M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Get ready and go to Bethel to live. Make an altar there to God, Who showed Himself to you when you ran away from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to those of his house and all who were with him, “Put away the strange gods that are among you. Make yourselves clean and change your clothes. ³ Then let us get ready and go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, Who answered me in the day of my trouble, and was with me every place I went.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the strange gods they had, and the gold objects which they wore in their ears. And Jacob hid them under the tree near Shechem. ⁵ As they traveled, much fear from God came upon the cities around them. So the people of the land did not go against the sons of Jacob.

⁶ So Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ He built an altar there, and gave the place the name El-bethel. Because God had shown Himself to him there, when Jacob ran away from his brother. ⁸ Then Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died. She was buried below Bethel under a tree. It was given the name of Allon-bacuth.

⁹ When Jacob came from Paddan-aram, God showed Himself to him again and brought good to him. ¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. You will not be called Jacob any longer, but Israel will be your name.” So his name was Israel. ¹¹ Then God said to him, “I am the All-powerful God. Have many children and add to your number. A nation and a group of nations will come from you. Kings will come from you. ¹² I will give you the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac. This land I will give to your children and their children’s children after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. ¹⁴ Jacob set up a pillar of stone in the place where He had spoken with him. And he poured a drink offering and also oil on it. ¹⁵ So Jacob gave the place where God had spoken with him the name Bethel.

¹⁶ Then they traveled from Bethel. When there was still a long way to go before coming to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth. She suffered much pain. ¹⁷ And while she was suffering, the woman who was helping her said to her, “Do not be afraid. For now you have another son.” ¹⁸ As Rachel’s soul was leaving, for she died, she gave him the name Benoni. But his father gave him the name Benjamin. ¹⁹ So Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set up a stone on her grave. And that is the stone of Rachel’s grave to this day.

²¹ Then Israel traveled on, and put up his tent on the other side of the tall building of Eder. ²² While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, the woman who acted as his father’s wife. And Israel heard about it.

The Sons of Jacob

There were twelve sons of Jacob. ²³ The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s first-born, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, the woman who served Rachel, were Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ The sons of Zilpah, the woman who served Leah, were Gad and Asher. These are the sons who were born to Jacob in Paddan-aram.

The Death of Isaac

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had been living. ²⁸ Now Isaac had lived 180 years. ²⁹ And Isaac breathed his last and died, and was joined to his people who died before him. He was an old man who had a long life, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Families of Esau

36 These are the children of Esau (that is, Edom).

² Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, ³ and Ishmael’s daughter Basemath, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah gave birth to Esau’s son Eliphaz. Basemath gave birth to Reuel. ⁵ And Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the sons who were born to Esau in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all those of his house, and his flocks and cattle, and all his riches from the land of Canaan. And he went to another land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ For they owned too much for them to live together. The land where they were staying could not keep them alive, because of all their animals. ⁸ So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.

⁹ These are the children, and their children, of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² Timna acted as the wife of Esau’s son Eliphaz. And she gave birth to Eliphaz’s son Amalek. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁴ These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon: She gave birth to Esau’s sons, Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the leaders of the sons of Esau. The sons of Esau’s first-born, Eliphaz, are leaders Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the leaders of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They are the sons of Adah.

¹⁷ These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: Leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the leaders of Reuel in the land of Edom. They are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁸ These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: Leaders Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the leaders of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their leaders.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who lived in that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the leaders of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

²² The sons of Lotan are Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ The sons of Shobal are Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ The sons of Zibeon are Aiah and Anah. He is the Anah who found the hot water well in the desert when he was caring for the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ The children of Anah are Dishon and Oholibamah, Anah’s daughter. ²⁶ The sons of Dishon are Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ The sons of Ezer are Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. ²⁸ And the sons of Dishan are Uz and Aran.

²⁹ These are the leaders of the Horites: Leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the leaders of the Horites, by their families in the land of Seir.

The Kings of Edom

³¹ These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled the sons of Israel. ³² Bela the son of Beor ruled in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ Then Bela died. And Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. ³⁴ Then Jobab died. And Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. ³⁵ Then Husham died. And Hadad the son of Bedad, who won the fight against Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place. The name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ Then Hadad died. And Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. ³⁷ Then Samlah died. And Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. ³⁸ Then Shaul died. And Achbor’s son Baalhanan became king in his place. ³⁹ Then Achbor’s son died. And Hadar became king in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ These are the names of the leaders of Esau, by family, place and name: Leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), who lived in the land that belonged to them.

