M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Lot Leaves Sodom
19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting near the city gate. When he saw them, he got up and went to them and bowed facedown on the ground. 2 Lot said, “Sirs, please come to my house and spend the night. There you can wash your feet, and then tomorrow you may continue your journey.”
The angels answered, “No, we will spend the night in the city’s public square.”
3 But Lot begged them to come, so they agreed and went to his house. Then Lot prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without yeast, and they ate it.
4 Before bedtime, men both young and old and from every part of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sexual relations with them.”
6 Lot went outside to them, closing the door behind him. 7 He said, “No, my brothers! Do not do this evil thing. 8 Look! I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. I will give them to you, and you may do anything you want with them. But please don’t do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them.”
9 The men around the house answered, “Move out of the way!” Then they said to each other, “This man Lot came to our city as a stranger, and now he wants to tell us what to do!” They said to Lot, “We will do worse things to you than to them.” They started pushing him back and were ready to break down the door.
10 But the two men staying with Lot opened the door, pulled him back inside the house, and then closed the door. 11 They struck those outside the door with blindness, so the men, both young and old, could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other relatives in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any other relatives? If you do, tell them to leave now, 13 because we are about to destroy this city. The Lord has heard of all the evil that is here, so he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and said to his future sons-in-law who were pledged to marry his daughters, “Hurry and leave this city! The Lord is about to destroy it!” But they thought Lot was joking.
15 At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, “Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you so you will not be destroyed when the city is punished.”
16 But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family. 17 After they brought them out of the city, one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains, or you will be destroyed.”
18 But Lot said to one of them, “Sir, please don’t force me to go so far! 19 You have been merciful and kind to me and have saved my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. The disaster will catch me, and I will die. 20 Look, that little town over there is not too far away. Let me run there. It’s really just a little town, and I’ll be safe there.”
21 The angel said to Lot, “Very well, I will allow you to do this also. I will not destroy that town. 22 But run there fast, because I cannot destroy Sodom until you are safely in that town.” (That town is named Zoar,[a] because it is little.)
Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed
23 The sun had already come up when Lot entered Zoar. 24 The Lord sent a rain of burning sulfur down from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah 25 and destroyed those cities. He also destroyed the whole Jordan Valley, everyone living in the cities, and even all the plants.
26 At that point Lot’s wife looked back. When she did, she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning, Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Jordan Valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 God destroyed the cities in the valley, but he remembered what Abraham had asked. So God saved Lot’s life, but he destroyed the city where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot was afraid to continue living in Zoar, so he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old. Everywhere on the earth women and men marry, but there are no men around here for us to marry. 32 Let’s get our father drunk and have sexual relations with him. We can use him to have children and continue our family.”
33 That night the two girls got their father drunk, and the older daughter went and had sexual relations with him. But Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I had sexual relations with my father. Let’s get him drunk again tonight so you can go and have sexual relations with him, too. In this way we can use our father to have children to continue our family.” 35 So that night they got their father drunk again, and the younger daughter went and had sexual relations with him. Again, Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of all the Moabite people who are still living today. 38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. He is the father of all the Ammonite people who are still living today.
Who Is the Greatest?
18 At that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and stood the child before his followers. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
5 “Whoever accepts a child in my name accepts me. 6 If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it would be better for that person to have a large stone tied around the neck and be drowned in the sea. 7 How terrible for the people of the world because of the things that cause them to sin. Such things will happen, but how terrible for the one who causes them to happen! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live forever than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns forever. 9 If your eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and live forever than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
A Lost Sheep
10 “Be careful. Don’t think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven. [ 11 The Son of Man came to save lost people.][a]
12 “If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other ninety-nine on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep. 13 I tell you the truth, if he finds it he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that were never lost. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.
When a Person Sins Against You
15 “If your fellow believer sins against you,[b] go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. 16 But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’[c] 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.
18 “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.
19 “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”
An Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.
23 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. 25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.
26 “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.
28 “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’
29 “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’
30 “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.
32 “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. 33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ 34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.
35 “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
8 All the people of Israel gathered together in the square by the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the teacher to bring out the Book of the Teachings of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.
2 So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought out the Teachings for the crowd. Men, women, and all who could listen and understand had gathered. 3 At the square by the Water Gate Ezra read the Teachings out loud from early morning until noon to the men, women, and everyone who could listen and understand. All the people listened carefully to the Book of the Teachings.
