M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

30 When Rachel saw that she was bearing no children for Jacob, Rachel was jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”

² Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you fruit from your womb?”

³ She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go to her, so that she may bear a child for me, and my family will be built up through her.” ⁴ So she gave her servant girl Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he went to her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor. He has heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.^[a]

⁷ Bilhah, Rachel’s servant girl, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “I have had a desperate struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.^[b]

⁹ When Leah saw that she was no longer bearing sons, she took her servant girl Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Zilpah, Leah’s servant girl, bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.^[c]

¹² Zilpah, Leah’s servant girl, bore a second son for Jacob. ¹³ Leah said, “I am blessed, for women will call me blessed.” She named him Asher.^[d]

¹⁴ At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found mandrakes^[e] in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ She said to her, “Isn’t it bad enough that you have taken away my husband? Do you want to take away my son’s mandrakes as well?”

Rachel said, “He will sleep with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come to me, because I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.”

So he slept with her that night. ¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me the wages I deserve, because I gave my servant girl to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.^[f]

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. ²⁰ Leah said, “God has given me a great reward. Now my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne six sons for him.” So she named him Zebulun.^[g]

²¹ Afterward, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. ²³ She conceived, bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph^[h] and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.”

Jacob Versus Laban

²⁵ After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go home to my own place in my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, because you know how much I have served you.”

²⁷ Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have learned by divination^[i] that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ So he said, “Set your wages for me, and I will pay them.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how well I have served you, and how your livestock have fared under my care. ³⁰ For before I came, you had very little, and it has been multiplied many times over. The Lord has blessed you wherever I set foot. Now isn’t it time for me to provide for my own household as well?”

³¹ Laban asked, “What shall I give you?”

Jacob said, “You do not have to give me anything. But if you will do this thing for me, I will continue to take your flock to pasture and watch over it: ³² I will pass through all your flocks today and take all the speckled and spotted sheep, every dark brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled goats. These will be my wages. ³³ This is how I will be able to prove my honesty whenever you demand an accounting of my wages: Any goats that are not spotted or speckled, and any lambs that are not dark brown that are found with me will be treated as stolen.”

³⁴ Laban said, “Very well. We will do what you have said.” ³⁵ But that day Laban removed all the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had any white on it, and all the dark brown sheep, and handed them over to his sons. ³⁶ Then he separated himself from Jacob by a three days’ journey, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Jacob took fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He peeled stripes on them so that the white inside the branches was visible. ³⁸ He put the branches that he had peeled into the gutters of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so the flocks would see them. They conceived when they came to drink. ³⁹ The flocks conceived in front of the branches, and the flocks produced streaked, speckled, and spotted animals. ⁴⁰ Jacob separated the lambs, and he made the flocks face toward the streaked animals and all the black animals in the flock of Laban, and he kept his own herds separate and did not put them into Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ And whenever the stronger animals in the flock were in heat, Jacob laid the branches in the gutters where the flocks could see them, so that they would conceive while looking at the branches. ⁴² But when the weak animals in the flock were in heat, he did not put the branches in. So the weaker animals were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s. ⁴³ The man became much wealthier and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ² This is how it is written in the prophet Isaiah:^[a]

⁴ John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. ⁶ John was clothed in camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He preached, “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! ⁸ I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John Baptizes Jesus

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.”

Satan Tempts Jesus

¹² The Spirit immediately sent Jesus out into the wilderness. ¹³ He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels were serving him.

“Come, Follow Me”

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom^[c] of God. ¹⁵ “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near! Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

¹⁶ As Jesus was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately Jesus called them. They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. ²¹ Then they went into Capernaum.

Jesus Drives Out a Demon

On the next Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² They were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them as one who has authority and not as the experts in the law. ²³ Just then there was a man with an unclean spirit in their synagogue. It cried out, ²⁴ “What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ Jesus rebuked the spirit, saying, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”

²⁶ The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and after crying out with a loud voice, it came out of him. ²⁷ Everyone was so amazed that they began to discuss this with each other. They said, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly through all the region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹ They left the synagogue and went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed, sick with a fever. Without delay they told Jesus about her. ³¹ He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. ³² That evening, when the sun had set, the people kept bringing to him all who were sick and demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town gathered at the door. ³⁴ He healed many people who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.^[d]

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

³⁵ Jesus got up early in the morning, while it was still dark, and went out. He withdrew to a solitary place and was praying there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched for him, ³⁷ and, when they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ He told them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the neighboring villages, so that I can preach there too. In fact, that is why I have come.” ³⁹ Then he went throughout the whole region of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Jesus Heals a Leper

⁴⁰ A leper came to Jesus. He knelt down and begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be clean.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was healed. ⁴³ Then Jesus gave him a stern warning and immediately sent him away. ⁴⁴ He told him, “See that you do not say anything to anyone. Instead go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the sacrifices for your cleansing that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵ But after the man left, he began to proclaim it widely. He spread the word so much that Jesus was no longer able to enter a town openly but stayed outside in deserted places. Yet people kept coming to him from all directions.

