M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Flood Ends
8 But God remembered Noah and all the ·wild [beasts] and ·tame animals [cattle] with him in the ·boat [ark]. He made a wind ·blow [pass] over the earth, and the water ·went down [subsided]. 2 The ·underground springs [L fountains/springs of the deep] stopped flowing, and the ·clouds [floodgates; L windows] in the ·sky [heavens] ·stopped pouring down rain [L were closed and the rain from the sky/heavens were restrained].
6 Forty days later Noah opened the ·window [hatch] he had made in the ·boat [ark], and 7 he sent out a raven. It ·flew [L went] here and there until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then Noah sent out a dove to find out if the water had ·dried up [subsided] from the ground. 9 The dove could not find a place to ·land [L set/rest its foot] because water still covered the earth, so it came back to the ·boat [ark]. Noah reached out his hand and took the bird and brought it back into the boat.
10 After [L waiting] seven days Noah again sent out the dove from the ·boat [ark], 11 and that evening it came back to him with a fresh olive leaf in its ·mouth [beak]. Then Noah knew that the ·ground was almost dry [L waters had subsided from the ground]. 12 ·Seven days later [L After waiting another seven days] he sent the dove out again, but this time it did not come back.
13 When Noah was six hundred and one years old, in the first day of the first month of that year, the water was dried up from the ·land [earth]. Noah removed the covering of the ·boat [ark] and saw that the ·land [L face of the ground] was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the ·land [earth] was completely dry.
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “You and your wife, your sons, and their wives should go out of the ·boat [ark]. 17 Bring every ·animal [L living thing of all flesh] out of the ·boat [ark] with you—the birds, ·animals [beasts; livestock], and everything that crawls on the earth. ·Let them have many young ones so that they might […so they may swarm on earth and be fruitful and] ·grow in number [multiply; 1:22].”
18 So Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 19 Every ·animal [living thing], everything that ·crawls [creeps] on the earth, and every bird [L and everything that crawls/creeps] went out of the ·boat [ark] by families.
20 Then Noah built an altar [C a place to offer sacrifices] to the Lord. He took some of all the clean [C in a ritual sense] birds and ·animals [beasts; livestock], and he ·burned them on the altar as offerings to God [L offered a whole burnt offering on the altar; Lev. 1]. 21 The Lord ·was pleased with these sacrifices [L smelled the sweet savor/smell] and said ·to himself [L in his heart], “I will never again curse the ground because of human beings. ·Their thoughts [The inclination of their hearts] are evil even ·when [from the time] they are young, but I will never again destroy every living thing on the earth as I did this time.
22 “As long as the earth continues,
planting and harvest,
cold and hot,
summer and winter,
day and night
will not stop.”
Jesus Heals a Sick Man(A)
8 When Jesus came down from the ·hill [mountainside], ·great crowds [many people] followed him. 2 Then a ·man with a skin disease [T leper; C the term does not refer to modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but to various skin disorders; see Lev. 14] came to Jesus. The man ·bowed down [knelt] before him and said, “Lord, you can ·heal me [L make me clean; C such skin disorders rendered the victim ceremonially unclean] if you ·will [choose; are willing].”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I ·will [do choose; am willing]. Be ·healed [L cleansed]!” And immediately the man was ·healed [L cleansed] from his disease. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest and offer the ·gift [offering; sacrifice] Moses commanded for people who are made well [Lev. 14:1–32]. This will ·show the people [be a public testimony to; be evidence for] what I have done.”
Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant(B)
5 When Jesus entered the city of Capernaum, an ·army officer [L centurion] came to him, ·begging [pleading] for help. 6 The officer said, “Lord, my servant is at home in bed. He ·can’t move his body [is paralyzed] and ·is in much pain [suffering terribly].”
7 Jesus said to the officer, “·I will go and heal him. [or Shall I go and heal him?]”
8 The officer answered, “Lord [or Sir], I ·am not worthy [do not deserve] for you to come into my house. You only need to ·command it [L say the word], and my servant will be healed. 9 [L For] I, too, am a man ·under the authority of others [L under authority], and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my ·servant [slave], ‘Do this,’ and my ·servant [slave] does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were following him, “I tell you the truth, ·this is the greatest faith I have found [L I haven’t found such faith], ·even in Israel [or in all Israel]. 11 Many people will come from the east and from the west and will ·sit and eat [L recline; C the posture for a banquet or dinner party] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [C the messianic banquet, a metaphor for God’s restoration of creation; Is. 25:6–8]. 12 But ·those people who should be in [the heirs of; or the subjects of; L the sons of] the kingdom will be thrown ·outside into the darkness [into the outer darkness], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [L there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; C metaphors for agony and torment].”
