M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Return to Bethel
35 God said to Jacob, “Get up and go to Bethel, and live there. Make an altar there for God, who appeared to you when you fled from the presence of Esau your brother.”
2 Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothing. 3 Let’s get up and go to Bethel. I will make an altar there for God, who answered me in the day when I was in trouble and who has been with me wherever I have traveled.”
4 They gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.
5 They set out, and terror from God fell on the cities that were around them, so they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. 6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 He built an altar there and named the place El Beth El,[a] because God had been revealed to him there, when he fled from the presence of his brother.
8 Deborah, who was Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under the oak below Bethel. So the place was named Allon Bacuth.[b]
9 God appeared to Jacob again after he had come from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him.[c] 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will not be Jacob anymore. Your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.[d] 11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a community of nations will descend from you, and kings will come from your body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give also to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
13 God left him in the place where he had spoken with him, 14 and Jacob set up a memorial in the place where God had spoken with him. It was a memorial stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 Jacob named the place where God spoke with him Bethel.
Jacob’s Sons
16 Then they traveled from Bethel. As they were coming close to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She was experiencing hard labor, 17 and when she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.”
18 Then as her life was slipping away[e] (for she was dying), she named her son Benoni,[f] but his father named him Benjamin.[g] 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a memorial stone on her grave. It is the marker for Rachel’s tomb to this day. 21 Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.[h]
22 While Israel lived in that region, Reuben went and lay down with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons.
23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s maid) were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s maid) were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre near Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens.
The Death of Isaac
28 The days of Isaac’s life were one hundred eighty years. 29 Isaac breathed his last and died. He was gathered to his people. He had lived a long, full life. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
Esau’s Descendants
36 Now this is the account about the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom): 2 Esau took Canaanite women as his wives. They were Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. 3 He also married Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.
4 Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau.
Basemath gave birth to Reuel.
5 Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, along with his livestock, all his animals, and all the possessions that he had accumulated in the land of Canaan, and he went into another land, away from his brother Jacob. 7 Their herds were too large for them to stay together, and the land where they had settled could not support both of them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is another name for Edom.)
9 This is the account about the descendants of Esau, who was the founding father of Edom in the hill country of Seir:
10 The following are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna was the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, and she gave birth to Amalek for Eliphaz. These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
13 The following are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
14 The following were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon. She gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.
The Chiefs of the Clans of Edom
15 The following are the chiefs of the clans of the descendants of Esau:
From the descendants of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau they were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz, 16 Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These are the chiefs who descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the descendants of Adah.
17 The following are the descendants of Esau’s son Reuel: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs who descended from Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath.
18 The following are the descendants of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: Chief Jeush, Chief Jalam, and Chief Korah. These are the chiefs who came from Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 19 These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
Other People of Edom
20 The following are the sons of Seir the Horite, who lived in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who descended from the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the land of Edom.
22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan’s sister was Timna.
23 The following are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 The following are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness as he was feeding the donkeys of Zibeon his father.
25 The following are the descendants of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
26 The following are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.
27 The following are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Za’avan, and Akan.
28 The following are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29 The following are the chiefs who descended from the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah, 30 Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These are the chiefs who came from the Horites, according to their chiefdoms in the land of Seir.
Kings of Edom
31 The following are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the people of Israel:
32 Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.
34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
35 Husham died, and Hadad son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the territory of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.
36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.
37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place.
38 Shaul died, and Baal Hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.
39 Baal Hanan son of Achbor died, and Hadad[i] reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
40 The following are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, listed according to their clans, their territory, and their names: Chief Timna, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, 41 Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 42 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 43 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to the territory they inhabited in the land they possessed. (Edom is another name for Esau, the father of the Edomites.)
