M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Isaac and Abimelech

26 Now there was another time when there was no food in the land, after the time of no food in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. ² The Lord showed Himself to Isaac, and said, “Do not go to Egypt. Stay in the land I will tell you about. ³ Live in this land and I will be with you and bring good to you. For I will give all these lands to you and your children. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your children and all your children’s children as many as the stars of heaven. I will give these lands to them. ⁵ For Abraham obeyed Me. He did what I told him to do. He kept My Word and My Law.”

⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar. ⁷ When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought to himself, “The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.”

⁸ When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of the window. And he saw Isaac loving his wife Rebekah. ⁹ So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “See, she is your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die because of her.” ¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might have lain with your wife. And you would have brought guilt upon us.” ¹¹ So Abimelech told all the people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

¹² Isaac planted seeds in that land. And he gathered in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted. The Lord brought good to him. ¹³ Isaac became rich and kept getting richer until he became a great man. ¹⁴ For he had flocks and many cattle and many people working in his house. The Philistines became jealous of him. ¹⁵ They filled all the wells with dirt that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham. ¹⁶ Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us. For you are too powerful for us.”

¹⁷ So Isaac left that place. He put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, and lived there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham. For the Philistines had closed them up after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the same names that his father had given them. ¹⁹ Now Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of flowing water there. ²⁰ The men who took care of the cattle of Gerar argued with the men who took care of Isaac’s cattle. They said, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac gave the well the name Esek, because they argued with him. ²¹ Then his servants dug another well. And they argued about it also. So he gave it the name Sitnah. ²² He moved away from there and dug another well. And they did not argue about it. So he gave it the name Rehoboth. For he said, “Now the Lord has made a large place for us. We will grow much in this land.”

²³ Then he went from there to Beersheba. ²⁴ The Lord showed Himself to Isaac that same night, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring good to you, and add many to the number of your children and their children’s children, because of My servant Abraham.” ²⁵ So Isaac built an altar there. And he called upon the name of the Lord. He put up his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

²⁶ Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the leader of his army. ²⁷ Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me when you hate me and have sent me away from you?” ²⁸ They said, “It is easy for us to see that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be a promise between us, between you and us. Let us make an agreement with you, ²⁹ that you will not hurt us in any way. For we have not touched you, and have done nothing to you but good. We sent you away in peace. And you now have the Lord’s favor.’” ³⁰ So Isaac made a special supper for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning and made promises to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

³² That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said to him, “We have found water.” ³³ So he gave the well the name Shibah. So the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they made life full of sorrow for Isaac and Rebekah.

The Picture-Story of Ten Young Women

25 “At that time the holy nation of heaven will be like ten women who have never had men. They took their lamps and went out to meet the man soon to be married. ² Five of them were wise and five were foolish. ³ The foolish women took their lamps but did not take oil with them. ⁴ The wise women took oil in a jar with their lamps. ⁵ They all went to sleep because the man to be married did not come for a long time.

⁶ “At twelve o’clock in the night there was a loud call, ‘See! The man soon to be married is coming! Go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all the women got up and made their lamps brighter. ⁸ The foolish women said to the wise women, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise women said, ‘No! There will not be enough for us and you. Go to the store and buy oil for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ While they were gone to buy oil, the man soon to be married came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage. The door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the foolish women came. They said, ‘Sir, Sir, open the door for us!’ ¹² But he said to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, I do not know you!’ ¹³ So watch! You do not know what day or what hour the Son of Man is coming.

