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M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The classic M'Cheyne plan--read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels every day.

Duration: 365 days

Genesis 2

Chapter 2

¹Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.^(A) ²^[a]On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.^(B) ³God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.^(C)

I. The Story of the Nations

The Garden of Eden. ⁴This is the story^[b] of the heavens and the earth at their creation. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens— ⁵there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the Lord God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man^[c] to till the ground, ⁶but a stream^[d] was welling up out of the earth and watering all the surface of the ground— ⁷then the Lord God formed the man^[e] out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.^(D)

⁸The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,^[f] and placed there the man whom he had formed.^(E) ⁹^[g]Out of the ground the Lord God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(F)

¹⁰A river rises in Eden^[h] to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²The gold of that land is good; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there. ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush.^(G) ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.^(H) ¹⁶The Lord God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden^(I) ¹⁷except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.^[i]^(J)

¹⁸The Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.^[j]^(K) ¹⁹So the Lord God formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each living creature was then its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man.

²¹So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.^(L) ²²The Lord God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, ²³the man said:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of man this one has been taken.”^[k]

²⁴^(M)That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.^[l]

²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.^[m]

Footnotes

2:2 The mention of the seventh day, repeated in v. 3, is outside the series of six days and is thus the climax of the account. The focus of the account is God. The text does not actually institute the practice of keeping the Sabbath, for it would have been anachronistic to establish at this point a custom that was distinctively Israelite (Ex 31:13, 16, 17), but it lays the foundation for the later practice. Similarly, ancient creation accounts often ended with the construction of a temple where the newly created human race provided service to the gods who created them, but no temple is mentioned in this account. As was the case with the Sabbath, it would have been anachronistic to institute the temple at this point, for Israel did not yet exist. In Ex 25–31 and 35–40, Israel builds the tabernacle, which is the precursor of the Temple of Solomon.
2:4
This is the story: the distinctive Priestly formula introduces older traditions, belonging to the tradition called Yahwist, and gives them a new setting. In the first part of Genesis, the formula “this is the story” (or a similar phrase) occurs five times (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10), which corresponds to the five occurrences of the formula in the second part of the book (11:27; 25:12, 19; 36:1[9]; 37:2). Some interpret the formula here as retrospective (“Such is the story”), referring back to chap. 1, but all its other occurrences introduce rather than summarize. It is introductory here; the Priestly source would hardly use the formula to introduce its own material in chap. 1.
The cosmogony that begins in v. 4 is concerned with the nature of human beings, narrating the story of the essential institutions and limits of the human race through their first ancestors. This cosmogony, like 1:1–3 (see note there), uses the “when…then” construction common in ancient cosmogonies. The account is generally attributed to the Yahwist, who prefers the divine name “Yhwh” (here rendered Lord) for God. God in this story is called “the Lord God” (except in 3:1–5); “Lord” is to be expected in a Yahwist account but the additional word “God” is puzzling.
2:5 Man: the Hebrew word ’adam is a generic term meaning “human being.” In chaps. 2–3, however, the archetypal human being is understood to be male (Adam), so the word ’adam is translated “man” here.
2:6 Stream: the water wells up from the vast flood below the earth. The account seems to presuppose that only the garden of God was irrigated at this point. From this one source of all the fertilizing water on the earth, water will be channeled through the garden of God over the entire earth. It is the source of the four rivers mentioned in vv. 10–14. Later, with rain and cultivation, the fertility of the garden of God will appear in all parts of the world.
2:7 God is portrayed as a potter molding the human body out of earth. There is a play on words in Hebrew between ’adam (“human being,” “man”) and ’adama (“ground”). It is not enough to make the body from earth; God must also breathe into the man’s nostrils. A similar picture of divine breath imparted to human beings in order for them to live is found in Ez 37:5, 9–10; Jn 20:22. The Israelites did not think in the (Greek) categories of body and soul.
