M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Tower of Babel
11 There was a time when the whole world spoke one language. Everyone used the same words. 2 Then people began to move from the East. They found a plain in the land of Babylonia and stayed there to live. 3 Then they said to each other, “Let’s make some bricks of clay and bake them in the fire.” Then they used these bricks as stones, and they used tar as mortar.
4 Then the people said, “Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that will reach to the sky. Then we will be famous. This will keep us together so that we will not be scattered all over the earth.”
5 Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. 6 The Lord said, “These people all speak the same language. And I see that they are joined together to do this work. This is only the beginning of what they can do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. 7 Let’s go down and confuse their language. Then they will not understand each other.”
8 So people stopped building the city, and the Lord scattered them all over the earth. 9 That is the place where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. That is why it is called Babel.[a] And it was from there that the Lord caused the people to spread out to all the other places on earth.
The History of Shem’s Family
10 This is the history of Shem’s family. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. 11 After that Shem lived 500 years. He had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. 13 After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
14 After Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. 15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
16 After Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. 17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived another 430 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
18 After Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. 19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived another 209 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
20 After Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. 21 After Serug was born, Reu lived another 207 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
22 After Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. 23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived another 200 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
24 After Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. 25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived another 119 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah was 70 years old, his sons Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born.
The History of Terah’s Family
27 This is the history of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in his hometown, Ur of Babylonia,[b] while his father Terah was still alive. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai. Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. Milcah was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai did not have any children because she was not able to have children.
31 Terah took his family and left Ur of Babylonia. They planned to travel to Canaan. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife). They traveled to the city of Haran and decided to stay there. 32 Terah lived to be 205 years old. He died in Haran.
Jesus Sends His Apostles on a Mission(A)
10 Jesus called his twelve followers together. He gave them power over evil spirits and power to heal every kind of disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles:
Simon (also called Peter),
Andrew, the brother of Peter,
James, the son of Zebedee,
John, the brother of James,
3 Philip,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Matthew, the tax collector,
James, the son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
4 Simon, the Zealot,
Judas Iscariot (the one who handed Jesus over to his enemies).
5 Jesus sent the twelve men out with these instructions: “Don’t go to the non-Jewish people. And don’t go into any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the people of Israel. They are like sheep that are lost. 7 When you go, tell them this: ‘God’s kingdom is now very near.[a]’ 8 Heal the sick. Bring the dead back to life. Heal the people who have leprosy. And force demons out of people. I give you these powers freely, so help others freely. 9 Don’t carry any money with you—gold or silver or copper. 10 Don’t carry a bag. Take only the clothes and sandals you are wearing. And don’t take a walking stick. A worker should be given what he needs.
11 “When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in his home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ 13 If the people in that home welcome you, they are worthy of your peace. May they have the peace you wished for them. But if they don’t welcome you, they are not worthy of your peace. Take back the peace you wished for them. 14 And if the people in a home or a town refuse to welcome you or listen to you, then leave that place and shake the dust off your feet.[b] 15 I can assure you that on the judgment day it will be worse for that town than for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jesus Warns About Troubles(B)
16 “Listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be like doves and don’t hurt anyone. 17 Be careful! There are people who will arrest you and take you to be judged. They will whip you in their synagogues. 18 You will be taken to stand before governors and kings. People will do this to you because you follow me. You will tell about me to those kings and governors and to the non-Jewish people. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21 “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and will have them killed. 22 Everyone will hate you because you follow me. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved. 23 When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city. I promise you that you will not finish going to all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes again.
24 “Students are not better than their teacher. Servants are not better than their master. 25 Students should be happy to be treated the same as their teacher. And servants should be happy to be treated the same as their master. If those people call me ‘the ruler of demons,’ and I am the head of the family,[c] then it is even more certain that they will insult you, the members of the family!
Fear God, Not People(C)
26 “So don’t be afraid of those people. Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known. 27 I tell you all this secretly,[d] but I want you to tell it publicly.[e] Whatever I tell you privately,[f] you should shout for everyone to hear.[g]
28 “Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell. 29 When birds are sold, two small birds cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it. 30 God even knows how many hairs are on your head. 31 So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.
