M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
12 Yiftach sent messengers to the king of the people of ‘Amon to say, “What’s your problem with us? Why are you invading our territory?” 13 The king of ‘Amon answered the messengers of Yiftach, “Because Isra’el took away my territory when they came up from Egypt. They took everything from the Arnon to the Yabok and the Yarden. Now, restore it peacefully.” 14 Yiftach sent messengers again to the king of the people of ‘Amon 15 with this response, “Here is what Yiftach has to say: ‘Isra’el captured neither the territory of Mo’av nor the territory of the people of ‘Amon. 16 But when Isra’el came up from Egypt, walked through the desert to the Red Sea and arrived at Kadesh, 17 then Isra’el sent messengers to the king of Edom, to say, “Please let us pass through your land.” But the king of Edom wouldn’t let them. He sent a similar message to the king of Mo’av, but neither would he, so Isra’el stayed at Kadesh. 18 Then they walked through the desert, around the territory of Edom and the territory of Mo’av, past the east border of the territory of Mo’av, and pitched camp on the other side of the Arnon; but they did not cross the border into Mo’av, for the Arnon was the border of Mo’av. 19 Isra’el sent messengers to Sichon king of the Emori and king of Heshbon with this message, “Please let us pass through your land to our own place.” 20 But Sichon did not trust that Isra’el would only pass through his land, so he gathered all his people together, pitched camp in Yahatz and fought against Isra’el. 21 Adonai the God of Isra’el handed Sichon and all his people over to Isra’el, and they killed them. Thus Isra’el possessed all the territory of the Emori who lived there. 22 They took possession of all the territory of the Emori from the Arnon to the Yabok and from the desert to the Yarden. 23 So now that Adonai the God of Isra’el has expelled the Emori before his people Isra’el, do you think that you will expel us? 24 You should just keep the territory your god K’mosh has given you; while we, for our part, will hold onto whatever Adonai our God has given us of the lands that belonged to others before us. 25 Really, are you better than Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo’av? Did he ever pick a quarrel with Isra’el or fight with us? 26 Isra’el lived in Heshbon and its villages, in ‘Aro‘er and its villages and in all the cities on the banks of the Arnon for three hundred years. Why didn’t you take them back during that time? 27 No, I have done you no wrong. But you are doing me wrong to war against me. May Adonai the Judge be judge today between the people of Isra’el and the people of ‘Amon.’” 28 But the king of the people of ‘Amon paid no attention to the message Yiftach sent him.
29 Then the spirit of Adonai came upon Yiftach; and he passed through Gil‘ad and M’nasheh, on through Mitzpeh of Gil‘ad, and from there over to the people of ‘Amon. 30 Yiftach made a vow to Adonai: “If you will hand the people of ‘Amon over to me, 31 then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the people of ‘Amon will belong to Adonai; I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” 32 So Yiftach crossed over to fight the people of ‘Amon, and Adonai handed them over to him. 33 He killed them from ‘Aro‘er until you reach Minnit, twenty cities, all the way to Avel-K’ramim; it was a massacre. So the people of ‘Amon were defeated before the people of Isra’el.
34 As Yiftach was returning to his house in Mitzpah, his daughter came dancing out to meet him with tambourines. She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, no, my daughter! You’re breaking my heart! Why must you be the cause of such pain to me? I made a vow to Adonai, and I can’t go back on my word.” 36 She said to him, “Father, you made a vow to Adonai; so do whatever you said you would do to me; because Adonai did take vengeance on your enemies the people of ‘Amon.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Just do this one thing for me — let me be alone for two months. I’ll go away into the mountains with my friends and mourn, because I will die without getting married.” 38 “You may go,” he answered, and he sent her away for two months. She left, she and her friends, and mourned in the mountains that she would die unmarried. 39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did with her what he had vowed; she had remained a virgin. So it became a law in Isra’el 40 that the women of Isra’el would go every year for four days to lament the daughter of Yiftach from Gil‘ad.
