M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

12 The men of Efrayim assembled, crossed into Tzafon and said to Yiftach, “Why didn’t you call us to go with you when you went over to fight the people of ‘Amon? We’re ready to burn down your house with you in it!” ² Yiftach answered, “When my people and I were in a serious dispute with the people of ‘Amon, I called you; and you didn’t rescue me from their power. ³ When I saw that you weren’t rescuing me, I put my life in my own hands and went over to attack the people of ‘Amon; and Adonai gave them over into my power. So why have you come up today to fight me?” ⁴ Then Yiftach gathered together all the men of Gil‘ad and fought with Efrayim, and the men of Gil‘ad defeated Efrayim; because they were saying, “You Gil‘ad men who live in Efrayim and M’nasheh have deserted Efrayim!” ⁵ The men of Gil‘ad cut off Efrayim from the crossings over the Yarden, and whenever anyone from Efrayim tried to escape and said, “Let me go across,” the men of Gil‘ad would ask him, “Are you from Efrayim?” and if he said, “No,” ⁶ they would tell him to say “Shibbolet.” If he said, “Sibbolet,” because he could not make his mouth pronounce it right, they took hold of him and killed him on the spot at the Yarden crossing; at that time 42,000 men of Efrayim died.

⁷ Yiftach judged Isra’el for six years. Then Yiftach from Gil‘ad died, and he was buried in one of the cities of Gil‘ad.

⁸ After him Ibtzan of Beit-Lechem judged Isra’el. ⁹ He had thirty sons, and he had thirty daughters whom he sent abroad; he brought thirty women from abroad in to marry his sons. He judged Isra’el for seven years. ¹⁰ Then Ibtzan died and was buried at Beit-Lechem.

¹¹ After him Elon from Z’vulun judged Isra’el; he judged Isra’el for ten years. ¹² Then Elon from Z’vulun died and was buried at Ayalon, in the territory of Z’vulun.

¹³ After him Avdon the son of Hillel from Pir‘aton judged Isra’el. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy young donkeys. He judged Isra’el for eight years. ¹⁵ Then Avdon the son of Hillel from Pir‘aton died and was buried at Pir‘aton in the territory of Efrayim, in the ‘Amalek hills.

16 Sha’ul came down to Derbe and went on to Lystra, where there lived a talmid named Timothy. He was the son of a Jewish woman who had come to trust, and a Greek father. ² All the brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy. ³ Sha’ul wanted Timothy to accompany him; so he took him and did a b’rit-milah, because of the Jews living in those areas; for they all knew that his father had been a Greek.

⁴ As they went on through the towns, they delivered to the people the decisions reached by the emissaries and the elders in Yerushalayim for them to observe. ⁵ Accordingly, the congregations were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day.

⁶ They traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, because they had been prevented by the Ruach HaKodesh from speaking the message in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they came to the frontier of Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia; but the Spirit of Yeshua would not let them. ⁸ So, after passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

⁹ There a vision appeared to Sha’ul at night. A man from Macedonia was standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ As soon as he had seen the vision, we lost no time getting ready to leave for Macedonia; for we concluded that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

¹¹ Sailing from Troas, we made a straight run to Samothrace; the next day we went to Neapolis; ¹² and from there, we went on to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that part of Macedonia. We spent a few days in this city; ¹³ then on Shabbat, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we understood a minyan met. We sat down and began speaking to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in fine purple cloth. She was already a “God-fearer,” and the Lord opened up her heart to respond to what Sha’ul was saying. ¹⁵ After she and the members of her household had been immersed, she gave us this invitation: “If you consider me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she insisted till we went.

¹⁶ Once, when we were going to the place where the minyan gathered, we were met by a slave girl who had in her a snake-spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. ¹⁷ This girl followed behind Sha’ul and the rest of us and kept screaming, “These men are servants of God Ha‘Elyon! They’re telling you how to be saved!” ¹⁸ She kept this up day after day, until Sha’ul, greatly disturbed, turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, I order you to come out of her!” And the spirit did come out, at that very moment.

