M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 Now war filled the land—Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim 2 fought against: Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (later called Zoar).
3 These kings (of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela) mobilized their armies in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea). 4 For twelve years they had all been subject to King Chedorlaomer, but now in the thirteenth year, they rebelled.
5-6 One year later, Chedorlaomer and his allies arrived and the slaughter began. For they were victorious over the following tribes at the places indicated: the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim; the Zuzim in Ham; the Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim; the Horites in Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the desert.
7 Then they swung around to Enmishpat (later called Kadesh) and destroyed the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazan-tamar.
8-9 But now the other army, that of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar), unsuccessfully[a] attacked Chedorlaomer and his allies as they were in the Dead Sea Valley (four kings against five). 10 As it happened, the valley was full of asphalt pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some slipped into the pits, and the remainder fled to the mountains. 11 Then the victors plundered[b] Sodom and Gomorrah and carried off all their wealth and food, and went on their homeward way, 12 taking with them Lot—Abram’s nephew[c] who lived in Sodom—and all he owned. 13 One of the men who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was camping among the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite (brother of Eshcol and Aner, Abram’s allies).
14 When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called together the men born into his household, 318 of them in all, and chased after the retiring army as far as Dan. 15 He divided his men and attacked during the night from several directions, and pursued the fleeing army to Hobah, north of Damascus, 16 and recovered everything—the loot that had been taken, his relative Lot, and all of Lot’s possessions, including the women and other captives.
17 As Abram returned from his strike against Chedorlaomer and the other kings at the valley of Shaveh (later called King’s Valley), the king of Sodom came out to meet him, 18 and Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Jerusalem), who was a priest of the God of Highest Heaven, brought him bread and wine. 19-20 Then Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing:
“The blessing of the supreme God, Creator of heaven and earth, be upon you, Abram; and blessed be God, who has delivered your enemies over to you.”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot.
21 The king of Sodom told him, “Just give me back my people who were captured; keep for yourself the booty stolen from my city.”
22 But Abram replied, “I have solemnly promised Jehovah, the supreme God, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take so much as a single thread from you, lest you say, ‘Abram is rich because of what I gave him!’ 24 All I’ll accept is what these young men of mine have eaten; but give a share of the loot to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, my allies.”
13 Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore, 2-3 where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat and taught from it while the people listened on the beach. He used many illustrations such as this one in his sermon:
“A farmer was sowing grain in his fields. 4 As he scattered the seed across the ground, some fell beside a path, and the birds came and ate it. 5 And some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow soil, 6 but the hot sun soon scorched them and they withered and died, for they had so little root. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns choked out the tender blades. 8 But some fell on good soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as he had planted. 9 If you have ears, listen!”
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you always use these hard-to-understand illustrations?”[a]
11 Then he explained to them that only they were permitted to understand about the Kingdom of Heaven, and others were not.
12-13 “For to him who has will more be given,” he told them, “and he will have great plenty; but from him who has not, even the little he has will be taken away. That is why I use these illustrations, so people will hear and see but not understand.[b]
14 “This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah:
‘They hear, but don’t understand; they look, but don’t see! 15 For their hearts are fat and heavy, and their ears are dull, and they have closed their eyes in sleep, 16 so they won’t see and hear and understand and turn to God again, and let me heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 Many a prophet and godly man has longed to see what you have seen and hear what you have heard, but couldn’t.
18 “Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer planting grain: 19 The hard path where some of the seeds fell represents the heart of a person who hears the Good News about the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it; then Satan[c] comes and snatches away the seeds from his heart. 20 The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the message and receives it with real joy, 21 but he doesn’t have much depth in his life, and the seeds don’t root very deeply, and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution begins because of his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and he drops out. 22 The ground covered with thistles represents a man who hears the message, but the cares of this life and his longing for money choke out God’s Word, and he does less and less for God. 23 The good ground represents the heart of a man who listens to the message and understands it and goes out and brings thirty, sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom.”[d]
24 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer sowing good seed in his field; 25 but one night as he slept, his enemy came and sowed thistles among the wheat. 26 When the crop began to grow, the thistles grew too.
27 “The farmer’s men came and told him, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that choice seed is full of thistles!’
28 “‘An enemy has done it,’ he exclaimed.
“‘Shall we pull out the thistles?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied. ‘You’ll hurt the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them, and put the wheat in the barn.’”
31-32 Here is another of his illustrations: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter.”
33 He also used this example:
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman making bread. She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast until it permeates every part of the dough.”
34-35 Jesus constantly used these illustrations when speaking to the crowds. In fact, because the prophets said that he would use so many, he never spoke to them without at least one illustration. For it had been prophesied, “I will talk in parables; I will explain mysteries hidden since the beginning of time.”[e] 36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, he went into the house. His disciples asked him to explain to them the illustration of the thistles and the wheat.
