M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Flood Ends
8 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the cattle that were with him in the large boat. Then God made a wind blow over the earth until the water went down. 2 Also the wells of water under the earth and the windows of the heavens were shut. And it stopped raining. 3 The water kept moving away from the earth. At the end of 150 days the water was less. 4 And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the large boat came to rest on Mount Ararat. 5 The water kept on going down until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.
6 At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the large boat which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was gone from the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, so she returned to him in the boat. For the water was still over the earth. So Noah put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the boat with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and sent the dove from the boat again. 11 The dove returned to him in the evening. In her mouth was an olive leaf that had just been picked. So Noah knew that the water had gone from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove. But she did not return to him again.
13 In the year 601, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah took the covering off the large boat, and looked out and saw that the earth was dry. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the ground was dry. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out of the boat, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and everything that moves on the earth. So they may give birth and become many upon the earth.” 18 So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 Every animal, every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the large boat by their families.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took of every clean animal and every clean bird, and gave burnt gifts in worship on the altar. 21 Then the Lord smelled a pleasing smell. And the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man. For the desire of man’s heart is sinful from when he is young. I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 While the earth lasts, planting time and gathering time, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not end.”
The Healing of a Man with a Bad Skin Disease (A)
8 Jesus came down from the mountain. Many people followed Him. 2 A man with a bad skin disease came and got down before Him and worshiped Him. He said, “Lord, if You will, You can heal me!” 3 Then Jesus put His hand on him and said, “I will. You are healed!” At once the man was healed. 4 Jesus said to him, “Go now, but tell no one. Let the religious leader see you. Give the gift in worship that Moses told you to give. This will show them you have been healed.” (B)
Healing of the Captain’s Servant (C)
5 Jesus came to the city of Capernaum. A captain of the army came to Him. He asked for help, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is sick in bed. He is not able to move his body. He is in much pain.” 7 Jesus said to the captain, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The captain said, “Lord, I am not good enough for You to come to my house. Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 I am a man who works for someone else and I have men working under me. I say to this man, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, He was surprised and wondered about it. He said to those who followed Him, “For sure, I tell you, I have not found so much faith in the Jewish nation. 11 I say to you, many people will come from the east and from the west. They will sit down with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob in the holy nation of heaven. 12 But those who should have belonged to the holy nation of heaven will be thrown out into outer darkness, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth.” 13 Jesus said to the captain, “Go your way. It is done for you even as you had faith to believe.” The servant was healed at that time.
Peter’s Mother-In-Law Healed (D)
14 Jesus came to Peter’s house. He saw Peter’s wife’s mother in bed. She was very sick. 15 He touched her hand and the sickness left her. She got up and cared for Jesus.
Many People Are Healed (E)
16 That evening they brought to Jesus many people who had demons in them. The demons were put out when Jesus spoke to them. All the sick people were healed. 17 It happened as the early preacher Isaiah said it would happen. He said, “He took on Himself our sickness and carried away our diseases.” (F)
Testing Some Followers (G)
18 Jesus saw many people and told them to go to the other side of the lake. 19 A teacher of the Law came to Jesus. He said, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
21 Another of His followers said to Him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 22 Jesus said to him, “Follow Me. Let the people who are dead bury their own dead.”
The Wind and Waves Obey Jesus (H)
23 Jesus got into a boat. His followers followed Him. 24 At once a bad storm came over the lake. The waves were covering the boat. Jesus was sleeping. 25 His followers went to Him and called, “Help us, Lord, or we will die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then He stood up. He spoke sharp words to the wind and the waves. Then the wind stopped blowing. 27 Then men were surprised and wondered about it. They said, “What kind of a man is He? Even the winds and the waves obey Him.”
Demons Ask Jesus to Let Them Live in Pigs (I)
28 Jesus came to the other side of the lake into the country of the Gadarenes. Two men came to Him from among the graves. They had demons in them and were very wild men. They were so bad that no one would go near them. 29 They called out, saying, “What do You want of us, You Son of God? Have You come here to make us suffer before it is our time to suffer?”
30 A long way from there many pigs were eating. 31 The demons begged Jesus, saying, “If You put us out, send us into the pigs.” 32 Jesus said to the demons, “Go!” They came out of the men and went into the pigs. At once the pigs ran down the mountain side. They fell into the water and died.
33 The men who cared for the pigs ran fast into the city and told everything. They told what happened to the men who had the demons. 34 Every person in the city came to meet Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they asked Him to leave their country.
Families Who Returned
8 These are the leaders of family groups and the family names of those who went up with me from Babylon during the rule of King Artaxerxes: 2 there was Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, Daniel of the sons of Ithamar, and from the house of David, Hattush, 3 the son of Shecaniah. There was Zechariah of the sons of Parosh, and with him were 150 men whose family names were written down. 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab, there was Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and 200 men with him. 5 Of the sons of Zattu, there was Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and 300 men with him. 6 Of the sons of Adin, there was Ebed the son of Jonathan, and fifty men with him. 7 Of the sons of Elam, there was Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and seventy men with him. 8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, there was Zebadiah the son of Michael, and eighty men with him. 9 Of the sons of Joab, there was Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and 218 men with him. 10 Of the sons of Shelomith there was the son of Josiphiah, and 160 men with him. 11 Of the sons of Bebai, there was Zechariah the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men with him. 12 Of the sons of Azgad, there was Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and 110 men with him. 13 Of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, there were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men with them. 14 Of the sons of Bigvai, there were Uthai and Zabbud, and seventy men with them.
