M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
21 1-2 Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; 3 and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning “Laughter!”). 4-5 Eight days after he was born, Abraham circumcised him, as God required. (Abraham was 100 years old at that time.)
6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this shall rejoice with me. 7 For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a child in his old age!”
8 Time went by and the child grew and was weaned; and Abraham gave a party to celebrate the happy occasion. 9 But when Sarah noticed Ishmael—the son of Abraham and the Egyptian girl Hagar—teasing[a] Isaac, 10 she turned upon Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave girl and her son. He is not going to share your property with my son. I won’t have it.”
11 This upset Abraham very much, for after all, Ishmael too was his son.
12 But God told Abraham, “Don’t be upset over the boy or your slave-girl wife; do as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom my promise will be fulfilled. 13 And I will make a nation of the descendants of the slave girl’s son, too, because he also is yours.”
14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food for the journey, and strapped a canteen of water to Hagar’s shoulders and sent her away with their son. She walked out into the wilderness of Beersheba, wandering aimlessly.
15 When the water was gone she left the youth in the shade of a bush 16 and went off and sat down a hundred yards or so away. “I don’t want to watch him die,” she said, and burst into tears, sobbing wildly.
17 Then God heard the boy crying, and the Angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Don’t be afraid! For God has heard the lad’s cries as he is lying there. 18 Go and get him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”
19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well; so she refilled the canteen and gave the lad a drink. 20-21 And God blessed the boy and he grew up in the wilderness of Paran, and became an expert archer. And his mother arranged a marriage for him with a girl from Egypt.
22 About this time King Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his troops, came to Abraham and said to him, “It is evident that God helps you in everything you do; 23 swear to me by God’s name that you won’t defraud me or my son or my grandson, but that you will be on friendly terms with my country, as I have been toward you.”
24 Abraham replied, “All right, I swear to it!” 25 Then Abraham complained to the king about a well the king’s servants had taken violently away from Abraham’s servants.
26 “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” the king exclaimed, “and I have no idea who is responsible. Why didn’t you tell me before?”
27 Then Abraham gave sheep and oxen to the king, as sacrifices to seal their pact.
28-29 But when he took seven ewe lambs and set them off by themselves, the king inquired, “Why are you doing that?”
30 And Abraham replied, “They are my gift to you as a public confirmation that this well is mine.”
31 So from that time on the well was called Beer-sheba (“Well of the Oath”), because that was the place where they made their covenant. 32 Then King Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his army, returned home again. 33 And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree beside the well and prayed there to the Lord, calling upon the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham lived in the Philistine country for a long time.
20 Here is another illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven. “The owner of an estate went out early one morning to hire workers for his harvest field. 2 He agreed to pay them $20 a day
3 “A couple of hours later he was passing a hiring hall and saw some men standing around waiting for jobs, 4 so he sent them also into his fields, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 At noon and again around three o’clock in the afternoon he did the same thing.
6 “At five o’clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more men standing around and asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they replied.
“‘Then go on out and join the others in my fields,’ he told them.
8 “That evening he told the paymaster to call the men in and pay them, beginning with the last men first. 9 When the men hired at five o’clock were paid, each received $20. 10 So when the men hired earlier came to get theirs, they assumed they would receive much more. But they, too, were paid $20.
11-12 “They protested, ‘Those fellows worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as those of us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
13 “‘Friend,’ he answered one of them, ‘I did you no wrong! Didn’t you agree to work all day for $20? 14 Take it and go. It is my desire to pay all the same; 15 is it against the law to give away my money if I want to? Should you be angry because I am kind?’ 16 And so it is that the last shall be first, and the first, last.”
17 As Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside 18 and talked to them about what would happen to him when they arrived.
“I[b] will be betrayed to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, and they will condemn me to die. 19 And they will hand me over to the Roman government, and I will be mocked and crucified, and the third day I will rise to life again.”
20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, brought them to Jesus and respectfully asked a favor.
21 “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit on two thrones[c] next to yours?”
22 But Jesus told her, “You don’t know what you are asking!” Then he turned to James and John and asked them, “Are you able to drink from the terrible cup I am about to drink from?”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
23 “You shall indeed drink from it,” he told them. “But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. Those places are reserved for the persons my Father selects.”
24 The other ten disciples were indignant when they heard what James and John had asked for.
25 But Jesus called them together and said, “Among the heathen, kings are tyrants and each minor official lords it over those beneath him. 26 But among you it is quite different. Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant. 27 And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave. 28 Your attitude[d] must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
29 As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a vast crowd surged along behind.
30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Sir, King David’s Son, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only yelled the louder.
32-33 When Jesus came to the place where they were, he stopped in the road and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Sir,” they said, “we want to see!”
