M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Conflict with Ephraim

12 The men of Ephraim were called together and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon.^(A) They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight against the Ammonites but didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house with you in it!”

² Then Jephthah said to them, “My people and I had a bitter conflict with the Ammonites. So I called for you, but you didn’t deliver me from their power. ³ When I saw that you weren’t going to deliver me, I took my life in my own hands and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

⁴ Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, “You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.” ⁵ The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,” ⁶ they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and executed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim died.

⁷ Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.^[a]

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

⁸ Ibzan, who was from Bethlehem,^(B) judged Israel after Jephthah ⁹ and had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage to men outside the tribe and brought back thirty wives for his sons from outside the tribe. Ibzan judged Israel seven years, ¹⁰ and when he died, he was buried in Bethlehem.

¹¹ Elon, who was from Zebulun, judged Israel after Ibzan. He judged Israel ten years, ¹² and when he died, he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, who was from Pirathon,^(C) judged Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. Abdon judged Israel eight years, ¹⁵ and when he died, he was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.^(D)

Paul Selects Timothy

16 Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy,^(A) the son of a believing Jewish woman,^(B) but his father was a Greek. ² The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him.^{(C) 3} Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised^(D) him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe.^{(E) 5} So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.^(F)

Evangelization of Europe

⁶ They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.^{(G) 7} When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus^(H) did not allow them. ⁸ Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas.^{(I) 9} During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” ^{(J) 10} After^(K) he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion

¹¹ From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to Philippi,^(L) a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days. ¹³ On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. ¹⁴ A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.^{(M) 15} After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.”^(N) And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.^(O) She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you^[a] a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” ¹⁸ She did this for many days.

Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.^(P)

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas^(Q) and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. ²⁰ Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews ²¹ and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”^{(R) 22} The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.^{(S) 23} After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully. ²⁴ Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.^(T)

A Midnight Deliverance

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.^{(U) 27} When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸ But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ^(V)

³¹ They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”^{(W) 32} And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. ³³ He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.^(X)

An Official Apology

³⁵ When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”

³⁶ The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”^(Y)

³⁷ But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”^(Z)

³⁸ The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town. ⁴⁰ After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.^(AA)

The Seventy-Year Exile

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon). ² The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: ³ “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon,^(B) king of Judah, until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again,^[a](C) but you have not obeyed. ⁴ The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you time and time again,^[b] but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.^{[c](D) 5} He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds.^(E) Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever.^{(F) 6} Do not follow other gods to serve them and to bow in worship to them,^(G) and do not anger me by the work of your hands.^(H) Then I will do you no harm.

⁷ “‘But you have not obeyed me’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘with the result that you have angered me by the work of your hands and brought disaster on yourselves.’

⁸ “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed my words, ⁹ I am going to send for all the families of the north’^(I)—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘and send for my servant^(J) Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horror^(K) and scorn, and ruins forever.^{(L) 10} I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them—the voice of the groom and the bride,^(M) the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.^{(N) 12} When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, and I will make it a ruin forever.^{(O) 13} I will bring on that land all my words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’”^(P)

The Cup of God’s Wrath

¹⁵ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand and make all the nations to whom I am sending you drink from it.^{(Q) 16} They will drink, stagger,^[d] and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”^(R)

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink from it.

²⁷ “Then you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink,^(U) get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you.’ ²⁸ If^[g] they refuse to accept the cup from your hand and drink, you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: You must drink! ²⁹ For I am already bringing disaster^(V) on the city that bears my name,^(W) so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.’^(X)

Judgment on the Whole World

³⁰ “As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:

³² “This is what the Lord of Armies says:

³³ Those slain by the Lord^(AC) on that day will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,^(AD) gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the soil’s surface.

The Triumphal Entry

11 When^(A) they approached Jerusalem,^(B) at Bethphage and Bethany^(C) near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ² and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. ³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”

⁴ So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, ⁵ and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go.

⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their clothes on the road,^(D) and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.^{[a] 9} Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:

¹¹ He went into Jerusalem^(J) and into the temple.^(K) After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany^(L) with the Twelve.

The Barren Fig Tree Is Cursed

¹² The^(M) next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig^(N) tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit^(O) from you again!”^(P) And his disciples^(Q) heard it.

Cleansing the Temple

¹⁵ They came to Jerusalem,^(R) and he went into the temple^(S) and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers^(T) and the chairs of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. ¹⁷ He was teaching them: “Is it not written,^(U) My house^(V) will be called a house of prayer^(W) for all nations?^[c] But you have made it a den of thieves!”^[d](X)

¹⁸ The chief priests and the scribes^(Y) heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid^(Z) of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.

¹⁹ Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.

The Barren Fig Tree Is Withered

²⁰ Early^(AA) in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. ²¹ Then Peter^(AB) remembered and said to him, “Rabbi,^(AC) look! The fig tree that you cursed^(AD) has withered.”

²² Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.^{(AE) 23} Truly I tell you,^(AF) if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt^(AG) in his heart, but believes^(AH) that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.^{(AI) 24} Therefore I tell you, everything you pray^(AJ) and ask for^(AK)—believe that you have received^[e](AL) it and it will be yours. ²⁵ And whenever you stand^(AM) praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive^(AN) him, so that your Father^(AO) in heaven^(AP) will also forgive^(AQ) you your wrongdoing.”^[f]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²⁷ They^(AR) came again to Jerusalem.^(AS) As he was walking in the temple,^(AT) the chief priests, the scribes,^(AU) and the elders^(AV) came ²⁸ and asked him, “By what authority^(AW) are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;^(AX) then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was John’s baptism^(AY) from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe^(AZ) him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.^{(BA) 33} So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”