M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Cain Kills Abel
4 The man lay with his wife Eve and she was going to have a child and she gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have given birth to a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 Next she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was one who worked the ground.
3 The day came when Cain brought a gift of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought a gift of the first-born of his flocks and of the fat parts. The Lord showed favor to Abel and his gift. 5 But He had no respect for Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and his face became sad. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why are you looking down? 7 Will not your face be happy if you do well? If you do not do well, sin is waiting to destroy you. Its desire is to rule over you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain told this to his brother Abel. And when they were in the field, Cain stood up against his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer give its strength to you. You will always travel from place to place on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “I am being punished more than I can take! 14 See, this day You have made me go away from the land. And I will be hidden from Your face. I will run away and move from place to place. And whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 So the Lord said to him, “Whoever kills Cain will be punished by Me seven times worse.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that any one who found him would not kill him.
16 Then Cain went away from the face of the Lord, and stayed in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain lay with his wife and she was going to have a child and she gave birth to Enoch. Cain built a city and gave it the name of Enoch, the name of his son. 18 Now Irad was born to Enoch. And Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. And Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself. The name of one was Adah. And the name of the other was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and have cattle. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and the horn. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain who made things from brass and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 And Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice. Hear what I say, you wives of Lamech. For I have killed a man for hurting me, and a boy for hitting me. 24 If those who hurt Cain are punished seven times worse, then those who hurt Lamech will be punished seventy-seven times worse.”
25 And Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and gave him the name Seth. For she said, “God has let me have another son in the place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 A son was born to Seth also, and he gave him the name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Jesus Was Tempted (A)
4 Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. There He was tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights. After that He was hungry. 3 The devil came tempting Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to be made into bread.” 4 But Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man is not to live on bread only. Man is to live by every word that God speaks.’” (B)
5 Then the devil took Jesus up to Jerusalem, the holy city. He had Jesus stand on the highest part of the house of God. 6 The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. It is written, ‘He has told His angels to look after You. In their hands they will hold You up. Then Your foot will not hit against a stone.’” (C) 7 Jesus said to the devil, “It is written also, ‘You must not tempt the Lord your God.’” (D)
8 Again the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He had Jesus look at all the nations of the world to see how great they were. 9 He said to Jesus, “I will give You all these nations if You will get down at my feet and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to the devil, “Get away, Satan. It is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. You must obey Him only.’” (E) 11 Then the devil went away from Jesus. Angels came and cared for Him.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee (F)
12 When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He went to the country of Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It is by the lake in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali.
14 This happened as the early preacher Isaiah said it would happen. He said, 15 “The land of Zebulun and Naphtali is along the road to the lake. It is on the other side of the Jordan River in Galilee. These people are not Jews. 16 The people who sat in darkness saw a great light. Light did shine on those in the land who were near death.” (G)
17 From that time on, Jesus went about preaching. He said, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them. The holy nation of heaven is near.”
Jesus Calls Peter and Andrew (H)
18 Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers. They were Simon (his other name was Peter) and Andrew, his brother. They were putting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. 19 Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men!” 20 At once they left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going from there, Jesus saw two other brothers. They were James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were sitting in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called them. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus Keeps On Preaching in Galilee (I)
23 Jesus went over all Galilee. He taught in their places of worship and preached the Good News of the holy nation. He healed all kinds of sickness and disease among the people. 24 The news about Him went over all the country of Syria. They brought all the sick people to Him with many kinds of diseases and pains. They brought to Him those who had demons. They brought those who at times lose the use of their minds. They brought those who could not use their hands and legs. He healed them. 25 Many people followed Him from Galilee and Judea. They followed Him from the cities of Decapolis and Jerusalem. They followed Him from Judea and from the other side of the Jordan River.
People of the Land Try to Keep the Jews from Building
4 Now those who hated Judah and Benjamin heard that the people had returned from Babylon and were building a house of worship to the Lord God of Israel. 2 They came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the family groups and said to them, “Let us build with you. For we worship your God as you do. We have been giving gifts to Him since the days of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the family groups of Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God. But we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has told us to do.” 4 Then the people of the land made the hearts of the people of Judah weak, and made them afraid to go on building. 5 They paid people to speak against them and to make trouble in their plans all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the rule of King Darius of Persia.
People of the Land Do Not Want Jerusalem Built Up Again
6 In the beginning of Ahasuerus’ rule, people of the land wrote that the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem had done something wrong.