2:8
Eden, in the east: the place names in vv. 8–14 are mostly derived from Mesopotamian geography (see note on vv. 10–14). Eden may be the name of a region in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), the term derived from the Sumerian word eden, “fertile plain.” A similar-sounding Hebrew word means “delight,” which may lie behind the Greek translation, “The Lord God planted a paradise [= pleasure park] in Eden.” It should be noted, however, that the garden was not intended as a paradise for the human race, but as a pleasure park for God; the man tended it for God. The story is not about “paradise lost.”
The garden in the precincts of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem seems to symbolize the garden of God (like gardens in other temples); it is apparently alluded to in Ps 1:3; 80:10; 92:14; Ez 47:7–12; Rev 22:1–2.
2:9 The second tree, the tree of life, is mentioned here and at the end of the story (3:22, 24). It is identified with Wisdom in Prv 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4, where the pursuit of wisdom gives back to human beings the life that is made inaccessible to them in Gn 3:24. In the new creation described in the Book of Revelation, the tree of life is once again made available to human beings (Rev 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19). Knowledge of good and evil: the meaning is disputed. According to some, it signifies moral autonomy, control over morality (symbolized by “good and evil”), which would be inappropriate for mere human beings; the phrase would thus mean refusal to accept the human condition and finite freedom that God gives them. According to others, it is more broadly the knowledge of what is helpful and harmful to humankind, suggesting that the attainment of adult experience and responsibility inevitably means the loss of a life of simple subordination to God.
2:10–14 A river rises in Eden: the stream of water mentioned in v. 6, the source of all water upon earth, comes to the surface in the garden of God and from there flows out over the entire earth. In comparable religious literature, the dwelling of god is the source of fertilizing waters. The four rivers represent universality, as in the phrase “the four quarters of the earth.” In Ez 47:1–12; Zec 14:8; Rev 22:1–2, the waters that irrigate the earth arise in the temple or city of God. The place names in vv. 11–14 are mainly from southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), where Mesopotamian literature placed the original garden of God. The Tigris and the Euphrates, the two great rivers in that part of the world, both emptied into the Persian Gulf. Gihon is the modest stream issuing from Jerusalem (2 Sm 5:8; 1 Kgs 1:9–10; 2 Chr 32:4), but is here regarded as one of the four great world rivers and linked to Mesopotamia, for Cush here seems to be the territory of the Kassites (a people of Mesopotamia) as in Gn 10:8. The word Pishon is otherwise unknown but is probably formed in imitation of Gihon. Havilah seems, according to Gn 10:7 and 1 Chr 1:9, to be in Cush in southern Mesopotamia though other locations have been suggested.
2:17 You shall die: since they do not die as soon as they eat from the forbidden tree, the meaning seems to be that human beings have become mortal, destined to die by virtue of being human.
2:18 Helper suited to him: lit., “a helper in accord with him.” “Helper” need not imply subordination, for God is called a helper (Dt 33:7; Ps 46:2). The language suggests a profound affinity between the man and the woman and a relationship that is supportive and nurturing.
2:23 The man recognizes an affinity with the woman God has brought him. Unlike the animals who were made from the ground, she is made from his very self. There is a play on the similar-sounding Hebrew words ’ishsha (“woman,” “wife”) and ’ish (“man,” “husband”).
2:24 One body: lit., “one flesh.” The covenant of marriage establishes kinship bonds of the first rank between the partners.
2:25 They felt no shame: marks a new stage in the drama, for the reader knows that only young children know no shame. This draws the reader into the next episode, where the couple’s disobedience results in their loss of innocence.

Matthew 2

Chapter 2

The Visit of the Magi.^[a] ¹When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,^[b] behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, ²saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star^[c] at its rising and have come to do him homage.”^(A) ³When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.^[d] ⁵^(B)They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” ⁹After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰They were overjoyed at seeing the star, ¹¹^[e]^(C)and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt. ¹³^[f]When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,^[g] and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” ¹⁴Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. ¹⁵^[h]He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet^(D) might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

The Massacre of the Infants. ¹⁶When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

¹⁸^[i]^(E)“A voice was heard in Ramah,
    sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
    and she would not be consoled,
    since they were no more.”