Don’t Be Ashamed of Your Faith(D)
32 “If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me. 33 But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me.
Following Jesus May Bring You Trouble(E)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace. I came to bring trouble.[h] 35 I have come to make this happen:
‘A son will turn against his father.
A daughter will turn against her mother.
A daughter-in-law will turn against her mother-in-law.
36 Even members of your own family will be your enemies.’ (F)
37 “Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy of me. And those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy of me. 38 Those who will not accept the cross that is given to them when they follow me are not worthy of me. 39 Those who try to keep the life they have will lose it. But those who give up their life for me will find true life.
God Will Bless Those Who Welcome You(G)
40 “Whoever accepts you also accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. 41 Whoever accepts a prophet because he is a prophet will get the same reward a prophet gets. And whoever accepts a godly person just because that person is godly will get the same reward a godly person gets. 42 Whoever helps any of these little ones because they are my followers will definitely get a reward, even if they only give them a cup of cold water.”
The People Confess Their Sin
10 Ezra was praying and confessing. He was crying and bowing down in front of God’s Temple. While Ezra was doing that, a large group of the Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him. They were crying. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, spoke to Ezra and said, “We have not been faithful to our God. We have married the people living around us. But, even though we have done this, there is still hope for Israel. 3 Now let us make an agreement before our God to send away all these women and their children. We will do that to follow the advice of Ezra and the people who respect the laws of our God. We will obey God’s law. 4 Get up, Ezra. This is your responsibility, but we will support you. So be brave and do it.”
5 So Ezra got up. He made the leading priests, the Levites, and all the Israelites promise to do what he said. 6 Then Ezra went away from the front of God’s house. He went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While Ezra was there, he didn’t eat food or drink water. He did that because he was still very sad. He was very sad about the Israelites who came back to Jerusalem. 7 Then he sent a message to every place in Judah and Jerusalem. The message told all the Jewish people who had come back from captivity to meet together in Jerusalem. 8 Those who did not come to Jerusalem in three days like the officials and elders said would lose their property and be removed from the group.
9 So in three days all the men from the families of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month,[a] all the people met together in the Temple yard. They were very upset because of the reason for the meeting and because of the heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood and said to them, “You people have not been faithful to God. You have married foreign women. You have made Israel more guilty by doing that. 11 Now you must confess your sins to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. You must obey his command. Separate yourselves from the people living around you and from your foreign wives.”
12 Then the whole group who met together answered Ezra. They shouted, “Ezra, you are right! We must do what you say. 13 But there are many people here. And it is the rainy time of year, so we cannot stay outside. This problem cannot be solved in a day or two because we have sinned in a very bad way. 14 Let our leaders decide for the whole group meeting here. Then let every man in our towns who married a foreign woman come here to Jerusalem at a planned time. Let them come here with the elders and judges of their towns. Then God will stop being angry with us.”
15 Only a few men were against this plan. They were Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah. Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite also were against the plan.
16 So the Israelites who came back to Jerusalem accepted the plan. Ezra the priest chose men who were family leaders. He chose one man from each tribe. Each man was chosen by name. On the first day of the tenth month,[b] the men who were chosen sat down to study each of the cases. 17 And by the first day of the first month,[c] they finished discussing all the men who had married foreign women.
List of Men Who Married Foreign Women
18 These are the names of the descendants of the priests who married foreign women:
From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and Jeshua’s brothers, these men: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 All of them promised to divorce their wives. And then each one of them offered a ram from the flock for a guilt offering. They did that because of their guilt.
20 From the descendants of Immer, these men: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 From the descendants of Harim, these men: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 From the descendants of Pashhur, these men: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 Among the Levites, these are the men who married foreign women:
Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 Among the singers, this is the man who married a foreign woman: Eliashib.
Among the gatekeepers, these are the men who married foreign women: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 Among the other Israelites, these men married foreign women:
From the descendants of Parosh, these men: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.
