M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Death of Abraham
25 Now Abraham took another wife, [a]whose name was Keturah. 2 (A)And she bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Now Jokshan [b]was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. 5 (B)And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; 6 but to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he (C)sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.
7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, (D)175 years. 8 And Abraham breathed his last and died (E)in a good old age, an old man and full of days; and he was (F)gathered to his people. 9 Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in (G)the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 10 (H)the field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. 11 Now it happened after the death of Abraham, that (I)God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac [c]lived by (J)Beer-lahai-roi.
The Generations of Ishmael
12 Now these are the generations of (K)Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant-woman, bore to Abraham; 13 and these are the names of (L)the sons of Ishmael, by their names, [d]in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam 14 and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, 15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; (M)twelve princes according to their [e]tribes. 17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael, (N)137 years; and he breathed his last and died and was (O)gathered to his people. 18 And they dwelt from (P)Havilah to (Q)Shur which is [f]east of Egypt [g]as one goes toward Assyria; (R)he [h]settled in the face of all his brothers.
The Generations of Isaac
19 Now these are (S)the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham [i]became the father of Isaac; 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took (T)Rebekah, the (U)daughter of Bethuel the [j]Aramean of Paddan-aram, the (V)sister of Laban the [k]Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac entreated Yahweh on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and (W)Yahweh [l]was moved by his entreaty. So Rebekah his wife (X)conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to (Y)inquire of Yahweh. 23 And Yahweh said to her,
“(Z)Two nations are in your womb;
(AA)And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And (AB)the older shall serve the younger.”
24 And her days to give birth were fulfilled, and behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came forth red, (AC)all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came forth with (AD)his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so (AE)his name was called [m]Jacob; and Isaac was (AF)sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
Esau Sells His Birthright
27 And the boys grew up; Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a [n]peaceful man, [o](AG)living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because [p]he had (AH)an appetite for hunted game, (AI)but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 And Jacob had cooked (AJ)stew. And Esau came in from the field, and he was [q]famished. 30 Then Esau said to Jacob, “Please give me a swallow from the red stuff—[r]this red stuff, for I am [s]famished.” Therefore his name was called [t]Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “[u]First sell me your (AK)birthright.” 32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “[v]First swear to me”; so he swore to him and (AL)sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank and rose and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Signs of Christ’s Return
24 (A)And coming (B)out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, (C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 Now as He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming and of the [a]end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “(F)See to it that no one deceives you. 5 For (G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [b]Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you are going to hear of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be (J)famines and earthquakes. 8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “(L)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will [c](N)fall away and will [d]betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many (O)false prophets will arise and will deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness is multiplied, [e]most people’s love will grow cold. 13 (P)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 And this (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be proclaimed in the whole [f](S)world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation
15 “Therefore when you see the (T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in (U)the holy place ((V)let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [g]Whoever is on (W)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 And [h]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 19 But (X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a (Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 And unless those days had been cut short, no [i]life would have been saved; but for (Z)the sake of the [j]elect those days will be cut short. 23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [k]Christ,’ or ‘[l]There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (AB)false prophets will arise and will [m]show great [n](AC)signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even (AD)the [o]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the (AF)coming of the (AG)Son of Man be. 28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the [p]vultures will gather.
The Coming of the Son of Man
29 “But immediately after the (AI)tribulation of those days (AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (AK)the stars will fall from [q]the sky, and the powers of [r]the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (AN)He will send forth His angels with (AO)a great trumpet and they will gather together His [s](AP)elect from (AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the [t]other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, [u]recognize that [v]He is near, right (AR)at the [w]door. 34 Truly I say to you, (AS)this [x]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But (AU)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For (AV)just as the days of Noah were, so the (AW)coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (AY)Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [y]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the (AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two in the field; one [z]will be taken, and one [aa]will be left. 41 (BA)Two women will be grinding grain at the [ab](BB)mill; one [ac]will be taken and one [ad]will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “Therefore (BC)stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But [ae]be sure of this, that (BD)if the head of the house had known (BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be [af]broken into. 44 For this reason (BF)you also must be ready; for (BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 “(BH)Who then is the (BI)faithful and (BJ)prudent slave whom his [ag]master (BK)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his [ah]master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that (BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My [ai]master [aj]is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the [ak]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will [al]cut him in pieces and [am]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be (BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Feasts of the King and Queen
1 Now it happened in the days of (A)Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned (B)from India to [a]Ethiopia over (C)127 provinces, 2 in those days as King Ahasuerus (D)sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in (E)Susa, 3 in the third year of his reign, (F)he held a feast for all his princes and servants, the military officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence, 4 [b]while he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.
