M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abram and Lot
13 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him. 2 Abram was very wealthy in livestock, in silver and in gold.
3 He continued on his journey from the Negev and came to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he first made an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land was not able to support them both dwelling together because their possessions were so great. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelled in the land at that time.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife, I ask you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you will go to the left, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 Lot lifted up his eyes, and looked at all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 Then Lot chose for himself the entire valley of the Jordan and journeyed east, and the two of them separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the valley and pitched his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the Lord.
14 After Lot had departed from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be numbered. 17 Arise, and walk throughout the land across its length and its width, for I will give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar to the Lord there.
The Question About the Sabbath(A)
12 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry, 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the ritual bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, but are blameless? 6 I say to you, in this place there is One who is greater than the temple. 7 If you had known what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Healing of the Withered Hand(B)
9 When He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And there was a man whose hand had withered. They asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” that they might accuse Him.
11 He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Then how much better is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored whole like the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how they might kill Him.
The Chosen Servant
15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them that they should not make Him known, 17 to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
18 “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen,
My Beloved, in whom My soul is well pleased;
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
and He will render judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not struggle nor cry out,
nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick He will not quench,
until He renders judgment unto victory;
21 and in His name will the Gentiles trust.”[a]
Jesus and Beelzebub(C)
22 Then one possessed with a demon was brought to Him, blind and mute, and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 All the people were amazed and said, “Is He not the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This Man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. Then how will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 “Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. 31 Therefore I say to you, all kinds of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.
A Tree and Its Fruit(D)
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by its fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word that men speak, they will give an account on the Day of Judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Demand for a Sign(E)
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish,[b] so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.[c] And now One greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And now One greater than Solomon is here.
The Return of the Unclean Spirit(F)
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through dry places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.”
The Mother and Brothers of Jesus(G)
46 While He was still speaking to the people, right then His mother and His brothers stood outside asking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak with You.”
48 But He answered the man who told him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem
2 In the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Never had I been upset in his presence. 2 So the king said to me, “Why is your face troubled though you do not seem sick? This is nothing but a troubled heart.”
Then I became very much afraid 3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should not my face be troubled when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 So the king said to me, “What are you requesting about this matter?”
Immediately, I prayed to the God of heaven 5 and then said to the king, “If this pleases the king and if this might be good for your servant who is before you, then would you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs so that I may rebuild it?”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, said to me, “How long would your journey be? And when will you return?” Because it pleased the king to send me, I established a timetable for him.
7 I further said to the king, “If this pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors of the province Beyond the River so that they would allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, 8 as well as a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple mount, for the city wall, and for the house into which I will enter.” The king granted me these things, because the good hand of my God was upon me. 9 When I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, I gave them the king’s letters. He also sent with me commanders of foot and horse soldiers.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite subordinate heard this, it deeply grieved them that there was a man coming to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls
11 When I arrived in Jerusalem, I was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men who were with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me, except the one on which I rode.
13 So I went out by night by the Valley Gate toward the Dragon’s Well and then to the Dung Gate, because I was inspecting the broken-down walls of Jerusalem and its burned gates. 14 Next I passed by the Fountain Gate and then to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass. 15 By going up along the riverbed at night, I inspected the wall. Then I turned back so that I could enter by the Valley Gate, and then came back again. 16 The officials did not know where I went or what I did, since I had not yet told it to the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or to any of the others who would do the work.
17 Finally, I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem is devastated and its gates are burned with fire. Come, and let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no more be a reproach.” 18 Then I told them that the hand of my God had been good to me and also about the king’s words that he had spoken to me.
And they said, “Let us rise up and build!” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite subordinate, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 Then answered I them and said to them, “The God of heaven, He will enable us to prosper. Therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you will have no portion, or right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”
James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
12 About that time King Herod extended his hands to harm certain ones from the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 Seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to arrest Peter also. This happened during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him before the people after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed to God without ceasing for him.
Peter Delivered From Prison
6 The very night when Herod would have brought him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. And the guards before the door were securing the prison. 7 And suddenly an angel of the Lord approached him, and a light shone in the prison. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Rise up, quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put your sandals on.” And he did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 He went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guards, they came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened to them by itself. And they went out and went forward one street. And immediately the angel left him.
11 When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I certainly know that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 Realizing this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 As Peter knocked at the door of the porch, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, from joy she did not open the door, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the door.
15 They said to her, “You are insane.” But she insisted that it was really so. So they said, “It is his angel.”
16 But Peter continued knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Motioning to them with his hand to be quiet, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was a great disturbance among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and did not find him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.
Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But they came to him in unity, and having made Blastus, the king’s personal servant, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country.
21 On an appointed day, Herod, dressed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave a public speech to them. 22 The mob shouted, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God spread and increased.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their ministry, they returned from Jerusalem and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.