M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

¹¹ Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the child began ministering to Adonai under the direction of ‘Eli the cohen.

¹² ‘Eli’s sons were scoundrels who had no regard for Adonai. ¹³ The rule these cohanim followed in dealing with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the cohen’s servant would come, while the meat was stewing, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ He would stick it in the pan, kettle, caldron or pot; and the cohen would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they dealt with all the people of Isra’el who came there to Shiloh. ¹⁵ The cohen’s servant would actually come before the fat had burned to smoke and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the cohen meat he can roast; because he doesn’t want your meat stewed, but raw.” ¹⁶ If the man answered, “First let the fat burn to smoke, then take as much as you want,” he would say, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of these young men was very serious in Adonai’s view, because they treated offerings made to Adonai with contempt.

¹⁸ But Sh’mu’el ministered in the presence of Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest even though he was only a child. ¹⁹ Each year his mother would make him a little coat and bring it when she came up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ²⁰ ‘Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Adonai give you children from this woman because of the boy you have loaned to Adonai”; then they would go home. ²¹ So Adonai took notice of Hannah, and she conceived and bore three more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Sh’mu’el grew in the presence of Adonai.

²² When ‘Eli was very old, he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Isra’el, and that they were having sex with the women doing service at the door of the tent of meeting. ²³ He asked them, “Why are you doing things like this? I am hearing bad reports about you from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons, I don’t hear Adonai’s people spreading a single good report! ²⁵ If a person commits a sin against another person, the judges can mediate between them. But if a person commits a sin against Adonai, who can intercede for him?” However, they wouldn’t pay attention to what their father said, because Adonai had decided to kill them.

²⁶ The child Sh’mu’el kept growing and gaining favor both with Adonai and with people.

²⁷ A man of God came to ‘Eli and told him, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Didn’t I reveal myself to your ancestor’s clan when they were in Egypt, serving as slaves in Pharaoh’s household? ²⁸ Didn’t I choose him out of all the tribes of Isra’el to be my cohen, go up to my altar, burn incense and wear a ritual vest in my presence? Didn’t I assign to your ancestor’s clan all the offerings of the people of Isra’el made by fire? ²⁹ So why are you showing such disrespect for my sacrifices and offerings, which I ordered to be made at my dwelling? Why do you show more honor to your sons than to me, making yourselves fat with the choicest parts of all the offerings of Isra’el my people?’

³⁰ “Therefore Adonai the God of Isra’el says, ‘I did indeed say that your family and your father’s family would walk in my presence forever.’ But now Adonai says, ‘Forget it! I respect those who respect me, but those who despise me will meet with contempt. ³¹ The day is coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age. ³² At a time when Isra’el is prospering, you will see a rival in my Dwelling; and never will anyone in your family live to old age. ³³ Still, I won’t cut off every one of your men from my altar; because that would make your eyes grow dim, and you would waste away. Nevertheless, all your descendants will die young. ³⁴ Your sign that this will occur will be what happens to your two sons Hofni and Pinchas — they will both die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for myself a faithful cohen who will do what I want and what I intend. I will make his family faithful, and he will serve in the presence of my anointed one forever. ³⁶ Everyone left in your family will come, prostrate himself before him for a silver coin or a loaf of bread, and say, “Please, won’t you give me some work as a cohen, so I can have a scrap of bread to eat?”’”

2 Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, passing judgment; for when you judge someone else, you are passing judgment against yourself; since you who are judging do the same things he does. ² We know that God’s judgment lands impartially on those who do such things; ³ do you think that you, a mere man passing judgment on others who do such things, yet doing them yourself, will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or perhaps you despise the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience; because you don’t realize that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to turn from your sins. ⁵ But by your stubbornness, by your unrepentant heart, you are storing up anger for yourself on the Day of Anger, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed; ⁶ for he will pay back each one according to his deeds.^{[a] 7} To those who seek glory, honor and immortality by perseverance in doing good, he will pay back eternal life. ⁸ But to those who are self-seeking, who disobey the truth and obey evil, he will pay back wrath and anger.

⁹ Yes, he will pay back misery and anguish to every human being who does evil, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile; ¹⁰ but glory and honor and shalom to everyone who keeps doing what is good, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism. ¹² All who have sinned outside the framework of Torah will die outside the framework of Torah; and all who have sinned within the framework of Torah will be judged by Torah. ¹³ For it is not merely the hearers of Torah whom God considers righteous; rather, it is the doers of what Torah says who will be made righteous in God’s sight. ¹⁴ For whenever Gentiles, who have no Torah, do naturally what the Torah requires, then these, even though they don’t have Torah, for themselves are Torah! ¹⁵ For their lives show that the conduct the Torah dictates is written in their hearts.^[b] Their consciences also bear witness to this, for their conflicting thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them ¹⁶ on a day when God passes judgment on people’s inmost secrets. (According to the Good News as I proclaim it, he does this through the Messiah Yeshua.)