¹⁹ But when her owners saw that what had come out was any further prospect of profit for them, they seized Sha’ul and Sila and dragged them to the market square to face the authorities. ²⁰ Bringing them to the judges, they said, “These men are causing a lot of trouble in our city, since they are Jews. ²¹ What they are doing is advocating customs that are against the law for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.” ²² The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. ²³ After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.

²⁵ Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Sha’ul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”

²⁹ Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha’ul and Sila. ³⁰ Then, leading them outside, he said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They said, “Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved — you and your household!” ³² Whereupon they told him and everyone in his household the message about the Lord.

³³ Then, even at that late hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed off their wounds; and without delay, he and all his people were immersed. ³⁴ After that, he brought them up to his house and set food in front of them; and he and his entire household celebrated their having come to trust in God.

³⁵ The next morning, the judges sent police officers with the order, “Release those men.” ³⁶ The jailer told Sha’ul, “The judges have sent word to release both of you. So come out, and go on your way in peace.” ³⁷ But Sha’ul said to the officers, “After flogging us in public when we hadn’t been convicted of any crime and are Roman citizens, they threw us in prison. Now they want to get rid of us secretly? Oh, no! Let them come and escort us out themselves!”

³⁸ The officers reported these words to the judges, who became frightened when they heard that Sha’ul and Sila were Roman citizens. ³⁹ They came and apologized to them; then, after escorting them out, requested them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ From the prison they went to Lydia’s house, and after seeing and encouraging the brothers they departed.

25 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu concerning all the people of Y’hudah in the fourth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah; this was also the first year of N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel. ² Yirmeyahu the prophet proclaimed it before all the people of Y’hudah and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim: ³ “For twenty-three years, since the thirteenth year of Yoshiyahu the son of Amon, king of Y’hudah, until today, the word of Adonai has come to me; and I have proclaimed it to you on numerous occasions; but you haven’t listened. ⁴ Moreover, Adonai sent you all his servants the prophets — again, on numerous occasions — but you didn’t listen or pay attention. ⁵ The message was always: ‘Every one of you, turn back from his evil way, from the evil of your actions. Then you will live in the land Adonai gave you and your ancestors forever and ever. ⁶ Don’t follow other gods by serving and worshipping them. “Don’t provoke my anger with things your own hands have made; then I will do you no harm. ⁷ But you wouldn’t listen to me,” says Adonai, “so that you could provoke me with the products of your hands, to your own harm.”

⁸ “Therefore, here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: ‘Because you haven’t paid attention to what I’ve been saying, ⁹ I’m going to send for all the families of the north,’ says Adonai, ‘and for my servant N’vukhadretzar the king of Bavel, and bring them against this land, against its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror and ridicule, a perpetual ruin. ¹⁰ Moreover, I will silence among them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bridegroom and bride, the grinding of millstones and the light of lamps. ¹¹ This entire land will become a ruin, a waste; and these nations will serve the king of Bavel for seventy years. ¹² But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Bavel and that nation for their sin,’ says Adonai, ‘and I will turn the land of the Kasdim into everlasting ruins. ¹³ I will inflict on that land all my words that I have decreed against it, everything written in this book, in which Yirmeyahu has prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For they too will become slaves to many nations and to powerful kings; I will pay them back according to their deeds and the work of their own hands.’

¹⁵ “For here is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says to me: ‘Take this cup of the wine of fury from my hand, and make all the nations where I am sending you drink it. ¹⁶ They will drink, stagger to and fro and behave like crazy people because of the sword that I will send among them.’”