7 During Artaxerxes’ rule, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their friends wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. The letter was written in the Aramaic language. 8 Rehum the captain and Shimshai the writer wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes. 9 It was written by Rehum the captain and Shimshai the writer and the rest of their friends, the judges, the leaders and important men, the men of Erech, Babylon, Shusha (that is, the Elamites), 10 and the rest of the nations. The people of these nations were sent away by the great and honored Osnappar, and made their home in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the land on the other side of the Euphrates River. Now 11 this is what they said in their letter to him: “To King Artaxerxes, your servants, the men in the land on the other side of the River, 12 let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to Jerusalem. They are building again the sinful city that is not willing to be ruled. They are finishing the walls and beginning the work on the buildings. 13 Now let it be known to the king that, if that city is built again and the walls are finished, they will not pay what should be paid to the king. The taxes paid to the king will be less. 14 We are under the care of the king, and it is not right for us to see the king not being honored. So we have sent to let the king know. 15 Look through the books kept by your fathers. You will find from these books that Jerusalem is not willing to be ruled, and that it is a danger to kings and lands. They have turned against kings in past times, and this is why that city was laid waste. 16 We are letting the king know that, if that city is built again and the walls are finished, you will own nothing in the land on the other side of the River.”
17 The king sent an answer to Rehum the captain, Shimshai the writer, and to the rest of their friends who live in Samaria and in the rest of the land on the other side of the River. He wrote: “Peace. 18 The letter you sent to us has been put into our language and read to me. 19 I have had men look through the books. And it has been found that the city has turned against kings in past times, and that plans against kings have been made in it. 20 Powerful kings have ruled over Jerusalem, who ruled over all the lands on the other side of the River, and taxes were paid to them. 21 So give word to these men to make them stop the work. This city may not be built again until I allow it. 22 Be sure that you do this. Why should more trouble be given to the kings?”
23 When the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the writer and their friends, they went in a hurry to the Jews at Jerusalem and with their power made them stop. 24 Then the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped. It was stopped until the second year of the rule of Darius king of Persia.
Peter and John Are Put in Prison
4 The religious leaders and the leader of the house of God and some of the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead came to Peter and John while they were talking to the people. 2 They were angry because Peter and John had been teaching the people and preaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead. 3 So they took them and put them in prison until the next day because it was evening. 4 But many of those who heard what Peter and John said put their trust in Christ. The group of followers was now about 5,000 men.
Peter Speaks to the Religious Leaders’ Court
5 The next day the leaders of the court and the leaders of the people and the teachers of the Law came together in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the head religious leader was there. Caiaphas and John and Alexander were there also and all who were in the family of the head religious leader. 7 They put the missionaries in front of them and asked, “By what power or in whose name have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, having been filled with the Holy Spirit, said, “You who are leaders of the people, 9 are you asking us today about the good work we did to a man who needed help? Are you asking how he was healed? 10 You and all the Jews must know that it was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you nailed to a cross and God raised from the dead. It is through Him that this man stands in front of you well and strong. 11 Christ is the Stone that was put aside by you workmen. But He has become the most important Stone in the building. (A) 12 There is no way to be saved from the punishment of sin through anyone else. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we can be saved.”
Peter and John Are Free to Go but Are Told Not to Preach
13 They were surprised and wondered how easy it was for Peter and John to speak. They could tell they were men who had not gone to school. But they knew they had been with Jesus. 14 They were not able to argue about what Peter and John had said because the man who had been healed was standing with them.
15 The religious leaders told Peter and John to leave the court so the leaders could talk together. 16 They said, “What should we do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows a powerful work has been done by them. We cannot say that it did not happen. 17 Let us tell them with strong words that they must not speak again to anyone in this name. This will keep the news from going out among the people.”
18 Then they called them in and told them they must not speak or teach anymore in the name of Jesus. 19 Peter and John said, “If it is right to listen to you more than to God, you decide about that. 20 For we must tell what we have seen and heard.”
21 After they had spoken more sharp words to them, they let them go. They could not beat them because the people were giving thanks to God for what had happened. 22 The man on whom this powerful work of healing had been done was more than forty years old.
The Prayer of the Young Church
23 As soon as the missionaries were free to go, they went back to their own group. They told them everything the religious leaders had said. 24 When they heard it, they all prayed to God, saying, “Lord God, You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them. 25 You said through the Holy Spirit by the mouth of our father David, ‘Why are the nations so shaken up and the people planning foolish things? 26 The kings of the earth stood in a line ready to fight, and the leaders were all against the Lord and against His Christ.’ (B) 27 You know that Herod and Pilate and the Jews and the people who are not Jews gathered together here against Jesus. He was Your Holy Son and the One You had chosen 28 to do everything You planned and said would happen. 29 And now, Lord, listen to their sharp words. Make it easy for your servants to preach Your Word with power. 30 May You heal and do powerful works and special things to see through the name of Jesus, Your Holy Son!”
The Christians Are Filled with the Holy Spirit
31 When they had finished praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. It was easy for them to speak the Word of God.
The New Way of Life
32 The many followers acted and thought the same way. None of them said that any of their things were their own, but they shared all things. 33 The missionaries told with much power how Jesus was raised from the dead. God’s favor was on them all. 34 No one was in need. All who owned houses or pieces of land sold them and brought the money from what was sold. 35 They gave it to the missionaries. It was divided to each one as he had need.
36 Joseph was among them. The missionaries called him Barnabas. His name means Son of Comfort. He was from the family group of Levi and from the country of Cyprus. 37 He had some land which he sold and brought the money to the missionaries.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.