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and rest on Torah and boast about God ¹⁸ and know his will and give your approval to what is right, because you have been instructed from the Torah; ¹⁹ and if you have persuaded yourself that you are a guide to the blind, a light in the darkness, ²⁰ an instructor for the spiritually unaware and a teacher of children, since in the Torah you have the embodiment of knowledge and truth; ²¹ then, you who teach others, don’t you teach yourself? Preaching, “Thou shalt not steal,”^[c] do you steal? ²² Saying, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,”^[d] do you commit adultery? Detesting idols, do you commit idolatrous acts? ²³ You who take such pride in Torah, do you, by disobeying the Torah, dishonor God? — ²⁴ as it says in the Tanakh, “For it is because of you that God’s name is blasphemed by the Goyim.”^{[e] 25} For circumcision is indeed of value if you do what Torah says. But if you are a transgressor of Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision! ²⁶ Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the Torah, won’t his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? ²⁷ Indeed, the man who is physically uncircumcised but obeys the Torah will stand as a judgment on you who have had a b’rit-milah and have Torah written out but violate it! ²⁸ For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly: true circumcision is not only external and physical. ²⁹ On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God.

40 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai after N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard had let him leave Ramah, after having taken him, bound in chains, with all the captives from Yerushalayim and Y’hudah that had been carried off to Bavel. ² The commander of the guard took Yirmeyahu and said to him, “Adonai your God decreed this disaster for this place, ³ and Adonai has brought it about; he has done what he said he would do, because you people sinned against Adonai and did not listen to what he said; that is why this has come upon you. ⁴ Now, today, I am freeing you from the chains on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Bavel, come; and I will look after you well. But if it seems not good to you to come with me to Bavel, then don’t — the entire land is in front of you: wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there.” ⁵ Before Yirmeyahu could answer, [N’vuzar’adan said,] “Go back then to G’dalyahu the son of Achikam, the son of Shafan, whom the king of Bavel has made governor over the cities of Y’hudah, and live with him among the people; or go wherever it seems right for you to go.” The commander of the guard gave him provisions and a gift, and dismissed him. ⁶ Yirmeyahu then went to G’dalyahu the son of Achikam in Mitzpah and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.

⁷ Now when all the field force commanders and their men heard that the king of Bavel had made G’dalyahu the son of Achikam governor in the land and had committed to his care men, women, children and some of the poorest people in the land of those who had not been carried captive to Bavel; ⁸ they approached G’dalyahu in Mitzpah — in particular, Yishma‘el the son of N’tanyahu, Yochanan and Yonatan the sons of Kareach, S’rayah the son of Tanchumet, the sons of ‘Efai the N’tofati and Y’zanyahu the son of the Ma‘akhati, they and their men. ⁹ G’dalyahu the son of Achikam, the son of Shafan, swore to them and their men, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Kasdim. Live in the land, serve the king of Bavel; and things will go well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will live in Mitzpah and be responsible to the Kasdim who come to us. But you — harvest wine, summer fruits and olive oil; put them in your containers; and live in your cities that you have taken over.”

¹¹ Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Mo’av, in Edom, among the people of ‘Amon, and in all the other countries heard that the king of Bavel had left a remnant in Y’hudah and had appointed G’dalyahu the son of Achikam, the son of Shafan, to govern them; ¹² then all the Judeans returned from all the places where they had been driven and came to the land of Y’hudah, to G’dalyahu in Mitzpah, and harvested wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³ Yochanan the son of Kareach and all the field force commanders came to G’dalyahu in Mitzpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Are you aware that Ba‘alis the king of the people of ‘Amon has sent Yishma‘el the son of N’tanyahu to take your life?” But G’dalyahu the son of Achikam did not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Yochanan the son of Kareach spoke privately with G’dalyahu in Mitzpah: “Please, let me go, and I will kill Yishma‘el the son of N’tanyahu; no one will know. Why let him assassinate you? Moreover, if he does, all the Judeans gathered around you will scatter; and the remnant of Y’hudah will perish.” ¹⁶ But G’dalyahu the son of Achikam said to Yochanan the son of Kareach, “Don’t do it. What you are saying about Yishma‘el is not true.”