M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
35 “Move on to Bethel now, and settle there,” God said to Jacob, “and build an altar to worship me—the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob instructed all those in his household to destroy the idols they had brought with them, and to wash themselves and to put on fresh clothing. 3 “For we are going to Bethel,” he told them, “and I will build an altar there to the God who answered my prayers in the day of my distress, and was with me on my journey.”
4 So they gave Jacob all their idols and their earrings, and he buried them beneath the oak tree near Shechem. 5 Then they started on again. And the terror of God was upon all the cities they journeyed through, so that they were not attacked. 6 Finally they arrived at Luz (also called Bethel), in Canaan. 7 And Jacob erected an altar there and named it “the altar to the God who met me here at Bethel”[a] because it was there at Bethel that God appeared to him when he was fleeing from Esau.
8 Soon after this[b] Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died and was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. And ever after it was called “The Oak of Weeping.”
9 Upon Jacob’s arrival at Bethel, en route from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him once again and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “You shall no longer be called Jacob (‘Grabber’), but Israel (‘One who prevails with God’). 11 I am God Almighty,” the Lord said to him, “and I will cause you to be fertile and to multiply and to become a great nation, yes, many nations; many kings shall be among your descendants. 12 And I will pass on to you the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and to your descendants.”
13-14 Afterwards Jacob built a stone pillar at the place where God had appeared to him; and he poured wine over it as an offering to God and then anointed the pillar with olive oil. 15 Jacob named the spot Bethel (“House of God”), because God had spoken to him there.
16 Leaving Bethel, he and his household traveled on toward Ephrath (Bethlehem). But Rachel’s pains of childbirth began while they were still a long way away. 17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Wonderful—another boy!” 18 And with Rachel’s last breath (for she died) she named him “Ben-oni” (“Son of my sorrow”); but his father called him “Benjamin” (“Son of my right hand”).
19 So Rachel died, and was buried near the road to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set up a monument of stones upon her grave, and it is there to this day.
21 Then Israel journeyed on and camped beyond the Tower of Eder. 22 It was while he was there that Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and someone told Israel about it.
Here are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
23 The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s oldest child, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant girl: Dan, Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant girl: Gad, Asher.
All these were born to him at Paddan-aram.
27 So Jacob came at last to Isaac his father at Mamre in Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham too had lived. 28-29 Isaac died soon afterwards, at the ripe old age of 180. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36 Here is a list of the descendants of Esau (also called Edom): 2-3 Esau married three local girls from Canaan: Adah (daughter of Elon the Hethite), Oholibamah (daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite), Basemath (his cousin[c]—she was a daughter of Ishmael—the sister of Nebaioth).
4 Esau and Adah had a son named Eliphaz. Esau and Basemath had a son named Reuel.
5 Esau and Oholibamah had sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan.
6-8 Then Esau took his wives, children, household servants, cattle and flocks—all the wealth he had gained in the land of Canaan—and moved away from his brother Jacob to Mount Seir. (For there was not land enough to support them both because of all their cattle.)
9 Here are the names of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, born to him in Mount Seir:
10-12 Descended from his wife Adah, born to her son Eliphaz were: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Amalek (born to Timna, Eliphaz’ concubine).
13-14 Esau also had grandchildren from his wife Basemath. Born to her son Reuel were: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah.
15-16 Esau’s grandchildren[d] became the heads of clans, as listed here: the clan of Teman, the clan of Omar, the clan of Zepho, the clan of Kenaz, the clan of Korah, the clan of Gatam, the clan of Amalek.
The above clans were the descendants of Eliphaz, the oldest son of Esau and Adah.
17 The following clans were the descendants of Reuel, born to Esau and his wife Basemath while they lived in Canaan: the clan of Nahath, the clan of Zerah, the clan of Shammah, the clan of Mizzah.
18-19 And these are the clans named after the sons of Esau and his wife Oholibamah (daughter of Anah): the clan of Jeush, the clan of Jalam, the clan of Korah.
