M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Covenant with Noah’s Descendants

9 God blessed Noah and his sons, and He said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land. ² The fear and terror of you will be on every wild animal, and on every flying creature of the sky, with everything that crawls on the ground and with all the fish of the sea—into your hand they are given. ³ Every crawling thing that is alive will be food for you, as are the green plants—I have now given you everything. ⁴ Only flesh with its life—that is, its blood—you must not eat! ⁵ Surely your lifeblood will I avenge. From every animal and from every person will I avenge it. From every person’s brother will I avenge that person’s life.

⁷ But as for you, be fruitful and multiply! Flourish in the land and multiply in it.”

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ “Now I, behold, I am about to establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, including the flying creatures, the livestock, and every wild animal with you, of all that is coming out of the ark—every animal of the earth. ¹¹ I will confirm My covenant with you—never again will all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again will there be a flood to ruin the land.”

¹² Then God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. ¹³ My rainbow do I place in the cloud, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the land. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the land and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember My covenant that is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the rainbow is in the cloud, I will look at it, to remember the perpetual covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the land.”

¹⁷ Then God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and all flesh that is on the land.”

Dispersion of Noah’s Family

¹⁸ Noah’s sons who came out from the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth, and Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and from these the whole earth dispersed.

²⁰ Then Noah, a man of the soil, was first to plant a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine, got drunk, and was uncovered in his tent. ²² Then Ham, Canaan’s father, saw his father’s private parts and told his two brothers outside. ²³ So Shem and Japheth took the cloak and laid it over both their shoulders and walked backwards and with it covered their father’s private parts. But their faces were turned away, so they did not see their father’s private parts.

²⁴ When Noah woke up from his wine, he learned what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵ So he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹ So all Noah’s days were 950 years. Then he died.

10 And these are the genealogical records of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

² Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. ³ Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. ⁴ Javan’s sons were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittites and Dodanites. ⁵ From these the coastlands of the nations spread out in their lands, each one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

⁶ Ham’s sons were Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. ⁷ Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And Raamah’s sons were Sheba, and Dedan.

⁸ Now Cush fathered Nimrod. He started to become mighty in the land. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before Adonai. This is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Adonai.” ¹⁰ The beginning of his kingdom included Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ¹¹ From that land he went out to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rechovot-ir, Calah ¹² and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah—it is the great city.

¹³ Mizraim fathered the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, ¹⁴ the Pathrusites, the Casluhites—from whom came the Philistines—and the Caphtorites.

¹⁵ Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, Heth, ¹⁶ the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, ¹⁷ the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, ¹⁸ the Arvadite, the Zemarite and the Hamathite—and afterwards, the Canaanite families were scattered. ¹⁹ Now the Canaanite border was from Zidon, as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

²⁰ These are Ham’s sons according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, in their nations.

²¹ Sons were also born to Shem, who was Japheth’s older brother and the father of all the sons of Eber. ²² Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud and Aram. ²³ Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether and Mash. ²⁴ Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber. ²⁵ Two sons were born to Eber. The name of the first was Peleg—because in his days the land was divided—and his brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶ Joktan fathered Elmodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All of these are Joktan’s sons. ³⁰ Their dwelling place was from Mesha till you come toward Sephar, the eastern hill country. ³¹ These are Shem’s sons, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.

³² These are the families of the sons of Noah according to their genealogies in their nations, and from these the nations were dispersed on the earth after the flood.

Authority to Pardon Sins

9 After getting into a boat, Yeshua crossed over and came to His own town. ² Just then, some people brought to Him a paralyzed man lying on a cot. And seeing their faith, Yeshua said to the paralyzed man, “Take courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.”

³ Then some of the Torah scholars said among themselves, “This fellow blasphemes!”

⁴ And knowing their thoughts, Yeshua said, “Why are you entertaining evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to pardon sins...” Then He tells the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your cot and go home.” ⁷ And he got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw it, they were afraid and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

A Physician for Sinners

⁹ As Yeshua was passing by from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he got up and followed Him.

¹⁰ Now it happened that when Yeshua was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Yeshua and His disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does this Teacher of yours eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² But when He heard this, Yeshua said, “Those who are healthy have no need for a doctor, but those who are sick do. ¹³ Now go and learn what this means: ‘Mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.’^[a] For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but the sinful.”

Teaching New Ways

¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”^[b]

¹⁵ And Yeshua said to them, “The guests of the bridegroom cannot mourn while the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶ “And no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment and a worse tear happens. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, and the wine spills out and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Compassion in the Shepherd’s Touch

¹⁸ Just as He was saying these things to them, a synagogue leader came and began to bow before Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come lay Your hand on her and she will live.” ¹⁹ And Yeshua got up and began to follow him, with His disciples.

²⁰ Just then a woman, losing blood for twelve years,^[c] came from behind and touched the tzitzit of His garment. ²¹ For she kept saying to herself, “If only I touch His garment, I will be healed.”

²² But then Yeshua turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” He said, “your faith has made you well.” That very hour the woman was healed.

²³ When Yeshua came into the synagogue leader’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, ²⁴ He said, “Go away, for the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” And they began jeering at Him. ²⁵ But when the crowd had been cleared out, He went in and took her hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶ And news of this spread all around that region.

