M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
18 The Lord appeared again to Abraham while he was living in the oak grove at Mamre. This is the way it happened: One hot summer afternoon as he was sitting in the opening of his tent, 2 he suddenly noticed three men coming toward him. He sprang up and ran to meet them and welcomed them.
3-4 “Sirs,” he said, “please don’t go any farther. Stop awhile and rest here in the shade of this tree while I get water to refresh your feet, 5 and a bite to eat to strengthen you. Do stay awhile before continuing your journey.”
“All right,” they said, “do as you have said.”
6 Then Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Mix up some pancakes![a] Use your best flour, and make enough for the three of them!” 7 Then he ran out to the herd and selected a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it. 8 Soon, taking them cheese and milk and the roast veal, he set it before the men and stood beneath the trees beside them as they ate.
9 “Where is Sarah, your wife?” they asked him.
“In the tent,” Abraham replied.
10 Then the Lord said, “Next year[b] I will give you and Sarah a son!” (Sarah was listening from the tent door behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long since past the time when she could have a baby.
12 So Sarah laughed silently. “A woman my age have a baby?” she scoffed to herself. “And with a husband as old as mine?”
13 Then God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for God? Next year, just as I told you, I will certainly see to it that Sarah has a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she lied, for she was afraid.
16 Then the men stood up from their meal and started on toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them part of the way.
17 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” God asked. 18 “For Abraham shall become a mighty nation, and he will be a source of blessing for all the nations of the earth. 19 And I have picked him out to have godly descendants and a godly household—men who are just and good—so that I can do for him all I have promised.”
20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are utterly evil, and that everything they do is wicked. 21 I am going down to see whether these reports are true or not. Then I will know.”
22-23 So the other two went on toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham a while. Then Abraham approached him and said, “Will you kill good and bad alike? 24 Suppose you find fifty godly people there within the city—will you destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes? 25 That wouldn’t be right! Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, to kill the godly with the wicked! Why, you would be treating godly and wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth be fair?”
26 And God replied, “If I find fifty godly people there, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to the Lord, though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?”
And God said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five.”
29 Then Abraham went further with his request. “Suppose there are only forty?”
And God replied, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty.”
30 “Please don’t be angry,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak: suppose only thirty are found there?”
And God replied, “I won’t do it if there are thirty there.”
31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to God, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”
And God said, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
32 Finally, Abraham said, “Oh, let not the Lord be angry; I will speak but this once more! Suppose only ten are found?”
And God said, “Then, for the sake of the ten, I won’t destroy it.”
33 And the Lord went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham. And Abraham returned to his tent.
17 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John to the top of a high and lonely hill, 2 and as they watched, his appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun and his clothing became dazzling white.
3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with him. 4 Peter blurted out, “Sir, it’s wonderful that we can be here! If you want me to, I’ll make three shelters,[a] one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him. Obey him.”[b]
6 At this the disciples fell face downward to the ground, terribly frightened. 7 Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said, “don’t be afraid.”
8 And when they looked, only Jesus was with them.
9 As they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead.
10 His disciples asked, “Why do the Jewish leaders insist Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”[c]
11 Jesus replied, “They are right. Elijah must come and set everything in order. 12 And, in fact, he has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and was badly mistreated by many. And I, the Messiah,[d] shall also suffer at their hands.”
13 Then the disciples realized he was speaking of John the Baptist.
14 When they arrived at the bottom of the hill, a huge crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is mentally deranged and in great trouble, for he often falls into the fire or into the water; 16 so I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”
17 Jesus replied, “Oh, you stubborn, faithless people! How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy and it left him, and from that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterwards the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”
20 “Because of your little faith,” Jesus told them. “For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible. 21 But this kind of demon won’t leave unless you have prayed and gone without food.”[e]
22-23 One day while they were still in Galilee, Jesus told them, “I am going to be betrayed into the power of those who will kill me, and on the third day afterwards I will be brought back to life again.” And the disciples’ hearts were filled with sorrow and dread.
24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your master pay taxes?”
25 “Of course he does,” Peter replied.
Then he went into the house to talk to Jesus about it, but before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings levy assessments against their own people or against conquered foreigners?”
26-27 “Against the foreigners,” Peter replied.
“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the shore and throw in a line, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin to cover the taxes for both of us; take it and pay them.”
7 After the wall was finished and we had hung the doors in the gates and had appointed the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites, 2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and to Hananiah, the commander of the fortress—a very faithful man who revered God more than most people do. 3 I issued instructions to them not to open the Jerusalem gates until well after sunrise, and to close and lock them while the guards were still on duty. I also directed that the guards be residents of Jerusalem, and that they must be on duty at regular times, and that each homeowner who lived near the wall must guard the section of wall next to his own home. 4 For the city was large, but the population was small; and only a few houses were scattered throughout the city.
5 Then the Lord told me to call together all the leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. For I had found the record of the genealogies of those who had returned to Judah before, and this is what was written in it:
6 “The following is a list of the names of the Jews who returned to Judah after being exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
7 “Their leaders were: Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.