The Picture-Story of the Three Servants and the Money

¹⁴ “For the holy nation of heaven is like a man who was going to a country far away. He called together the servants he owned and gave them his money to use. ¹⁵ He gave to one servant five pieces of money worth much. He gave to another servant two pieces of money worth much. He gave to another servant one piece of money worth much. He gave to each one as he was able to use it. Then he went on his trip. ¹⁶ The servant who had the five pieces of money went out to the stores and traded until he made five more pieces. ¹⁷ The servant who had two pieces of money did the same thing. He made two more pieces. ¹⁸ The servant who had received the one piece of money went and hid the money in a hole in the ground. He hid his owner’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the owner of those servants came back. He wanted to know what had been done with his money. ²⁰ The one who had received the five pieces of money worth much came and handed him five pieces more. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me five pieces of money. See! I used it and made five more pieces.’ ²¹ His owner said to him, ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ ²² The one who received two pieces of money worth much came also. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me two pieces of money. See! I used it and made two more pieces.’ ²³ His owner said to him, ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ ²⁴ The one who had received one piece of money worth much came. He said, ‘Sir, I know that you are a hard man. You gather grain where you have not planted. You take up where you have not spread out. ²⁵ I was afraid and I hid your money in the ground. See! Here is your money.’ ²⁶ His owner said to him, ‘You bad and lazy servant. You knew that I gather grain where I have not planted. You knew that I take up where I have not spread out. ²⁷ You should have taken my money to the bank. When I came back, I could have had my own money and what the bank paid for using it. ²⁸ Take the one piece of money from him. Give it to the one who has ten pieces of money.’ ²⁹ For the man who has will have more given to him. He will have more than enough. The man who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ Throw the bad servant out into the darkness. There will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His shining-greatness, He will sit down on His throne of greatness. All the angels will be with Him. ³² All the nations of the earth will be gathered before Him. He will divide them from each other as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on His right side, but the goats He will put on His left side.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right side, ‘Come, you who have been called by My Father. Come into the holy nation that has been made ready for you before the world was made. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave Me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me water to drink. I was a stranger and you gave Me a room. ³⁶ I had no clothes and you gave Me clothes to wear. I was sick and you cared for Me. I was in prison and you came to see Me.’

³⁷ “Then those that are right with God will say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? When did we see You thirsty and give You a drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and give You a room? When did we see You had no clothes and we gave You clothes? ³⁹ And when did we see You sick or in prison and we came to You?’ ⁴⁰ Then the King will say, ‘For sure, I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of My brothers, you have done it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then the King will say to those on His left side, ‘Go away from Me! You are guilty! Go into the fire that lasts forever. It has been made ready for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry but you did not give Me food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give Me water to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger but you did not give Me a room. I had no clothes but you did not give Me clothes. I was sick and in prison but you did not come to see Me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger? When did we see You without clothes or sick or in prison and did not care for You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will say to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ These will go to the place where they will be punished forever. But those right with God will have life that lasts forever.”

Esther Becomes Queen

2 After these things, when King Ahasuerus was no longer angry, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decided against her. ² Then the king’s servants who served him said, “Let beautiful young women be found for the king. ³ Let the king choose men to watch over all the parts of his nation, that they may gather every beautiful young woman who has never had a man to the city of Susa. Have them brought to the house for the king’s wives, under the care of Hegai, the king’s servant, who takes care of the women. And let their things for making them beautiful be given to them. ⁴ Then let the young lady who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.

⁵ Now in the city of Susa where the king lived there was a Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. ⁶ He had been taken from Jerusalem with the people who had been taken away with King Jeconiah of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. ⁷ He had brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his father’s brother. For she did not have a father or mother. The young lady was beautiful in body and face. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

⁸ The words of the king were made known, and many young ladies were gathered to the city of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. So Esther was taken to the king’s house into the care of Hegai, who cared for the women. ⁹ Now the young lady pleased Hegai and she found favor with him. He was quick to give her oils and special food, and gave her seven of the best women servants from the king’s special house. He moved her and her women servants to the best place in the house for the king’s wives. ¹⁰ Esther had not told who her people or her family were because Mordecai had told her to say nothing. ¹¹ And every day Mordecai walked in front of the open space of the house of the king’s women to learn how Esther was and how she was getting along.

