Gideon made an ephod of them and kept it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel fornicated after it in that place, and it became a snare unto Gideon and to his house.
28 Thus Midian was broken before the sons of Israel so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land rested forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 ¶ And Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house.
30 And Gideon had seventy sons that came out of his loins, for he had many wives.
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
32 And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash, his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass as soon as Gideon was dead that the sons of Israel turned again and fornicated after the Baalim and made Baalberith their god.
34 And the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side,
35 neither were they merciful with the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the good which he had done unto Israel.
12 ¶ Now at that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to mistreat certain of the congregation. {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.
5 ¶ Peter therefore was kept in the prison, and the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} made prayer without unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the guards before the door that kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shone in the prison, and he smote Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, Arise quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he said unto him, Cast thy garment about thee and follow me.
9 And he went out and followed him and knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leads unto the city, which opened to them of its own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street, and then the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the people of the Jews who waited for me.
12 And considering this, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the patio, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she recognized Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter stood at the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then they said, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to be silent, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go make these things known unto James and to the brethren. And he departed and went to another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers concerning what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod had sought for him and found him not, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be taken away. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea and abode there.
20 ¶ And Herod was highly displeased with those of Tyre and Sidon, but they came with one accord to him, and, having bribed Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace because their lands were supplied through those of the king’s.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of god, and not of man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he did not give God the glory, and he expired eaten of worms.
24 But the word of the Lord grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
21 ¶ The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying,
2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon makes war against us; peradventure the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, and he will go up from upon us.
3 And said Jeremiah unto them: Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah
4 Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said: Behold, I turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands with which ye fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you outside the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and in fury and in great wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And afterward, thus hath the LORD said, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his slaves and the people and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their souls; and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not forgive them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
8 ¶ And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
9 He that abides in this city shall die by the sword or by the famine or by the pestilence, but he that goes out and falls to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his soul shall be unto him for a spoil.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD; it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
11 And to the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
12 O house of David, thus hath the LORD said: Execute judgment early and deliver him that is oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it because of the evil of your doings.
13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley of the rock of the plain (saith the LORD), which say, Who shall come up against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 I will visit you according to the fruit of your doings, said the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in your forest, and it shall devour all things round about it.
7 ¶ Then came together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,
2 who upon seeing some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they condemned them.
3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, unless they wash, they eat not. And there are many other things which they took upon themselves to hold such as the washing of cups and pots, brasen vessels and of tables.)
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashed hands?
6 He answered and said unto them, Well has Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they honor me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he also said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother, and, Whosoever curses father or mother shall most definitely die.
11 But ye say, It is enough if a man shall say to his father or mother, It is all Corban, (that is to say, my gift to God) whatever with which thou mightest be profited by me.
12 And ye suffer him to do no more for his father or for his mother,
13 invalidating the word of God with your tradition, which ye have given; and many such like things do ye.
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you and understand;
15 there is nothing from outside the man that entering into him can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are what defile the man.
16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18 And he said unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not understand that anything from outside that enters into the man cannot defile him?
19 Because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and the man goes out to the privy and purges all foods.
20 For he had said that it is what comes out of the man that defiles the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, come forth the evil thoughts, the adulteries, the fornications, the murders,
22 the thefts, the covetousness, the wickedness, the deceit, the lasciviousness, the evil eye, the slander, the pride, the unwiseness:
23 all these evil things come out from within and defile the man.
24 ¶ And from there he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entering into a house, desired that no man know of it; but he could not be hid.
25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet;
26 the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation, and she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter.
27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and to cast it unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For this word go; the demon has gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she came to her house, she found that the demon had gone out, and the daughter lay upon the bed.
31 ¶ And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre, he came by Sidon unto the sea of Galilee through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.
32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
33 And taking him aside from the multitude, he put his fingers into the man’s ears; and spitting, he touched the man’s tongue with the saliva;
34 and looking up to heaven, he cried out, and said, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and that which bound his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.
36 And he charged them that they should tell no one; but the more he commanded them, so much more and more they published it
37 and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well: he makes both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.
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