M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jacob Finds Laban

29 Then Jacob went on his way and came to the land of the people of the east. ² He looked up and saw a well in the field where three flocks of sheep were lying beside it. The people gave water to the flocks from that well. The stone covering the top of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the men would roll the stone from the top of the well. Then after giving water to the sheep, they would put the stone again in its place on top of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” ⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” ⁶ He asked them, “Is he well?” They said, “He is well. And see, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” ⁷ Jacob said, “See, the sun is still high. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Give water to the sheep, and return them to their field.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered and they roll the stone from the top of the well. Then we will give the sheep water.”

⁹ He was still talking with them when Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she cared for them. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the top of the well. And he gave water to the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to cry for joy. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was of her father’s family, the son of Rebekah. And she ran and told her father.

¹³ When Laban heard the news of his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He put his arms around him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then Jacob told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “For sure you are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him a month.

Jacob Works for Laban

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are one of my family, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what do you want to be paid?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak. But Rachel was beautiful in body and face. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. So he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to another man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel. It was only like a few days to him, because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife so I may go in to her. For my time is finished.” ²² And Laban gathered all the men of the place together, and made a special supper. ²³ But in the evening he took his daughter Leah to him. Jacob went in to her. ²⁴ Laban also took Zilpah, a woman who served him, and gave her to his daughter Leah, to serve her.

²⁵ When the morning came, Jacob saw that it was Leah. He said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Did I not work for you for Rachel? Why have you fooled me?” ²⁶ Laban said, “It is not allowed in our country to give the younger in marriage before the first-born. ²⁷ Complete the wedding week of this one. Then we will give you the other one also if you work for me seven years more.” ²⁸ Jacob did so and completed her wedding week. And Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ Laban also took Bilhah, a woman who served him, and gave her to his daughter Rachel, to serve her. ³⁰ So Jacob went in to Rachel also. He loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban seven years more.

Jacob’s Children

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, He made her able to give birth. But Rachel could not give birth. ³² Leah was able to have a child and she gave birth to a son. She gave him the name Reuben. For she said, “The Lord has seen my trouble. Now my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. She said, “The Lord has given me this son also, because He has heard that I am not loved.” So she gave him the name Simeon. ³⁴ She was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. She said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me because I have given birth to his three sons.” So she gave him the name Levi. ³⁵ She was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. And she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she gave him the name of Judah. Then she stopped giving birth.

Jesus Is Raised from the Dead ^(A)

28 The Day of Rest was over. The sun was coming up on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the grave. ² At once the earth shook and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came and pushed back the stone from the door and sat on it. ³ His face was bright like lightning. His clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers were shaking with fear and became as dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus Who was nailed to the cross. ⁶ He is not here! He has risen from the dead as He said He would. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ Run fast and tell His followers that He is risen from the dead. He is going before you to the country of Galilee. You will see Him there as I have told you.” ⁸ They went away from the grave in a hurry. They were afraid and yet had much joy. They ran to tell the news to His followers.

⁹ As they went to tell the followers, Jesus met them and said hello to them. They came and held His feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My followers to go to Galilee. They will see Me there.”

¹¹ While they were on their way, some of the soldiers who were to watch the grave came into the city. They told the head religious leaders everything that had happened. ¹² The soldiers gathered together with the other leaders and talked about what to do. The leaders gave much money to the soldiers. ¹³ They said, “Tell the people, ‘His followers came at night and took His body while we were sleeping.’ ¹⁴ We will see that you do not get into trouble over this if Pilate hears about it.” ¹⁵ They took the money and did as they were told. This story was told among the Jews and is still told today.

Jesus Sends His Followers to Teach ^(B)

¹⁶ Then the eleven followers went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

¹⁷ When they saw Jesus, they worshiped Him. But some did not believe.

¹⁸ Jesus came and said to them, “All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go and make followers of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to do all the things I have told you. And I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

Esther’s Special Supper

5 On the third day Esther put on her queen’s clothing and stood in the open space inside the king’s special house in front of his throne room. The king was sitting on his throne in the throne room looking toward the door of his house. ² When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the open space, she found favor in his eyes. The king held his special golden stick in his hand toward Esther. So Esther came near and touched the top of the special stick. ³ Then the king said to her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What do you ask of me? You would be given even as much as half the nation.” ⁴ Esther said, “If it please the king, may the king and Haman come today to the special supper I have made ready for him.”

