M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
2 Now at last the heavens and earth were successfully completed, with all that they contained. 2 So on the seventh day, having finished his task, God ceased from this work he had been doing, 3 and God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he ceased this work of creation.
4 Here is a summary of the events in the creation of the heavens and earth when the Lord God made them.
5 There were no plants or grain sprouting up across the earth at first, for the Lord God hadn’t sent any rain; nor was there anyone to farm the soil. 6 (However, water welled up from the ground at certain places and flowed across the land.)
7 The time came when the Lord God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground[a] and breathed into it the breath of life. And man became a living person.
8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and placed in the garden the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God planted all sorts of beautiful trees there in the garden, trees producing the choicest of fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the Tree of Life, and also the Tree of Conscience, giving knowledge of Good and Bad. 10 A river from the land of Eden flowed through the garden to water it; afterwards the river divided into four branches. 11-12 One of these was named the Pishon; it winds across the entire length of the land of Havilah,[b] where nuggets of pure gold are found, also beautiful bdellium and even lapis lazuli. 13 The second branch is called the Gihon, crossing the entire length of the land of Cush. 14 The third branch is the Tigris, which flows to the east of the city of Asher. And the fourth is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden as its gardener, to tend and care for it. 16-17 But the Lord God gave the man this warning: “You may eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the Tree of Conscience—for its fruit will open your eyes to make you aware of right and wrong, good and bad. If you eat its fruit, you will be doomed to die.”
18 And the Lord God said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs.” 19-20 So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever he called them, that was their name. But still there was no proper helper for the man. 21 Then the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he had removed it, 22 and made the rib into a woman, and brought her to the man.
23 “This is it!” Adam exclaimed. “She is part of my own bone and flesh! Her name is ‘woman’ because she was taken out of a man.” 24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife in such a way that the two become one person.[c] 25 Now although the man and his wife were both naked, neither of them was embarrassed or ashamed.
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.
At about that time some astrologers from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, and all Jerusalem was filled with rumors.[a] 4 He called a meeting of the Jewish religious leaders.
“Did the prophets tell us where the Messiah would be born?” he asked.
5 “Yes, in Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet Micah[b] wrote:
6 ‘O little town of Bethlehem, you are not just an unimportant Judean village, for a Governor shall rise from you to rule my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod sent a private message to the astrologers, asking them to come to see him; at this meeting he found out from them the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, 8 “Go to Bethlehem and search for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too!”
9 After this interview the astrologers started out again. And look! The star appeared to them again, standing over Bethlehem.[c] 10 Their joy knew no bounds!
11 Entering the house where the baby and Mary, his mother, were, they threw themselves down before him, worshiping. Then they opened their presents and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But when they returned to their own land, they didn’t go through Jerusalem to report to Herod, for God had warned them in a dream to go home another way.
13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the baby and his mother,” the angel said, “and stay there until I tell you to return, for King Herod is going to try to kill the child.” 14 That same[d] night he left for Egypt with Mary and the baby, 15 and stayed there until King Herod’s death. This fulfilled the prophet’s prediction,
“I have called my Son from Egypt.”[e]
16 Herod was furious when he learned that the astrologers had disobeyed him. Sending soldiers to Bethlehem, he ordered them to kill every baby boy two years old and under, both in the town and on the nearby farms, for the astrologers had told him the star first appeared to them two years before. 17 This brutal action of Herod’s fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah,
18 “Screams of anguish come from Ramah,[f]
Weeping unrestrained;
Rachel weeping for her children,
Uncomforted—
For they are dead.”
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him, 20 “Get up and take the baby and his mother back to Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So he returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But on the way he was frightened to learn that the new king was Herod’s son, Archelaus. Then, in another dream, he was warned not to go to Judea, so they went to Galilee instead 23 and lived in Nazareth. This fulfilled the prediction of the prophets concerning the Messiah,
“He shall be called a Nazarene.”
2 Here is the list of the Jewish exiles who now returned to Jerusalem and to the other cities of Judah, from which their parents[a] had been deported to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.
2 The leaders were: Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah.
Here is a census of those who returned (listed by subclans):
3-35 From the subclan of Parosh, 2,172;
From the subclan of Shephatiah, 372;
From the subclan of Arah, 775;
From the subclan of Pahath-moab (the descendants of Jeshua and Joab), 2,812;
From the subclan of Elam, 1,254;
From the subclan of Zattu, 945;
From the subclan of Zaccai, 760;
From the subclan of Bani, 642;
From the subclan of Bebai, 623;
From the subclan of Azgad, 1,222;
From the subclan of Adonikam, 666;
From the subclan of Bigvai, 2,056;
From the subclan of Adin, 454;
From the subclan of Ater (the descendants of Hezekiah), 98;
From the subclan of Bezai, 323;
From the subclan of Jorah, 112;
From the subclan of Hashum, 223;
From the subclan of Gibbar, 95;
From the subclan of Bethlehem, 123;
From the subclan of Netophah, 56;
From the subclan of Anathoth, 128;
From the subclan of Azmaveth, 42;
From the subclans of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
From the subclans of Ramah and Geba, 621;
From the subclan of Michmas, 122;
From the subclans of Bethel and Ai, 223;
From the subclan of Nebo, 52;
From the subclan of Magbish, 156;
From the subclan of Elam, 1,254;
From the subclan of Harim, 320;
From the subclans of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725;
From the subclan of Jericho, 345;
From the subclan of Senaah, 3,630.