37 “All right,” he said, “I am[f] the farmer who sows the choice seed. 38 The field is the world, and the seed represents the people of the Kingdom; the thistles are the people belonging to Satan. 39 The enemy who sowed the thistles among the wheat is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.
40 “Just as in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so shall it be at the end of the world: 41 I[g] will send my angels, and they will separate out of the Kingdom every temptation and all who are evil, 42 and throw them into the furnace and burn them. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the godly shall shine as the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Let those with ears, listen!
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure a man discovered in a field. In his excitement, he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and get the treasure, too!
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 He discovered a real bargain—a pearl of great value—and sold everything he owned to purchase it!
47-48 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a fisherman—he casts a net into the water and gathers in fish of every kind, valuable and worthless. When the net is full, he drags it up onto the beach and sits down and sorts out the edible ones into crates and throws the others away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world—the angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly, 50 casting the wicked into the fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Those experts in Jewish law who are now my disciples have double treasures—from the Old Testament as well as from the New!”[h]
53-54 When Jesus had finished giving these illustrations, he returned to his hometown, Nazareth in Galilee,[i] and taught there in the synagogue and astonished everyone with his wisdom and his miracles.
55 “How is this possible?” the people exclaimed. “He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary his mother and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 And his sisters—they all live here. How can he be so great?” 57 And they became angry with him!
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people!” 58 And so he did only a few great miracles there, because of their unbelief.
3 Then Eliashib the High Priest and the other priests rebuilt the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel; then they rebuilt the Sheep Gate, hung its doors, and dedicated it. 2 Men from the city of Jericho worked next to them, and beyond them was the work crew led by Zaccur (son of Imri).
3 The Fish Gate was built by the sons of Hassenaah; they did the whole thing—cut the beams, hung the doors, and made the bolts and bars. 4 Meremoth (son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz) repaired the next section of wall, and beyond him were Meshullam (son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel) and Zadok (son of Baana). 5 Next were the men from Tekoa, but their leaders were lazy and didn’t help.
6 The Old Gate was repaired by Joiada (son of Paseah) and Meshullam (son of Besodeiah). They laid the beams, set up the doors, and installed the bolts and bars. 7 Next to them were Melatiah from Gibeon; Jadon from Meronoth; and men from Gibeon and Mizpah, who were citizens of the province. 8 Uzziel (son of Harhaiah) was a goldsmith by trade, but he too worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. Repairs were not needed from there to the Broad Wall.
9 Rephaiah (son of Hur), the mayor of half of Jerusalem, was next down the wall from them. 10 Jedaiah (son of Harumaph) repaired the wall beside his own house, and next to him was Hattush (son of Hashabneiah). 11 Then came Malchijah (son of Harim) and Hasshub (son of Pahath-moab), who repaired the Furnace Tower in addition to a section of the wall. 12 Shallum (son of Hallohesh) and his daughters repaired the next section. He was the mayor of the other half of Jerusalem.
13 The people from Zanoah, led by Hanun, built the Valley Gate, hung the doors, and installed the bolts and bars; then they repaired the 1,500 feet of wall to the Dung Gate.
14 The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah (son of Rechab), the mayor of the Beth-haccherem area; and after building it, he hung the doors and installed the bolts and bars.
15 Shallum (son of Col-hozeh), the mayor of the Mizpah district, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, roofed it, hung its doors, and installed its locks and bars. Then he repaired the wall from the pool of Siloam to the king’s garden and the stairs that descend from the City of David section of Jerusalem. 16 Next to him was Nehemiah (son of Azbuk), the mayor of half the Beth-zur district; he built as far as the royal cemetery, the water reservoir, and the old Officers’ Club building.[a] 17 Next was a group of Levites working under the supervision of Rehum (son of Bani). Then came Hashabiah, the mayor of half the Keilah district, who supervised the building of the wall in his own district. 18 Next down the line were his clan brothers led by Bavvai (son of Henadad), the mayor of the other half of the Keilah district.
19 Next to them the workers were led by Ezer (son of Jeshua), the mayor of another part of Mizpah; they also worked on the section of wall across from the armory where the wall turns. 20 Next to him was Baruch (son of Zabbai), who built from the turn in the wall to the home of Eliashib the High Priest. 21 Meremoth (son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz) built a section of the wall extending from a point opposite the door of Eliashib’s house to the side of the house.
22 Then came the priests from the plains outside the city.[b] 23 Benjamin, Hasshub, and Azariah (son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah) repaired the sections next to their own houses. 24 Next was Binnui (son of Henadad), who built the portion of the wall from Azariah’s house to the corner. 25 Palal (son of Uzai) carried on the work from the corner to the foundations of the upper tower of the king’s castle beside the prison yard. Next was Pedaiah (son of Parosh).
26 The Temple attendants living in Ophel repaired the wall as far as the East Water Gate and the Projecting Tower. 27 Then came the Tekoites, who repaired the section opposite the Castle Tower and over to the wall of Ophel. 28 The priests repaired the wall beyond the Horse Gate, each one doing the section immediately opposite his own house.