¹⁷ Then I took the cup from Adonai’s hand and made all the nations drink, where Adonai had sent me — ¹⁸ Yerushalayim and the cities of Y’hudah, along with their kings and leaders, to make them a ruin and an object of horror, ridicule and cursing, as it is today; ¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, with his servants and leaders and all his people, both native ²⁰ and foreign; all the kings of the land of ‘Utz; all the kings of the land of the P’lishtim, Ashkelon, ‘Azah, ‘Ekron and those remaining in Ashdod; ²¹ Edom, Mo’av, and the people of ‘Amon; ²² all the kings of Tzor, of Tzidon and of the coastlands across the sea; ²³ D’dan, Teima, Buz and all who cut the corners of their beards; ²⁴ all the kings of Arabia and of the mixed peoples living in the desert; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, of ‘Eilam and of the Medes; ²⁶ and all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another — indeed, all the kingdoms of the world that there are on the surface of the earth. And the king of Sheshakh will drink last of all.

²⁷ “You are to say to them, ‘Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: Drink until you’re so drunk that you throw up, fall down, and never get up again, because of the sword I am sending among you!’ ²⁸ If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, then say to them, ‘Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: You must drink! ²⁹ For, look! — if I am bringing disaster on the city that bears my own name, do you expect to go unpunished? Yes, I will summon a sword for all the inhabitants of the earth,’ says Adonai.

³⁰ “As for you, [Yirmeyahu,] prophesy all these words against them; say to them,

11 As they were approaching Yerushalayim, near Beit-Pagei and Beit-Anyah, by the Mount of Olives, Yeshua sent two of his talmidim ² with these instructions: “Go into the village ahead of you; and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it, and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it,’ and he will send it here right away.”

⁴ They went off and found a colt in the street tied in a doorway, and they untied it. ⁵ The bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They gave the answer Yeshua had told them to give, and they let them continue. ⁷ They brought the colt to Yeshua and threw their robes on it, and he sat on it.

⁸ Many people carpeted the road with their clothing, while others spread out green branches which they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who were ahead and those behind shouted,

¹¹ Yeshua entered Yerushalayim, went into the Temple courts and took a good look at everything; but since it was now late, he went out with the Twelve to Beit-Anyah.

¹² The next day, as they came back from Beit-Anyah, he felt hungry. ¹³ Spotting in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came up to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it wasn’t fig season. ¹⁴ He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his talmidim heard what he said.

¹⁵ On reaching Yerushalayim, he entered the Temple courts and began driving out those who were carrying on business there, both the merchants and their customers. He also knocked over the desks of the money-changers, upset the benches of the pigeon-dealers, ¹⁶ and refused to let anyone carry merchandise through the Temple courts. ¹⁷ Then, as he taught them, he said, “Isn’t it written in the Tanakh, My house will be called a house of prayer for all the Goyim^[f] But you have made it into a den of robbers!”^{[g] 18} The head cohanim and the Torah-teachers heard what he said and tried to find a way to do away with him; they were afraid of him, because the crowds were utterly taken by his teaching. ¹⁹ When evening came, they left the city.

²⁰ In the morning, as the talmidim passed by, they saw the fig tree withered all the way to its roots. ²¹ Kefa remembered and said to Yeshua, “Rabbi! Look! The fig tree that you cursed has dried up!” ²² He responded, “Have the kind of trust that comes from God! ²³ Yes! I tell you that whoever does not doubt in his heart but trusts that what he says will happen can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’ and it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, trust that you are receiving it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive your offenses.” ^26 [h]

²⁷ They went back into Yerushalayim; and as he was walking in the Temple courts, there came to him the head cohanim, the Torah-teachers and the elders; ²⁸ and they said to him, “What s’mikhah do you have that authorizes you to do these things? Who gave you this s’mikhah authorizing you to do them?” ²⁹ Yeshua said to them, “I will ask you just one question: answer me, and I will tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things. ³⁰ The immersion of Yochanan — was it from Heaven or from a human source? Answer me.” ³¹ They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From Heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From a human source, . . . ’” — they were afraid of the people, for they all regarded Yochanan as a genuine prophet. ³³ So they answered Yeshua, “We don’t know.” “Then,” he replied, “I won’t tell you by what s’mikhah I do these things.”