20-21 These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir, the Horite—one of the native families of the land of Seir: the tribe of Lotan, the tribe of Shobal, the tribe of Zibeon, the tribe of Anah, the tribe of Dishon, the tribe of Ezer, the tribe of Dishan.
22 The children of Lotan (the son of Seir) were Hori and Heman. (Lotan had a sister, Timna.)
23 The children of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, Onam.
24 The children of Zibeon: Aiah, Anah. (This is the boy who discovered a hot springs in the wasteland while he was grazing his father’s donkeys.)
25 The children of Anah: Dishon, Oholibamah.
26 The children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, Cheran.
27 The children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, Akan.
28-30 The children of Dishan: Uz, Aran.[e]
31-39 These are the names of the kings of Edom (before Israel had her first king):
King Bela (son of Beor), from Dinhabah in Edom.
Succeeded by:[f] King Jobab (son of BoZerah), from the city of Bozrah.
Succeeded by: King Husham, from the land of the Temanites.
Succeeded by: King Hadad (son of Bedad), the leader of the forces that defeated the army of Midian when it invaded Moab. His city was Avith.
Succeeded by: King Samlah, from Masrekah.
Succeeded by: King Shaul, from Rehoboth-by-the-River.
Succeeded by: King Baal-hanan (son of Achbor).
Succeeded by: King Hadad, from the city of Pau.
King Hadad’s wife was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.
40-43 Here are the names of the subtribes of Esau, living in the localities named after themselves: the clan of Timna, the clan of Alvah, the clan of Jetheth, the clan of Oholibamah, the clan of Elah, the clan of Pinon, the clan of Kenaz, the clan of Teman, the clan of Mibzar, the clan of Magdiel, the clan of Iram.
These, then, are the names of the subtribes of Edom, each giving its name to the area it occupied. (All were Edomites, descendants of Esau.)
6 Soon afterwards he left that section of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. 2-3 The next Sabbath he went to the synagogue to teach, and the people were astonished at his wisdom and his miracles because he was just a local man like themselves.
“He’s no better than we are,” they said. “He’s just a carpenter, Mary’s boy, and a brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” And they were offended!
4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and among his relatives and by his own family.” 5 And because of their unbelief he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he could hardly accept the fact that they wouldn’t believe in him.
Then he went out among the villages, teaching.
7 And he called his twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two, with power to cast out demons. 8-9 He told them to take nothing with them except their walking sticks—no food, no knapsack, no money, not even an extra pair of shoes or a change of clothes.
10 “Stay at one home in each village—don’t shift around from house to house while you are there,” he said. 11 “And whenever a village won’t accept you or listen to you, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave; it is a sign that you have abandoned it to its fate.”
12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to turn from sin. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
14 King Herod soon heard about Jesus, for his miracles were talked about everywhere. The king thought Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life again. So the people were saying, “No wonder he can do such miracles.” 15 Others thought Jesus was Elijah the ancient prophet, now returned to life again; still others claimed he was a new prophet like the great ones of the past.
16 “No,” Herod said, “it is John, the man I beheaded. He has come back from the dead.”
17-18 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John because he kept saying it was wrong for the king to marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 19 Herodias wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod’s approval she was powerless. 20 And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, and so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so he liked to listen to him.
21 Herodias’s chance finally came. It was Herod’s birthday and he gave a stag party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22-23 Then Herodias’s daughter came in and danced before them and greatly pleased them all.
“Ask me for anything you like,” the king vowed, “even half of my kingdom, and I will give it to you!”
24 She went out and consulted her mother, who told her, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head!”
25 So she hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist—right now—on a tray!”
26 Then the king was sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests. 27 So he sent one of his bodyguards to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier killed John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl and she took it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came for his body and buried it in a tomb.
30 The apostles now returned to Jesus from their tour and told him all they had done and what they had said to the people they visited.
31 Then Jesus suggested, “Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.” For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat. 32 So they left by boat for a quieter spot. 33 But many people saw them leaving and ran on ahead along the shore and met them as they landed. 34 So the usual vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat; and he had pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he taught them many things they needed to know.
35-36 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “Tell the people to go away to the nearby villages and farms and buy themselves some food, for there is nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late.”