Jesus Visits His Own Town, Nazareth ^(A)

6 Jesus went from the house of Jairus and came to His home town. His followers came after Him. ² On the Day of Rest He began to teach in the Jewish place of worship. Many people heard Him. They were surprised and wondered, saying, “Where did this Man get all this? What wisdom is this that has been given to Him? How can He do these powerful works with His hands? ³ Is He not a Man Who makes things from wood? Is He not the Son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Do not His sisters live here with us?” The people were ashamed of Him and turned away from Him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “One who speaks for God is respected everywhere but in his own country and among his own family and in his own house.”

⁵ So Jesus could do no powerful works there. But He did put His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ He wondered because they had no faith. But He went around to the towns and taught as He went.

Jesus Calls Twelve Followers and Sends Them Out ^(B)

⁷ Jesus called the twelve followers to Him and began to send them out two by two. He gave them power over demons. ⁸ He told them to take nothing along with them but a walking stick. They were not to take a bag or food or money in their belts. ⁹ They were to wear shoes. They were not to take two coats.

¹⁰ He said to them, “Whatever house you go into, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ Whoever does not take you in or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet. By doing that, you will speak against them. For sure, I tell you, it will be easier for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day men stand before God and are judged than for that city.”

¹² Then they left. They preached that men should be sorry for their sins and turn from them. ¹³ They put out many demons. They poured oil on many people that were sick and healed them.

John the Baptist Is Put in Prison ^(C)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about Jesus because everyone was talking about Him. Some people said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why he is doing such powerful works.” ¹⁵ Other people said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is one who speaks for God like one of the early preachers.” ¹⁶ When Herod heard this, he said, “It is John the Baptist, whose head I cut off. He has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁷ For Herod had sent men to take John and put him into prison. He did this because of his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of his brother Philip. ¹⁸ John the Baptist had said to Herod, “It is wrong for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ Herodias became angry with him. She wanted to have John the Baptist killed but she could not. ²⁰ Herod was afraid of John. He knew he was a good man and right with God, and he kept John from being hurt or killed. He liked to listen to John preach. But when he did, he became troubled.

John the Baptist Is Killed ^(D)

²¹ Then Herodias found a way to have John killed. Herod gave a big supper on his birthday. He asked the leaders of the country and army captains and the leaders of Galilee to come. ²² The daughter of Herodias came in and danced before them. This made Herod and his friends happy. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” ²³ Then he made a promise to her, “Whatever you ask for, I will give it to you. I will give you even half of my nation.” ²⁴ She went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask for?” The mother answered, “I want the head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ At once the girl went to Herod. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a plate now.”

²⁶ Herod was very sorry. He had to do it because of his promise and because of those who ate with him. ²⁷ At once he sent one of his soldiers and told him to bring the head of John the Baptist. The soldier went to the prison and cut off John’s head. ²⁸ He took John’s head in on a plate and gave it to the girl. The girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ John’s followers heard this. They went and took his body and buried it.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand ^(E)

³⁰ The followers of Jesus came back to Him. They told Jesus all they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, “Come away from the people. Be by yourselves and rest.” There were many people coming and going. They had had no time even to eat. ³² They went by themselves in a boat to a desert. ³³ Many people saw them leave and knew who they were. People ran fast from all the cities and got there first. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, He saw many people gathered together. He had loving-pity for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.

³⁵ The day was almost gone. The followers of Jesus came to Him. They said, “This is a desert. It is getting late. ³⁶ Tell the people to go to the towns and villages and buy food for themselves.” ³⁷ He said to them, “Give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “Are we to go and buy many loaves of bread and give it to them?” ³⁸ He said to them, “How many loaves of bread do you have here? Go and see.” When they knew, they said, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.” ³⁹ Then He told them to have all the people sit down together in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of fifty people and in groups of one hundred people. ⁴¹ Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves in pieces and gave them to the followers to set before the people. He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were filled. ⁴³ After that the followers picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ About five thousand men ate the bread.

