M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Returns to Bethel
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and live there. Build an altar there to honor me. That’s where I appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob spoke to his family and to everyone with him. He said, “Get rid of the statues of false gods you have with you. Make yourselves pure by washing and changing your clothes. 3 Come, let’s go up to Bethel. There I’ll build an altar to honor God. He answered me when I was in trouble. He’s been with me everywhere I’ve gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the statues of false gods they had. They also gave him their earrings. Jacob buried those things under the oak tree at Shechem. 5 Then Jacob and everyone with him started out. The terror of God fell on the towns all around them. So no one chased them.
6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz. Luz is also called Bethel. It’s in the land of Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar at Luz. He named the place El Bethel. There God made himself known to Jacob when he was running away from his brother.
8 Rebekah’s attendant Deborah died. They buried her body under the oak tree outside Bethel. So it was called Allon Bakuth.
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. And God blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. But you will not be called Jacob anymore. Your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.
11 God said to him, “I am the Mighty God. Have children so that there will be many of you. You will become the father of a nation and a community of nations. Your later family will include kings. 12 I am giving you the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac. I will also give it to your children after you.” 13 Then God left him at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a sacred stone at the place where God had talked with him. He poured out a drink offering on it. He also poured olive oil on it. 15 Jacob named the place Bethel. That’s where God had talked with him.
Rachel and Isaac Die
16 They moved on from Bethel. Ephrath wasn’t very far away when Rachel began to have a baby. She was having a very hard time of it. 17 The woman who helped her saw that she was having problems. So she said to Rachel, “Don’t be afraid. You have another son.” 18 But Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
19 So Rachel died. She was buried beside the road to Ephrath. Ephrath was also called Bethlehem. 20 Jacob set up a stone marker over her tomb. To this day, the stone marks the place where Rachel was buried.
21 Israel moved on again. He set up his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that area, Reuben went in and slept with Bilhah. She was the concubine of Reuben’s father. And Israel heard about it.
Here are the 12 sons Jacob had.
23 Leah was the mother of
Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son.
Her other sons were Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel were
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s female servant Bilhah were
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s female servant Zilpah were
Gad and Asher.
These were Jacob’s sons. They were born in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre. Mamre is near Kiriath Arba, where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. The place is also called Hebron. 28 Isaac lived 180 years. 29 Then he took his last breath and died. He was very old when he joined the members of his family who had already died. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
The Family Line of Esau
36 Here is the story of the family line of Esau. Esau was also called Edom.
2 Esau got his wives from among the women of Canaan. He married Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. He also married Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. 3 And he married Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.
4 Adah had Eliphaz by Esau. Basemath had Reuel. 5 Oholibamah had Jeush, Jalam and Korah. All of them were Esau’s sons. They were born in Canaan.
6 Esau moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob. Esau took with him his wives, his sons and daughters, and all the people who lived with him. He also took his livestock and all his other animals. He took everything he had acquired in Canaan. 7 Jacob and Esau owned so much that they couldn’t remain together. There wasn’t enough land for both of them. They had too much livestock. 8 So Esau made his home in the hill country of Seir. Esau was also called Edom.
9 Here is the story of the family line of Esau. He’s the father of the people of Edom. They live in the hill country of Seir.
10 Here are the names of Esau’s sons.
They are 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 Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna. She had Amalek by Eliphaz. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
13 The sons of Reuel were
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
14 Esau’s wife Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon.
She had Jeush, Jalam and Korah by Esau.
15 Here are the chiefs among Esau’s sons.
Eliphaz was Esau’s oldest son. The sons of Eliphaz were
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam and Amalek. They were the chiefs in Edom who were sons of Eliphaz. They were Adah’s grandsons.
17 The sons of Esau’s son Reuel were
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. They were the chiefs in Edom who were sons of Reuel. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
18 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah were
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. They were the chiefs who were sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah. She was Anah’s daughter.
