M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Seventh Day—Rest
2 So the sky, the earth, and all that filled them were finished. 2 By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested from all his work. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day, because on that day he rested from all the work he had done in creating the world.
The First People
4 This is the story of the creation of the sky and the earth. When the Lord God first made the earth and the sky, 5 there were still no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no person to care for the ground, 6 but a mist would rise up from the earth and water all the ground.
7 Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person. 8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in the east, in a place called Eden, and put the man he had formed into it. 9 The Lord God caused every beautiful tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life and also the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From there the river branched out to become four rivers. 11 The first river, named Pishon, flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is excellent. Bdellium and onyx[a] are also found there. 13 The second river, named Gihon, flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The third river, named Tigris, flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it. 16 The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from any tree in the garden, 17 but you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!”
The First Woman
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”
19 From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky, and he brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky, and to all the wild animals. But Adam[b] did not find a helper that was right for him. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ribs. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the rib. 22 The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man.
23 And the man said,
“Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones,
whose body came from my body.
I will call her ‘woman,’
because she was taken out of man.”
24 So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.
25 The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.
Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the people in Jerusalem. 4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. 5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are not just an insignificant village in Judah.
A ruler will come from you
who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’” Micah 5:2
7 Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 8 He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.”
9 After the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13 After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, because Herod is starting to look for the child so he can kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15 And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son out of Egypt.”[a]
Herod Kills the Baby Boys
16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was furious. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17 So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah
of painful crying and deep sadness:
Rachel crying for her children.
She refused to be comforted,
because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
Joseph and Mary Return
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea since his father Herod had died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee, 23 to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”[b]
The Captives Who Returned
2 These are the people of the area who returned from captivity, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken away to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each going back to his own town. 2 These people returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
These are the people from Israel: 3 the descendants of Parosh—2,172; 4 the descendants of Shephatiah—372; 5 the descendants of Arah—775; 6 the descendants of Pahath-Moab (through the family of Jeshua and Joab)—2,812; 7 the descendants of Elam—1,254; 8 the descendants of Zattu—945; 9 the descendants of Zaccai—760; 10 the descendants of Bani—642; 11 the descendants of Bebai—623; 12 the descendants of Azgad—1,222; 13 the descendants of Adonikam—666; 14 the descendants of Bigvai—2,056; 15 the descendants of Adin—454; 16 the descendants of Ater (through the family of Hezekiah)—98; 17 the descendants of Bezai—323; 18 the descendants of Jorah—112; 19 the descendants of Hashum—223; 20 the descendants of Gibbar—95.
21 These are the people from the towns: of Bethlehem—123; 22 of Netophah—56; 23 of Anathoth—128; 24 of Azmaveth—42; 25 of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth—743; 26 of Ramah and Geba—621; 27 of Micmash—122; 28 of Bethel and Ai—223; 29 of Nebo—52; 30 of Magbish—156; 31 of the other town of Elam—1,254; 32 of Harim—320; 33 of Lod, Hadid and Ono—725; 34 of Jericho—345; 35 of Senaah—3,630.
36 These are the priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua)—973; 37 the descendants of Immer—1,052; 38 the descendants of Pashhur—1,247; 39 the descendants of Harim—1,017.
40 These are the Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the family of Hodaviah)—74.
41 These are the singers: the descendants of Asaph—128.
42 These are the gatekeepers of the Temple: the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai—139.
43 These are the Temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 44 Keros, Siaha, Padon, 45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, 46 Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan, 47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, 48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, 49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai, 50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephussim, 51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, 52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 54 Neziah, and Hatipha.
55 These are the descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, 56 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, 57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and Ami.
58 The Temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392.
59 Some people came to Jerusalem from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove that their ancestors came from Israel. 60 They were the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda—652.
61 Also these priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai, who had married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead and was called by her family name.
62 These people searched for their family records but could not find them. So they could not be priests, because they were thought to be unclean. 63 The governor ordered them not to eat any of the food offered to God until a priest had settled this matter by using the Urim and Thummim.
64 The total number of those who returned was 42,360. 65 This is not counting their 7,337 male and female servants and the 200 male and female singers they had with them. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
68 When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the leaders of families gave offerings to rebuild the Temple of God on the same site as before. 69 They gave as much as they could to the treasury to rebuild the Temple—about 1,100 pounds of gold, about 6,000 pounds of silver, and 100 pieces of clothing for the priests.
70 All the Israelites settled in their hometowns. The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple servants, along with some of the other people, settled in their own towns as well.
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages[a] by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
5 There were some religious Jews staying in Jerusalem who were from every country in the world. 6 When they heard this noise, a crowd came together. They were all surprised, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were completely amazed at this. They said, “Look! Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking from Galilee? 8 Then how is it possible that we each hear them in our own languages? We are from different places: 9 Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the areas of Libya near Cyrene, Rome 11 (both Jews and those who had become Jews), Crete, and Arabia. But we hear them telling in our own languages about the great things God has done!” 12 They were all amazed and confused, asking each other, “What does this mean?”
13 But others were making fun of them, saying, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Speaks to the People
14 But Peter stood up with the eleven apostles, and in a loud voice he spoke to the crowd: “My fellow Jews, and all of you who are in Jerusalem, listen to me. Pay attention to what I have to say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you think; it is only nine o’clock in the morning! 16 But Joel the prophet wrote about what is happening here today:
17 ‘God says: In the last days
I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 At that time I will pour out my Spirit
also on my male slaves and female slaves,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show miracles
in the sky and on the earth:
blood, fire, and thick smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
the moon red as blood,
before the overwhelming and glorious day of the Lord will come.
21 Then anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.’ Joel 2:28–32
22 “People of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened right here among you. 23 Jesus was given to you, and with the help of those who don’t know the law, you put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was God’s plan which he had made long ago; he knew all this would happen. 24 God raised Jesus from the dead and set him free from the pain of death, because death could not hold him. 25 For David said this about him:
‘I keep the Lord before me always.
Because he is close by my side,
I will not be hurt.
26 So I am glad, and I rejoice.
Even my body has hope,
27 because you will not leave me in the grave.
You will not let your Holy One rot.
28 You will teach me how to live a holy life.
Being with you will fill me with joy.’ Psalm 16:8–11
29 “Brothers and sisters, I can tell you truly that David, our ancestor, died and was buried. His grave is still here with us today. 30 He was a prophet and knew God had promised him that he would make a person from David’s family a king just as he was.[b] 31 Knowing this before it happened, David talked about the Christ rising from the dead. He said:
‘He was not left in the grave.
His body did not rot.’
32 So Jesus is the One whom God raised from the dead. And we are all witnesses to this. 33 Jesus was lifted up to heaven and is now at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus as he promised. So Jesus has poured out that Spirit, and this is what you now see and hear. 34 David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven, but he said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right side,
35 until I put your enemies under your control.”’[c] Psalm 110:1
36 “So, all the people of Israel should know this truly: God has made Jesus—the man you nailed to the cross—both Lord and Christ.”
37 When the people heard this, they felt guilty and asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”
40 Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of today’s people!” 41 Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day. 42 They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching, sharing, breaking bread,[d] and praying together.
The Believers Share
43 The apostles were doing many miracles and signs, and everyone felt great respect for God. 44 All the believers were together and shared everything. 45 They would sell their land and the things they owned and then divide the money and give it to anyone who needed it. 46 The believers met together in the Temple every day. They ate together in their homes, happy to share their food with joyful hearts. 47 They praised God and were liked by all the people. Every day the Lord added those who were being saved to the group of believers.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.