The Return from Egypt. ¹⁹When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰and said,^(F) “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”^[j] ²¹He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod,^[k] he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. ²³^[l]^(G)He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

Footnotes

2:1–12 The future rejection of Jesus by Israel and his acceptance by the Gentiles are retrojected into this scene of the narrative.
2:1 In the days of King Herod: Herod reigned from 37 to 4 B.C. Magi: originally a designation of the Persian priestly caste, the word became used of those who were regarded as having more than human knowledge. Matthew’s magi are astrologers.
2:2 We saw his star: it was a common ancient belief that a new star appeared at the time of a ruler’s birth. Matthew also draws upon the Old Testament story of Balaam, who had prophesied that “A star shall advance from Jacob” (Nm 24:17), though there the star means not an astral phenomenon but the king himself.
2:4 Herod’s consultation with the chief priests and scribes has some similarity to a Jewish legend about the child Moses in which the “sacred scribes” warn Pharaoh about the imminent birth of one who will deliver Israel from Egypt and the king makes plans to destroy him.
2:11 Cf. Ps 72:10, 15; Is 60:6. These Old Testament texts led to the interpretation of the magi as kings.
2:13–23 Biblical and nonbiblical traditions about Moses are here applied to the child Jesus, though the dominant Old Testament type is not Moses but Israel (Mt 2:15).
2:13 Flee to Egypt: Egypt was a traditional place of refuge for those fleeing from danger in Palestine (see 1 Kgs 11:40; Jer 26:21), but the main reason why the child is to be taken to Egypt is that he may relive the Exodus experience of Israel.
2:15 The fulfillment citation is taken from Hos 11:1. Israel, God’s son, was called out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus; Jesus, the Son of God, will similarly be called out of that land in a new exodus. The father-son relationship between God and the nation is set in a higher key. Here the son is not a group adopted as “son of God,” but the child who, as conceived by the holy Spirit, stands in unique relation to God. He is son of David and of Abraham, of Mary and of Joseph, but, above all, of God.
2:18 Jer 31:15 portrays Rachel, wife of the patriarch Jacob, weeping for her children taken into exile at the time of the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom (722–21 B.C.). Bethlehem was traditionally identified with Ephrath, the place near which Rachel was buried (see Gn 35:19; 48:7), and the mourning of Rachel is here applied to her lost children of a later age. Ramah: about six miles north of Jerusalem. The lamentation of Rachel is so great as to be heard at a far distance.
2:20 For those who sought the child’s life are dead: Moses, who had fled from Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him (see Ex 2:15), was told to return there, “for all the men who sought your life are dead” (Ex 4:19).
2:22 With the agreement of the emperor Augustus, Archelaus received half of his father’s kingdom, including Judea, after Herod’s death. He had the title “ethnarch” (i.e., “ruler of a nation”) and reigned from 4 B.C. to A.D. 6.
2:23 Nazareth…he shall be called a Nazorean: the tradition of Jesus’ residence in Nazareth was firmly established, and Matthew sees it as being in accordance with the foreannounced plan of God. The town of Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and no such prophecy can be found there. The vague expression “through the prophets” may be due to Matthew’s seeing a connection between Nazareth and certain texts in which there are words with a remote similarity to the name of that town. Some such Old Testament texts are Is 11:1 where the Davidic king of the future is called “a bud” (nēser) that shall blossom from the roots of Jesse, and Jgs 13:5, 7 where Samson, the future deliverer of Israel from the Philistines, is called one who shall be consecrated (a nāzîr) to God.

