M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 ¶ And Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, What would seem better unto you, that seventy persons reign over you, all the sons of Jerubbaal; or that one reign over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
3 And his mother’s brethren spoke for him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother.
4 And they gave him seventy shekels of silver out of the house of Baalberith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light men who followed him.
5 And coming unto his father’s house at Ophrah, he slew his brethren, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons, upon a stone; yet Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, was left, for he hid himself.
6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together with all the house of Millo {Heb. the congregation} and went and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
7 ¶ And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice and cried and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
8 The trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
9 But the olive tree replied, Should I leave my fatness, which because of me, God and man are honoured, to go and sway over the trees?
10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou and reign over us.
11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit to go and sway over the trees?
12 Then the trees said unto the vine, Come thou and reign over us.
13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, to go and sway over the trees?
14 Then all the trees said unto the bramble, Come thou and reign over us.
15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and confide under my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
16 Now therefore, if ye have proceeded with truth and integrity in making Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have recompensed him according to the work of his hands
17 (For my father fought for you and cast his life far from him to deliver you out of the hand of Midian;
18 and ye are risen up against my father’s house this day and have slain his sons, seventy men, upon a stone and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem because he is your brother;)
19 if ye then have dealt in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from the house of Millo and devour Abimelech.
21 And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22 ¶ When Abimelech had dominated over Israel three years,
23 then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech
24 that the cruelty done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal and their blood might come to be laid upon Abimelech their brother who slew them and upon the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brethren.
25 And the men of Shechem set ambushers for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them; and it was told Abimelech.
26 And Gaal, the son of Ebed, came with his brethren and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
27 And they went out into the fields and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and made merry and went into the house of their gods and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal, the son of Ebed, said, Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal? And is not Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. For why should we serve him?
29 If these people were under my hand, then I would remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army and come out.
30 And when Zebul, the prince of the city, heard the words of Gaal, the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech astutely, saying, Behold, Gaal, the son of Ebed, and his brethren have come to Shechem; and, behold, they have fortified the city against thee.
32 Now, therefore, rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and put an ambush in the field.
33 And in the morning as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early and set upon the city; and, behold, when he and the people that are with him come out against thee, then thou may do to them as thou shalt find occasion.
34 And Abimelech rose up and all the people that were with him, by night, and they put an ambush against Shechem in four companies.
35 And Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out and stood in the entering of the gate of the city; and Abimelech and all the people that were with him rose up from the ambush.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold people that come down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
37 And Gaal spoke again and said, See there come people who descend through the middle of the land, and another company comes along by the plain of Meonenim.
38 Then Zebul said unto him, Where is now thy mouth, with which thou didst say, Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is not this the people that thou hast despised? Go out now and fight with them.
39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.
40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah; and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren that they should not dwell in Shechem.
42 And it came to pass on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
43 And he took the people and divided them into three companies and set ambushes in the field and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.
44 And Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood in the entering of the gate of the city, and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields and slew them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he took the city and slew the people that were therein and beat down the city and sowed it with salt.
46 And when those of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.
47 And it was told Abimelech how all those of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
48 Then Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees and took it and laid it on his shoulder and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.
49 And all the people likewise cut down each one his bough and followed Abimelech and put them next to the stronghold and set the stronghold on fire upon them; so that all those of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.
50 ¶ Then Abimelech went to Thebez and laid siege against Thebez and took it.
51 But in the midst of the city there was a strong tower, and all the men and women fled there, and all those of the city, and shutting the doors behind them, they climbed up to the top of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came to the tower, and fighting against it, he came to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 But a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.
54 Then he called hastily unto the young man, his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword and slay me that it not be said of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
55 And when the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed each one unto his place.
56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did against his father in slaying his seventy brethren.
57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God rendered upon their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal.
13 ¶ Now there were in the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} that was at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they released them.
4 ¶ So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed unto Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as an attendant.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain wise man, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus,
7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the wise man (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the proconsul from the faith.
9 Then Saul (who also is Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him
10 and said, O full of all deception and all licentiousness, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is against thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
13 Now when Paul and his company sailed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; then John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
14 ¶ But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and sat down.
15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the princes of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.
16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel and ye that fear God hearken.
17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out of it.
18 And for the time of about forty years, he suffered their manners in the wilderness.
19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
21 And afterward they asked for a king, and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony, saying, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall fulfil all my will.
23 Of this man’s seed has God according to his promise raised up Jesus as Saviour unto Israel:
24 John, having first proclaimed before his coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there comes one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
26 Men and brethren, sons of the lineage of Abraham, and whosoever among you fears God, unto you is this word of saving health sent.
27 For those that dwell at Jerusalem and their princes, because they knew him not nor yet the voices of the prophets who are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
28 And without finding cause of death in him, yet they asked Pilate that he should be slain.
29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulchre.
30 But God raised him from the dead,
31 and he was seen many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who until now are his witnesses unto the people.
