M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Isaac and Abimelech
26 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar. 2 And Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land which I will show to you. 3 Dwell as an alien in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham you father. 4 And I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and I will give to your descendants all these lands. And all nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring, 5 because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my charge: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked concerning his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking[a] “the men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she was beautiful.”[b] 8 And it happened that, when he had been there a long time,[c] Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through the window, and saw—behold—Isaac was fondling Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac[d] and said, “Surely she is your wife. Now why did you say ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die on account of her.” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife! Then you would have brought guilt upon us!” 11 Then Abimelech instructed all the people, saying, “The one who touches this man or his wife shall certainly die.”
12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in that same year a hundredfold, and Yahweh blessed him. 13 And the man became wealthier and wealthier[e] until he was exceedingly wealthy. 14 And he possessed sheep and cattle and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 And the Philistines stopped up all the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Abraham his father. They filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you have become much too powerful for us.” 17 So Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he gave[f] to them the same names[g] which his father had given[h] them. 19 And when the servants of Isaac dug in the valley, they found a well of fresh water there. 20 Then the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 And they dug another well, and they quarreled over it also. And he called its name Sitnah. 22 Then he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. And he called its name Rehoboth, and said, “Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 23 And from there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and make your descendants numerous for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 25 And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there. 26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol his army commander. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you.” 28 And they said, “We see clearly that Yahweh has been with you, so we thought[i] let there be an oath between us—between us and you—and let us make[j] a covenant with you 29 that you may not do us harm just as we have not touched you, but have only done good to you and sent you away in peace. You are now blessed by Yahweh.” 30 So he made a meal for them, and they ate and drank. 31 And they arose early in the morning and each one swore to the other,[k] and Isaac sent them away. And they left him in peace. 32 And it happened that on that same day the servants of Isaac came and told him about the well that they had dug. And they said, “We have found water!” 33 And he called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.
34 And when Esau was forty years old he took as wife Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they made life bitter[l] for Isaac and Rebekah.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and[a] went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 For when[b] the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take olive oil with them. 4 But the wise ones took olive oil in flasks with their lamps. 5 And when[c] the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.[d] 6 But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your olive oil, because our lamps are going out!’ 9 But the wise ones answered saying, “Certainly there will never be enough for us and for you! Go instead to those who sell olive oil[e] and buy some[f] for yourselves.’ 10 But while[g] they had gone away to buy it[h] the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding celebration, and the door was shut. 11 And later the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open the door[i] for us!’ 12 But he answered and[j] said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you!’ 13 Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know the day or the hour!
The Parable of the Talents
14 For it is like a man going on a journey. He summoned his own slaves and handed over his property to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his own ability, and he went on a journey immediately. 16 The one who had received the five talents went out and[k] traded with them and gained five more. 17 In the same way the one who had the two gained two more. 18 But the one who had received the one went away and[l] dug up the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 And the one who had received the five talents came up and[m] brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents!’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ 22 And the one who had the two talents also came up and[n] said, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents. See, I have gained two talents more!’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ 24 And the one who had received the one talent came up also and[o] said, ‘Master, because I[p] knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter seed.[q] 25 And because I[r] was afraid, I went away and[s] hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours!’ 26 But his master answered and[t] said to him, ‘Evil and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter seed.[u] 27 Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and when I[v] returned I would have gotten back what was mine with interest! 28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it[w] to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness—in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’
The Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats
31 Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something[x] to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something[y] to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,[z] or thirsty and give you something[aa] to drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you[ab] as a guest, or naked and clothe you?[ac] 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ 40 And the king will answer and[ad] say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it[ae] to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it[af] to me.’ 41 Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you did not give me anything[ag] to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything[ah] to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it[ai] to one of the least of these, you did not do it[aj] to me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Esther is Chosen Queen
2 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 And the king’s servants attending him said, “Let them seek attractive young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the harem[a] in the citadel of Susa under the care of[b] Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give them their beauty treatment. 4 And let the young woman who is pleasing[c] in the king’s eyes become queen in place of Vashti. The thing was good in the king’s eyes, and he acted accordingly.