13 Then Jesus said to the ·officer [L centurion], “Go home. ·Your servant will be healed just as you believed he would [L Let it be done for you just as you have believed].” And his servant was healed that ·same hour [exact time].
Jesus Heals Many People(C)
14 When Jesus went to Peter’s house, he saw that Peter’s mother-in-law was ·sick in bed [lying down] with a fever. 15 Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she stood up and began ·to serve [waiting on] Jesus.
16 That evening people brought to Jesus many who ·had demons [were demon-possessed]. Jesus ·spoke and the demons left them [L drove/cast out the demons with a word/command], and he healed all the sick. 17 He did these things to ·bring about [fulfill] what Isaiah the prophet had said:
“He took our ·suffering [sicknesses; weaknesses]
and ·carried [bore; removed] our diseases [Is. 53:4].”
People Want to Follow Jesus(D)
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he ·told [instructed; ordered] his ·followers [disciples] to ·go [cross] to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a ·teacher of the law [scribe] came to Jesus and said, “·Teacher [Master], I will follow you any place you go.”
20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have ·holes [dens] to live in, and the birds [L of the sky] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to ·rest [lay] his head.”
21 Another man, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples], said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the people who are dead [C spiritually] bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms a Storm(E)
23 Jesus got into a boat, and his ·followers [disciples] ·went with [L followed] him. 24 [Suddenly; L And look/T behold] A ·great [fierce] storm arose on the ·lake [sea] so that waves ·covered [swept over] the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. 25 His ·followers [disciples] went to him and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We ·will drown [L are lost/perishing]!”
26 Jesus answered, “Why are you ·afraid [cowardly]? ·You don’t have enough faith [or How little faith you have!; T You of little faith].” Then Jesus got up and ·gave a command to [reprimanded; rebuked] the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm [C paralleling God’s subduing of the waters representing chaos in the OT; Ps. 65:7; 89:9; 107:29].
27 The men were amazed and said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the ·waves [L sea] obey him!”
Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons(F)
28 When Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the ·area [region; territory] of the Gadarene[a] people [C from Gadara, an area southeast of Lake Galilee; the exact location is uncertain], two ·men who had demons in them [demon-possessed men; demoniacs] came out of the ·burial caves [tombs] and met him. These men were so ·dangerous [violent; fierce] that people could not ·use the road by those caves [L pass that way]. 29 They shouted, “·What do you want with us [or Leave us alone; What business do we have with each other?; L What to me and to you?], Son of God? Did you come here to ·torture [torment] us before the ·right time [or appointed time; L time; C the day of judgment]?”
30 ·Near that place there [In the distance] was a large herd of pigs feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you ·make us leave these men [L drive/cast us out], please send us into that herd of pigs [C ritually unclean animals].”
32 Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons ·left [came out of] the men and went into the pigs. Then [L look; T behold] the whole herd rushed down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the ·lake [sea] and ·were drowned [L died in the waters]. 33 The herdsmen ·ran away [fled] and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the ·men who had demons [demon-possessed men; demoniacs]. 34 Then [L look; T behold] the whole town went out to ·see [meet] Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their ·area [region; territory].
Leaders Who Returned with Ezra
8 These are the ·leaders [heads] of the family groups and ·those who were listed with them [the genealogies of those] who ·came back [L went up] with me from Babylon during the ·rule [reign] of King Artaxerxes [C ruled 464–425 bc].
2 From the ·descendants [family; sons; C and so on throughout the list] of Phinehas [Num. 25:7, 11]: Gershom.
From the descendants of Ithamar: Daniel.
From the descendants of David: Hattush 3 of the descendants of Shecaniah.
From the descendants of Parosh: Zechariah, with one hundred fifty registered men.
4 From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, with two hundred men.
5 From the descendants of Zattu: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, with three hundred men.
6 From the descendants of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, with fifty men.
7 From the descendants of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, with seventy men.
8 From the descendants of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, with eighty men.
9 From the descendants of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, with two hundred eighteen men.
10 From the descendants of Bani: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, with one hundred sixty men.
11 From the descendants of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, with twenty-eight men.
12 From the descendants of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, with one hundred ten men.
13 From the descendants of Adonikam, these were the last ones: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, with sixty men.