¹² The time for each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus after the end of her twelve months of being under the rules for the women. The days of making themselves beautiful were finished after using oil from spices for six months, and perfumes and oils for making themselves beautiful for another six months. ¹³ When the young woman went in to the king, whatever she wanted was given to her to take from the house of the king’s women to the king’s special house. ¹⁴ In the evening she would go in and in the morning she would return to the second house for the king’s women, into the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s servant who took care of his women who acted as wives. She would not go in to the king again unless the king was pleased with her and she was called by name. ¹⁵ Now the turn came for Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the brother of the father of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king. She did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s servant who took care of the women, said she should take. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

¹⁶ So Esther was taken to the beautiful house of King Ahasuerus in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his rule. ¹⁷ And the king loved Esther more than all the women. She found favor and kindness with him more than all the young women, so that he set the queen’s crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ Then the king gave a great supper for all his princes and leaders. It was a special supper for Esther. He also made a special day for the nation, and gave many gifts.

Mordecai Saves the King’s Life

¹⁹ When the young women were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ²⁰ Esther had not yet told who her family or her people were, as Mordecai had said. For she did what Mordecai told her just as she had done when she was under his care. ²¹ In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s servants from those who watched over the door, became angry. And they planned to kill King Ahasuerus. ²² But their plan became known to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther. And Esther told the king what Mordecai had heard. ²³ When the plan was learned and found to be true, both men were hanged on a tree. It was written down in the Book of the Chronicles in front of the king.

Paul Stands in Front of Festus

25 Three days after Festus had become leader in the country, he went from the city of Caesarea to Jerusalem. ² The head religious leaders and the leaders of the Jews told Festus what they had against Paul. ³ They asked Festus for a favor. They wanted Paul to be brought to Jerusalem because they had plans to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus told them that Paul was to be kept in Caesarea and that he would be going there soon. ⁵ Festus said, “If Paul has done anything wrong, let your leaders go along with me and say what they have against him.”

⁶ After staying with them about ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he sat in the courtroom and asked for Paul to be brought in. ⁷ Paul came into the courtroom. The Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They said many bad things against him. But they could not prove any of the things they said. ⁸ Paul spoke for himself, saying, “I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews or against the house of God or against Caesar.”

⁹ Festus was hoping to get the respect of the Jews. He asked Paul, “Will you go to the court in Jerusalem and let me say if you are guilty or not about these things?” ¹⁰ Paul said, “I am standing in front of Caesar’s court where I should be told I am right or wrong. I have done no wrong to the Jews. You know that. ¹¹ If I have done wrong and should die, I am not trying to keep from dying. But if these things they say against me are not true, no one can give me over to them. I ask to be taken to Caesar.” ¹² Festus talked to the leaders of the court. Then he said to Paul, “You have asked to be taken to Caesar. You will go to him.”

Festus Tells King Agrippa about Paul

¹³ After a few days, King Agrippa and his wife, Bernice, came down to Caesarea. They went to Festus to greet him. ¹⁴ They stayed there a few days. Festus told them about Paul. He said, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. ¹⁵ When I was at Jerusalem, the head religious leaders and the leaders of the people told me about him and asked me to say that he is guilty. ¹⁶ I told them it was against the Roman law to hand over a man to be put to death before he stood face to face with those who had something against him and could speak for himself. ¹⁷ When they came here, I took my seat in the courtroom at once. I had the man brought in. ¹⁸ When the others spoke, they had nothing against him that I thought they had. ¹⁹ They did not agree with him about their own religion, and they argued about someone called Jesus. He had died but Paul kept saying He was alive. ²⁰ I did not know what to do. Then I asked him if he would go on trial about these things at Jerusalem. ²¹ But Paul asked to go on trial in front of Caesar. I said that he should be kept in prison until he could be sent to Caesar.” ²² Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man.” Festus said, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

Paul Stands in Front of King Agrippa

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came into the courtroom. They were dressed to show their greatness as king and queen. Army leaders and leading men of the city came in with them. Festus had Paul brought in.

²⁴ Festus said, “King Agrippa and all of you who are here with us, you see this man. All of the Jews both here and at Jerusalem are saying that Paul should be put to death. ²⁵ I have heard nothing against him that would be reason to put him to death. But he asked for a trial in front of Caesar. I have agreed to send Paul to him. ²⁶ When I write to Caesar, I have nothing to say against him. For this reason, I brought him in front of you all and in front of you, King Agrippa. After we ask him questions, I may have something to write about. ²⁷ It is foolish for me to send a man up for trial without writing what is against him.”