M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Lot Is Captured
14 Amraphel was the king of Babylonia, Arioch was the king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer was the king of Elam, and Tidal was the king of Goiim. 2 All these kings fought a war against King Bera of Sodom: King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. (Bela is also called Zoar.)
3 All these kings joined their armies in the Valley of Siddim. (The Valley of Siddim is now the Salt Sea.) 4 These kings had served Kedorlaomer for twelve years. But in the 13th year, they all rebelled against him. 5 So in the 14th year, King Kedorlaomer and the kings with him came to fight against them. Kedorlaomer and the kings with him defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim. They also defeated the Zuzites in Ham. They defeated the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim. 6 And they defeated the Horites who lived in the area from the hill country of Seir[a] to El Paran.[b] (El Paran is near the desert.) 7 Then King Kedorlaomer turned back, went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and defeated the Amalekites. He also defeated the Amorites living in Hazezon Tamar.
8 At that time the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar) joined together to fight against their enemies in the Valley of Siddim.[c] 9 They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar. So there were four kings fighting against five.
10 There were many holes filled with tar in the Valley of Siddim. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies ran away, some of the soldiers fell into these holes, but the others ran away to the mountains.
11 So Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned. They took all their food and clothing and left. 12 Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, was living in Sodom, and they captured him. They also took everything he owned and left. 13 One of the men who had escaped went to Abram the Hebrew and told him what happened. Abram was camped near the trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner[d] had made an agreement to help each other, and they had also signed an agreement to help Abram.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 When Abram learned that Lot was captured, he called all of his family together. There were 318 trained soldiers. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan. 15 That night he and his men made a surprise attack against the enemy. They defeated them and chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then Abram brought back everything the enemy had stolen, as well as the women and servants, his nephew Lot, and everything Lot owned.
17 Then Abram went home after he defeated Kedorlaomer and the kings with him. On his way home, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. (This is now called King’s Valley.)
Melchizedek
18 Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, also went to meet Abram. He brought bread and wine. 19 He blessed Abram and said,
“Abram, may you be blessed by God Most High,
the one who made heaven and earth.
20 And we praise God Most High,
who helped you defeat your enemies.”
Abram gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything he had taken during the battle. 21 Then the king of Sodom told Abram, “Give me my people who were captured. But you can keep everything else.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I promise to the Lord, the God Most High, the one who made heaven and earth. 23 I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours—not even a thread or a sandal strap! I don’t want you to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 The only thing I will accept is the food that my young men have eaten, but you should give the other men their share. Take what we won in battle and give some to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. These men helped me in the battle.”
A Story About a Farmer Sowing Seed(A)
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 A large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and sat down. All the people stayed on the shore. 3 Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He told them this story:
“A farmer went out to sow seed. 4 While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not enough dirt. It grew very fast there, because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, it burned the plants. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. 7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and stopped the good plants from growing. 8 But some of the seed fell on good ground. There it grew and made grain. Some plants made 100 times more grain, some 60 times more, and some 30 times more. 9 You people who hear me, listen!”
Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach(B)
10 The followers came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you use these stories to teach the people?”
11 Jesus answered, “Only you can know the secret truths about God’s kingdom. Those other people cannot know these secret truths. 12 The people who have some understanding will be given more. And they will have even more than they need. But those who do not have much understanding will lose even the little understanding that they have. 13 This is why I use these stories to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand. 14 So they show that what Isaiah said about them is true:
‘You people will listen and listen,
but you will not understand.
You will look and look,
but you will not really see.
15 Yes, the minds of these people are now closed.
They have ears, but they don’t listen.
They have eyes, but they refuse to see.
If their minds were not closed,
they might see with their eyes;
they might hear with their ears;
they might understand with their minds.
Then they might turn back to me and be healed.’ (C)
16 But God has blessed you. You understand what you see with your eyes. And you understand what you hear with your ears. 17 I can assure you, many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see it. And many prophets and godly people wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear it.
Jesus Explains the Story About Seed(D)
18 “So listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer:
19 “What about the seed that fell by the path? That is like the people who hear the teaching about God’s kingdom but do not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in their hearts.
20 “And what about the seed that fell on rocky ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and quickly and gladly accept it. 21 But they do not let the teaching go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.