Ezra Finds Levites for the House of God
15 I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, where we had our camp for three days. When I saw the people and the religious leaders, I did not find any Levites there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. 17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, servants in the house of worship at Casiphia. They were to bring men to us to care for the house of our God. 18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of wisdom, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. His name is Sherebiah, and with him came his sons and brothers, eighteen men. 19 They also brought Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Morari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men. 20 They brought 220 men to work in the house of God, whom David and the leaders had chosen to help the Levites. All of them were chosen by name.
The People Pray
21 Then I set apart a time there at the river of Ahava when we would not eat any food. This was so we might put away our pride before our God, and pray that He would keep us and our children and all our things safe as we traveled. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to keep us safe from those who hate us on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God brings good to all who look for Him. But His power and His anger are against all who turn away from Him.” 23 So we did not eat, and prayed to God about this. And He listened to our prayer.
Gifts for the House of God
24 Then I set apart twelve of the head religious leaders: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers. 25 And I weighed and gave to them the silver, the gold and the dishes and objects, which had been given for the house of our God by the king and his wise men and leaders, and all the people of Israel who were there. 26 I gave them silver weighing as much as 650 men, silver dishes and objects weighing as much as 100 men, and gold weighing as much as 100 men. 27 I gave them twenty deep, gold dishes, worth 1,000 gold-pieces, and two pots of fine shining brass, worth as much as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and these objects are holy. The silver and the gold are a free-will gift to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them until you weigh them in front of the head religious leaders, the Levites, and the heads of the family groups of Israel at Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord.” 30 So the religious leaders and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and objects, to bring them to the house of our God at Jerusalem.
31 Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. And God helped us and kept us safe from those who hated us and from those who hid waiting to fight us on the way. 32 We came to Jerusalem and stayed there for three days. 33 On the fourth day the silver and gold and objects were weighed in the house of our God and given to Meremoth the son of Uriah the religious leader. With him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas. And with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was written down.
35 The people who had returned from Babylon gave burnt gifts in worship to the God of Israel. They gave 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin gift. All this was a burnt gift to the Lord. 36 Then they let the king’s rulers and leaders in the lands on the other side of the River know what the king said for them to do. And they helped the people and the house of God.
It Is Hard for the Christians in Jerusalem
8 Saul thought it was all right that Stephen was killed. On that day people started to work very hard against the church in Jerusalem. All the followers, except the missionaries, were made to leave. They went to parts of the countries of Judea and Samaria. 2 Good men put Stephen in a grave. There was much sorrow because of him. 3 During this time Saul was making it very hard for the church. He went into every house of the followers of Jesus and took men and women and put them in prison.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 Those who had been made to go to other places preached the Word as they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and preached about Christ. 6 The people all listened to what Philip said. As they listened, they watched him do powerful works. 7 There were many people who had demons in their bodies. The demons cried with loud voices when they went out of the people. Many of the people could not move their bodies or arms and legs. They were all healed. 8 There was much joy in that city.
Simon the Witch Doctor
9 A man by the name of Simon had done witchcraft there. The people of Samaria were surprised at the things he did. He pretended that he was a great man. 10 All the people watched and listened to him. They said, “This man must be that great power of God.” 11 They kept running after him. For a long time he fooled them with his witchcraft.
12 Philip told the Good News of the holy nation of God and of Jesus Christ. Both men and women put their trust in Christ and were baptized. 13 Even Simon believed in Christ and was baptized. He went along with Philip everywhere. He was surprised when he saw the powerful works that were being done.
14 The missionaries in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had received the Word of God. They sent Peter and John to them. 15 When Peter and John got there, they prayed that the new followers might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 He had not yet come on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 They laid their hands on them and the followers received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the missionaries laid their hands on the people, he wanted to give money to the missionaries. 19 He said, “Let me also have this power. Then I can give the Holy Spirit to anyone I lay my hands on.” 20 Peter said to him, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or place in this work. Your heart is not right in God’s sight. 22 You must be sorry for this sin of yours and turn from it. Pray to the Lord that He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 I see that you are full of jealousy and chained by your sin.” 24 Simon said, “Pray to the Lord for me that nothing you have said will come to me.”
25 Peter and John went back to Jerusalem after telling what they had seen and heard. They had preached the Word of the Lord also. On the way they preached the Good News in many other towns in the country of Samaria.
Philip and the Man from Ethiopia
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south. Take the road that goes down from Jerusalem to the country of Gaza. It goes through the desert.” 27 Philip got up and went. A man from the country of Ethiopia had come to Jerusalem to worship. He had been made so he could not have children. He cared for all the riches that belonged to Candace who was Queen of Ethiopia. 28 As he was going back home, he was sitting in his wagon reading about the early preacher Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that wagon and get on it.” 30 Philip ran up to him. He saw that the man from Ethiopia was reading from the writings of the early preacher Isaiah and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 The man from Ethiopia said, “How can I, unless someone teaches me?” Then he asked Philip to come up and sit beside him.
32 He was reading the part in the Holy Writings which says He was taken like a lamb to be put to death. A sheep does not make a sound while its wool is cut. So He made no sound. 33 No one listened to Him because of His shame. Who will tell the story of His day? For His life was taken away from the earth. (A)
34 The man from Ethiopia said to Philip, “Who is the early preacher talking about, himself, or someone else?” 35 So Philip started with this part of the Holy Writings and preached the Good News of Jesus to him.
36 As they went on their way, they came to some water. The man from Ethiopia said, “See! Here is water. What is to stop me from being baptized?” 37 (*Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The man said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”) 38 He stopped the wagon. Then both Philip and the man from Ethiopia went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit took Philip away. The man from Ethiopia did not see Philip again. He went on his way full of joy. 40 Philip found himself at the city of Azotus. Then Philip went through all the towns as far as the city of Caesarea preaching the Good News at each place.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.