M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The First Family
4 Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Cain.[a] Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have made a man!”
2 Eve gave birth again to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd, and Cain became a farmer.
The First Murder
3-4 At harvest time,[b] Cain brought a gift to the Lord. He brought some of the food that he grew from the ground, but Abel brought some animals from his flock. He chose some of his best sheep and brought the best parts from them.[c]
The Lord accepted Abel and his gift. 5 But he did not accept Cain and his offering. Cain was sad because of this, and he became very angry. 6 The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why does your face look sad? 7 You know that if you do what is right, I will accept you. But if you don’t, sin is ready to attack you. That sin will want to control you, but you must control it.”[d]
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[e] So they went to the field. Then Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I don’t know. Is it my job to watch over my brother?”
10-11 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground. 12 Now when you work the soil, the ground will not help your plants grow. You will not have a home in this land. You will wander from place to place.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can bear! 14 You are forcing me to leave the land, and I will not be able to be near you or have a home! Now I must wander from place to place, and anyone I meet could kill me.”
15 Then the Lord said to Cain, “No, if anyone kills you, I will punish that person much, much more.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to show that no one should kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod.[f]
17 Cain had sexual relations with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Enoch. Cain built a city and gave the city the same name as his son Enoch.
18 Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad had a son named Mehujael. Mehujael had a son named Methushael. And Methushael had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women. One wife was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. Jabal was the father[g] of people who live in tents and earn their living by keeping cattle. 21 Jabal was Jubal’s brother. Jubal was the father of people who play the harp and flute. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain. Tubal-Cain was the father of people who work with bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was named Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice!
You wives of Lamech, listen to me.
A man hurt me, so I killed him.
I even killed a child for hitting me.
24 The punishment for killing Cain was very bad.
But the punishment for killing me will be many times worse!”
Adam and Eve Have a New Son
25 Adam again had sexual relations with his wife, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth.[h] Eve said, “God has given me another son. Cain killed Abel, but now I have Seth.” 26 Seth also had a son. He named him Enosh. At that time people began to pray to the Lord.[i]
The Temptation of Jesus(A)
4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He was taken there to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. 3 The devil[a] came to tempt him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered him, “The Scriptures say,
‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive.
Their lives depend on what God says.’” (B)
5 Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place at the edge of the Temple area. 6 He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off, because the Scriptures say,
‘God will command his angels to help you,
and their hands will catch you,
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” (C)
7 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”[b]
8 Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the wonderful things in them. 9 The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God.
Serve only him!’” (D)
11 So the devil left him. Then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.
Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee(E)
12 Jesus heard that John was put in prison, so he went back to Galilee. 13 But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 He did this to give full meaning to what the prophet Isaiah said:
15 “Listen, land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
lands by the road that goes to the sea, the area past the Jordan River—
Galilee, where those from other nations live.
16 The people who live in spiritual darkness
have seen a great light.
The light has shined for those
who live in the land that is as dark as a grave.” (F)
17 From that time Jesus began to tell people his message: “Change your hearts and lives, because God’s kingdom is now very near.[c]”
Jesus Chooses Some Followers(G)
18 As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew. These brothers were fishermen, and they were fishing in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you a different kind of fishermen. You will bring in people, not fish.” 20 Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
21 Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. They were preparing their nets to catch fish. Jesus told the brothers to come with him. 22 So they immediately left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus Teaches and Heals the People(H)
23 Jesus went everywhere in the country of Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and told the Good News about God’s kingdom. And he healed all the people’s diseases and sicknesses. 24 The news about Jesus spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all those who were sick. They were suffering from different kinds of diseases and pain. Some had demons inside them, some suffered from seizures, and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed them all. 25 Large crowds followed him—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, Judea, and the area across the Jordan River.
Enemies Against Rebuilding the Temple
4 Many people living in the area were against the people of Judah and Benjamin. These enemies heard that the people who had come from captivity were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. So they came to Zerubbabel and to the family leaders and said, “Let us help you build. We are the same as you, we ask your God for help. We have offered sacrifices to your God since the time King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here.”
3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other family leaders of Israel answered, “No, you people cannot help us build a temple for our God. Only we can build the Temple for the Lord. He is the God of Israel. This is what King Cyrus of Persia commanded us to do.”
4 So the enemies began to discourage them and tried to frighten them in order to stop them from building the Temple. 5 These enemies hired government officials to work against the people of Judah. The officials constantly did things to stop the Jews’ plans to build the Temple. This continued the whole time that Cyrus was the king until Darius became the king of Persia.
6 These enemies even wrote letters to the king of Persia trying to stop the Jews. They wrote a letter the year that Xerxes[a] became the king of Persia.
Enemies Against Rebuilding Jerusalem
7 Later, when Artaxerxes became the new king of Persia, some of these men wrote another letter complaining about the Jews. The men who wrote the letter were Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the other people in their group. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.[b]
8 [c] Then Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against the people of Jerusalem. They wrote the letter to Artaxerxes the king. This is what they wrote:
9 From Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, and from the judges and important officials over the men from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, and from the Elamites from Susa, 10 and from the other people who the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved to the city of Samaria and other places in the country west of the Euphrates River.
11 This is the copy of the letter sent to King Artaxerxes:
From your servants living in the area west of the Euphrates River.
12 King Artaxerxes, we wish to inform you that the Jews you sent from there are now in Jerusalem. They are trying to rebuild that terrible city. The people there have always rebelled against other kings. Now they have almost finished repairing the foundations and building the walls.[d]
13 Also, King Artaxerxes, you should know that if Jerusalem and its walls are rebuilt, the people of Jerusalem will stop paying their taxes. They will stop sending money to honor you. They also will stop paying customs fees, and the king will lose all that money.