22 “And what about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That is like the people who hear the teaching but let worries about this life and love for money stop it from growing. So it does not produce a crop in their lives.
23 “But what about the seed that fell on the good ground? That is like the people who hear the teaching and understand it. They grow and produce a good crop, sometimes 100 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 30 times more.”
A Story About Wheat and Weeds
24 Then Jesus used another story to teach them. Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who planted good seed in his field. 25 That night, while everyone was asleep, the man’s enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and then left. 26 Later, the wheat grew, and heads of grain grew on the plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. 27 Then the man’s servants came to him and said, ‘You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?’
28 “The man answered, ‘An enemy planted weeds.’
“The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
29 “He answered, ‘No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. 30 Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At the harvest time I will tell the workers this: First, gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.’”
What Is God’s Kingdom Like?(E)
31 Then Jesus told the people another story: “God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is the largest of all garden plants. It becomes a tree big enough for the birds to come and make nests in its branches.”
33 Then Jesus told them another story: “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour to make bread. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”
34 Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people. He always used stories to teach them. 35 This was to make clear the full meaning of what the prophet said:
“I will speak using stories;
I will tell things that have been secrets since the world was made.” (F)
Jesus Explains a Hard Story
36 Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The man who planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. The good seed are the people in God’s kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One. 39 And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest is the end of time. And the workers who gather are God’s angels.
40 “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be the same at the end of time. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will find the people who cause sin and all those who do evil. The angels will take those people out of his kingdom. 42 They will throw them into the place of fire. There the people will be crying and grinding their teeth with pain. 43 Then the godly people will shine like the sun. They will be in the kingdom of their Father. You people who hear me, listen!
Stories About a Treasure and a Pearl
44 “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. He hid it again and was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned and bought the field.
45 “Also, God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 One day he found a very fine pearl. He went and sold everything he had to buy it.
A Story About a Fishing Net
47 “Also, God’s kingdom is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. 48 It was full, so the fishermen pulled it to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish. 49 It will be the same at the end of time. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the godly people. 50 They will throw the evil people into the place of fire. There the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”
51 Then Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”
They said, “Yes, we understand.”
52 Then Jesus said to the followers, “So every teacher of the law who has learned about God’s kingdom has some new things to teach. He is like the owner of a house. He has new things and old things saved in that house. And he brings out the new with the old.”
Jesus Goes to His Hometown(G)
53 When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there. 54 He went to the town where he grew up. He taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and this power to do miracles? 55 Isn’t he just the son of the carpenter we know? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And don’t all his sisters still live here in town? How is he able to do these things?” 57 So they had a problem accepting him.
But Jesus said to them, “People everywhere give honor to a prophet, but in his own town or in his own home a prophet does not get any honor.” 58 Jesus did not do many miracles there, because the people did not believe in him.
Builders of the Wall
3 The name of the high priest was Eliashib. He and his brothers, the priests, went to work and built the Sheep Gate. They prayed to make that gate holy to God. They set its doors in place in the wall. The priests worked on the wall of Jerusalem as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. They prayed to make all this work holy to God.
2 The men from Jericho built the wall next to the priests. And Zaccur son of a man named Imri built the wall next to the men of Jericho.
3 The sons of a man named Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They set the beams in place. They put doors on the building. Then they put the locks and bolts on the doors.
4 Meremoth son of Uriah repaired the next section of the wall. (Uriah was the son of Hakkoz.)
Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired the next section of the wall. (Berekiah was the son of Meshezabel.)
Zadok son of Baana repaired the next section of the wall.
5 The men from Tekoa repaired the next section of the wall, but the leaders from Tekoa refused to work for Nehemiah their governor.
6 Joiada and Meshullam fixed the Old Gate. Joiada is the son of Paseah and Meshullam is the son of Besodeiah. They set the beams in place. They put the doors on the hinges. Then they put the locks and bolts on the doors.
7 The men from Gibeon and Mizpah fixed the next section of the wall. Melatiah from Gibeon and Jadon from Meronoth did the work. Gibeon and Meronoth are places that are controlled by the governors of the area west of the Euphrates River.