32 And we declare unto you the gospel of the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 which God has fulfilled unto us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said this, I will give you the sure mercies promised to David.
35 Therefore he also says in another place, Thou shalt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was gathered unto his fathers and saw corruption;
37 but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
38 Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this one is preached unto you the remission of sins;
39 and in him all that believe are justified from all the things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40 Beware, therefore, lest what is spoken of in the prophets come upon you:
41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish, for I do a work in your days, a work which ye would in no wise believe, if one should declare it unto you.
42 ¶ And when they were gone out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles besought that these words might be spoken to them the next sabbath.
43 Now when the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to remain in the grace of God.
44 And the next sabbath day almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and spoke against that which Paul said, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas speaking with freedom, said, It was necessary indeed that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles that thou should be for saving health unto the ends of the earth.
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women and the principals of the city and raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of their borders.
51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them and came unto Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
22 ¶ Thus hath the LORD said: Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word,
2 and say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that doth sit upon the throne of David, thou, and thy slaves and thy people that enter in by these gates:
3 Thus hath the LORD said: Execute judgment and righteousness and deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor and do not deceive, neither steal from the stranger nor from the fatherless nor from the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye effectively obey this word, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house the kings seated by David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he and his slaves and his people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, said the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus hath the LORD said regarding the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto me and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness and cities which are not inhabited.
7 And I will appoint destroyers against thee, each one with his weapons, and they shall cut down thy choice cedars and cast them into the fire.
8 And many Gentiles shall pass by this city, and each man shall say to his neighbour, Why has the LORD done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and worshipped other gods and served them.
10 ¶ Do not weep for the dead nor bemoan him, but weep sore for him that goes away, for he shall return no more nor see his native country.
11 For thus hath the LORD said of Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, He who went forth out of this place shall not return there any more;
12 but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive and shall see this land no more.
13 Woe unto him that builds his house and not in righteousness and his chambers and not in judgment, using his neighbour’s service without wages and not giving him the wages of his work!
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cuts out windows in it and covers it with cedar and anoints it with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou dost enclose thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink and do judgment and righteousness, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him. Is this not to know me? said the LORD.
17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness and for to shed innocent blood and for oppression and for violence, to do it.
18 Therefore thus hath the LORD said concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! and Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 ¶ Go up to Lebanon and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan and cry unto all parts: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity, but thou didst say, I will not hear. This has been thy way from thy youth, that thou hast never heard my voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity; surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confound thyself because of all thy malice.
23 Thou didst inhabit Lebanon, thou didst make thy nest in the cedars. How shalt thou cry out when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet I would pluck thee from there;
25 and I will give thee into the hand of those that seek thy soul and into the hand of those whose face thou dost fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 And I will cast thee out and thy mother that bore thee into another country, where ye were not born, and there ye shall die.
27 But to the land unto which they de sire to return, they shall not return there.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? Is he a vessel in which there is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his generation, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus hath the LORD said, Write what shall be of this man deprived of a generation, a man unto whom nothing shall prosper in all the days of his life, for no man of his seed who sits upon the throne of David and rules over Judah shall prosper.
8 ¶ In those days, as before, there was a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat; Jesus called his disciples unto him and said unto them,
2 I have mercy on the multitude because they have now been with me three days and have nothing to eat;
3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way, for some of them came from afar.
4 And his disciples answered him, From where can anyone satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?
5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
6 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves and having given thanks, he broke them and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.
7 And they also had a few small fishes; and he blessed them and commanded to set them also before them.
8 So they ate and were filled; and they took up of the broken food that was left seven baskets.
9 And those that had eaten were about four thousand; and he dispatched them.
10 ¶ And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
11 And the Pharisees came forth and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
12 And crying out in his spirit, he said, Why does this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
13 And he left them and, entering into the ship again, departed to the other side.
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
15 And he commanded them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod.
16 And they argued among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
17 And as Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why argue ye because ye have no bread? Do ye not consider nor understand? is your heart yet blind?
18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
19 When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They said unto him, Twelve.
20 And when the seven loaves among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not yet understand?
22 ¶ And he came to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him and beseech him to touch him.
23 So, taking the blind man by the hand, he led him out of the town; and spitting into his eyes and putting his hands upon them, he asked him if he saw anything.
24 And looking, he said, I see men; I see that they walk as trees.
25 After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes and caused him to see; and he was whole and saw everyone, far away and clearly.
26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
27 ¶ And Jesus and his disciples went out into the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am?
28 And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, One of the prophets.
29 Then he said unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Peter answered and said unto him, Thou art the Christ!
30 And he commanded them that they should tell no one of this regarding him.
31 And he began to teach them that it was convenient that the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the princes of the priests and of the scribes, and be killed and after three days rise again.
32 And he spoke this word clearly. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him.
33 And he, turning about and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, Get thyself from me, Satan, for thou knowest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.
34 And calling the multitude unto him with his disciples, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross {Gr. stauros – stake} and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
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