14 We have a responsibility to the king. We don’t want to see this happen, so we are sending this letter to inform the king.
15 King Artaxerxes, we suggest that you search the writings of the kings who ruled before you. You will see in the writings that Jerusalem always rebelled against other kings. It has caused much trouble for other kings and nations. Many rebellions have started in this city since ancient times. That is why Jerusalem was destroyed.
16 King Artaxerxes, we wish to inform you that if this city and its walls are rebuilt, you will lose control of the area west of the Euphrates River.
17 Then King Artaxerxes sent this answer:
To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary, and all the people with them living in Samaria and other places west of the Euphrates River.
Greetings:
18 The letter you sent us has been translated and read to me. 19 I gave an order for the writings of the kings before me to be searched. The writings were read, and we found out that Jerusalem has a long history of rebellion against kings. Jerusalem has been a place where rebellion and revolt has happened often. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over it and over the whole area west of the Euphrates River. Their kings received taxes, customs, fees, and tribute.
21 Now, you must give an order for these men to stop work. That order must be given to keep Jerusalem from being rebuilt until I say so. 22 Be careful not to overlook this matter. We should not let the building of Jerusalem continue. If that work continues, I will not get any more money from Jerusalem.
23 So a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes sent was read to Rehum, Shimshai the secretary, and the people with them. They went very quickly to the Jews in Jerusalem and forced them to stop building.
The Work on the Temple Stopped
24 So the work stopped[e] on God’s Temple in Jerusalem. The work did not continue until the second year[f] that Darius was king of Persia.
The Apostles and the Jewish High Council
4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, some Jewish leaders came up to them. There were some priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and some Sadducees. 2 They were upset because of what Peter and John were teaching the people. By telling people about Jesus, the apostles were teaching that people will rise from death. 3 The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. It was already night, so they kept them in jail until the next day. 4 But many of the people who heard the apostles believed what they said. There were now about 5000 men in the group of believers.
5 The next day the Jewish rulers, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander were there. Everyone from the high priest’s family was there. 7 They made Peter and John stand before all the people. They asked them over and over, “How did you make this crippled man well? What power did you use? By whose authority did you do this?”
8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and you older leaders, 9 are you questioning us today about what we did to help this crippled man? Are you asking us what made him well? 10 We want all of you and all the people of Israel to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from death. This man was crippled, but he is now well. He is able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus! 11 Jesus is
‘the stone[a] that you builders thought was not important.
But this stone has become the cornerstone.’ (A)
12 Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save anyone. We must be saved through him!”
13 The Jewish leaders understood that Peter and John had no special training or education. But they also saw that they were not afraid to speak. So the leaders were amazed. They also realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus. 14 They saw the crippled man standing there beside the apostles. They saw that he was healed, so they could say nothing against the apostles.
15 The Jewish leaders told them to leave the council meeting. Then the leaders talked to each other about what they should do. 16 They said, “What shall we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem knows about the miracle they did as a sign from God. It’s too obvious. We can’t say it didn’t happen. 17 But we must make them afraid to talk to anyone again using that name.[b] Then this problem will not spread among the people.”
18 So the Jewish leaders called Peter and John in again. They told the apostles not to say anything or to teach anything in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “What do you think is right? What would God want? Should we obey you or God? 20 We cannot be quiet. We must tell people about what we have seen and heard.”
21-22 The Jewish leaders could not find a way to punish the apostles, because all the people were praising God for what had been done. This miracle was a sign from God. The man who was healed was more than 40 years old. So the Jewish leaders warned the apostles again and let them go free.
Peter and John Return to the Believers
23 Peter and John left the meeting of Jewish leaders and went to their own group. They told the group everything that the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had said to them. 24 When the believers heard this, they all prayed to God with one purpose. They said, “Master, you are the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in the world. 25 Our ancestor David was your servant. With the help of the Holy Spirit he wrote these words:
‘Why are the nations shouting?
Why are the people planning such useless things?
26 ‘The kings of the earth prepare themselves to fight,
and the rulers all come together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’ (B)
27 That’s what actually happened when Herod, Pontius Pilate, the other nations, and the people of Israel all came together against Jesus here in Jerusalem. He is your holy Servant, the one you made to be the Messiah. 28 These people who came together against Jesus made your plan happen. It was done because of your power and your will. 29 And now, Lord, listen to what they are saying. They are trying to make us afraid. We are your servants. Help us to say what you want us to say without fear. 30 Help us to be brave by showing us your power. Make sick people well. Cause miraculous signs and wonders to happen by the authority[c] of Jesus, your holy servant.”
31 After the believers prayed, the place where they were meeting shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak God’s message without fear.
The Believers Share
32 The whole group of believers was united in their thinking and in what they wanted. None of them said that the things they had were their own. Instead, they shared everything. 33 With great power the apostles were making it known to everyone that the Lord Jesus was raised from death. And God blessed all the believers very much. 34 None of them could say they needed anything. Everyone who owned fields or houses sold them. They brought the money they got 35 and gave it to the apostles. Then everyone was given whatever they needed.
36 One of the believers was named Joseph. The apostles called him Barnabas, a name that means “one who encourages others.” He was a Levite born in Cyprus. 37 Joseph sold a field he owned. He brought the money and gave it to the apostles.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International