34 Jesus was moved with pity for them and touched their eyes. And instantly they could see, and followed him.
10 1-8 I, Nehemiah the governor, signed the covenant. The others who signed it were: Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. (All those listed above were priests.)
9-13 These were the Levites who signed: Jeshua (son of Azaniah), Binnui (son of Henadad), Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
14-27 The political leaders who signed: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
28 These men signed on behalf of the entire nation—for the common people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the choir members, the Temple servants, and all the rest who, with their wives and sons and daughters who were old enough to understand, had separated themselves from the heathen people of the land in order to serve God. 29 For we all heartily agreed to this oath and vowed to accept the curse of God unless we obeyed God’s laws as issued by his servant Moses.
30 We also agreed not to let our daughters marry non-Jewish men and not to let our sons marry non-Jewish girls.
31 We further agreed that if the heathen people in the land should bring any grain or other produce to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we would refuse to buy it. And we agreed not to do any work every seventh year and to forgive and cancel the debts of our brother Jews.
32 We also agreed to charge ourselves annually with a Temple tax so that there would be enough money to care for the Temple of our God; 33 for we needed supplies of the special Bread of the Presence, as well as grain offerings and burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moon feasts, and the annual feasts. We also needed to purchase the other items necessary for the work of the Temple and for the atonement of Israel.
34 Then we tossed a coin[a] to determine when—at regular times each year—the families of the priests, Levites, and leaders should supply the wood for the burnt offerings at the Temple as required in the law.
35 We also agreed always to bring the first part of every crop to the Temple—whether it be a ground crop or from our fruit and olive trees.
36 We agreed to give to God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our cattle, herds, and flocks, just as the law requires; we presented them to the priests who minister in the Temple of our God. 37 They stored the produce in the Temple of our God—the best of our grain crops, and other contributions, the first of our fruit, and the first of the new wine and olive oil. And we promised to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produced, for the Levites were responsible to collect the tithes in all our rural towns. 38 A priest—a descendant of Aaron—would be with the Levites as they received these tithes, and a tenth of all that was collected as tithes was delivered to the Temple and placed in the storage areas. 39 The people and the Levites were required by law to bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple and place them in the sacred containers for use by the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the choir singers.
So we agreed together not to neglect the Temple of our God.
20 When it was all over, Paul sent for the disciples, preached a farewell message to them, said good-bye and left for Greece, 2 preaching to the believers along the way in all the cities he passed through. 3 He was in Greece three months and was preparing to sail for Syria when he discovered a plot by the Jews against his life, so he decided to go north to Macedonia first.
4 Several men were traveling with him, going as far as Turkey;[a] they were Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, who were returning to their homes in Turkey, 5 and had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. 6 As soon as the Passover ceremonies ended, we boarded ship at Philippi in northern Greece and five days later arrived in Troas, Turkey, where we stayed a week.
7 On Sunday[b] we gathered for a Communion service, with Paul preaching. And since he was leaving the next day, he talked until midnight! 8 The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps; 9 and as Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, went fast asleep and fell three stories to his death below. 10-12 Paul went down and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s all right!” And he was! What a wave of awesome joy swept through the crowd! They all went back upstairs and ate the Lord’s Supper together; then Paul preached another long sermon—so it was dawn when he finally left them!
13 Paul was going by land to Assos, and we went on ahead by ship. 14 He joined us there and we sailed together to Mitylene; 15 the next day we passed Chios; the next, we touched at Samos; and a day later we arrived at Miletus.
16 Paul had decided against stopping at Ephesus this time, as he was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, for the celebration of Pentecost.
17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus asking them to come down to the boat to meet him.
18 When they arrived he told them, “You men know that from the day I set foot in Turkey until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly—yes, and with tears—and have faced grave danger from the plots of the Jews against my life. 20 Yet I never shrank from telling you the truth, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Gentiles alike—the necessity of turning from sin to God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 “And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit,[c] not knowing what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.
25 “And now I know that none of you among whom I went about teaching the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Let me say plainly that no man’s blood can be laid at my door, 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all God’s message to you.
28 “And now beware! Be sure that you feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his blood—for the Holy Spirit is holding you responsible as overseers. 29 I know full well that after I leave you, false teachers, like vicious wolves, will appear among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Some of you yourselves will distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watchcare over you night and day and my many tears for you.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and his care and to his wonderful words that are able to build your faith and give you all the inheritance of those who are set apart for himself.
33 “I have never been hungry for money or fine clothing— 34 you know that these hands of mine worked to pay my own way and even to supply the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I was a constant example to you in helping the poor; for I remembered the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them, 37 and they wept aloud as they embraced him in farewell, 38 sorrowing most of all because he said that he would never see them again. Then they accompanied him down to the ship.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.