15 But some men came down from Y’hudah to Antioch and began teaching the brothers, “You can’t be saved unless you undergo b’rit-milah in the manner prescribed by Moshe.” 2 This brought them into no small measure of discord and dispute with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. So the congregation assigned Sha’ul, Bar-Nabba and some of themselves to go and put this sh’eilah before the emissaries and the elders up in Yerushalayim.
3 After being sent off by the congregation, they made their way through Phoenicia and Shomron, recounting in detail how the Gentiles had turned to God; and this news brought great joy to all the brothers.
4 On arrival in Yerushalayim, they were welcomed by the Messianic community, including the emissaries and the elders; and they reported what God had done through them. 5 But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.”
6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. 7 After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; 9 that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. 10 So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? 11 No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered — and it’s the same with them.”
12 Then the whole assembly kept still as they listened to Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul tell what signs and miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 Ya‘akov broke the silence to reply. “Brothers,” he said, “hear what I have to say. 14 Shim‘on has told in detail what God did when he first began to show his concern for taking from among the Goyim a people to bear his name. 15 And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written,
16 ‘“After this, I will return;
and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David.
I will rebuild its ruins,
I will restore it,
17 so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
that is, all the Goyim who have been called by my name,”
18 says Adonai, who is doing these things.’[a]
All this has been known for ages.
19 “Therefore, my opinion is that we should not put obstacles in the way of the Goyim who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For from the earliest times, Moshe has had in every city those who proclaim him, with his words being read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”
22 Then the emissaries and the elders, together with the whole Messianic community, decided to select men from among themselves to send to Antioch with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. They sent Y’hudah, called Bar-Sabba, and Sila, both leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter:
From: The emissaries and the elders, your brothers
To: The brothers from among the Gentiles throughout Antioch, Syria and Cilicia
Greetings!
24 We have heard that some people went out from among us without our authorization, and that they have upset you with their talk, unsettling your minds. 25 So we have decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our dear friends Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul, 26 who have dedicated their lives to upholding the name of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 27 So we have sent Y’hudah and Sila, and they will confirm in person what we are writing.
28 For it seemed good to the Ruach HaKodesh and to us not to lay any heavier burden on you than the following requirements: 29 to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will be doing the right thing.
Shalom!
30 The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the group together and delivered the letter. 31 After reading it, the people were delighted by its encouragement. 32 Y’hudah and Sila, who were also prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with a greeting of “Shalom!” from the brothers to those who had sent them. 34 [b] 35 But Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba stayed in Antioch, where they and many others taught and proclaimed the Good News of the message about the Lord.
36 After some time, Sha’ul said to Bar-Nabba, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we proclaimed the message about the Lord, and see how they’re doing.” 37 Now Bar-Nabba wanted to take with them Yochanan, the one called Mark. 38 But Sha’ul thought it would be unwise to take this man with them, since he had gone off and left them in Pamphylia to do the work by themselves. 39 There was such sharp disagreement over this that they separated from each other, with Bar-Nabba taking Mark and sailing off to Cyprus.
40 However, Sha’ul chose Sila and left, after the brothers had committed him to the love and kindness of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the congregations.
24 It was after N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel had carried Y’khanyahu the son of Y’hoyakim, king of Y’hudah, along with the leaders of Y’hudah, the artisans and the skilled workers into exile from Yerushalayim and brought them to Bavel, that Adonai gave me a vision. There, in front of the temple of Adonai, two baskets of figs were placed. 2 One of the baskets had in it very good figs, like those that ripen first; while the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they were inedible. 3 Then Adonai asked me, “Yirmeyahu, what do you see?” I answered, “Figs — the good figs are very good; but the bad ones are very bad, so bad they are inedible.” 4 The word of Adonai came to me: 5 “Here is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘I will regard the exiles from Y’hudah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Kasdim, as good, just as I do these good figs.
6 “‘I will look after them for their good,
I will bring them back to this land;
I will build them up and not tear them down,
plant them and not pull them up.
7 I will give them a heart to know me
that I am Adonai.
They will be my people,
and I will be their God;
for they will return to me
with all their heart.’
