M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

29 Therefore Jacob passed forth, and came into the east land;

² and he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep resting beside it, for why (the) sheep were watered thereof, and the mouth thereof was closed with a great stone.

³ And the custom was that when all the sheep were gathered together, they should turn away the stone, and when the flocks were watered, they should put it (back) again on the mouth of the well.

⁴ And Jacob said to the shepherds, Brethren, of whence be ye? Which answered, Of Haran (And they answered, We come from Haran).

⁵ And he asked them and said, Whether ye know Laban, the son of Nahor? (And) They said, We know him.

⁶ Jacob said, Is he whole? (Jacob asked, Is he well?) (And) They said, He is in (a) good state; and lo! Rachel, his daughter, cometh with his flock.

⁷ And Jacob said, Yet much of the day is to come, and it is not (the) time that the flocks be led again to the folds; soothly give ye drink to the sheep, and so lead ye them again to meat (and then take ye them back to the pasture).

⁸ Which answered, We may not till all the sheep be gathered together, and till we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, to water the flocks (then we shall water the flocks).

⁹ Yet (while) they spake, and lo! Rachel came with the sheep of her father.

¹⁰ And when Jacob saw her, and knew (her to be) the daughter of (Laban,) his mother’s brother, and the sheep (to be) of Laban his uncle, he removed the stone with which the well was closed; and when the flock was watered,

¹¹ he kissed her, and he wept with voice raised (and with his voice raised up, he wept for joy).

¹² And Jacob showed to her that he was the brother of her father, and the son of Rebecca; and she hasted, and told to her father. (And Jacob told her that he was her father’s kinsman, and Rebecca’s son; and she hastened home, and told her father.)

¹³ And when he had heard, that Jacob, the son of his sister, came, he ran to meet him, and he embraced Jacob, and kissed him, and led him into his house. Forsooth when the causes of the journey were heard,

¹⁴ Laban answered, Thou art my bone and my flesh. And after that the days of a month were filled,

¹⁵ Laban said to Jacob, Whether for thou art my brother, thou shalt serve me freely? say thou what meed thou shalt take. (Laban said to Jacob, Though thou art my kinsman, shalt thou serve me for nothing? Nay! say what reward thou shalt take.)

¹⁶ Forsooth Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Leah, soothly the younger was called Rachel;

¹⁷ but Leah was bleary-eyed, and Rachel was of fair face, and lovely in sight. (and Leah was blurry-eyed, but Rachel had a beautiful face, and was lovely to look at.)

¹⁸ And Jacob loved Rachel, and (so he) said, I shall serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

¹⁹ Laban answered, It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; dwell thou with me.

²⁰ Therefore Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and the days seemed few to him for the greatness of (his) love.

²¹ And (at last) he said to Laban, Give thou my wife to me, for the time is fulfilled that I enter [in] to her.

²² And (so) when many companies of friends were called to the feast, he made [the] weddings,

²³ and in the eventide Laban brought in to him Leah his daughter, (but in the evening, Laban brought in his daughter Leah to Jacob, but Jacob was too drunk to know,)

²⁴ and gave an handmaid (and Laban gave his slave-girl), Zilpah by name, to his daughter.

²⁵ And when Jacob had entered [in] to her (as) by custom, when the morrowtide was made, he saw Leah, and he said to his wife’s father, What is it that thou wouldest do? whether I served not thee for Rachel? why hast thou deceived me? (And after Jacob had slept with his wife, as by custom, when the morning was made, he saw that it was Leah, and he said to his wife’s father, What hast thou done to me? did I not serve thee for Rachel? why hast thou deceived me?)

²⁶ Laban answered, It is not custom in our place that we give first the younger daughter to weddings; (And Laban answered, It is not the custom in our place that we give the younger daughter first in a wedding;)

²⁷ fulfill thou the week of days of this wedding, and I shall give to thee also this Rachel, for the work in which thou shalt serve me by other seven years. (so fulfill thou a week of days, or seven days, for this wedding, and then I shall also give thee Rachel, for the work in which thou shalt serve me for another seven years.)

²⁸ Jacob assented to the covenant, and when the week was passed, he wedded Rachel,

²⁹ to whom her father had given Bilhah (for) an handmaid. (to whom her father had given his slave-girl Bilhah.)