36-39 Here are the statistics concerning the returning priests:
From the families of Jedaiah of the subclan of Jeshua, 973;
From the subclan of Immer, 1,052;
From the subclan of Pashhur, 1,247;
From the subclan of Harim, 1,017.
40-42 Here are the statistics concerning the Levites who returned:
From the families of Jeshua and Kadmiel of the subclan of Hodaviah, 74;
The choir members from the clan of Asaph, 128;
From the descendants of the gatekeepers (the families of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai), 139.
43-54 The following families of the Temple assistants were represented:
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Siaha, Padon, Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, Hatipha.
55-57 Those who made the trip also included the descendants of King Solomon’s officials:
Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth-hazzebaim, Ami.
58 The Temple assistants and the descendants of Solomon’s officers numbered 392.
59 Another group returned to Jerusalem at this time from the Persian cities of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer. However, they had lost their genealogies and could not prove that they were really Israelites. 60 This group included the subclans of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda—a total of 652.
61 Three subclans of priests—Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (he married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and took her family name)—also returned to Jerusalem. 62-63 But they too had lost their genealogies, so the leaders refused to allow them to continue as priests; they would not even allow them to eat the priests’ share of food from the sacrifices until the Urim and Thummim could be consulted to find out from God whether they actually were descendants of priests or not.
64-65 So a total of 42,360 persons returned to Judah; in addition to 7,337 slaves and 200 choir members, both men and women. 66-67 They took with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
68 Some of the leaders were able to give generously toward the rebuilding of the Temple, 69 and each gave as much as he could. The total value of their gifts amounted to $300,000 of gold, $170,000 of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.
70 So the priests and Levites and some of the common people settled in Jerusalem and its nearby villages; and the singers, the gatekeepers, the Temple workers, and the rest of the people returned to the other cities of Judah from which they had come.
2 Seven weeks had gone by since Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived.[a] As the believers met together that day, 2 suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on their heads. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages they didn’t know,[b] for the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 Many godly Jews were in Jerusalem that day for the religious celebrations, having arrived from many nations. 6 And when they heard the roaring in the sky above the house, crowds came running to see what it was all about, and were stunned to hear their own languages being spoken by the disciples.
7 “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “For these men are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking all the native languages of the lands where we were born! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, men from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia Minor, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the Cyrene language areas of Libya, visitors from Rome—both Jews and Jewish converts— 11 Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these men telling in our own languages about the mighty miracles of God!”
12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said.
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen, all of you, visitors and residents of Jerusalem alike! 15 Some of you are saying these men are drunk! It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that! People don’t get drunk by 9:00 A.M.! 16 No! What you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel— 17 ‘In the last days,’ God said, ‘I will pour out my Holy Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams. 18 Yes, the Holy Spirit shall come upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will cause strange demonstrations in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and clouds of smoke; 20 the sun shall turn black and the moon blood-red before that awesome Day of the Lord arrives. 21 But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.’
22 “O men of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing tremendous miracles through him, as you well know. 23 But God, following his prearranged plan, let you use the Roman government[c] to nail him to the cross and murder him. 24 Then God released him from the horrors of death and brought him back to life again, for death could not keep this man within its grip.
25 “King David quoted Jesus as saying:
‘I know the Lord is always with me. He is helping me. God’s mighty power supports me.
26 ‘No wonder my heart is filled with joy and my tongue shouts his praises! For I know all will be well with me in death—
27 ‘You will not leave my soul in hell or let the body of your Holy Son decay.
28 ‘You will give me back my life and give me wonderful joy in your presence.’
29 “Dear brothers, think! David wasn’t referring to himself when he spoke these words I have quoted, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and knew God had promised with an unbreakable oath that one of David’s own descendants would be the Messiah and[d] sit on David’s throne. 31 David was looking far into the future and predicting the Messiah’s resurrection, and saying that the Messiah’s soul would not be left in hell and his body would not decay. 32 He was speaking of Jesus, and we all are witnesses that Jesus rose from the dead.
33 “And now he sits on the throne of highest honor in heaven, next to God. And just as promised, the Father gave him the authority to send the Holy Spirit—with the results you are seeing and hearing today.
34 “No, David was not speaking of himself in these words of his I have quoted,[e] for he never ascended into the skies. Moreover, he further stated, ‘God spoke to my Lord, the Messiah, and said to him, Sit here in honor beside me 35 until I bring your enemies into complete subjection.’
36 “Therefore I clearly state to everyone in Israel that God has made this Jesus you crucified to be the Lord, the Messiah!”
37 These words of Peter’s moved them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 And Peter replied, “Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit. 39 For Christ promised him to each one of you who has been called by the Lord our God, and to your children and even to those in distant lands!”
40 Then Peter preached a long sermon, telling about Jesus and strongly urging all his listeners to save themselves from the evils of their nation. 41 And those who believed Peter were baptized—about three thousand in all! 42 They joined with the other believers in regular attendance at the apostles’ teaching sessions and at the Communion services[f] and prayer meetings.
43 A deep sense of awe was on them all, and the apostles did many miracles.
44 And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other, 45 selling their possessions and dividing with those in need. 46 They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, 47 praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.