5 And when these days were fulfilled, the king held a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the court of (G)the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were hangings of fine white and [c]blue linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble pillars, and (H)couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 And drinks were served in golden vessels of various kinds, and the royal wine was plentiful (I)according to the king’s hand. 8 And the drinking was done according to the law; there was no compulsion, for so the king had established it for each official of his household—that he should do according to what pleased each person. 9 Queen Vashti also held a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus.
Queen Vashti’s Refusal
10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was (J)merry with wine, he said for Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who attended to the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal (K)crown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was [d]beautiful in appearance. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was delivered by the hand of the eunuchs. Then the king became exceedingly furious, and his wrath burned within him.
13 Then the king said to (L)the wise men (M)who knew the times—for it was the custom of the king thus to speak before all who knew law and justice 14 and were close to him: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media (N)who [e]had access to the king’s presence and sat in the first place in the kingdom— 15 “According to law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, because she did not do the declaration of King Ahasuerus delivered by the hand of the eunuchs?” 16 Then in the presence of the king and the princes, Memucan said, “Queen Vashti has committed iniquity against not only the king but also against all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the word about the queen will get out to all the women causing them to despise their husbands in their eyes by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus said for Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.’ 18 This day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the word about the queen will speak in the same way to all the king’s princes, and there will be plenty of spite and indignation. 19 If it seems good to the king, let a royal word go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so (O)that it cannot [f]be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to [g]another who is better than she. 20 And the king’s sentence, which he will make, will be heard throughout all his kingdom, for it is [h]vast, and (P)all women will give respect to their husbands, great and small.”
21 And this word was good in the eyes of the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. 22 So he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, (Q)to each province according to its script and to every people according to their tongue, that every man should (R)be the ruler in his own house and the one who speaks in the tongue of his own people.
Paul’s Trial Before Felix the Governor
24 Now after (A)five days the high priest (B)Ananias came down with some elders, [a]with an [b]attorney named Tertullus, and they [c]brought charges to (C)the governor against Paul. 2 And after Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,
“As we have attained much peace through you—and because by your provision reforms are being carried out for this nation— 3 we welcome this in every way and everywhere, (D)most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. 4 But, that I may not weary you any further, I plead with you by your forbearance to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout [d]the world, and a ringleader of the (E)sect of the Nazarenes. 6 And he even tried to (F)desecrate the temple; and [e]then we arrested him. [f][We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7 But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.] By examining him yourself concerning all these matters you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him.” 9 (G)And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.
10 And when (H)the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul answered:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, 11 since you are able to ascertain the fact that no more than (I)twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 (J)And neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor across the city did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or (K)causing [g]a riot. 13 (L)Nor are they able to prove to you of what they are now accusing me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to (M)the Way, which they call a (N)sect, I do serve [h](O)the God of our fathers, (P)believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; 15 having a hope in God, for which (Q)these men are waiting, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 In view of this, (R)I also [i]do my best to maintain always a conscience without fault both before God and before men. 17 Now (S)after several years I (T)came to bring [j]alms to my nation and offerings; 18 in which they found me, having been (U)purified in the temple, without any (V)crowd or uproar. But there were some (W)Jews from [k]Asia— 19 who ought to have been present before you and to (X)make accusation, if they should have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves tell what wrongdoing they found when I stood before (Y)the Sanhedrin, 21 other than for this one statement which (Z)I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’”
22 But Felix, having a more accurate knowledge about (AA)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the [l]commander comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be (AB)kept in custody and yet (AC)have some rest, and not to prevent any of (AD)his friends from ministering to him.
24 But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his [m]wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about (AE)faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing (AF)righteousness, (AG)self-control, and (AH)the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and answered, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that (AI)money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to summon for him quite often and converse with him. 27 But after two years had passed, Felix [n]was succeeded by Porcius (AJ)Festus, and (AK)wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul (AL)imprisoned.
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