19 That was the family line of Esau. And these were the chiefs. Esau was also called Edom.
20 Seir, the Horite, had sons living in the same area.
They were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
22 The sons of Lotan were
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.
23 The sons of Shobal were
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24 The sons of Zibeon were
Aiah and Anah. He was the Anah who discovered the hot springs of water in the desert. He found them while he was taking care of the donkeys that belonged to his father Zibeon.
25 The children of Anah were
Dishon and Oholibamah. Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah.
26 The sons of Dishon were
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
27 The sons of Ezer were
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28 The sons of Dishan were
Uz and Aran.
29 The Horite chiefs were
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.
They were the Horite chiefs in the land of Seir. They are listed tribe by tribe.
The Rulers of Edom
31 Before Israel had a king, there were kings who ruled in Edom.
32 Bela became the king of Edom. Bela was the son of Beor. Bela’s city was called Dinhabah.
33 When Bela died, Jobab became the next king. Jobab was the son of Zerah from Bozrah.
34 When Jobab died, Husham became the next king. Husham was from the land of the Temanites.
35 When Husham died, Hadad became the next king. Hadad was the son of Bedad. Hadad had won the battle over Midian in the country of Moab. Hadad’s city was called Avith.
36 When Hadad died, Samlah became the next king. Samlah was from Masrekah.
37 When Samlah died, Shaul became the next king. Shaul was from Rehoboth on the river.
38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan became the next king. Baal-Hanan was the son of Akbor.
39 When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad became the next king. Hadad’s city was called Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel. She was Matred’s daughter. Matred was the daughter of Me-Zahab.
40 Here are the chiefs in the family line of Esau. They are listed by name as chiefs in charge of their tribes and territories. They are
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
43 Magdiel and Iram.
They were the chiefs of Edom. They ruled over their settlements in the land where they lived.
That’s the end of the story of the family line of Esau. He was the father of the people of Edom.
A Prophet Without Honor
6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown of Nazareth. His disciples went with him. 2 When the Sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these remarkable miracles he is doing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son? Isn’t this the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were not pleased with him at all.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town. He doesn’t receive any honor among his relatives or in his own home.” 5 Jesus placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. But he could not do any other miracles there. 6 He was amazed because they had no faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples
Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 He called the 12 disciples to him. Then he began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits.
8 Here is what he told them to do. “Take only a walking stick for your trip. Do not take bread or a bag. Take no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals. But do not take extra clothes. 10 When you are invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. 11 Some places may not welcome you or listen to you. If they don’t, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a witness against the people living there.”
12 They went out. And they preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons. They poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.
John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off
14 King Herod heard about this. Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
Still others claimed, “He is a prophet. He is like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “I had John’s head cut off. And now he has been raised from the dead!”
17 In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her. 18 John had been saying to Herod, “It is against the Law for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19 Herodias couldn’t forgive John for saying that. She wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.
21 Finally the right time came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday. He invited his high officials and military leaders. He also invited the most important men in Galilee. 22 Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced. She pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want. I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he gave her his promise. He said to her, “Anything you ask for I will give you. I’ll give you up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried to ask the king. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate right now.”
26 The king was very upset. But he thought about his promise and his dinner guests. So he did not want to say no to the girl. 27 He sent a man right away to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut off John’s head. 28 He brought it back on a big plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 John’s disciples heard about this. So they came and took his body. Then they placed it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. 31 But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. 33 But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. 36 Send the people away. Then they can go to the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat.”
37 But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 All of them ate and were satisfied. 43 The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of men who had eaten was 5,000.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent the crowd away. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars. The wind was blowing against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them. He walked on the lake. When he was about to pass by them, 49 they saw him walking on the lake. They thought he was a ghost, so they cried out. 50 They all saw him and were terrified.
Right away Jesus said to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them. The wind died down. And they were completely amazed. 52 They had not understood about the loaves. They were stubborn.