³⁰ And at the last Jacob used the weddings desired, and set the love of the latter wife before the first; and Jacob served Laban seven other years. (And so at last Jacob had the desired wedding, and put the love of the latter wife ahead of the first wife; and Jacob served Laban for another seven years.)

³¹ Forsooth the Lord saw that Jacob despised Leah, that is, (that he) loved her less than Rachel, and (so) he opened Leah’s womb, while her sister dwelled barren.

³² And Leah childed a son conceived (And Leah conceived, and bare a son), and she called his name Reuben, and said, The Lord hath seen my meekness; now mine husband shall love me.

³³ And again she conceived, and childed a son, and said, For the Lord saw that I was despised, he gave also this son to me (he also gave me this son); and she called his name Simeon.

³⁴ And she conceived the third time, and childed another son, and she said also (and then she said), Now mine husband shall be coupled to me, for I have childed three sons to him; and therefore she called his name Levi.

³⁵ The fourth time she conceived, and childed a son, and said, Now I shall acknowledge to the Lord; and therefore she called his name Judah; and ceased to child. (And the fourth time she conceived, and bare a son, she said, Now I shall praise the Lord; and so she called his name Judah; and ceased to bear any more children.)

28 But in the eventide of the sabbath [Forsooth in the evening of the sabbath, or holiday], that beginneth to shine in the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came, and another Mary, to see the sepulchre.

² And lo! there was made a great earth-shaking; for the angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and approached, and turned away the stone^[a], and sat thereon.

³ And his looking was as lightning, and his clothes as snow; [Soothly his looking was as lightning, and his clothes white as snow;]

⁴ and for dread of him the keepers were afeared, and they were made as dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered, and said to the women, Do not ye dread, for I know that ye seek Jesus, that was crucified;

⁶ he is not here, for he is risen, as he said; come ye, and see ye the place [come ye, and see the place], where the Lord was laid.

⁷ And go ye soon, and say ye to his disciples [And ye going soon, say to his disciples], that he is risen. And lo! he shall go before you into Galilee; there ye shall see him. Lo! I have before-said to you.

⁸ And they went out soon from the burials [And they went out soon from the sepulchre], with dread and great joy, running to tell to his disciples.

⁹ And lo! Jesus met them, and said [saying], Hail ye. And they approached^[b], and held his feet, and worshipped him.

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, Do not ye dread; go ye, tell ye to my brethren, that they go into Galilee; there they shall see me.

¹¹ And when they were gone [And when they had gone], lo! some of the keepers came into the city, and told to the princes of priests all things that were done.

¹² And when they were gathered together with the elder men, and had taken their counsel, they gave to the knights much money,

¹³ and said, Say ye, that his disciples came by night, and have stolen him, while ye slept. [saying, Say ye, for his disciples came by night, and have stolen him, us sleeping.]

¹⁴ And if this be heard of the justice [And if this be heard of the president, or justice], we shall counsel him, and make you secure.

¹⁵ And when the money was taken, they did, as they were taught. And this word is published among the Jews, till into this day.

¹⁶ And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, into an hill, where Jesus had ordained to them [where Jesus had ordained them].

¹⁷ And they saw him, and worshipped; but some of them doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came nigh, and spake to them, and said, All power in heaven and in earth is given to me. [And Jesus coming to, spake to them, saying, All power is given to me, in heaven and in earth.]

¹⁹ Therefore go ye, and teach all folks, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;

²⁰ teaching them to keep all things, whatever things I have commanded to you; and lo! I am with you in all days, into the end of the world.^[c]

5 Forsooth in the third day, Esther was clothed in royal clothes, and she stood in the porch of the king’s house, that was withinforth over against the king’s hall; and the king sat upon his throne, in the consistory of his palace, (over) against the door of the house. (And on the third day, Esther was clothed in royal robes, and she went and stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace, facing the palace; and the king sat on his throne, in the consistory of his palace, facing the entrance to the palace.)

² And when he had seen Esther, the queen, standing there, she pleased his eyes, and he held forth against her the golden rod, that he held in his hand; and she nighed, and kissed the highness of his rod. (And when he had seen Queen Esther standing there, she pleased his eyes, and he held forth toward her the gold sceptre, which he held in his hand; and she came over, and touched the top of the sceptre.)

