M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
2 The heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them.[a] 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on it he rested from all his work of creation that he had done.
The Creation of Man and Woman
4 This is the account about the development[b] of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens:
5 No bushes that grow in the field were yet on the earth,[c] and no plants of the field had yet sprung up, since the Lord God had not yet caused it to rain on the earth. There was not yet a man to till the soil, 6 but water[d] came up from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground.
7 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground[e] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden[f] in Eden in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God made every kind of tree grow—trees that are pleasant to look at and good for food, including the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
10 A river went out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became the headwaters of four rivers. 11 The name of the first river is Pishon. It flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, 12 and the gold of that land is good. Incense[g] and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that winds through the whole land of Cush.[h] 14 The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one which flows along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it. 16 The Lord God gave a command to the man. He said, “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden, 17 but you shall not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for on the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.” 19 Out of the soil the Lord God had formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for Adam[i] no helper was found who was a suitable partner for him. 21 The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, the Lord God took a rib[j] and closed up the flesh where it had been. 22 The Lord God built a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man and brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
Now this one is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh.
She will be called “woman,”
because she was taken out of man.[k]
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother
and will remain united with his wife,
and they will become one flesh.[l]
25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, 2 “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose[a] and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and experts in the law. He asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet:
6 You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people, Israel.”[b]
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.”
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. Then the star they had seen when it rose[c] went ahead of them, until it stood still over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy. 11 After they went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.
Flight to Egypt
13 After the Wise Men were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod will search for the child in order to kill him.”
14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod. This happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[d]
Herod Kills the Boys
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Wise Men, he was furious. He issued orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under. This was in keeping with the exact time he had learned from the Wise Men. 17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she refused to be comforted,
because they are no more.[e]
Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. The angel said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded his father as ruler in Judea, he was afraid to go there. Since he had been warned in a dream, he went to the region of Galilee. 23 When he arrived there, he settled in a city called Nazareth. So what was spoken through the prophets was fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”[f]
The List of Those Who Returned
2 Now these are the people[a] of the province who went up from the captivity of the exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had exiled to Babylon. 2 The people who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua,[b] Nehemiah, Seraiah, Re’elaiah,[c] Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Ba’anah returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each man to his own city.
This is the tally of the men from the people of Israel:[d]
| 3 the male descendants[e] of Parosh: | 2,172 |
| 4 the male descendants of Shephatiah: | 372 |
| 5 the male descendants of Arah: | 775 |
| 6 the male descendants of Pahath Moab through the descendants of Jeshua and Joab: | 2,812 |
| 7 the male descendants of Elam: | 1,254 |
| 8 the male descendants of Zattu: | 945 |
| 9 the male descendants of Zakkai: | 760 |
| 10 the male descendants of Bani: | 642 |
| 11 the male descendants of Bebai: | 623 |
| 12 the male descendants of Azgad: | 1,222 |
| 13 the male descendants of Adonikam: | 666 |
| 14 the male descendants of Bigvai: | 2,056 |
| 15 the male descendants of Adin: | 454 |
| 16 the male descendants of Ater through Hezekiah: | 98 |
| 17 the male descendants of Bezai: | 323 |
| 18 the male descendants of Jorah: | 112 |
| 19 the male descendants of Hashum: | 223 |
| 20 the male descendants of Gibbar: | 95 |
| 21 the citizens[f] of Bethlehem: | 123 |
| 22 the men of Netophah: | 56 |
| 23 the men of Anathoth: | 128 |
| 24 the citizens of Azmaveth: | 42 |
| 25 the citizens of Kiriath Arim,[g] Kephirah, and Be’eroth: | 743 |
| 26 the citizens of Ramah and Geba: | 621 |
| 27 the men of Mikmash: | 122 |
| 28 the men of Bethel and Ai: | 223 |
| 29 the citizens of Nebo: | 52 |
| 30 the citizens of Magbish: | 156 |
| 31 the citizens of the other Elam: | 1,254 |
| 32 the citizens of Harim: | 320 |
| 33 the citizens of Lod, Hadid, and Ono: | 725 |
| 34 the citizens of Jericho: | 345 |
| 35 the citizens of Sena’ah: | 3,630 |
| 36 The priests:the descendants[h] of Jedaiah through the house of Jeshua: | 973 |
| 37 the descendants of Immer: | 1,052 |
| 38 the descendants of Pashhur: | 1,247 |
| 39 the descendants of Harim: | 1,017 |
| 40 The Levites:the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel through the descendants of Hodaviah: | 74 |
| 41 The singers:the descendants of Asaph: | 128 |
| 42 The descendants of the gatekeepers:the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater,the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub,the descendants of Hatita, the descendants of Shobai, in total: | 139 |
43 The temple servants:
the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha,
the descendants of Tabbaoth, 44 the descendants of Keros,
the descendants of Siaha, the descendants of Padon,
45 the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah,
the descendants of Akkub, 46 the descendants of Hagab,
the descendants of Shamlai,[i] the descendants of Hanan,
47 the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar,
the descendants of Reaiah, 48 the descendants of Rezin,
the descendants of Nekoda, the descendants of Gazzam,
49 the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah,
the descendants of Besai, 50 the descendants of Asnah,
the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephusim,[j]
51 the descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha,
the descendants of Harhur, 52 the descendants of Bazluth,
the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha,
53 the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera,
the descendants of Temah, 54 the descendants of Neziah,
the descendants of Hatipha.