14 From the descendants of Bigvai: Uthai and Zaccur, with seventy men.
The Return to Jerusalem
15 I ·called [assembled; gathered] all those people together [C he lists 1,513 males, probably over 5,000 total with women and children] at the ·canal [river] that flows toward Ahava, where we camped for three days. I ·checked [reviewed; observed] all the people and the priests, but I did not find any Levites [C needed for service at a rebuilt Temple]. 16 So I called these leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And I called Joiarib and Elnathan, who were ·teachers [wise; judicious; men of learning/discernment]. 17 I sent these men to Iddo, the leader [C of the Levites] at Casiphia, and told them what to say to Iddo and his ·relatives [or collegues; L brothers], who are the Temple servants in Casiphia. I sent them to bring ·servants [ministers; attendants] to us for the ·Temple [L house] of our God. 18 The ·good [gracious] hand of our God was ·helping [L on] us, so ·Iddo’s relatives [L they] ·gave [brought; sent] us Sherebiah, a ·wise [skilled; capable; astute] man from the ·descendants [sons] of Mahli ·son [descendant] of Levi, who was the son of Israel. And they brought Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, for a total of eighteen men. 19 And they brought to us Hashabiah and Jeshaiah from the ·descendants [sons] of Merari, and his brothers and ·nephews [their sons]. In all there were twenty men. 20 They also brought two hundred twenty of the Temple servants, a group David and ·the officers [his officials] had ·set up [established; instituted] to ·help [assist; serve] the Levites. All of those men were ·listed [designated] by name.
21 There by the Ahava ·Canal [River], I announced we would all fast and ·deny [humble] ourselves before our God. We would ask God for a safe ·trip [journey] for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and ·horsemen [cavalry] to protect us from enemies on the ·road [way]. We had said to the king, “The hand of our God ·helps [L is on] everyone who ·obeys [seeks] him, but ·he is very angry with [his power and anger are against] all who reject him.” 23 So we fasted and ·prayed to [petitioned; pleaded with; T sought] our God about our trip, and he ·answered [heard; listened to] our prayers.
24 Then I ·chose [appointed; set apart] twelve of the priests who were leaders, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their ·relatives [colleagues; L brothers]. 25 I weighed the offering of silver and gold and the ·utensils [articles; vessels] given for the ·Temple [L house] of our God, and I gave them to the twelve priests I had chosen. The king, ·the people who advised him [his counselors], his ·officers [officials], and all the Israelites there with us had given these things. 26 I weighed out ·and gave them [L into their hands] ·about fifty thousand pounds [L 650 talents] of silver, ·about seventy-five hundred pounds [L 100 talents] of silver objects, and ·about seventy-five hundred pounds [L 100 talents] of gold. 27 I gave them twenty gold bowls ·that weighed [or worth] ·about nineteen pounds [L 1,000 darics] and two fine pieces of polished bronze that were as ·valuable [precious] as gold.
28 Then I said to the priests, “You and these utensils ·belong [are set apart/holy] to the Lord. The silver and gold are ·gifts [a freewill/voluntary offering] to the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers]. 29 ·Guard [Watch] these things carefully. In Jerusalem, weigh them in front of the ·leading [chief] priests, Levites, and the ·leaders [heads] of the family groups of Israel in the ·rooms [chambers; storerooms] of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and Levites accepted the silver, the gold, and the ·utensils [articles; vessels] that had been weighed to take them to the ·Temple [L house] of our God in Jerusalem.
31 On the twelfth day of the first month [C April 19] we left the Ahava ·Canal [River] ·and started toward [to travel/journey to] Jerusalem. The hand of our God ·helped us [was over us] and ·protected [saved; T delivered] us from enemies and ·robbers [ambushes] along the way. 32 Finally we arrived in Jerusalem where we ·rested [stayed] three days.
33 On the fourth day we weighed out the silver, the gold, and the ·utensils [articles; vessels] in the ·Temple [L house] of our God. We handed them to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, as were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 We checked everything by number and by weight, and the total weight was ·written down [recorded].
35 Then the ·captives [exiles] who returned from captivity made burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] to the God of Israel. They sacrificed twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six ·male sheep [rams], and seventy-seven lambs. For a ·sin [or purification] offering [Lev. 4:3] there were twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord. 36 They ·took [delivered] King Artaxerxes’ ·orders [decrees] to the royal officers and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates [C provinces west of the Euphrates River]. Then these men gave help to the people and the ·Temple [L house] of God.
8 Saul ·agreed that the killing of Stephen was good [L approved of his execution/death].
Troubles for the Believers
On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout [L the countryside/regions of] Judea and Samaria [C the southern and central regions of Israel].
2 And some ·religious [devout; pious; godly] ·people [or men] buried Stephen and ·cried loudly [or mourned deeply] for him. 3 [L But] Saul ·was also trying to destroy [or began harassing/mistreating/doing harm to] the church, going from house to house, dragging ·out [or off] men and women and putting them in ·jail [prison]. 4 But wherever the believers were scattered, they told people the ·Good News [Gospel].