29 Zadok (son of Immer) also rebuilt the wall next to his own house, and beyond him was Shemaiah (son of Shecaniah), the gatekeeper of the East Gate. 30 Next was Hananiah (son of Shelemiah); Hanun (the sixth son of Zalaph); and Meshullam (son of Berechiah), who built next to his own house. 31 Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the Temple attendants’ and merchants’ Guild Hall, opposite the Muster Gate; then to the upper room at the corner. 32 The other goldsmiths and merchants completed the wall from that corner to the Sheep Gate.
13 Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch were Barnabas and Symeon (also called “The Black Man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the foster-brother of King Herod), and Paul. 2 One day as these men were worshiping and fasting the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Paul for a special job I have for them.” 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them—and sent them on their way.
4 Directed by the Holy Spirit they went to Seleucia and then sailed for Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogue and preached. (John Mark went with them as their assistant.)
6-7 Afterwards they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a fake prophet named Bar-Jesus. He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding. The governor invited Barnabas and Paul to visit him, for he wanted to hear their message from God. 8 But the sorcerer, Elymas (his name in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Paul and Barnabas said, trying to keep him from trusting the Lord.
9 Then Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, glared angrily at the sorcerer and said, 10 “You son of the devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never end your opposition to the Lord? 11 And now God has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness.”
Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. 12 When the governor saw what happened, he believed and was astonished at the power of God’s message.
13 Now Paul and those with him left Paphos by ship for Turkey,[a] landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark deserted them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But Barnabas and Paul went on to Antioch, a city in the province of Pisidia.
On the Sabbath they went into the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the Books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of instruction for us come and give it!”
16 So Paul stood, waved a greeting to them[b] and began. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and all others here who reverence God, let me begin my remarks with a bit of history.
17 “The God of this nation Israel chose our ancestors and honored them in Egypt by gloriously leading them out of their slavery. 18 And he nursed them through forty years of wandering around in the wilderness. 19-20 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave Israel their land as an inheritance. Judges ruled for about four hundred and fifty years and were followed by Samuel the prophet.
21 “Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul (son of Kish), a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. 22 But God removed him and replaced him with David as king, a man about whom God said, ‘David (son of Jesse) is a man after my own heart, for he will obey me.’ 23 And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!
24 “But before he came, John the Baptist preached the need for everyone in Israel to turn from sin to God. 25 As John was finishing his work he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No! But he is coming soon—and in comparison with him, I am utterly worthless.’
26 “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also all of you Gentiles here who reverence God—this salvation is for all of us! 27 The Jews in Jerusalem and their leaders fulfilled prophecy by killing Jesus; for they didn’t recognize him or realize that he is the one the prophets had written about, though they heard the prophets’ words read every Sabbath. 28 They found no just cause to execute him, but asked Pilate to have him killed anyway. 29 When they had fulfilled all the prophecies concerning his death, he was taken from the cross and placed in a tomb.
30 “But God brought him back to life again! 31 And he was seen many times during the next few days by the men who had accompanied him to Jerusalem from Galilee—these men have constantly testified to this in public witness.
32-33 “And now Barnabas and I are here to bring you this Good News—that God’s promise to our ancestors has come true in our own time, in that God brought Jesus back to life again. This is what the second Psalm is talking about when it says concerning Jesus, ‘Today I have honored you as my Son.’[c]
34 “For God had promised to bring him back to life again, no more to die. This is stated in the Scripture that says, ‘I will do for you the wonderful thing I promised David.’ 35 In another Psalm he explained more fully, saying, ‘God will not let his Holy One decay.’ 36 This was not a reference to David, for after David had served his generation according to the will of God, he died and was buried, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to another[d]—someone God brought back to life, whose body was not touched at all by the ravages of death.
38 “Brothers! Listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins! 39 Everyone who trusts in him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous—something the Jewish law could never do. 40 Oh, be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, 41 ‘Look and perish, you despisers of the truth,[e] for I am doing something in your day—something that you won’t believe when you hear it announced.’”
42 As the people left the synagogue that day, they asked Paul to return and speak to them again the next week. 43 And many Jews and godly Gentiles who worshiped at the synagogue followed Paul and Barnabas down the street as the two men urged them to accept the mercies God was offering. 44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the Word of God.
45 But when the Jewish leaders[f] saw the crowds, they were jealous, and cursed and argued against whatever Paul said.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that this Good News from God should be given first to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and shown yourselves unworthy of eternal life—well, we will offer it to Gentiles. 47 For this is as the Lord commanded when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to lead them from the farthest corners of the earth to my salvation.’”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and rejoiced in Paul’s message; and as many as wanted[g] eternal life, believed. 49 So God’s message spread all through that region.
50 Then the Jewish leaders stirred up both the godly women and the civic leaders of the city and incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas, and ran them out of town. 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against the town and went on to the city of Iconium. 52 And their converts[h] were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.