6 That night the king could not sleep, so he ordered that the chronicles,^[a] the record of the memorable events of his reign, be brought to him. These accounts were read to the king.

² They found the account about the incident when Mordecai had reported Bigthan^[b] and Teresh, the king’s two eunuchs who had controlled access to the entrance to the palace, who had tried to assassinate King Xerxes.

³ The king said, “What honor and recognition has been given to Mordecai for this?”

Then the servants of the king who were attending him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

⁴ The king said, “Who is in the court?” Just then Haman had come to the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

⁵ The king’s servants said to him, “Look, Haman is standing in the court.” The king said, “Have him come in.”

⁶ When Haman came in, the king said to him, “What should be done to honor the man with whom the king is pleased?”

Haman said in his heart, “Who could there be that the king would be more pleased to honor than me?”

⁷ Haman said to the king, “The man whom the king is pleased to honor ⁸ should be clothed with garments that the king has worn. He should be given a horse on which the king has ridden, and crowned with a crown that has been on the king’s head. ⁹ These clothes and this horse should be delivered by one of the highest ranking noblemen of the king. They should dress up the man whom the king is pleased to honor and let him ride on the horse in the public square of the city. Walking in front of him, they will proclaim, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honor.”

¹⁰ The king said to Haman, “Hurry! Take the clothing and the horse just as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the gatehouse of the king. Do not leave out a thing from whatever you have said.”

¹¹ Haman took the clothing and the horse, clothed Mordecai, had him ride through the public square of the city, and proclaimed before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honor.”

¹² Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his home, mourning, with his head covered. ¹³ Haman reported all this to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends.

His advisors and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent,^[c] you will not overcome him. Instead, you will surely fall before him.”

¹⁴ While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Greeting

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised in advance through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. ³ This gospel is about his Son—who in the flesh^[a] was born a descendant of David, ⁴ who in the spirit^[b] of holiness was declared to be God’s powerful Son by his resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ, our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and the call to be an apostle on behalf of his name, to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, ⁶ including you, who were called by Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Desire to Come to Rome

⁸ First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹ To be sure, God, whom I serve with my spirit by proclaiming the gospel of his Son, is my witness to how constantly I make mention of you. In all my prayers, ¹⁰ I always ask if perhaps at last a way might be opened, if God wills, for me to come to you. ¹¹ I certainly long to see you, in order that I may deliver some spiritual gift to you, so that you are strengthened— ¹² that is, when I am with you, that we will be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, yours and also mine.

¹³ I do not want you to be unaware of the fact, brothers,^[c] that I have often planned to come to you but have been prevented from doing so until now. I wanted to have some fruit among you in the same way as I did among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ I have an obligation both to Greeks and non-Greeks,^[d] to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am eager to proclaim the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

The Power of the Gospel

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed by faith, for faith,^[e] just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”^[f]

God’s Anger on All Who Reject Him

¹⁸ Indeed, God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who try to suppress the truth by unrighteousness. ¹⁹ This happens because what can be known about God is evident among them, because God made it evident among them. ²⁰ In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made. As a result, people are without excuse, ²¹ because, even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.

²² Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human, or like birds, four-footed animals, and crawling things. ²⁴ So, as they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves. ²⁵ Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God handed them over to disgraceful passions. Even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ And, in the same way, their males, after abandoning natural sexual relations with females, were consumed by their lust for one another. Males perform indecent acts with males and receive in themselves the penalty that is fitting for their perversion.

²⁸ And since they did not consider it worthwhile to hold on to the true knowledge of God, God handed them over to a corrupted mind to do things that should never be done. ²⁹ They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and malice. They are gossipers, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent mockers, arrogant boasters, and loudmouths. They dream up evil things. They disobey their parents. ³¹ They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and merciless. ³² Even though they know God’s righteous decree that those who do these things are worthy of death, such people not only continue to do them, but also approve of others who continue to commit such sins.