53 They went across the lake and landed at Gennesaret. There they tied up the boat. 54 As soon as Jesus and his disciples got out, people recognized him. 55 They ran through that whole area to bring to him those who were sick. They carried them on mats to where they heard he was. 56 He went into the villages, the towns and the countryside. Everywhere he went, the people brought the sick to the market areas. Those who were sick begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. And all who touched his clothes were healed.
2 On another day angels came to the Lord. Satan also came to him along with them. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered, “From traveling all around the earth. I’ve been going from one end of it to the other.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you thought about my servant Job? There isn’t anyone on earth like him. He is honest. He does what is right. He has respect for God and avoids evil. You tried to turn me against him. You wanted me to destroy him without any reason. But he still continues to be faithful.”
4 Satan replied, “A man will give everything he has to save himself. So Job is willing to give up the lives of his family to save his own life. 5 But now reach out your hand and strike his flesh and bones. Then I’m sure he will speak evil things against you. In fact, he’ll do it right in front of you.”
6 The Lord said to Satan, “All right. I am handing him over to you. But you must spare his life.”
7 Then Satan left the Lord and went on his way. He sent painful sores on Job. They covered him from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. 8 He got part of a broken pot. He used it to scrape his skin. He did it while he was sitting in ashes.
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still continuing to be faithful to the Lord? Speak evil things against him and die!”
10 Job replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. We accept good things from God. So we should also accept trouble when he sends it.”
In spite of everything, Job didn’t say anything that was sinful.
11 Job had three friends named Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They heard about all the troubles that had come to Job. So they started out from their homes. They had agreed to meet together. They wanted to go and show their concern for Job. They wanted to comfort him. 12 When they got closer to where he lived, they could see him. But they could hardly recognize him. They began to weep out loud. They tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him. That’s because they saw how much he was suffering.
Living a New Life in Christ
6 What should we say then? Should we keep on sinning so that God’s grace can increase? 2 Not at all! As far as sin is concerned, we are dead. So how can we keep on sinning? 3 All of us were baptized into Christ Jesus. Don’t you know that we were baptized into his death? 4 By being baptized, we were buried with Christ into his death. Christ has been raised from the dead by the Father’s glory. And like Christ we also can live a new life.
5 By being baptized, we have been joined with him in a death like his. So we will certainly also be joined with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that what we used to be was nailed to the cross with him. That happened so our bodies that were ruled by sin would lose their power. So we are no longer slaves of sin. 7 That’s because those who have died have been set free from sin.
8 We died with Christ. So we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again. Death doesn’t control him anymore. 10 When he died, he died once and for all time. He did this to break the power of sin. Now that he lives, he lives in the power of God.
11 In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now you believe in Christ Jesus. So consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned. 12 So don’t let sin rule your body, which is going to die. Don’t obey its evil desires. 13 Don’t give any part of yourself to serve sin. Don’t let any part of yourself be used to do evil. Instead, give yourselves to God. You have been brought from death to life. So give every part of yourself to God to do what is right. 14 Sin will no longer control you like a master. That’s because the law does not rule you. God’s grace has set you free.
Slaves to Right Living
15 What should we say then? Should we sin because we are not ruled by the law but by God’s grace? Not at all! 16 Don’t you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person’s slave? If you are slaves of sin, then you will die. But if you are slaves who obey God, then you will live a godly life. 17 You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given! 18 You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.
19 Because you are human, you find this hard to understand. So I am using an everyday example to help you understand. You used to give yourselves to be slaves to unclean living. You were becoming more and more evil. Now give yourselves to be slaves to right living. Then you will become holy. 20 Once you were slaves of sin. At that time right living did not control you. 21 What benefit did you gain from doing the things you are now ashamed of? Those things lead to death! 22 You have been set free from sin. God has made you his slaves. The benefit you gain leads to holy living. And the end result is eternal life. 23 When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.
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