8 Uzziel son of Harhaiah repaired the next section of the wall. Uzziel was a goldsmith. Hananiah was one of the perfume makers. These men built and repaired Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
9 Rephaiah son of Hur repaired the next section of the wall. Rephaiah was the governor of half of Jerusalem.
10 Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the next section of the wall. Jedaiah repaired the wall next to his own house. Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired the next section. 11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired the next section. They also repaired Oven Tower.
12 Shallum son of Hallohesh repaired the next section of the wall. His daughters helped him. Shallum was the governor of the other half of Jerusalem.
13 The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the people who live in the town of Zanoah. They built the Valley Gate. They put the doors on their hinges. Then they put the locks and bolts on the doors. They also repaired 500 yards[a] of the wall. They worked on the wall all the way to the Gate of Ash Piles.
14 Malkijah son of Recab repaired the Gate of Ash Piles. Malkijah was the governor of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He repaired the gate. He put the doors on the hinges. Then he put the locks and bolts on the doors.
15 Shallun son of Col-Hozeh repaired the Fountain Gate. Shallun was the governor of the district of Mizpah. He repaired the gate and put a roof over it. He put the doors on the hinges. Then he put the locks and bolts on the doors. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam that is next to the King’s Garden. He repaired the wall all the way to the steps that go down from the City of David.
16 Nehemiah son of Azbuk repaired the next section. This Nehemiah was the governor of half the district of Beth Zur. He made repairs up to a place that is across from the tombs of David. And he worked as far as the man-made pool and the House of Heroes.
17 The men from the tribe of Levi repaired the next section. They worked under Rehum son of Bani. Hashabiah repaired the next section. Hashabiah was governor of half the district of Keilah. He made repairs for his own district.
18 Their brothers repaired the next section. They worked under Binnui son of Henadad. Binnui was the governor of the other half of the district of Keilah.
19 Ezer son of Jeshua repaired the next section. Ezer was governor of Mizpah. He repaired the section of wall from the room for weapons to the corner of the wall. 20 Baruch son of Zabbai repaired the next section. Baruch worked very hard and repaired the section of wall from the corner to the entrance to the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section of wall from the entrance to Eliashib’s house to the end of that house. 22 The next section of walls was repaired by the priests who lived in that area.[b]
23 Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the wall in front of their own house. And Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, repaired the wall next to his house.
24 Binnui son of Henadad repaired the section of wall from Azariah’s house to the bend in the wall and then to the corner.
25 Palal son of Uzai worked across from the bend in the wall near the tower. This is the tower at the king’s upper house. That is near the courtyard of the king’s guard. Pedaiah son of Parosh worked next to Palal.
26 The Temple servants lived on Ophel Hill. They repaired the next section all the way to the east side of the Water Gate and the tower near it.
27 The men from Tekoa repaired the rest of that section from the big tower all the way to the Ophel wall.
28 The priests repaired the section over the Horse Gate. Each priest repaired the wall in front of his own house. 29 Zadok son of Immer repaired the section in front of his house. Shemaiah son of Shecaniah repaired the next section. Shemaiah was the guard of the East Gate.
30 Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun son of Zalaph repaired the rest of that section of wall. (Hanun was Zalaph’s sixth son.)
Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired the section in front of his house. 31 Malkijah repaired the next section of wall all the way to the houses of the Temple servants and the merchants. That is across from the Inspection Gate. Malkijah repaired the section all the way to the room over the corner of the wall. Malkijah was a goldsmith. 32 The goldsmiths and the merchants repaired the section of wall from that corner to the Sheep Gate.
Barnabas and Saul Given a Special Work
13 In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon (also called Niger), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene), Manaen (who had grown up with King Herod[a]), and Saul. 2 These men were all serving the Lord and fasting when the Holy Spirit said to them, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. They are the ones I have chosen to do it.”
3 So the church fasted and prayed. They laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus
4 Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went to the city of Seleucia. Then they sailed from there to the island of Cyprus. 5 When Barnabas and Saul came to the city of Salamis, they told the message of God in the Jewish synagogues. John Mark was with them to help.
6 They went across the whole island to the city of Paphos. There they met a Jewish man named Barjesus who did magic. He was a false prophet. 7 He always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, who was the governor and a very smart man. He invited Barnabas and Saul to come visit him, because he wanted to hear the message of God. 8 But the magician Elymas (as Barjesus was called in Greek) spoke against them, trying to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. 9 But Saul (also known as Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, looked hard at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil, full of lies and all kinds of evil tricks! You are an enemy of everything that is right. Will you never stop trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies? 11 Now the Lord will touch you and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.”