26 From the descendants of Elam, these men: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 From the descendants of Zattu, these men: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 From the descendants of Bebai, these men: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 From the descendants of Bani, these men: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
30 From the descendants of Pahath Moab, these men: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31 From the descendants of Harim, these men: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
33 From the descendants of Hashum, these men: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 From the descendants of Bani, these men: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38 From the descendants of Binnui, these men: Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43 From the descendants of Nebo, these men: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 All these men married foreign women, and some of them had children with these wives.
Peter and Cornelius
10 In the city of Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a Roman army officer in what was called the Italian Unit. 2 He was a religious man. He and all the others who lived in his house were worshipers of the true God. He gave much of his money to help the poor people and always prayed to God. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God coming to him and saying, “Cornelius!”
4 Staring at the angel and feeling afraid, Cornelius said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said to him, “God has heard your prayers and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. 5 Send some men now to the city of Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying with someone also named Simon, a leatherworker who has a house beside the sea.” 7 The angel who spoke to Cornelius left. Then Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier. The soldier was a religious man, one of his close helpers. 8 Cornelius explained everything to these three men and sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day they were coming near Joppa about noon, when Peter was going up to the roof to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat. But while they were preparing the food for Peter to eat, he had a vision. 11 He saw something coming down through the open sky. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill anything here and eat it.”
14 But Peter said, “I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat.” 16 This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back up into heaven. 17 Peter wondered what this vision meant.
The men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house. They were standing at the door. 18 They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with these men without wondering if it’s all right, because I sent them.” 21 So Peter went downstairs and said to them, “I think I’m the man you are looking for. Why did you come here?”
22 The men said, “A holy angel told Cornelius to invite you to his house. He is an army officer. He is a good man, one who worships God, and all the Jewish people respect him. The angel told him to invite you to his house so that he can listen to what you have to say.” 23 Peter asked the men to come in and stay for the night.
The next day Peter got ready and went away with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went with him. 24 The next day they came to the city of Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had already gathered his relatives and close friends at his house.
25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. He fell down at Peter’s feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter told him to get up. Peter said, “Stand up! I am only a man like you.” 27 Peter continued talking with Cornelius. Then Peter went inside and saw a large group of people gathered there.
28 Peter said to the people, “You understand that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit anyone who is not a Jew. But God has shown me that I should not consider anyone unfit or say they are not pure. 29 That’s why I didn’t argue when your men asked me to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house. It was at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly there was someone standing before me wearing bright, shiny clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. 32 So send some men to the city of Joppa and tell Simon Peter to come. He is staying with another man named Simon, a leatherworker who has a house beside the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately. It was very good of you to come here. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Peter Speaks in the House of Cornelius
34 Peter began to speak: “I really understand now that God does not consider some people to be better than others. 35 He accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right. It is not important what nation they come from. 36 God has spoken to the people of Israel. He sent them the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all people.
37 “You know what has happened all over Judea. It began in Galilee after John told the people they needed to be baptized. 38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth. God made him the Messiah by giving him the Holy Spirit and power. Jesus went everywhere doing good for people. He healed those who were ruled by the devil, showing that God was with him.
39 “We saw all that Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem. But he was killed. They put him on a cross made of wood. 40 But on the third day after his death, God raised him to life and let him be seen openly. 41 He was not seen by everyone, but only by us, the ones God had already chosen to be witnesses. We ate and drank with him after he was raised from death.
42 “Jesus told us to go and speak to the people. He told us to tell them that he is the one God chose to be the Judge of all who are living and all who have died. 43 Everyone who believes in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name. All the prophets agree that this is true.”
God Shows That He Accepts All People
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his speech. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the Holy Spirit had been poured out as a gift also to people who were not Jews. 46 They heard them speaking different languages and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “How can anyone object to these people being baptized in water? They have received the Holy Spirit the same as we did!” 48 So Peter told them to baptize Cornelius and his relatives and friends in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International