³ And the king said to her, Esther, the queen, what wilt thou? what is thine asking? Yea, though thou ask the half part of my realm, it shall be given to thee. (And the king said to her, Queen Esther, what wilt thou have? what is thy asking? Yea, if thou ask for half my kingdom, it shall be given to thee!)

⁴ And she answered, If it pleaseth the king, I beseech, that thou come to me today, and Haman with thee, to the feast, that I have made ready. (And she answered, If it please the king, I beseech thee, that thou, and Haman with thee, come today to the feast, that I have prepared for thee.)

⁵ And anon the king said, Call ye anon Haman, that he obey to the will of Esther. And then the king and Haman came to the feast, which the queen had made ready to them. (And at once the king said, Call ye Haman at once, so that he obey the will of Esther. And so the king and Haman went to the feast, which the queen had prepared for them.)

⁶ And the king said to Esther, after that he had drunk (the) wine plenteously, What thing askest thou of me, that it be given to thee, and for what thing askest thou? Yea, though thou ask the half part of my realm, thou shalt get it (Yea, if thou ask for half my kingdom, thou shalt get it).

⁷ To whom Esther answered, My asking and [my] prayers be these.

⁸ If I have found grace in the sight of the king, and if it pleaseth the king, that he give to me that thing, that I ask, and that he fulfill mine asking, the king and Haman come they tomorrow to the feast, that I have made ready to them; and tomorrow, I shall open my will to the king. (If I have found favour before the king, and if it please the king, that he give me what I ask for, and that he grant my request, then may the king and Haman come to the feast that I shall prepare for them tomorrow; and then tomorrow, I shall tell my desire to the king.)

⁹ Therefore Haman went out glad and swift in that day. And when he had seen Mordecai sitting before the gates of the palace, and not only to have not risen up to him, but soothly neither moved from the place of his sitting, he was full wroth; (And so Haman went out that day happy and well pleased with himself. But when he saw Mordecai in attendance at the royal court, and he did not rise up before him to show respect, or even move from the place where he was sitting, he was enraged;)

¹⁰ and Haman feigned him(self) as not wroth therefore, and turned again into his house, and he called together his friends, and Zeresh, his wife; (but Haman feigned himself as not being angry because of that, and returned to his house, and he called together his friends, and his wife Zeresh;)

¹¹ and he told to them (of) the greatness of his riches, and the company of his children, and with how great glory the king had enhanced him above all his princes and servants. (and he told them of his great riches, and of the multitude, or the great number, of his children, and how the king had promoted him to great glory above all his other leaders and servants.)

¹² And he said after these things, Also the queen Esther called none other man with the king to the feast, except me, with whom I shall eat also tomorrow with the king. (And after these things he said, And Queen Esther called no other man to the feast with the king, except me, and tomorrow I shall also eat with her and the king.)

¹³ And though I have all these things, I guess that I have nothing, as long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting before the king’s gates. (And yet, even though I have all these things, I feel like I have nothing, as long as I see that Jew Mordecai, in attendance at the royal court.)

¹⁴ And Zeresh, his wife, and his friends answered to him, Command thou an high beam, or a gallows tree, to be made ready, having fifty cubits of height; and speak thou tomorrow early to the king, and ask of him, that Mordecai be hanged thereon; and so thou shalt go glad with the king to the queen’s feast. And the counsel of them pleased him, and he commanded an high cross, that is a gibbet, to be made ready. (And his wife Zeresh, and his friends, answered to him, Command thou that a gallows be prepared, that is fifty cubits in height; and then early tomorrow speak thou to the king, and ask him to have Mordecai hanged on it; and then thou shalt go with the king to the queen’s feast in high spirits. And their counsel pleased him, and he commanded that the gallows be prepared.)

28 And when we had escaped, then we knew that the isle was called Melita.

² And the heathen men did to us not little courtesy [Soothly barbarians, or heathen men, gave to us not little humanity, or courtesy]. And when a fire was kindled, they refreshed us all, for the rain that came, and the cold.

³ But when Paul had gathered a quantity of cuttings of vines, and laid on the fire, an adder came forth from the heat, and took him by the hand [an adder, when she came forth from the heat, assailed his hand].

⁴ And when the heathen men of the isle saw the beast hanging in his hand, they said together, For this man is a manslayer; and when he escaped from the sea, God's vengeance suffereth him not to live in earth. [Therefore as barbarians saw the beast hanging in his hand, they said together, Soothly this man is a man-queller; which when he escaped from the sea, God's vengeance suffereth him not to live.]

