M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 7

¹ Then the Lord said to Noah: Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this generation have I found to be righteous before me.^{(A) 2} Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; ³ likewise, of every bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, to keep their progeny alive over all the earth. ⁴ For seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the face of the earth every being that I have made.^{(B) 5} Noah complied, just as the Lord had commanded.

The Great Flood. ⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth. ⁷ Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.^{(C) 8} Of the clean animals and the unclean, of the birds, and of everything that crawls on the ground, ⁹ two by two, male and female came to Noah into the ark, just as God had commanded him.^{(D) 10} When the seven days were over, the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month: on that day

¹² For forty days and forty nights heavy rain poured down on the earth.

¹³ On the very same day, Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of Noah’s sons had entered the ark, ¹⁴ together with every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, every kind of crawling thing that crawls on the earth, and every kind of bird. ¹⁵ Pairs of all creatures in which there was the breath of life came to Noah into the ark. ¹⁶ Those that entered were male and female; of all creatures they came, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood continued upon the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark, so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth, but the ark floated on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ Higher and higher on the earth the waters swelled, until all the highest mountains under the heavens were submerged. ²⁰ The waters swelled fifteen cubits higher than the submerged mountains. ²¹ All creatures that moved on earth perished: birds, tame animals, wild animals, and all that teemed on the earth, as well as all humankind.^{(E) 22} Everything on dry land with the breath of life in its nostrils died. ²³ The Lord wiped out every being on earth: human beings and animals, the crawling things and the birds of the air; all were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left.

²⁴ And when the waters had swelled on the earth for one hundred and fifty days,

Chapter 7

Judging Others. ^1 [a](A)“Stop judging,^[b] that you may not be judged.^{(B) 2} For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.^{(C) 3} Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? ⁵ You hypocrite,^[c] remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

Pearls Before Swine. ⁶ “Do not give what is holy to dogs,^[d] or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.^(D)

The Answer to Prayers. ^7 (E)“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.^{(F) 8} For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.^{(G) 9} Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,^{[e] 10} or a snake when he asks for a fish? ¹¹ If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.^(H)

The Golden Rule. ^12 [f]“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.^(I) This is the law and the prophets.

The Narrow Gate. ^13 [g]“Enter through the narrow gate;^[h] for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.^{(J) 14} How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

False Prophets.^{[i] 15} “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.^{(K) 16 (L)}By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So by their fruits you will know them.^(M)

The True Disciple. ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,^[j] but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.^{(N) 22} Many will say to me on that day,^(O) ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’^{(P) 23} Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.^[k] Depart from me, you evildoers.’^(Q)

The Two Foundations. ^24 [l]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.^{(R) 25} The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.^(S) But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

^28 [m]When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ^29 [n](T)for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

II. The Work of Ezra

Chapter 7

Ezra, Priest and Scribe. ^1 [a](A)After these events, during the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the high priest— ^6 (B)this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe, well-versed in the law of Moses given by the Lord, the God of Israel. The king granted him all that he requested, because the hand of the Lord, his God, was over him.

⁷ Some of the Israelites and some priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸ Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month of that seventh year of the king. ⁹ On the first day of the first month he began the journey up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, for the favoring hand of his God was over him. ^10 (C)Ezra had set his heart on the study and practice of the law of the Lord and on teaching statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Decree of Artaxerxes. ¹¹ This is a copy of the rescript which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest-scribe, the scribe versed in matters concerning the Lord’s commandments and statutes for Israel:

^12 (D)“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greetings! And now, ¹³ I have issued this decree, that anyone in my kingdom belonging to the people of Israel, its priests or Levites, who is willing to go up to Jerusalem with you, may go, ¹⁴ for you are the one sent by the king and his seven counselors to supervise Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the law of your God which is in your possession, ¹⁵ and to bring the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely contributed to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ as well as all the silver and gold which you may receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the voluntary offerings the people and priests freely contribute for the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Therefore, you must use this money with all diligence to buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the grain offerings and libations proper to these, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ You and your kinsmen may do whatever seems best to you with the remainder of the silver and gold, as your God wills. ¹⁹ The vessels given to you for the service of the house of your God you are to deposit before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ Whatever else you may be required to supply for the needs of the house of your God, you may draw from the royal treasury. ²¹ I, Artaxerxes the king, issue this decree to all the treasurers of West-of-Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requests of you, let it be done with all diligence, ²² within these limits: silver, one hundred talents; wheat, one hundred kors;^[b] wine, one hundred baths; oil, one hundred baths; salt, without limit. ²³ Let everything that is decreed by the God of heaven be carried out exactly for the house of the God of heaven, that wrath may not come upon the realm of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also inform you that it is not permitted to impose taxes, tributes, or tolls on any priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, temple servant, or any other servant of that house of God.