Then everything became dark for Elymas. He walked around lost. He was trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw this, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas Go to Antioch in Pisidia
13 Paul and the people with him sailed away from Paphos. They came to Perga, a city in Pamphylia. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city near Pisidia.
On the Sabbath day they went into the Jewish synagogue and sat down. 15 The Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas: “Brothers, if you have something to say that will help the people here, please speak.”
16 Paul stood up, raised his hand to get their attention, and said, “People of Israel and all you others who worship the true God, please listen to me! 17 The God of Israel chose our ancestors. And during the time our people lived in Egypt as foreigners, he made them great. Then he brought them out of that country with great power. 18 And he was patient with them for 40 years in the desert. 19 God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave their land to his people. 20 All this happened in about 450 years.
“After this, God gave our people judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king. God gave them Saul, the son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was king for 40 years. 22 After God took Saul away, God made David their king. This is what God said about David: ‘David, the son of Jesse, is the kind of person who does what pleases me. He will do everything I want him to do.’
23 “As he promised, God has brought one of David’s descendants to Israel to be their Savior. That descendant is Jesus. 24 Before he came, John told all the people of Israel what they should do. He told them to be baptized to show they wanted to change their lives. 25 When John was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the Messiah.[b] He is coming later, and I am not worthy to be the slave who unties his sandals.’
26 “My brothers, sons in the family of Abraham, and you other people who also worship the true God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 The Jews living in Jerusalem and their leaders did not realize that Jesus was the Savior. The words the prophets wrote about him were read every Sabbath day, but they did not understand. They condemned Jesus. When they did this, they made the words of the prophets come true. 28 They could not find any real reason why Jesus should die, but they asked Pilate to kill him.
29 “These Jews did all the bad things that the Scriptures said would happen to Jesus. Then they took Jesus down from the cross and put him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him up from death! 31 After this, for many days, those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him. They are now his witnesses to our people.
32 “We tell you the Good News about the promise God made to our ancestors. 33 We are their descendants, and God has made this promise come true for us. God did this by raising Jesus from death. We also read about this in Psalm 2:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’ (A)
34 God raised Jesus from death. Jesus will never go back to the grave and become dust. So God said,
‘I will give you the true and holy promises
that I made to David.’ (B)
35 But in another Psalm it says,
‘You will not let your Holy One rot in the grave.’ (C)
36 “David did God’s will during the time he lived. Then he died and was buried like all his ancestors. And his body did rot in the grave! 37 But the one God raised from death did not rot in the grave. 38-39 Brothers, understand what we are telling you. You can have forgiveness of your sins through this Jesus. The Law of Moses could not free you from your sins. But you can be made right with God if you believe in Jesus. 40 So be careful! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:
41 ‘Listen, you people who doubt!
You can wonder, but then go away and die;
because during your time,
I will do something that you will not believe.
You will not believe it,
even if someone explains it to you!’” (D)
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people asked them to come again on the next Sabbath day and tell them more about these things. 43 After the meeting, many of the people followed Paul and Barnabas, including many Jews and people who had changed their religion to be like Jews and worship the true God. Paul and Barnabas encouraged them to continue trusting in God’s grace.
44 On the next Sabbath day, almost all the people in the city came together to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews there saw all these people, they became very jealous. Shouting insults, they argued against everything Paul said. 46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke very boldly. They said, “We had to tell God’s message to you Jews first, but you refuse to listen. You have made it clear that you are not worthy of having eternal life. So we will now go to those who are not Jews. 47 This is what the Lord told us to do:
‘I have made you a light for the other nations,
to show people all over the world the way to be saved.’” (E)
48 When the non-Jewish people heard Paul say this, they were happy. They gave honor to the message of the Lord, and many of them believed it. These were the ones chosen to have eternal life.
49 And so the message of the Lord was being told throughout the whole country. 50 But the Jews there caused some of the important religious women and the leaders of the city to be angry and turn against Paul and Barnabas and throw them out of town. 51 So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet.[c] Then they went to the city of Iconium. 52 But the Lord’s followers in Antioch were happy and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International