Philip Preaches in Samaria
5 Philip [C one of the seven leaders chosen to serve; 6:5; 21:8] went to ·the city[a] [or a city; or the main city] of Samaria [C perhaps the city of Sebaste, known in ancient times as Samaria] and ·preached about [proclaimed] the ·Christ [Messiah]. 6 When the ·people [L crowds] there heard Philip and saw the ·miracles [signs] he was doing, they all [L with one accord/mind] listened carefully to what he said. 7 Many of these people had ·evil [L unclean; 5:16] spirits in them, but Philip made the evil spirits ·leave [come out]. The spirits made a loud ·noise [cry] when they came out. Philip also healed many ·weak [paralyzed] and ·crippled [lame] people there. 8 So the people in that city were ·very happy [joyful; greatly rejoicing].
9 But there was a man named Simon in that city. ·Before Philip came there, [L Previously] Simon had practiced ·magic [sorcery] and amazed all the people of Samaria. He ·bragged and called himself [L said he was] a great man. 10 All the people—·the least important and the most important [L from the smallest to the greatest]—paid attention to Simon, saying, “This man has the power of God, called ‘·the Great Power [L Great]’!” 11 Simon had amazed them with his ·magic [sorcery] so long that the people ·became his followers [L paid attention to him]. 12 But when Philip told them the ·Good News [Gospel] about the kingdom of God and the ·power [L name] of Jesus Christ, men and women believed Philip and were baptized. 13 Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the ·miracles [signs] and the powerful things Philip did, Simon was amazed.
14 When the apostles who were still in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria [8:1] had ·accepted [received] the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When Peter and John arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 These people had [L only] been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet ·come [L fallen] upon any of them. 17 Then, when ·the two apostles [L they] began ·laying [placing] their hands on the people [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], they received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles ·laid [placed] their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money, 19 saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I ·lay [place] my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter said to him, “·You and your money should both be destroyed [L May your silver perish with you], because you thought you could ·buy [get; obtain] God’s gift with money. 21 You ·cannot [L have no part or] share with us in this ·work [ministry; L thing; word] since your heart is not right before God. 22 ·Change your heart! Turn away from [L Repent of] this evil thing you have done, and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you for ·thinking this [L the intent of your heart]. 23 [L For] I see that you are full of ·bitter jealousy [L the gall/bile of bitterness; C a metaphor; gall is a bitter fluid; Deut. 29:18] and ·ruled by sin [L in bondage to wickedness/unrighteousness].”
24 Simon answered, “Both of you pray for me to the Lord so the things you have said will not happen to me.”
25 After ·Peter and John [L they] ·told the people what they had seen Jesus do [L testified; bore witness] and after they had spoken the ·message [word] of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan ·towns [villages] and preached the ·Good News [Gospel] to the people.
Philip Teaches an Ethiopian
26 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ·ready [up] and go ·south [or at about noon] to the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem [C a distance of about fifty miles]—the ·desert [wilderness] road.” 27 So Philip got ·ready [up] and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia [C not present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia), but Nubia in northern Sudan], a eunuch [or court official; C royal servants were sometimes made eunuchs (castrated males), especially if they served in the presence of females]. He was an important officer in the service of ·Candace [or the Kandáke; C a title, not a name, meaning “queen”], the queen of the Ethiopians; he was responsible for ·taking care of all her money [her entire treasury]. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 Now, as he was on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading from the ·Book of Isaiah, the prophet [L the prophet Isaiah]. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and ·stay near [join] it.”
30 So when Philip ran toward the chariot, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet [C ancient peoples generally read aloud]. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 He answered, “How can I understand unless someone ·explains it to [guides; directs] me?” Then he ·invited [urged] Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32 The portion of Scripture he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep being led to ·be killed [L the slaughter].
He was quiet, as a lamb is quiet ·while its wool is being cut [L before its shearer];
he never opened his mouth.
33 He was shamed and was treated ·unfairly [unjustly].
·He died without children to continue his family [L Who can describe his generation?; C having no descendants was a mark of shame and failure].
[L For] His life on earth ·has ended [was taken away; Is. 53:7–8].”
34 The ·officer [L eunuch] said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else [C the idea of a suffering messiah was not commonly understood in Judaism]?” 35 Philip ·began to speak [L opened his mouth], and starting with this same Scripture, he told the man the ·Good News [Gospel] about Jesus.
36 While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The ·officer [L eunuch] said, “Look, here is water. What is ·stopping [preventing] me from being baptized?” |37 Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”|[b] 38 Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the ·officer [L eunuch] went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord ·took [snatched; carried] Philip away; the officer ·never [or no longer] saw him again. And the ·officer [L eunuch] continued on his way home, ·full of joy [rejoicing]. 40 But Philip ·appeared [or found himself; L was found] in a city called Azotus [C another name for Ashdod, just to the north of Gaza] and ·preached [proclaimed] the ·Good News [Gospel] in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea [C a city further north up the coast].
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