A Prophet Without Honor
6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown. His disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did this man learn these things? What is this wisdom that has been given to this man? How is it that miracles such as these are performed by his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own house.” 5 He could not do any miracles there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around the villages teaching.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
7 Jesus called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their money belts. 9 They were to put on sandals but not to wear two coats. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. 11 Any place that will not receive you or listen to you, as you leave there, shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They also drove out many demons. They anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Recalling the Death of John the Baptizer
14 King Herod heard about this because Jesus’ name had become well known. Herod was saying, “John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead! That is why these powers are at work in him.”
15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” Still others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
16 When Herod heard this, he said, “This is John, the man I beheaded. He was raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent men to arrest John. He had him bound in prison because Herod had married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 18 Indeed, John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to put him to death, but she could not, 20 because Herod feared John. He knew that John was a righteous and holy man, so he kept him safe. When Herod listened to John, he was perplexed in many ways, yet he gladly kept listening to him.
21 An opportune day came when it was Herod’s birthday. He gave a banquet for his nobles, the military officers, and the prominent men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 With an oath he promised her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Herodias said, “The head of John the Baptizer.”
25 The girl hurried right back to the king and made her request: “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter right now.”
26 The king was very sad. But because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 The king sent an executioner at once and ordered him to bring John’s head. He went, beheaded John in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” For there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. 32 They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 But many people saw them leave and knew where they were going. They ran there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things. 35 It was already late in the day when his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. 36 Send them away so they can go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
They asked him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
39 He directed everyone to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the loaves and broke them. Then he kept giving pieces to his disciples to set in front of them. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied. 43 Then they picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
Jesus Walks on Water
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd. 46 After he had sent them off, he went up the mountain to pray.
47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night,[b] he went to them, walking on the sea. He was ready to pass by them. 49 When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought he was a ghost, and they cried out. 50 They all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke with them and said, “Take courage! It is I.[c] Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed up into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were completely amazed, 52 because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they stepped out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran around that whole region and began to bring sick people on their stretchers to where they heard he was. 56 Wherever he entered villages, cities, or the countryside, they were laying sick people in the marketplaces and pleading with him that they might just touch the edge of his garment. And all who touched it were made well.
Job’s Second Test
2 Another day arrived when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came into their midst. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming the earth and walking around on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still maintains his integrity, even though you incited me against him to destroy him for no reason.”
4 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give all he has for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his bones and flesh, and he will certainly curse you to your face!”
6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hand, but preserve his life.”
7 Satan then went out from the presence of the Lord. He struck Job with very painful sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. 8 So Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he was sitting among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You are talking like a woman who lacks moral judgment.[a] If we accept the good that comes from God, shouldn’t we also accept the bad?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job’s Friends Arrive to Comfort Him
11 Three friends of Job heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, and each of them came from his own homeland: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Na’amathite.[b] They met together and went to sympathize with Job and to comfort him. 12 When they caught sight of Job from a distance, they did not recognize him. They raised their voices and wept. Each man tore his robe and tossed dust into the air and onto his head. 13 They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very great.
Dead to Sin and Living for God
6 What shall we say then? Shall we keep on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! We died to sin. How can we go on living in it any longer? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin. 7 For the person who has died has been declared free from sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again. Death no longer has control over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.[a]
Serve God, Not Sin, in Your Life
12 Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. 13 Do not offer the members of your body to sin as tools of unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and offer the members of your body to God as tools of righteousness. 14 Indeed, sin will not continue to control you, because you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Should we continue to sin, because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves to obey someone as slaves, you are slaves of the one you are obeying—whether slaves of sin, resulting in death, or slaves of obedience, resulting in righteousness?
17 Thanks be to God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to the pattern of the teaching into which you were placed. 18 After you were set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 (I am speaking in a human way because of the weakness of your flesh.) Indeed, just as you offered your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in more lawlessness, so now offer your members in the same way as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. 21 So what kind of fruit did you have then? They were things of which you are now ashamed. Yes, the final result of those things is death. 22 But now, since you were set free from sin and have become slaves to God, you have your fruit resulting in sanctification—and the final result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.