5 There was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who was deported[d] from Jerusalem with the exiles[e] who were deported[f] with Jeconiah[g] the king of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported.[h] 7 He[i] was raising Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter,[j] for she did not have a father or a mother; the young woman had a beautiful figure and was very attractive. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had taken her as his daughter. 8 And it happened, at the proclaiming of the edict of the king and his law, when many young women were being gathered to the citadel of Susa under Hegai’s care,[k] Esther was taken to the king’s palace[l] under the care of[m] Hegai who was in charge of the women. 9 The young woman pleased him[n] and she won favor in his presence, and he quickly provided for her beauty treatment and her portion of food, with seven chosen maids to give to her from the king’s palace,[o] and he advanced her and her maids to the best part of the harem.[p] 10 Esther did not disclose her people and her family because Modecai had charged her that she must not tell. 11 And every day Modecai would walk up and down in front of the courtyard of the harem[q] to learn how Esther was doing.[r]
12 When the turn came for each girl to go to King Ahasuerus, after the end of twelve months of being under the regulations of the women—for the days of their beauty treatments had to be filled, six months with the oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and women’s cosmetics— 13 in this way, the girl goes to the king and all that she asks is given to her to take[s] with her from the harem[t] to the king’s palace.[u] 14 In the evening she would go and in the morning she would return to the second harem[v] under the care of[w] Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was called by name.
15 When the turn came near for Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as a daughter, to go to the king, she did not ask anything except what Hegai the eunuch of the king who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther carried favor in the eyes of everyone that saw her. 16 Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his palace,[x] in the tenth month that is Tebeth in the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won his favor and loyalty more than all the virgins, so he put a royal crown[y] on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. And he granted a tax amnesty[z] to the provinces and he gave gifts with royal liberality.
A Plot Against the King
19 When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king. 20 Esther had not made known her family and her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her,[aa] just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king. Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold, became angry and they conspired to assassinate[ab] King Ahasuerus. 22 And the matter became known to Mordecai and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told it to the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 And the matter was investigated and found to be so; and the two of them were hanged on the gallows, and it was written in the scroll of the events of the days before the presence of the king.
Paul Appeals to Caesar
25 Now when[a] Festus set foot in the province, after three days he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought charges against Paul to him, and were urging him, 3 asking for a favor against him, that he summon him to Jerusalem, because they[b] were preparing an ambush to do away with him along the way. 4 Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself was about to go there[c] in a short time. 5 So he said, “Let those among you who are prominent go down with me,[d] and[e] if there is any wrong in the man, let them bring charges against him.”
6 And after he[f] had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. On the next day he sat down on the judgment seat and[g] gave orders for Paul to be brought. 7 And when[h] he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges that they were not able to prove, 8 while[i] Paul said in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews nor against the temple nor against Caesar have I sinned with reference to anything!” 9 But Festus, because he[j] wanted to do a favor for the Jews, answered and[k] said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me there concerning these things?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where it is necessary for me to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well. 11 If then I am doing wrong[l] and have done anything deserving death, I am not trying to avoid[m] dying. But if there is nothing true of the things which these people are accusing me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 12 Then Festus, after[n] discussing this[o] with his[p] council, replied, “You have appealed to Caesar—to Caesar you will go!”
Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice
13 Now after[q] some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. 14 And while they were staying there many days, Festus laid out the case against Paul to the king, saying, “There is a certain man left behind by Felix as a prisoner, 15 concerning whom when[r] I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented evidence, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 To them[s] I replied that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up any man before the one who had been accused met his[t] accusers face to face and received an opportunity for a defense concerning the accusation. 17 Therefore, when[u] they had assembled here, I made[v] no delay; on the next day I sat down on the judgment seat and[w] gave orders for the man to be brought. 18 When they[x] stood up, his[y] accusers began bringing[z] no charge concerning him[aa] of the evil deeds that I was suspecting, 19 but they had some issues with him concerning their own religion, and concerning a certain Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul claimed to be alive. 20 And because[ab] I was at a loss with regard to the investigation concerning these things, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and to be judged there concerning these things. 21 But when[ac] Paul appealed that he be kept under guard for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I gave orders for him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 So Agrippa said to Festus, “I want to hear the man myself also.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”
23 So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pageantry and entered into the audience hall, along with military tribunes and the most prominent men of the city. And when[ad] Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole population of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he must not live any longer. 25 But I understood that he had done nothing deserving death himself, and when[ae] this man appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him.[af] 26 I do not have anything definite to write to my[ag] lord about him.[ah] Therefore I have brought him before you all[ai]—and especially before you, King Agrippa—so that after[aj] this preliminary hearing has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner and not to indicate the charges against him.”
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