⁵ But he shook away the beast into the fire, and had none harm. [And he soothly shaking off the beast into the fire, suffered nothing of evil.]

⁶ And they guessed that he should be turned into swelling, and fall down suddenly, and die. But when they abided long, and saw that nothing of evil was done in him [Forsooth them long abiding, and seeing nothing of evil to be done in him], they turned them(selves) together, and said, that he was God.

⁷ And in those places were manors [were manors, or fields,] of the prince of the isle, Publius by name, which received us by three days benignly [benignly, or with good will], and `found' us.

⁸ And it befell, that the father of Publius lay travailed with fevers and bloody flux [lay travailed with fevers and dysentery, or flux]. To whom Paul entered, and when he had prayed, and laid his hands on him, he healed him.

⁹ And when this thing was done, all that in the isle had sicknesses, came, and were healed [all that in the isle had sicknesses, came to, and were cured, or healed].

¹⁰ Which also honoured us with many honours, and putted what things were necessary to us, when we shipped. [Which also honoured us in many worships, and to us shipping, inputted what things were necessary.]

¹¹ And after three months we shipped in a ship of Alexandria, that had wintered in the isle, to which was an excellent sign of Castor.

¹² And when we came to Syracuse, we dwelled there three days.

¹³ From thence we sailed about, and came to Rhegium; and after one day, while the south blew, in the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹⁴ Where when we found brethren, we were prayed to dwell there with them seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵ And from thence, when brethren had heard, they came to us [till] to the market of Appii, and to the Three taverns. And when Paul had seen them [Whom when Paul had seen], he did thankings to God, and took trust.

¹⁶ And when we came to Rome, it was suffered to Paul to dwell by himself, with a knight keeping him.

¹⁷ And after the third day, he called together the worthiest of the Jews [he called together the first of the Jews]. And when they came, he said to them, Brethren, I did nothing against the people either custom of fathers [he said to them, Men brethren, I did nothing against the people or custom of fathers], and I was bound at Jerusalem, and was betaken into the hands of Romans.

¹⁸ And when they had asked of me, would have delivered me [Which when they had asked of me, would dismiss me], for that no cause of death was in me.

¹⁹ But for the Jews gainsaid, I was constrained to appeal to the emperor; not as having any thing to accuse my people.^[a]

²⁰ Therefore for this cause I prayed to see you, and speak to you; for for the hope of Israel I am gird about with this chain.

²¹ And they said to him, Neither we have received letters of thee from Judaea, neither any of brethren coming showed, either spake any evil thing of thee [or spake any evil thing of thee].

²² But we pray to hear of thee, what things thou feelest; for of this sect it is known to us, that every where men gainsaith it [that every where it is against-said].

²³ And when they had ordained a day to him, many men came to him into the inn [Soothly when they had ordained a day to him, more came to him into the hostelry]. To which he expounded [To whom he expounded], witnessing the kingdom of God, and counseled them of Jesus, of the law of Moses, and [of] prophets, from the morrow till to [the] eventide.

²⁴ And some believed to these things that were said of Paul, some believed not.

²⁵ And when they were not consenting together, they departed. And Paul said one word [When they were not consenting together, they departed, Paul saying one word], For the Holy Ghost spake well by Esaias, the prophet, to our fathers,

²⁶ and said [saying], Go thou to this people, and say to them, With ear ye shall hear [With ears ye shall here], and ye shall not understand; and ye seeing shall see, and ye shall not behold.

²⁷ For the heart of this people is greatly fatted [The heart of this people is enfatted], and with ears they heard heavily, and they closed together their eyes, lest peradventure they see with eyes, and with ears hear, and by heart understand, and be converted, and I heal them.

²⁸ Therefore be it known to you, that this health of God is sent to heathen men, and they shall hear.

²⁹ And when he had said these things, Jews went out from him, and had much question, or musing [and had much question, or seeking], among themselves.

³⁰ And he dwelled full two years in his hired place [Soothly he dwelled all two years in his hired place]; and he received all that entered to him,

³¹ and preached the kingdom of God, and taught those things that be of the Lord Jesus Christ [preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching what things be of the Lord Jesus Christ], with all trust, without forbidding. Amen.