^25 (E)“As for you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God^[c] which is in your possession, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people in West-of-Euphrates, to all, that is, who know the laws of your God. Instruct those who do not know these laws. ²⁶ All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon them with all diligence, whether death, or corporal punishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”

Ezra Prepares for the Journey. ²⁷ Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who put it into the heart of the king thus to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, ^28 (F)and who let me find favor with the king, with his counselors, and with all the most influential royal officials. I therefore took courage and, with the hand of the Lord, my God, over me, I gathered together Israelite leaders to make the return journey with me.

Chapter 7

Stephen’s Discourses. ¹ Then the high priest asked, “Is this so?” ^2 (A)And he replied,^[a] “My brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia,^[b] before he had settled in Haran, ³ and said to him, ‘Go forth from your land and [from] your kinsfolk to the land that I will show you.’^{(B) 4} So he went forth from the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he made him migrate to this land where you now dwell.^{(C) 5} Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but he did promise to give it to him and his descendants as a possession, even though he was childless.^{(D) 6} And God spoke thus,^(E) ‘His descendants shall be aliens in a land not their own, where they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years; ⁷ but I will bring judgment on the nation they serve,’ God said, ‘and after that they will come out and worship me in this place.’^{(F) 8} Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, as Isaac did Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.^(G)

⁹ “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into slavery in Egypt; but God was with him^{(H) 10} and rescued him from all his afflictions. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who put him in charge of Egypt and [of] his entire household.^{(I) 11} Then a famine and great affliction struck all Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food;^{(J) 12} but when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there a first time.^{(K) 13} The second time, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.^{(L) 14} Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob, inviting him and his whole clan, seventy-five persons;^{(M) 15} and Jacob went down to Egypt. And he and our ancestors died^{(N) 16} and were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor at Shechem.^(O)

¹⁷ “When the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God pledged to Abraham, the people had increased and become very numerous in Egypt,^{(P) 18} until another king who knew nothing of Joseph came to power [in Egypt].^{(Q) 19} He dealt shrewdly with our people and oppressed [our] ancestors by forcing them to expose their infants, that they might not survive. ²⁰ At this time Moses was born, and he was extremely beautiful. For three months he was nursed in his father’s house;^{(R) 21} but when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.^{(S) 22} Moses was educated [in] all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.

^23 (T)“When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his kinsfolk, the Israelites. ²⁴ When he saw one of them treated unjustly, he defended and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ He assumed [his] kinsfolk would understand that God was offering them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. ^26 (U)The next day he appeared to them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you harming one another?’ ²⁷ Then the one who was harming his neighbor pushed him aside, saying, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? ²⁸ Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ Moses fled when he heard this and settled as an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.^(V)

^30 (W)“Forty years later, an angel appeared to him in the desert near Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look at it, the voice of the Lord came, ³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.’ Then Moses, trembling, did not dare to look at it. ³³ But the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. ³⁴ I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’ ³⁵ This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge?’ God sent as [both] ruler and deliverer, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.^{(X) 36} This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert for forty years.^{(Y) 37} It was this Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you, from among your own kinsfolk, a prophet like me.’^{(Z) 38} It was he who, in the assembly in the desert, was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and he received living utterances to hand on to us.^(AA)

³⁹ “Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,^{(AB) 40} saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will be our leaders. As for that Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’^{(AC) 41 (AD)}So they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands. ⁴² Then God turned and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:^(AE)

⁴⁴ Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the desert just as the One who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.^{(AG) 45} Our ancestors who inherited it brought it with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out from before our ancestors, up to the time of David,^{(AH) 46} who found favor in the sight of God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.^{(AI) 47} But Solomon built a house for him.^{(AJ) 48} Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:^(AK)

Conclusion. ⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. ⁵² Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.^{(AM) 53} You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”^(AN)

Stephen’s Martyrdom. ⁵⁴ When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. ^55 (AO)But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,^{[c] 56} and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears,^[d] and rushed upon him together. ⁵⁸ They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.^{(AP) 59} As they were stoning Stephen,^(AQ) he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”^{[e] 60} Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep.^(AR)