8 “But concerning the bad figs that are so bad as to be inedible, Adonai says: ‘I will make Tzidkiyahu the king of Y’hudah and his leaders resemble them, likewise the rest of Yerushalayim remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt. 9 Everywhere I drive them I will make them an object of horror, repulsive to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, a byword, a laughingstock and a curse; 10 and I will send sword, famine and plague among them until they have disappeared from the land I gave them and their ancestors.’”
10 Then Yeshua left that place and went into the regions of Y’hudah and the territory beyond the Yarden. Again crowds gathered around him; and again, as usual, he taught them. 2 Some P’rushim came up and tried to trap him by asking him, “Does the Torah permit a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He replied, “What did Moshe command you?” 4 They said, “Moshe allowed a man to hand his wife a get and divorce her.”[a] 5 But Yeshua said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hardheartedness. 6 However, at the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.[b] 7 For this reason, a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, 8 and the two are to become one flesh.[c] Thus they are no longer two, but one. 9 So then, no one should break apart what God has joined together.” 10 When they were indoors once more, the talmidim asked him about this. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife; 12 and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another man, she too commits adultery.”
13 People were bringing children to him so that he might touch them, but the talmidim rebuked those people. 14 However, when Yeshua saw it, he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Yes! I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it!” 16 And he took them in his arms, laid his hands on them, and made a b’rakhah over them.
17 As he was starting on his way, a man ran up, kneeled down in front of him and asked, “Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” 18 Yeshua said to him, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good except God! 19 You know the mitzvot — ‘Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony, don’t defraud, honor your father and mother, . . .’”[d] 20 “Rabbi,” he said, “I have kept all these since I was a boy.” 21 Yeshua, looking at him, felt love for him and said to him, “You’re missing one thing. Go, sell whatever you own, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” 22 Shocked by this word, he went away sad; because he was a wealthy man.
23 Yeshua looked around and said to his talmidim, “How hard it is going to be for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 The talmidim were astounded at these words; but Yeshua said to them again, “My friends, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It’s easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” 26 They were utterly amazed and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly, it is impossible, but not with God; with God, everything is possible.” 28 Kefa began saying to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Yeshua said, “Yes! I tell you that there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, 30 who will not receive a hundred times over, now, in the ‘olam hazeh, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and lands — with persecutions! — and in the ‘olam haba, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first!”
32 They were on the road going up to Yerushalayim. Yeshua was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed — and those following were afraid. So again taking the Twelve along with him, he began telling them what was about to happen to him. 33 “We are now going up to Yerushalayim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers. They will sentence him to death and turn him over to the Goyim, 34 who will jeer at him, spit on him, beat him and kill him; but after three days, he will rise.”[e]
35 Ya‘akov and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai, came up to him and said, “Rabbi, we would like you to do us a favor.” 36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 They replied, “When you are in your glory, let us sit with you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 38 But Yeshua answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup that I am drinking? or be immersed with the immersion that I must undergo?” 39 They said to him, “We can.” Yeshua replied, “The cup that I am drinking, you will drink; and the immersion I am being immersed with, you will undergo. 40 But to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the other ten heard about this, they became outraged at Ya‘akov and Yochanan. 42 But Yeshua called them to him and said to them, “You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. 43 But among you, it must not be like that! On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must be your servant; 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must become everyone’s slave! 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
46 They came to Yericho; and as Yeshua was leaving Yericho with his talmidim and a great crowd, a blind beggar, Bar-Timai (son of Timai), was sitting by the side of the road. 47 When he heard that it was Yeshua from Natzeret, he started shouting, “Yeshua! Son of David! Have pity on me!” 48 Many people scolded him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David! Have pity on me!” 49 Yeshua stopped and said, “Call him over!” They called to the blind man, “Courage! Get up! He’s calling for you!” 50 Throwing down his blanket, he jumped up and came over to Yeshua. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” asked Yeshua. The blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me be able to see again.” 52 Yeshua said to him, “Go! Your trust has healed you.” Instantly he received his sight and followed him on the road.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.