M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abram Rescues Lot
14 And it happened that in the days of Amraphel, the king of Shinar, Arioch, the king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, and Tidal, the king of Goiim, 2 made war with Bera, the king of Sodom, and Birsha, the king of Gomorrah, Shinab, the king of Admah, and Shemeber, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these joined forces at the valley of Siddim (that is, the sea of the salt). 4 Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El-Paran, which is at the wilderness. 7 Then[a] they turned back and came to En-Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). And they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar. 8 Then[b] the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they took up battle position[c] in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now[d] the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits.[e] And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell into them,[f] but the rest fled to the mountains. 11 So[g] they[h] took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and they left. 12 And they[i] took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his possessions, and left. (Now he had been living in Sodom.) 13 Then[j] one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. They were allies with Abram.[k] 14 When[l] Abram heard that his relative[m] was taken captive, he summoned his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and he went in pursuit up to Dan. 15 And he divided his trained men against them at night, he and his servants. And he defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the possessions. And he also brought back Lot, his relative,[n] and his possessions, and the women and the people as well.
Abram Meets Melchizedek
17 After his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Valley of the King). 18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. (He was the priest of God Most High). 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Maker of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he[o] gave to him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but the possessions take for yourself.” 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, 23 that neither a thread nor[p] a thong of a sandal would I take from all that belongs to you, that you might not say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 Nothing besides what[q] the servants have eaten and the share of the men who went out with me will I take. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
The Parable of the Sower
13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and[a] was sitting by the sea.[b] 2 And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. 3 And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, 4 and while he was sowing, some seed[c] fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and[d] devoured it. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. 6 But when[e] the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. 7 And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. 8 But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain,[f] this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. 9 The one who has ears, let him hear!”
The Reason for the Parables
10 And the disciples came up and[g] said to him, “Why[h] do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered and[i] said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, 14 and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,
“You will listen carefully[j] and will never understand,
and you will look closely[k] and will never perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
and with their ears they hear with difficulty,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.”[l]
16 But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,[m] and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it![n]
The Parable of the Sower Interpreted
18 “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When[o] anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it,[p] the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. 20 And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while,[q] and when[r] affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world[s] and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. 23 But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it,[t] who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat
24 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his[u] people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel[v] in the midst of the wheat and went away. 26 So when the wheat[w] sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. 27 So the slaves of the master of the house came and[x] said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and[y] gather them?’ 29 But he said, “No, lest when you[z] gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.”’”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and[aa] sowed in his field. 32 It[ab] is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and[ac] put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
Parables Fulfill Prophecy
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, 35 in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”[ad][ae]
The Parable of the Weeds Interpreted
36 Then he left the crowds and[af] came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” 37 So he answered and[ag] said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned[ah] with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace.[ai] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[aj] The one who has ears, let him hear!
The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in a Field
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and[ak] concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Valuable Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 And when he[al] found one very valuable pearl, he went and[am] sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.
The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish[an] of every kind, 48 which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and[ao] collected the good fish[ap] into containers, but the bad they threw out. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace.[aq] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”
Rejected at Nazareth
53 And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there. 54 And he came to his hometown and[ar] began to teach[as] them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? 55 Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.
Organization of the Work
3 Then Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests arose and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and erected its doors. They consecrated it up to the Tower of the Hundred and up to the Tower of Hananel. 2 And next to him[a] the men of Jericho built, and next to him[b] Zaccur son of Imri built.
3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4 Next to them[c] Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired. Next to them[d] Meshullam son of Berekiah, son of Meshezabel, repaired. Next to them[e] Zadok son of Baana repaired. 5 Next to them[f] the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles did not put their neck to the work of their lord.
6 Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam repaired the old Yeshanah Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7 Next to them[g] Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah who were under the rule of the governor of the province Beyond the River, repaired. 8 Next to him[h] Uzziel son of Harhaiah (goldsmiths) repaired. Next to him[i] Hananiah son of the perfume-makers repaired. They restored Jerusalem up to the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them[j] Rephaiah son of Hur, commander of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. 10 Next to them[k] Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. Next to him[l] Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired.
11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Next to him[m] Shallum son of Hallohesh, commander of half of the district of Jerusalem, repaired with his daughters.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall up to the Dung Gate.
14 Malkijah son of Recab, commander of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
15 Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, the commander of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and erected its doors, its bolts, its bars, and he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, right up to the steps going down from the city of David. 16 After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, commander of half of the district of Beth Zur, repaired up to a point opposite the burial sites of David, and up to the artificial pool and to the house of the mighty warriors.