²⁷ As Yeshua went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Ben-David, have mercy on us!”

²⁸ When He went into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Yeshua said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Master,” they said to Him.

²⁹ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith, let it be done for you.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Yeshua warned them sternly, “See that no one knows.” ³¹ But they went out and spread the news about Him all around that region.

³² As they were going out, a mute man plagued by a demon was brought to Him. ³³ After the demon was driven out, the mute man started speaking. The crowds were astounded, saying, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel!” ³⁴ But the Pharisees were saying, “By the prince of demons He drives out demons.”

³⁵ Now Yeshua was going around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. ³⁶ When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ^{[d] 37} Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He may send out workers into His harvest field.”

Interceding for Unfaithful Remnant

9 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me to say: “The people of Israel, the kohanim and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands who practice detestable things just like the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. ² For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons and have mingled the holy seed with the peoples of the lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront in this unfaithful act.”

³ When I heard this report, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and from my beard. Then I sat down devastated. ⁴ Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered themselves around me because of the unfaithful act of the exiles. Devastated, I sat there until the evening offering.

⁵ At the time of the evening offering, I rose up from my self-abasement with my garment and robe torn, then I bowed down on my knees and spread out my hands to Adonai my God. ⁶ I prayed, “O my God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God! For our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our fathers to this day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, our kings and our kohanim have been subjected to the sword, to captivity, to plunder and to humiliation at the hand of the kings of the lands, as it is today.

⁸ “But now for a brief moment Adonai our God has shown us favor in leaving us a remnant and giving us as a peg in His holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our bondage. ⁹ Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, reviving us in order to restore the House of our God, to raise up its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “So now, our God, what should we say after this? For we have forsaken Your mitzvot ¹¹ that You commanded through Your servants the prophets saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the peoples of the lands. Through their abominations, they have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness. ¹² Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their shalom or their welfare, so that you may be strong, eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.’

¹³ “After everything that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt—for You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and given us a remnant such as this— ¹⁴ shall we once again break Your mitzvot and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable actions as these? Would You not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ Adonai, God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left this day as a remnant. Behold, here we are before You in our guilt; because of it no one can stand before You.”

Saul Turns from Murder to Messiah

9 Now Saul, still breathing out threats and murder against the Lord’s disciples, went to the kohen gadol. ² He requested letters of introduction from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

³ As he was traveling, approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

⁵ “Who are You, Lord?” Saul said.

“I am Yeshua—whom you are persecuting. ^{[a] 6} But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”^[b]

⁷ The men travelling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. ^{[c] 8} Saul got up from the ground—but opening his eyes, he could see nothing. They led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple named Ananias in Damascus. The Lord said to him, “Ananias.”

He said, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street named Straight, and ask in the house of Judah for someone from Tarsus named Saul. For look, he is praying; ¹² and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”

¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man—how much harm he has done to your kedoshim in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the ruling kohanim to tie up all who call on Your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a choice instrument to carry My name before nations and kings and Bnei-Yisrael. ¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

¹⁷ So Ananias left and entered into the house. Laying hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Yeshua, the One who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming—has sent me, so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh.”

¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was immersed; ¹⁹ and when he had taken food, he was strengthened. Now for several days, he was with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰ Immediately he began proclaiming Yeshua in the synagogues, saying, “He is Ben-Elohim.”

²¹ All those hearing him were amazed. They were saying, “Isn’t this the one who made havoc in Jerusalem for all those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to bring them as prisoners before the ruling kohanim?” ²² But Saul kept growing stronger, and he was confounding the Jewish people living in Damascus by proving that Yeshua is the Messiah. ²³ When many days had passed, these Jewish people plotted to kill him— ²⁴ but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night, to kill him. ²⁵ But the disciples took Saul by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.

²⁶ When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he made attempts to join up with the disciples—but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took him in and brought him to the emissaries. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and the Lord had spoken to him, and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua.

²⁸ So Saul was with them, going in and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He was speaking and arguing with the Hellenists, but they were trying to kill him. ³⁰ When the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

³¹ So Messiah’s community throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had shalom and was built up. Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, it kept multiplying.

Signs and Wonders Follow Peter

³² Peter went here and there among them all. He came down as well to the kedoshim living in Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years—he was paralyzed. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Messiah Yeshua heals you. Get up and pack up your bed.” Immediately, he got up! ³⁵ All who lived in Lydda and the Plain of Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶ In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translates as Dorcas). She was full of mitzvot and tzedakah, which she continually did. ³⁷ In those days, she became ill and died. When they had washed her for burial, they placed her in an upstairs room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples—hearing that Peter was there—sent two men to him, begging him, “Please come to us without delay!”

³⁹ So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows were crying, showing all the tunics and other clothing Dorcas had made while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter sent them all outside, and he got down on his knees and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and raised her up. Then he called the kedoshim and widows and presented her alive.^[d]

⁴² It became known throughout Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord. ⁴³ So it happened that Peter stayed on in Joppa for several days with Simon, a tanner.^[e]