4 Ezra the teacher stood on a high wooden platform that had been built just for this time. On his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. And on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 Ezra opened the book in full view of everyone, because he was above them. As he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 These Levites explained the Teachings to the people as they stood there: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. 8 They read from the Book of the Teachings of God and explained what it meant so the people understood what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who were teaching said to all the people, “This is a holy day to the Lord your God. Don’t be sad or cry.” All the people had been crying as they listened to the words of the Teachings.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy good food and sweet drinks. Send some to people who have none, because today is a holy day to the Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.”
11 The Levites helped calm the people, saying, “Be quiet, because this is a holy day. Don’t be sad.”
12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send some of their food to others, and to celebrate with great joy. They finally understood what they had been taught.
13 On the second day of the month, the leaders of all the families, the priests, and the Levites met with Ezra the teacher. They gathered to study the words of the Teachings. 14 This is what they found written in the Teachings: The Lord commanded through Moses that the people of Israel were to live in shelters during the feast of the seventh month. 15 The people were supposed to preach this message and spread it through all their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the mountains, and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, myrtle trees, palms, and shade trees. Make shelters with them, as it is written.”
16 So the people went out and got tree branches. They built shelters on their roofs,[a] in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the Temple, in the square by the Water Gate, and in the square next to the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole group that had come back from captivity built shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done this since the time of Joshua son of Nun. And they were very happy.
18 Ezra read to them every day from the Book of the Teachings, from the first day to the last. The people of Israel celebrated the feast for seven days, and then on the eighth day the people gathered as the law said.
Paul in Corinth
18 Later Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 Here he met a Jew named Aquila who had been born in the country of Pontus. But Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, had recently moved to Corinth from Italy, because Claudius[a] commanded that all Jews must leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. 3 Because they were tentmakers, just as he was, he stayed with them and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath day he talked with the Jews and Greeks in the synagogue, trying to persuade them to believe in Jesus.
5 Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia and joined Paul in Corinth. After this, Paul spent all his time telling people the Good News, showing them that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But they would not accept Paul’s teaching and said some evil things. So he shook off the dust from his clothes[b] and said to them, “If you are not saved, it will be your own fault! I have done all I can do! After this, I will go to other nations.” 7 Paul left the synagogue and moved into the home of Titius Justus, next to the synagogue. This man worshiped God. 8 Crispus was the leader of that synagogue, and he and all the people living in his house believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also listened to Paul and believed and were baptized.
9 During the night, the Lord told Paul in a vision: “Don’t be afraid. Continue talking to people and don’t be quiet. 10 I am with you, and no one will hurt you because many of my people are in this city.” 11 Paul stayed there for a year and a half, teaching God’s word to the people.
Paul Is Brought Before Gallio
12 When Gallio was the governor of the country of Southern Greece, some people came together against Paul and took him to the court. 13 They said, “This man is teaching people to worship God in a way that is against our law.”
14 Paul was about to say something, but Gallio spoke, saying, “I would listen to you if you were complaining about a crime or some wrong. 15 But the things you are saying are only questions about words and names—arguments about your own law. So you must solve this problem yourselves. I don’t want to be a judge of these things.” 16 And Gallio made them leave the court.
17 Then they all grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him there before the court. But this did not bother Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch
18 Paul stayed with the believers for many more days. Then he left and sailed for Syria, with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchrea Paul cut off his hair,[c] because he had made a promise to God. 19 Then they went to Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. While Paul was there, he went into the synagogue and talked with the people. 20 When they asked him to stay with them longer, he refused. 21 But as he left, he said, “I will come back to you again if God wants me to.” And so he sailed away from Ephesus.
22 When Paul landed at Caesarea, he went and gave greetings to the church in Jerusalem. After that, Paul went to Antioch. 23 He stayed there for a while and then left and went through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia. He traveled from town to town in these regions, giving strength to all the followers.
Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth
24 A Jew named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was born in the city of Alexandria and was a good speaker who knew the Scriptures well. 25 He had been taught about the way of the Lord and was always very excited when he spoke and taught the truth about Jesus. But the only baptism Apollos knew about was the baptism that John[d] taught. 26 Apollos began to speak very boldly in the synagogue, and when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him better understand the way of God. 27 Now Apollos wanted to go to the country of Southern Greece. So the believers helped him and wrote a letter to the followers there, asking them to accept him. These followers had believed in Jesus because of God’s grace, and when Apollos arrived, he helped them very much. 28 He argued very strongly with the Jews before all the people, clearly proving with the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.