37 But Jesus said,
“With what?” they asked. “It would take a fortune[a] to buy food for all this crowd!”
38 “How much food do we have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and two fish. 39-40 Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down, and soon colorful groups of fifty or a hundred each were sitting on the green grass.
41 He took the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, gave thanks for the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple to place before the people. 42 And the crowd ate until they could hold no more!
43-44 There were about 5,000 men there for that meal, and afterwards twelve basketfuls of scraps were picked up off the grass!
45 Immediately after this Jesus instructed his disciples to get back into the boat and strike out across the lake to Bethsaida, where he would join them later. He himself would stay and tell the crowds good-bye and get them started home.
46 Afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. 47 During the night, as the disciples in their boat were out in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land, 48 he saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves.
About three o’clock in the morning he walked out to them on the water. He started past them, 49 but when they saw something walking along beside them, they screamed in terror, thinking it was a ghost, 50 for they all saw him.
But he spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “It is I! Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat and the wind stopped!
They just sat there, unable to take it in! 52 For they still didn’t realize who he was, even after the miracle the evening before! For they didn’t want to believe![b]
53 When they arrived at Gennesaret on the other side of the lake, they moored the boat 54 and climbed out.
The people standing around there recognized him at once, 55 and ran throughout the whole area to spread the news of his arrival, and began carrying sick folks to him on mats and stretchers. 56 Wherever he went—in villages and cities, and out on the farms—they laid the sick in the market plazas and streets, and begged him to let them at least touch the fringes of his clothes; and as many as touched him were healed.
2 Now the angels[a] came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan was with them.
2 “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.
“From earth, where I’ve been watching everything that’s going on,” Satan replied.
3 “Well, have you noticed my servant Job?” the Lord asked. “He is the finest man in all the earth—a good man who fears God and turns away from all evil. And he has kept his faith in me despite the fact that you persuaded me to let you harm him without any cause.”
4-5 “Skin for skin,” Satan replied. “A man will give anything to save his life. Touch his body with sickness, and he will curse you to your face!”
6 “Do with him as you please,” the Lord replied; “only spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with a terrible case of boils from head to foot. 8 Then Job took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself and sat among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to be godly when God has done all this to you? Curse him and die.”
10 But he replied, “You talk like some heathen woman. What? Shall we receive only pleasant things from the hand of God and never anything unpleasant?” So in all this Job said nothing wrong.
11 When three of Job’s friends heard of all the tragedy that had befallen him, they got in touch with each other and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. 12 Job was so changed that they could scarcely recognize him. Wailing loudly in despair, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air and put earth on their heads to demonstrate their sorrow. 13 Then they sat upon the ground with him silently for seven days and nights, no one speaking a word; for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.
6 Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness?
2-3 Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. 4 Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.
5 For you have become a part of him, and so you died with him, so to speak, when he died;[a] and now you share his new life and shall rise as he did. 6 Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; 7 for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you. 8 And since your old sin-loving nature “died” with Christ, we know that you will share his new life. 9 Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now he lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God. 11 So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God—every part of you—for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes. 14 Sin need never again be your master,[b] for now you are no longer tied to the law where sin enslaves you, but you are free under God’s favor and mercy.
15 Does this mean that now we can go ahead and sin and not worry about it? (For our salvation does not depend on keeping the law but on receiving God’s grace!) Of course not!
16 Don’t you realize that you can choose your own master? You can choose sin (with death) or else obedience (with acquittal). The one to whom you offer yourself—he will take you and be your master, and you will be his slave. 17 Thank God that though you once chose to be slaves of sin, now you have obeyed with all your heart the teaching to which God has committed you. 18 And now you are free from your old master, sin; and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.
19 I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand: just as you used to be slaves to all kinds of sin, so now you must let yourselves be slaves to all that is right and holy.
20 In those days when you were slaves of sin you didn’t bother much with goodness. 21 And what was the result? Evidently not good, since you are ashamed now even to think about those things you used to do, for all of them end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and are slaves of God, and his benefits to you include holiness and everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.