Ezra 2

Chapter 2

A Census of the Returned Exiles. ¹^[a]^(A)These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away to Babylon, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, to their various cities ²(those who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah):

The census of the people of Israel: ³descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴descendants of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵descendants of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶descendants of Pahath-moab, who were descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷descendants of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸descendants of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹descendants of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰descendants of Bani, six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹descendants of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; ¹²descendants of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³descendants of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴descendants of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵descendants of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶descendants of Ater, who were descendants of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ¹⁷descendants of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸descendants of Jorah, one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹descendants of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰descendants of Gibeon, ninety-five; ²¹descendants of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; ²²people of Netophah, fifty-six; ²³people of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴people of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁵people of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; ²⁷people of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸people of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹descendants of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰descendants of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹descendants of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³²descendants of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴descendants of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵descendants of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

³⁶The priests: descendants of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷descendants of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸descendants of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ³⁹descendants of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

⁴⁰^(B)The Levites: descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the descendants of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

⁴¹The singers:^[b] descendants of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

⁴²The gatekeepers:^[c] descendants of Shallum, descendants of Ater, descendants of Talmon, descendants of Akkub, descendants of Hatita, descendants of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

⁴³The temple servants: descendants of Ziha, descendants of Hasupha, descendants of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴descendants of Keros, descendants of Siaha, descendants of Padon, ⁴⁵descendants of Lebanah, descendants of Hagabah, descendants of Akkub, ⁴⁶descendants of Hagab, descendants of Shamlai, descendants of Hanan, ⁴⁷descendants of Giddel, descendants of Gahar, descendants of Reaiah, ⁴⁸descendants of Rezin, descendants of Nekoda, descendants of Gazzam, ⁴⁹descendants of Uzza, descendants of Paseah, descendants of Besai, ⁵⁰descendants of Asnah, descendants of the Meunites, descendants of the Nephusites, ⁵¹descendants of Bakbuk, descendants of Hakupha, descendants of Harhur, ⁵²descendants of Bazluth, descendants of Mehida, descendants of Harsha, ⁵³descendants of Barkos, descendants of Sisera, descendants of Temah, ⁵⁴descendants of Neziah, descendants of Hatipha.

⁵⁵Descendants of Solomon’s servants: descendants of Sotai, descendants of Hassophereth, descendants of Peruda, ⁵⁶descendants of Jaalah, descendants of Darkon, descendants of Giddel, ⁵⁷descendants of Shephatiah, descendants of Hattil, descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, descendants of Ami. ⁵⁸The total of the temple servants together with the descendants of Solomon’s servants was three hundred and ninety-two.

⁵⁹The following who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer were unable to prove that their ancestral houses and their descent were Israelite: ⁶⁰descendants of Delaiah, descendants of Tobiah, descendants of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two. ⁶¹^(C)Also, of the priests: descendants of Habaiah, descendants of Hakkoz, descendants of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was named after him). ⁶²These searched their family records, but their names could not be found there, and they were excluded from the priesthood. ⁶³^(D)The governor^[d] ordered them not to partake of the most holy foods until there should be a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴The entire assembly taken together came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵not counting their male and female servants, who numbered seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. They also had two hundred male and female singers. ⁶⁶Their horses numbered seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁷their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁶⁸When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of ancestral houses made voluntary offerings for the house of God, to rebuild it in its place. ⁶⁹According to their means they contributed to the treasury for the temple service: sixty-one thousand drachmas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly robes. ⁷⁰The priests, the Levites, and some of the people took up residence in Jerusalem; the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their cities. Thus all the Israelites settled in their cities.

