M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Birth of Ishmael
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave whose name was Hagar,(A) 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.(B) 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.(C) 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”(D) 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.(E) 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.”(F) 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,[a]
for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.(G)
12 He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”(H)
13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi,”[b] for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”[c](I) 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;[d] it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.(J) 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him[e] Ishmael.
The Tradition of the Elders
15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.”(A) 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said,[a] ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’(B) 5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’[b] then that person need not honor the father.[c](C) 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you nullify the word[d] of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;(D)
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ ”(E)
Things That Defile
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”(F) 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.(G) 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.[e] And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”(H) 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”(I) 16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding?(J) 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.(K) 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.(L) 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”(M) 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(N) 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”(O) 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’[f] table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.(P)
Jesus Cures Many People
29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the maimed, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them,(Q) 31 so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.(R)
Feeding the Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”(S) 33 The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” 34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(T) 37 And all of them ate and were filled, and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.[g]
Nehemiah Deals with Oppression
5 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin.(A) 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax.(B) 5 Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”(C)
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. 7 After thinking it over, I contended with the nobles and the officials; I said to them, “You are all taking interest from your own people.” And I called a great assembly to deal with them(D) 8 and said to them, “As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations, but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.(E) 9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?(F) 10 Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. 11 Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them take an oath to do as they had promised.(G) 13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.(H)
The Generosity of Nehemiah
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.(I) 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.(J) 16 Indeed, I devoted myself to the work on this wall and acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table one hundred fifty people, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.(K) 18 Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days skins of wine in abundance, yet with all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because of the heavy burden of labor on the people.(L) 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.(M)
The Council at Jerusalem
15 Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”(A) 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders.(B) 3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.(C) 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.(D) 5 But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter. 7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers,[a] you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.(E) 8 And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us,(F) 9 and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.(G) 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?(H) 11 On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”(I)
12 The whole assembly kept silence and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.(J) 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “My brothers,[b] listen to me.(K) 14 Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name. 15 This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,
16 ‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
from its ruins I will rebuild it,
and I will set it up,(L)
17 so that all other peoples may seek the Lord—
even all the gentiles over whom my name has been called.
Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things 18 known from long ago.’[c]
19 “Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and from whatever has been strangled[d] and from blood.(M) 21 For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every Sabbath in the synagogues.”(N)
The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers and sisters of gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,[e](O) 25 we have decided unanimously to choose men and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.(P) 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled[f] and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”(Q)
30 So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. 32 Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers and sisters. 33 After they had been there for some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers and sisters to those who had sent them.[g](R) 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and there, with many others, they taught and proclaimed the word of the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”(S) 37 Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.(T) 38 But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.(U) 39 The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and set out, the brothers and sisters commending him to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.(V)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.