M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Isaac Blesses Jacob
27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called Esau his oldest son and said to him, “My son.”
And he answered him, “Here I am.”
2 He said, “I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for wild game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 7 ‘Bring me wild game, and prepare for me savory food, that I may eat and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you. 9 Go now to the flock, and get me two choice young goats, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you will take it to your father, so that he may eat and so that he may bless you before his death.”
11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I will bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be upon me, my son. Only listen to me and go get them for me.”
14 He went and got them and brought them to his mother. Then his mother prepared savory food such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes belonging to her older son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 Then she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She put the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hands of her son Jacob.
18 He came to his father and said, “My father.”
And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19 And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done just as you asked me. Please arise, sit and eat of my wild game, so that your soul may bless me.”
20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went near to his father Isaac, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, just like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 He asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”
And he said, “I am.”
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s wild game, so that my soul may bless you.”
And he brought it near to him, and he ate. He also brought him wine, and he drank. 26 His father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”
27 He came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing and blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
is like the smell of the field
which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore, may God give you of the dew of heaven
and the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brothers,
and let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be those who bless you!”
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had barely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had prepared savory food and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s wild game, so that your soul may bless me.”
32 Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?”
And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who? Where then is he who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him. Yes, and he shall be blessed.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”
35 He said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “I have made him your lord, and I have given to him all his brothers as servants; and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What can I now do for you, my son?”
38 And Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father!” Then Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39 Isaac his father answered and said to him,
“Your dwelling shall be
away from the fatness of the earth
and away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 You will live by your sword
and will serve your brother.
When you become restless,
you will break his yoke
from your neck.”
Jacob Escapes From Esau
41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 These words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Your brother Esau consoles himself regarding you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, listen to me and get up and flee to Laban, my brother in Harran. 44 Stay with him a few days until your brother’s fury subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)
26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and took counsel that they might take Jesus covertly and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany(B)
6 When Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment and poured it on His head as He sat at supper.
8 When His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “For what purpose is this waste? 9 This ointment might have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”
10 When Jesus perceived it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor always with you, but you do not always have Me. 12 In pouring this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told in memory of her.”
Judas’ Agreement to Betray Jesus(C)
14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said to them, “What will you give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that moment he searched for an opportunity to betray Him.
The Passover With the Disciples(D)
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will You have us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’ ” 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, He sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
22 They were very sorrowful, and each of them began saying to Him, “Lord, is it I?”
23 He answered and said, “He who has dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, who betrayed Him, answered, “Master, is it I?”
He said to him, “You have said it.”
The Lord’s Supper(E)
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take and eat. This is My body.”
27 Then He took the cup, and after He gave thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Peter’s Denial Foretold(F)
31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away on account of Me this night, for it is written:
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’[a]
32 But after I have risen, I will go before you to Galilee.”
33 Peter answered, “Though all men will fall away on account of You, yet I will never fall away.”
34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
35 Peter said to Him, “Though I should die with You, yet I will not deny You.” And all the disciples spoke in this manner.
The Prayer in Gethsemane(G)
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray close by.” 37 He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Wait here, and keep watch with Me.”
39 He went a little farther, and falling on His face, He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, could you not keep watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
43 Again, He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So leaving them again, He went away and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest. Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. Look, he who betrays Me is at hand.”
The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus(H)
47 While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came. And with him was a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he who betrayed Him had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I shall kiss is the Man. Seize Him.” 49 He immediately came to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”
Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 Immediately, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place. For all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will at once give Me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
55 At that same moment Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a thief to take Me with swords and clubs? Daily I sat with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin(I)
57 Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed Him from afar to the high priest’s courtyard and went in, and sat with the servants to see the end.
59 The chief priests and the elders and the entire Sanhedrin searched for false witness against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but they found none. Yes, though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.
At last two false witnesses came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further need do we have for witnesses? See, now you have heard His blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
They answered, “He is guilty unto death.”
67 Then they spat in His face and struck Him. And others slapped Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, You Christ! Who is it that struck You?”
Peter’s Denial of Jesus(J)
69 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”
71 Then when he went out onto the porch, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man.”
73 After a while those who stood by came to Peter and said, “Surely you also are one of them, for your accent betrays you.”
74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and he swore, “I do not know the Man.”
Then immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Then he went out and wept bitterly.
Haman Plots to Destroy the Jews
3 After these things King Ahasuerus praised Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and promoted him, and set his seat above all the officials who were with him. 2 All the king’s servants, when they were at the king’s gate, bowed or paid homage to Haman since the king had commanded it. Mordecai, however, never bowed or paid homage.
3 So the king’s servants tending the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s commandment?” 4 Though they spoke to him daily, he never listened to them, so they reported it to Haman to see if the words of Mordecai would stand, for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed nor paid him homage, he was filled with rage. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on only Mordecai, since they had told him of the people of Mordecai. So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, cast lots) before Haman daily, and each month, until the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, to determine the time.
8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There exists a scattered people dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from all others, and they are not complying with the king’s laws, so there may not be a suitable reason for the king to allow them to exist. 9 If it pleases the king, may it be written that they are to be destroyed, and may there be ten thousand talents[a] of silver deposited into the king’s treasuries so that I may distribute it to the hands of those doing the work.”
10 The king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said to Haman, “The silver has been granted to you, as have the people, so do with each as it pleases you.”
12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written just as Haman had commanded to the king’s satraps and to the governors over each province and to the officials of all peoples and to every province according to its own script, and to every people in their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 The letters were sent by mounted couriers into all the king’s provinces to cause the destruction, slaughter, and annihilation of all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and even to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the document, issued as law in every province, was proclaimed, calling for all people to be ready for the day.
15 The couriers went out, being hastened by the king’s command. At the citadel of Susa, when the decree was issued, the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in uproar.
Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa
26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”
So Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that today I shall make my defense before you against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are an expert in all customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to patiently listen to me.
4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning in my own nation and at Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They knew me from the beginning and could testify, if they wished, how according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand on trial for hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God day and night. Concerning this hope, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why is it judged incredible by you that God raises the dead?
9 “I, too, thought that I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, 10 which I indeed did in Jerusalem and locked up many of the saints in prison by authority from the chief priests. And when they were killed, I cast my vote against them. 11 I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being extremely enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion(A)
12 “So I went to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests. 13 At midday, O King, I saw along the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 “I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’
“He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness both of what you have seen and of what I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Paul’s Testimony to Jews and Gentiles
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works proving their repentance. 21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 Therefore having obtained help from God, I continue to this day, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen: 23 that the Christ must suffer, that He would be the first who would rise from the dead, and would announce light to His own people and to the Gentiles.”
Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe
24 So as he made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are mad. Much learning is turning you to madness.”
25 Paul said, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus. I speak the words of truth and reason. 26 The king, before whom I also speak freely, knows about these things. For I am persuaded that none of this is hidden from him, for this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to be a Christian.”
29 Paul said, “I pray to God that not only you, but all who hear me this day, might become not only almost, but thoroughly and altogether, what I am, except for these chains.”
30 When he had said this, the king rose, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them. 31 When they had gone aside, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing deserving death or imprisonment.”
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.