17 After him the Levites repaired; Rehum son of Bani, and next to him Hashabiah, commander of half of the district of Keilah, repaired his district. 18 After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai son of Henadad, commander of half of the district of Keilah, 19 next to him[n] Ezer son of Jeshua, commander of Mizpah, repaired a second section of a wall opposite of the ascent of the armory at the angle. 20 After him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired a second section of a wall from the angle up to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired a second section of a wall from the doorway of the house of Eliashib up to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 After him the priests, men from the vicinity, repaired. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, repaired beside his house. 24 After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired a second section of a wall from the house of Azariah up to the angle up to the corner. 25 Palal son of Uzai repaired opposite the Angle at the tower that juts out from the upper house of the king, at the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the temple servants who were living on Ophel repaired up to opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27 After him the Tekoites repaired a second section of a wall opposite the projecting tower that goes out as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his house. 29 After them Zadok son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, repaired. 30 After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired the wall opposite his room. 31 After him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths,[o] repaired up to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Enrollment Gate and up to the upper room of the corner. 32 Between the upper room of the corner to the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants repaired.
Barnabas and Saul Sent Out from Antioch
13 Now there were prophets and teachers in Antioch in the church that was there: Barnabas, and Simeon (who was called Niger), and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch), and Saul. 2 And while[a] they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after they[b] had fasted and prayed and placed their[c] hands on them, they sent them[d] away.
Confronting a Magician on Cyprus
4 Therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus. 5 And when they[e] came to Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John as assistant. 6 And when they[f] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and[g] wished to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for his name is translated in this way) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul (also called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and[h] said, “O you who are full of all deceit and of all unscrupulousness, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness! Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord! 11 And now behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a while.[i] And immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he was going around looking for people[j] to lead him[k] by the hand. 12 Then when[l] the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he[m] was astounded at the teaching about[n] the Lord.
Preaching in the Synagogue at Pisidian Antioch
13 Now Paul and his companions[o] put out to sea from Paphos and[p] came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John departed from them and[q] returned to Jerusalem. 14 And they went on from Perga and[r] arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and[s] sat down. 15 So after the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word[t] to them, saying, “Men and brothers, if there is any message of exhortation by you for the people, say it.”[u]
16 So Paul stood up,[v] and motioning with his[w] hand, he said, “Israelite men, and those who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people during their[x] stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for a period of time of about forty years, he put up with them in the wilderness. 19 And after[y] destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land to his people[z] as an inheritance. 20 This took[aa] about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them[ab] judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And after[ac] removing him, he raised up David for their king, about whom he also said, testifying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man in accordance with my heart, who will carry out all my will.’[ad] 23 From the descendants of this man, according to his promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. 24 Before his coming[ae] John had publicly proclaimed[af] a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 But while John was completing his[ag] mission, he said, ‘What do you suppose me to be? I am not he! But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of his[ah] feet!’
26 “Men and brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God—to us the message of this salvation has been sent! 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they[ai] did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them[aj] by[ak] condemning him.[al] 28 And although they[am] found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed. 29 And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took him[an] down from the tree and[ao] placed him[ap] in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem—who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim the good news to you: that the promise that was made to the fathers, 33 this promise[aq] God has fulfilled to our children[ar] by[as] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have fathered you.’[at]
34 But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.’[au] 35 Therefore he also says in another psalm,[av]
‘You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.’[aw]
36 For David, after[ax] serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried with[ay] his fathers, and experienced decay. 37 But he whom God raised up did not experience decay.
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, 39 by this one everyone who believes is justified! 40 Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon you:[az]
41 ‘Look, you scoffers,
and be astonished and perish!
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you would never believe
even if someone were to tell it[ba] to you.’”[bb]
Response to the Message in Pisidian Antioch
42 And as[bc] they were going out, they began urging[bd] that these things be spoken about to them on the next Sabbath. 43 And after[be] the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the devout[bf] proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and[bg] were persuading them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And on the coming Sabbath, nearly the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when[bh] the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting what was being said by Paul by[bi] reviling him.[bj] 46 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and[bk] said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you, since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life! Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles! 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have appointed you to be[bl] a light for the Gentiles,
that you would bring[bm] salvation to the end of the earth.’[bn]
48 And when[bo] the Gentiles heard this,[bp] they began to rejoice[bq] and to glorify the word of the Lord. And all those who were designated for eternal life believed. 49 So the word of the Lord was carried through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high social standing and the most prominent men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their district. 51 So after[br] shaking off the dust from their feet against them, they went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software