55 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:
the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Hassophereth,
the descendants of Peruda, 56 the descendants of Ja’alah,
the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel,
57 the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil,
the descendants of Pokereth Hazzebaim, the descendants of Ami.
58 The total of the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants was 392.
59 The following are the people who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer. They were not able to prove their ancestry or descent—whether they were from Israel:
60 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah,
the descendants of Nekoda: 652,
61 from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai, through a man who married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and so they were called by his family name.
62 These people searched for their genealogical records, but they could not find them, so they were disqualified from the priesthood. 63 The governor told them that they should not eat from the most holy sacrifices until a priest would arise who could serve with Urim and Thummim.
64 The entire assembly together numbered 42,360, 65 not counting their male slaves and their female slaves, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers. 66 Their horses numbered 736, their mules 245, 67 their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.
68 So when the heads of the families came to the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, they gave voluntary contributions for God’s house in order to construct it on its site. 69 On the basis of their wealth, they gave the following amounts to the treasury to support the work: 61,000 gold darics,[k] 5,000 silver minas,[l] and 100 garments for the priests.
70 The priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the temple servants, and some of the people settled in Jerusalem and its towns,[m] and all the rest of Israel settled in their towns.
The Holy Spirit Comes on Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the rushing of a violent wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw divided tongues that were like fire resting on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, since the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak fluently.
5 Now there were godly Jewish men from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 When this sound was heard, a crowd came together and was confused, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were completely baffled and said to each other,[a] “Look, are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them speaking in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, and of Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own languages the wonderful works of God.” 12 They were all amazed and perplexed. They kept saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocked them and said, “They are full of new wine.”
Peter’s Pentecost Message
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and spoke loudly and clearly to them: “Men of Judea, and all you residents of Jerusalem, understand this, and listen closely to my words. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day.[b] 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 This is what God says will happen in the last days:
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and a rising cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And this will happen: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.[c]
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man recommended to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know. 23 This man, who was handed over by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, you[d] killed by having lawless men nail him to a cross. 24 He is the one God raised up by freeing him from the agony of death, because death was not able to hold him in its grip.
25 “Indeed, David says concerning him:
I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad,
and my tongue rejoiced.
My flesh also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon my life to the grave,[e]
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life.
You will fill me with joy in your presence.[f]
29 “Gentlemen, brothers, I can speak confidently to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one of his descendants[g] on his throne,[h] 31 he saw what was coming and spoke about the resurrection of Christ, saying that he[i] was neither abandoned to the grave nor did his flesh see decay.[j]
32 “This Jesus is the one God has raised up. We are all witnesses of that. 33 So, after he was exalted to the right hand of God and after he received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out what you are now seeing and hearing.
34 “For David did not ascend into heaven, and yet he says:
The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool under your feet.’[k]
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 Now when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Gentlemen, brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter answered them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your[l] sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40 He testified solemnly with many other words and was appealing to them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
41 Those who[m] accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.
The Christians Lived in Unity
42 They continued to hold firmly to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers. 43 Awe came over every soul,[n] and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They were selling their possessions and property and were distributing the proceeds according to what anyone needed.
46 Day after day, with one mind, they were devoted to meeting in the temple area, as they continued to break bread in their homes. They shared their food with glad and sincere hearts, 47 as they continued praising God and being viewed favorably by all the people. Day after day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.