Acts 2

Chapter 2

The Coming of the Spirit. ¹^[a]When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.^(A) ²And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,^[b] and it filled the entire house in which they were.^(B) ³Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,^[c] which parted and came to rest on each one of them.^(C) ⁴And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,^[d] as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.^(D)

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. ⁶At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?^(E) ⁸Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? ⁹We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, ¹¹both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”^(F) ¹²They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.”^(G)

II. The Mission in Jerusalem

Peter’s Speech at Pentecost. ¹⁴^[e]Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says,
    ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit
    upon all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your young men shall see visions,
    your old men shall dream dreams.^(H)
¹⁸Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids
    I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days,
        and they shall prophesy.
¹⁹And I will work wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below:
        blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke.
²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness,
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,
²¹and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’^(I)

²²You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.^(J) ²³This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.^(K) ²⁴But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.^(L) ²⁵For David says of him:

‘I saw the Lord ever before me,^(M)
    with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
²⁶Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
    my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
²⁷because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
    nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.^(N)
²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. ³⁰But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,^(O) ³¹he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.^(P) ³²God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. ³³Exalted at the right hand of God,^[f] he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you [both] see and hear.^(Q) ³⁴For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand^(R)
³⁵ until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

³⁶Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”^(S)

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?”^(T) ³⁸Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized,^[g] every 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.^(U) ³⁹For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”^(V) ⁴⁰He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”^(W) ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.^(X)

Communal Life.^[h] ⁴²^(Y)They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.^(Z) ⁴³Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.^(AA) ⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common;^(AB) ⁴⁵they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need. ⁴⁶Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Footnotes

2:1–41 Luke’s pentecostal narrative consists of an introduction (Acts 2:1–13), a speech ascribed to Peter declaring the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic significance (Acts 2:14–36), and a favorable response from the audience (Acts 2:37–41). It is likely that the narrative telescopes events that took place over a period of time and on a less dramatic scale. The Twelve were not originally in a position to proclaim publicly the messianic office of Jesus without incurring immediate reprisal from those religious authorities in Jerusalem who had brought about Jesus’ death precisely to stem the rising tide in his favor.
2:2 There came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind: wind and spirit are associated in Jn 3:8. The sound of a great rush of wind would herald a new action of God in the history of salvation.
2:3 Tongues as of fire: see Ex 19:18 where fire symbolizes the presence of God to initiate the covenant on Sinai. Here the holy Spirit acts upon the apostles, preparing them to proclaim the new covenant with its unique gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38).
2:4 To speak in different tongues: ecstatic prayer in praise of God, interpreted in Acts 2:6, 11 as speaking in foreign languages, symbolizing the worldwide mission of the church.
2:14–36 The first of six discourses in Acts (along with Acts 3:12–26; 4:8–12; 5:29–32; 10:34–43; 13:16–41) dealing with the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic import. Five of these are attributed to Peter, the final one to Paul. Modern scholars term these discourses in Acts the “kerygma,” the Greek word for proclamation (cf. 1 Cor 15:11).
2:33 At the right hand of God: or “by the right hand of God.”
2:38 Repent and be baptized: repentance is a positive concept, a change of mind and heart toward God reflected in the actual goodness of one’s life. It is in accord with the apostolic teaching derived from Jesus (Acts 2:42) and ultimately recorded in the four gospels. Luke presents baptism in Acts as the expected response to the apostolic preaching about Jesus and associates it with the conferring of the Spirit (Acts 1:5; 10:44–48; 11:16).
2:42–47 The first of three summary passages (along with Acts 4:32–37; 5:12–16) that outline, somewhat idyllically, the chief characteristics of the Jerusalem community: adherence to the teachings of the Twelve and the centering of its religious life in the eucharistic liturgy (Acts 2:42); a system of distribution of goods that led wealthier Christians to sell their possessions when the needs of the community’s poor required it (Acts 2:44 and the note on Acts 4:32–37); and continued attendance at the temple, since in this initial stage there was little or no thought of any dividing line between Christianity and Judaism (Acts 2:46).

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 2

I. The Story of the Nations

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Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

II. The Mission in Jerusalem

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M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 2

I. The Story of the Nations

Footnotes

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Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Footnotes

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Chapter 2

II. The Mission in Jerusalem

Footnotes

Cross references