Jesus Walks On The Water ^(F)

⁴⁵ At once Jesus had His followers get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to the town of Bethsaida. He sent the people away. ⁴⁶ When they were all gone, He went up to the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ It was evening. The boat was half-way across the sea. Jesus was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw His followers were in trouble. The wind was against them. They were working very hard rowing the boat. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them walking on the sea. He would have gone past them. ⁴⁹ When the followers saw Him walking on the water, they thought it was a spirit and cried out with fear. ⁵⁰ For they all saw Him and were afraid. At once Jesus talked to them. He said, “Take hope. It is I, do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ He came over to them and got into the boat. The wind stopped. They were very much surprised and wondered about it. ⁵² They had not learned what they should have learned from the loaves because their hearts were hard.

People Are Healed at Gennesaret ^(G)

⁵³ Then they crossed the sea and came to the land of Gennesaret and went to shore. ⁵⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, the people knew Him at once. ⁵⁵ They ran through all the country bringing people who were sick on their beds to Jesus. ⁵⁶ Wherever He went, they would lay the sick people in the streets in the center of town where people gather. They begged Him that they might touch the bottom of His coat. Everyone who did was healed. This happened in the towns and in the cities and in the country where He went.

Satan Tests Job the Second Time

2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to show themselves before the Lord. And Satan came with them also to show himself before the Lord. ² The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From traveling around the earth and walking around on it.” ³ The Lord said to Satan, “Have you thought about My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth. He is without blame, a man who is right and good. He fears God and turns away from sin. He still holds to his good ways, even when I allowed you to go against him, and to destroy him for no reason.” ⁴ Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. ⁵ Put out Your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face.” ⁶ So the Lord said to Satan, “See, he is in your power. Only do not kill him.”

⁷ Then Satan went out from the Lord. And he made very bad sores come on Job from the bottom of his foot to the top of his head. ⁸ Job took a piece of a broken pot to try to cut off the sores while he sat among the ashes. ⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold on to your faith? Curse God and die!” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Should we receive good from God and not receive trouble?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s Friends Come to Him

¹¹ Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this trouble that had come upon him, they came each from his own place. They were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They agreed to meet together to come to share Job’s sorrow and comfort him. ¹² And when they looked up from far away and saw how different he looked, they cried in loud voices. They tore their clothing and threw dust over their heads toward the sky. ¹³ Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very bad.

6 What does this mean? Are we to keep on sinning so that God will give us more of His loving-favor? ² No, not at all! We are dead to sin. How then can we keep on living in sin? ³ All of us were baptized to show we belong to Christ. We were baptized first of all to show His death. ⁴ We were buried in baptism as Christ was buried in death. As Christ was raised from the dead by the great power of God, so we will have new life also. ⁵ If we have become one with Christ in His death, we will be one with Him in being raised from the dead to new life.

⁶ We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so the power of sin that held us was destroyed. Sin is no longer our boss. ⁷ When a man is dead, he is free from the power of sin. ⁸ And if we have died with Christ, we believe we will live with Him also. ⁹ We know that Christ was raised from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no more power over Him. ¹⁰ He died once but now lives. He died to break the power of sin, and the life He now lives is for God. ¹¹ You must do the same thing! Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But now you have new life because of Jesus Christ our Lord. You are living this new life for God.

¹² So do not let sin have power over your body here on earth. You must not obey the body and let it do what it wants to do. ¹³ Do not give any part of your body for sinful use. Instead, give yourself to God as a living person who has been raised from the dead. Give every part of your body to God to do what is right. ¹⁴ Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.

¹⁵ What are we to do then? Are we to sin because we have God’s loving-favor and are not living by the Law? No, not at all! ¹⁶ Do you not know that when you give yourself as a servant to be owned by someone, that one becomes your owner? If you give yourself to sin, the end is death. If you give yourself to God, the end is being right with Him. ¹⁷ At one time you were held by the power of sin. But now you obey with all your heart the teaching that was given to you. Thank God for this! ¹⁸ You were made free from the power of sin. Being right with God has power over you now. ¹⁹ I speak with words easy to understand because your human thinking is weak. At one time you gave yourselves over to the power of sin. You kept on sinning all the more. Now give yourselves over to being right with God. Set yourself apart for God-like living and to do His work.

²⁰ When sin had power over your life, you were not right with God. ²¹ What good did you get from the things you are ashamed of now? Those things bring death. ²² But now you are free from the power of sin. You have become a servant for God. Your life is set apart for God-like living. The end is life that lasts forever. ²³ You get what is coming to you when you sin. It is death! But God’s free gift is life that lasts forever. It is given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.