“The others who returned at that time were:
8-38 From the subclan of Parosh, 2,172;
From the subclan of Shephatiah, 372;
From the subclan of Arah, 652;
From the families of Jeshua and Joab of the subclan of Pahath-moab, 2,818;
From the subclan of Elam, 1,254;
From the subclan of Zattu, 845;
From the subclan of Zaccai, 760;
From the subclan of Binnui, 648;
From the subclan of Bebai, 628;
From the subclan of Azgad, 2,322;
From the subclan of Adonikam, 667;
From the subclan of Bigvai, 2,067;
From the subclan of Adin, 655;
From the family of Hezekiah of the subclan of Ater, 98;
From the subclan of Hashum, 328;
From the subclan of Bezai, 324;
From the subclan of Hariph, 112;
From the subclan of Gibeon, 95;
From the subclans of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;
From the subclan of Anathoth, 128;
From the subclan of Beth-azmaveth, 42;
From the subclans of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
From the subclans of Ramah and Geba, 621;
From the subclan of Michmas, 122;
From the subclans of Bethel and Ai, 123;
From the subclan of Nebo, 52;
From the subclan of Elam, 1,254;
From the subclan of Harim, 320;
From the subclan of Jericho, 345;
From the subclans of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;
From the subclan of Senaah, 3,930.
39-42 “Here are the statistics concerning the returning priests:
From the family of Jeshua of the subclan of Jedaiah, 973;
From the subclan of Immer, 1,052;
From the subclan of Pashhur, 1,247;
From the subclan of Harim, 1,017.
43-45 “Here are the statistics concerning the Levites:
From the family of Kadmiel of the subclan of Hodevah of the clan of Jeshua, 74;
The choir members from the clan of Asaph, 148;
From the clans of Shallum, (all of whom were gatekeepers), 138.
46-56 “Of the Temple assistants, the following subclans were represented: Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Sia, Padon, Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephushesim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazlith, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, Hatipha.
57-59 “Following is a list of the descendants of Solomon’s officials who returned to Judah: Sotai, Sophereth, Perida, Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth-hazzebaim, Amon.
60 “In all, the Temple assistants and the descendants of Solomon’s officers numbered 392.”
61 Another group returned to Jerusalem at that time from the Persian cities of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer. But they had lost their genealogies and could not prove their Jewish ancestry; 62 these were the subclans of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda—a total of 642.
63 There were also several subclans of priests named after Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (he married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and took her family name), 64-65 whose genealogies had been lost. So they were not allowed to continue as priests or even to receive the priests’ share of food from the sacrifices until the Urim and Thummim had been consulted to find out from God whether or not they actually were descendants of priests.
66 There was a total of 42,360 citizens who returned to Judah at that time; 67 also, 7,337 slaves and 245 choir members, both men and women. 68-69 They took with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
70 Some of their leaders gave gifts for the work. The governor gave $5,000 in gold, 50 gold bowls, and 530 sets of clothing for the priests. 71 The other leaders gave a total of $100,000 in gold and $77,000 in silver; 72 and the common people gave $100,000 in gold, $70,000 in silver, and sixty-seven sets of clothing for the priests.
73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the choir members, the Temple attendants, and the rest of the people now returned home to their own towns and villages throughout Judah. But during the month of September, they came back to Jerusalem.
17 Now they traveled through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went there to preach, and for three Sabbaths in a row he opened the Scriptures to the people, 3 explaining the prophecies about the sufferings of the Messiah and his coming back to life, and proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 4 Some who listened were persuaded and became converts—including a large number of godly Greek men and also many important women of the city.[a]
5 But the Jewish leaders were jealous and incited some worthless fellows from the streets to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, planning to take Paul and Silas to the City Council for punishment.
6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers, and took them before the Council instead. “Paul and Silas have turned the rest of the world upside down, and now they are here disturbing our city,” they shouted, 7 “and Jason has let them into his home. They are all guilty of treason, for they claim another king, Jesus, instead of Caesar.”
8-9 The people of the city, as well as the judges, were concerned at these reports and let them go only after they had posted bail.
10 That night the Christians hurried Paul and Silas to Berea, and, as usual,[b] they went to the synagogue to preach. 11 But the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and gladly listened to the message. They searched the Scriptures day by day to check up on Paul and Silas’ statements to see if they were really so. 12 As a result, many of them believed, including several prominent Greek women and many men also.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching in Berea, they went over and stirred up trouble. 14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 Those accompanying Paul went on with him to Athens and then returned to Berea with a message for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere throughout the city. 17 He went to the synagogue for discussions with the Jews and the devout Gentiles, and spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
18 He also had an encounter with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Their reaction, when he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, was, “He’s a dreamer,” or, “He’s pushing some foreign religion.”
19 But they invited him to the forum at Mars Hill. “Come and tell us more about this new religion,” they said, 20 “for you are saying some rather startling things and we want to hear more.” 21 (I should explain that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest new ideas!)
22 So Paul, standing before them at the Mars Hill forum, addressed them as follows:
“Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious, 23 for as I was out walking I saw your many altars, and one of them had this inscription on it—‘To the Unknown God.’ You have been worshiping him without knowing who he is, and now I wish to tell you about him.
24 “He made the world and everything in it, and since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples; 25 and human hands can’t minister to his needs—for he has no needs! He himself gives life and breath to everything, and satisfies every need there is. 26 He created all the people of the world from one man, Adam,[c] and scattered the nations across the face of the earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and when. He determined their boundaries.
27 “His purpose in all of this is that they should seek after God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and are! As one of your own poets says it, ‘We are the sons of God.’ 29 If this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol made by men from gold or silver or chipped from stone. 30 God tolerated man’s past ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone to put away idols and worship only him. 31 For he has set a day for justly judging the world by the man he has appointed, and has pointed him out by bringing him back to life again.”
32 When they heard Paul speak of the resurrection of a person who had been dead, some laughed, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them, 34 but a few joined him and became believers. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the City Council, and a woman named Damaris, and others.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.