M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Death of Sarah
23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 Then Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead and spoke to the Hittites,[a] saying, 4 “I am a stranger and a foreigner among you. Give me property for a burying place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
5 So the Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place that you may bury your dead.”
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He spoke with them, saying, “If it be your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence for the full price for a burial site.”
10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of all the Hittites, all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord. Hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Then Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13 Then he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “Indeed, if you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”
14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver.[b] What is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
16 Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron four hundred shekels of silver, the price that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, according to the standard commercial measure.
17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field that were within all the surrounding borders were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that was in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as property for a burial place.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet(A)
22 Jesus spoke to them again by parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, but they would not come.
4 “Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I have prepared my supper. My oxen and fattened calves are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his business; 6 the rest took his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 When the king heard about it, he was angry. He sent in his army and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the streets, and invite to the wedding banquet as many as you find.’ 10 So those servants went out into the streets and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man who was not wearing wedding garments. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding garments?’ And he was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Question of Paying Taxes(B)
15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel to entangle Him in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to Him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God truthfully, and are swayed by no one. For You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, “Why test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.” They brought Him a denarius. 20 He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
Then He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When they heard these words, they were amazed, and left Him and went on their way.
The Question About the Resurrection(C)
23 The same day the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry his wife and raise up children for his brother.’[a] 25 Now there were seven brothers with us. The first died after he married and, having no children, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second and third, on to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered, “You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[b]? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
The Great Commandment(D)
34 When the Pharisees heard that He silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 One of them, who was a lawyer, tested Him by asking Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The Question About David’s Son(E)
41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I make Your enemies
Your footstool” ’?[e]
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.
The Priests and Levites
12 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua:
Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluk, Hattush,
3 Shekaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.
These were the leaders of the priests and of their relatives in the days of Joshua.
8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving songs, in conjunction with his relatives. 9 There were also their relatives Bakbukiah and Unni, positioned across from each other in the watches.
10 Joshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, these were the heads of the fathers’ houses:
of Seraiah, Meraiah;
of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam;
of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Malluk, Jonathan;
of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna;
of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah;
of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zikri;
of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua;
of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai;
of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallu, Kallai;
of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah;
and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 The Levites, as well as the priests, were recorded as the chiefs of the fathers’ houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua during the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The descendants of Levi who served as the chiefs of the fathers’ house were recorded in the book of the chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and to give thanks, section opposite section, according to the commandment of David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers maintaining the guard duty at the storehouse of the gates. 26 These leaders served during the days of Joiakim the son of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, during the days of Nehemiah the governor, and during the days of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
Nehemiah Dedicates the City Wall
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought to bring the Levites from all their places to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication appropriately with thanksgiving songs and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 The members of choirs had assembled from the regions all around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from fields of Geba and Azmaveth, because they had built villages for themselves all around Jerusalem. 30 Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves. They also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I led the commanders of Judah up to the top of the wall and appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. The first choir proceeded to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate. 32 Behind them followed Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, 33 with Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the priests with trumpets—Zechariah, the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zakkur, the son of Asaph, 36 in conjunction with his relatives—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, being accompanied with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate, directly across from them, they ascended the steps of the City of David, following that sloped section of the wall up to the house of David, then eastward to the Water Gate.
38 The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left where I followed them with the other half of the people on top of the wall, from the Tower of the Furnaces to the Broad Wall, 39 then from above the Ephraim Gate past the Old Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate, but they stood still at the Gate of the Guard.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, as did I and the half of the officials with me, 41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets, 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly. Jezrahiah was their director. 43 On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great cause for rejoicing. The wives and the children rejoiced, too. From far away the joyful celebration of Jerusalem was heard.
Temple Responsibilities
44 At that time men were appointed to govern over the chambers for the treasures, for the contributions, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, so that they might gather into them out of the fields of the cities the legal portions belonging to the priests and Levites. This was because the celebration of Judah survived on the basis of the priests and the Levites 45 who, accompanied by the singers and the gatekeepers, attentively preserved the practices of their God and the practices of purification, according to the commandment of David and of his son Solomon. 46 For in the former days of David and Asaph there were leaders for the singers, the songs of praise, and thanksgivings to God. 47 All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the singers and the gatekeepers their portions, as specified daily. Likewise, they consecrated what was due to the Levites, who then consecrated what was due to the descendants of Aaron.
22 “Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now make to you.”
2 When they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet.
Then he said, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was trained in the strict tradition of the law of the fathers, being zealous toward God as you all are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and imprisoning both men and women, 5 as even the high priest and the council of elders bear witness of me. From them I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, where I went to take even those who were there and lead them in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.
Paul Tells of His Conversion(A)
6 “As I journeyed and came near Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Those who were with me saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who was speaking to me.
10 “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
“The Lord said to me, ‘Rise and go into Damascus. There you will be told what you have been appointed to do.’ 11 Since I was blinded by the glory of that light, those who were with me led me by the hand into Damascus.
12 “Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who was well spoken of by all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that moment I looked up at him.
14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Just One and to hear His voice, 15 for you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise, be baptized and wash away your sins, and call on the name of the Lord.’
Paul Sent to the Gentiles
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You in every synagogue. 20 And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I was standing by consenting to his death, guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’
21 “Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul and the Roman Commander
22 They listened to him up to this word, and then they lifted up their voices and said, “Away with such a man from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”
23 As they shouted and threw off their garments and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and examined with scourging, so that he might learn what crime they were alleging against him. 25 As they stretched him forward with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog an uncondemned Roman citizen?”
26 On hearing this, the centurion reported to the commander, saying, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commander answered, “I bought my citizenship for a large sum.”
So Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
29 Therefore those who were about to examine Paul immediately backed away from him. And the commander feared, knowing that he was a Roman citizen and because he had bound him.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
30 On the next day, desiring to know exactly why he was accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought Paul down to stand before them.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.