M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Brides for Benjamin

21 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage.”^{(A) 2} So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God^(B) until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly, ³ and cried out, “Why, Lord God of Israel, has it occurred^[a] that one tribe is missing in Israel today?” ⁴ The next day the people got up early, built an altar there,^(C) and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. ⁵ The Israelites asked, “Who of all the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord with the assembly?” For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the Lord at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.

⁶ But the Israelites had compassion on their brothers, the Benjaminites, and said, “Today a tribe has been cut off from Israel. ⁷ What should we do about wives for the survivors? We’ve sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.” ⁸ They asked, “Which city among the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord at Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly. ⁹ For when the people were counted, no one was there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.

¹⁰ The congregation sent 12,000 brave warriors^[b] there and commanded them: “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword,^(D) including women and children. ¹¹ This is what you should do: Completely destroy every male, as well as every female who has slept with a man.” ¹² They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young women, who had not had sexual relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³ The whole congregation sent a message of peace^(E) to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon. ¹⁴ Benjamin returned at that time, and Israel gave them the women they had kept alive from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.

¹⁵ The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made this gap in the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶ The elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” ¹⁷ They said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. ¹⁸ But we can’t give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed.” ¹⁹ They also said, “Look, there’s an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh,^(F) which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

²⁰ Then they commanded the Benjaminites: “Go and hide in the vineyards. ²¹ Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances,^(G) each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn’t actually give the women to them, so^[c] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.’”

²³ The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities,^(H) and lived in them. ²⁴ At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.

²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel;^(I) everyone did whatever he wanted.^[d]

Appeal to Caesar

25 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.^{(A) 2} Then the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed,^{(B) 3} asking him to do them a favor against Paul,^[a] that he might summon him to Jerusalem. They were preparing an ambush along the road to kill him. ⁴ However, Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly.^{(C) 5} “Therefore,” he said, “let the men of authority among you go down with me and accuse him, if there is any wrong in this man.”

⁶ When he had spent not more than eight or 10 days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, seated at the judge’s bench, he commanded Paul to be brought in.^{(D) 7} When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they were not able to prove,^{(E) 8} while Paul made the defense that, “Neither against the Jewish law,^(F) nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned at all.”

⁹ Then Festus, wanting to do a favor for the Jews,^(G) replied to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem, there to be tried before me on these charges?”

¹⁰ But Paul said: “I am standing at Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as even you can see very well. ¹¹ If then I am doing wrong, or have done anything deserving of death, I do not refuse to die, but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”^(H)

¹² After Festus conferred with his council, he replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go!”

King Agrippa and Bernice Visit Festus

¹³ After some days had passed, King Agrippa^[b] and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid a courtesy call on Festus. ¹⁴ Since they stayed there many days, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There’s a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. ¹⁵ When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented their case and asked for a judgment against him.^{(I) 16} I answered them that it’s not the Romans’ custom to give any man up^[c] before the accused confronts the accusers face to face and has an opportunity to give a defense concerning the charges.^{(J) 17} Therefore, when they had assembled here, I did not delay. The next day I sat at the judge’s bench and ordered the man to be brought in. ¹⁸ Concerning him, the accusers stood up and brought no charge of the sort I was expecting. ¹⁹ Instead they had some disagreements^(K) with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man Paul claimed to be alive. ²⁰ Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there concerning these matters. ²¹ But when Paul appealed to be held for trial by the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar.”

²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow you will hear him,” he replied.^(L)

Paul before Agrippa

²³ So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice^(M) came with great pomp and entered the auditorium with the commanders and prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Then Festus said: “King Agrippa and all men present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community has appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer.^{(N) 25} Now I realized that he had not done anything deserving of death, but when he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.^{(O) 26} I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner and not to indicate the charges against him.”

The Rechabites’ Example

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,^(B) and bring them to one of the chambers^(C) of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”

³ So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴ and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God,^(D) who had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵ I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶ But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab,^(E) son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded: ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. ⁷ You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.’^{(F) 8} We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹ We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done as our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land,^(G) we said: Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies. So we have been living in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: Will you not accept discipline^(H) by listening to My words?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁴ “The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this very day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again,^[a](I) and you have not obeyed Me! ¹⁵ Time and time again^[b] I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: Turn, each one from his evil way of life,^(J) and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them.^(K) Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not pay attention or obey Me.^{(L) 16} Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed Me. ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer.”

¹⁸ Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to always stand before Me.’”^(M)

Psalm 7

Prayer for Justice

A Shiggaion^[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush,^[b] a Benjaminite.

Psalm 8

God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity

For the choir director: on the Gittith.^(AC) A Davidic psalm.