⁵ Then the king said, “Be quick to bring Haman, that we may do as Esther wants.” So the king and Haman came to the special supper that Esther had made ready. ⁶ As they drank their wine at the supper, the king said to Esther, “What is it that you want? For it will be given to you. What do you ask of me? You would be given as much as half the nation.” ⁷ So Esther answered and said, “This is what I ask of you. ⁸ If I have found favor in the king’s eyes, and if it please the king to give me what I ask of him, may the king and Haman come to the special supper that I will make ready for them. And tomorrow I will tell you what I want.”

⁹ Then Haman went out that day glad and with joy in his heart. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and when he did not stand up or show any fear in front of him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai. ¹⁰ But Haman kept himself from doing anything at that time, and went home. There he sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. ¹¹ Haman told them about the greatness of his riches and the number of his sons. He told them how the king had raised him to a place of honor, and how he had made him more important than the princes and the king’s servants. ¹² Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the special supper that she had made ready. She has asked me to come with the king tomorrow also. ¹³ Yet all of this is not enough to please me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” ¹⁴ Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Have a tower made ready for hanging him. Let it be thirteen times taller than a man. And in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with joy to the special supper with the king.” These words pleased Haman, so he had the tower built.

The Powerful Work of Paul

28 After we were safe on the island, we knew that it was Malta. ² The people on the island were very kind to us. It was raining and cold. They made a fire so we could get warm. ³ Paul had gathered some wood. As he laid it on the fire, a snake came out because of the heat. It held fast to Paul’s hand. ⁴ When the people of the island saw the snake holding to his hand, they said to each other, “This man is a killer. He was saved from the sea and yet it is not right for him to live.” ⁵ Paul shook off the snake into the fire. He was not hurt in any way. ⁶ The people waited. They thought his hand would get large and he would fall over dead. After watching for a long time, they saw nothing happen to him. Then they changed their minds and said that Paul was a god.

The Father of Publius Is Healed

⁷ Publius was the head man of the island. He owned land around there. For three days he took us in and gave us everything we needed. ⁸ The father of Publius was sick with a stomach sickness. Paul went to see him. He prayed and laid his hands on him and the man was healed. ⁹ Because of this, other people of the island who were sick came to Paul and were healed. ¹⁰ They had great respect for us. When we got into a ship to leave, they gave us everything we needed.

¹¹ We had stayed on the island three months. Then we left on a ship that had stayed there during the winter. It was from the city of Alexandria. This ship was called the Twin Brothers. ¹² We came to Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³ From there we went by ship around to the city of Rhegium. After a day a south wind started to blow. On the second day we came to the city of Puteoli. ¹⁴ We found some Christians there, and they asked us to stay with them. We were there seven days and then went on to the city of Rome.

¹⁵ When the Christians heard of our coming, they came to meet us. They came as far as the town of Appius and to a place to stay called the Three Stores. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Paul Tells Why and How He Has Come

¹⁶ When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live where he wanted to. But a soldier was always by his side to watch him. ¹⁷ Three days later Paul asked the leaders of the Jews to come to him. When they had gathered together, he said, “Brothers, I have done nothing against our people or the way our early fathers lived. And yet, I was tied with chains in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ I was put on trial, but they found no reason to put me to death. They would have let me go free. ¹⁹ But the Jews did not like this. So I had to ask to be sent to Caesar. It was not because I had anything against my people. ²⁰ The reason I have asked you to come is to tell you this. It is because of the hope of the Jewish nation that I am tied in these chains.”

²¹ They said to Paul, “We have had no letters from Judea about you. No Jew who has come here has ever said anything bad about you. ²² We would like to hear from you what you believe. As for this new religion, all we know is that everyone is talking against it.”

²³ They planned to meet him on a certain day. Many people came to the place where he stayed. He preached to them about the holy nation of God. He tried to get them to put their trust in Jesus Christ by preaching from the Law of Moses and from the writings of the early preachers. From morning until night he spoke to them. ²⁴ Some of them believed his teaching. Others did not believe.

²⁵ As they left, they did not agree with each other. Then Paul said, “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your early fathers through the early preacher Isaiah. ²⁶ He said, ‘Go to these people and say, “You will hear and never understand, you will look and never see, ²⁷ because these people have hearts that have become fat. They do not hear well with their ears. They have closed their eyes so their eyes do not see and their ears do not hear and their minds do not understand and they do not turn to Me and let Me heal them.”’ ^(A)

²⁸ “I want you to know that the Good News of God of knowing how to be saved from the punishment of sin has been sent to the people who are not Jews. And they will listen to it!” ²⁹ *After he had said these things, the Jews went away and argued with each other.

³⁰ Paul paid money to live in a house by himself for two years. He was happy for all who came to see him. ³¹ He kept on preaching about the holy nation of God. He taught about the Lord Jesus Christ without fear. No one stopped him.