M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

26 And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goeth unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

² And Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith, `Go not down towards Egypt, tabernacle in the land concerning which I speak unto thee,

³ sojourn in this land, and I am with thee, and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to Abraham thy father;

⁴ and I have multiplied thy seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to thy seed all these lands; and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth;

⁵ because that Abraham hath hearkened to My voice, and keepeth My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.'

⁶ And Isaac dwelleth in Gerar;

⁷ and men of the place ask him of his wife, and he saith, `She [is] my sister:' for he hath been afraid to say, `My wife -- lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, for she [is] of good appearance.'

⁸ And it cometh to pass, when the days have been prolonged to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looketh through the window, and seeth, and lo, Isaac is playing with Rebekah his wife.

⁹ And Abimelech calleth for Isaac, and saith, `Lo, she [is] surely thy wife; and how hast thou said, She [is] my sister?' and Isaac saith unto him, `Because I said, Lest I die for her.'

¹⁰ And Abimelech saith, `What [is] this thou hast done to us? as a little thing one of the people had lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us guilt;'

¹¹ and Abimelech commandeth all the people, saying, `He who cometh against this man or against his wife, dying doth die.'

¹² And Isaac soweth in that land, and findeth in that year a hundredfold, and Jehovah blesseth him;

¹³ and the man is great, and goeth on, going on and becoming great, till that he hath been very great,

¹⁴ and he hath possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him,

¹⁵ and all the wells which his father's servants digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust.

¹⁶ And Abimelech saith unto Isaac, `Go from us; for thou hast become much mightier than we;'

¹⁷ and Isaac goeth from thence, and encampeth in the valley of Gerar, and dwelleth there;

¹⁸ and Isaac turneth back, and diggeth the wells of water which they digged in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines do stop after the death of Abraham, and he calleth to them names according to the names which his father called them.

¹⁹ And Isaac's servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water,

²⁰ and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, `The water [is] ours;' and he calleth the name of the well `Strife,' because they have striven habitually with him;

²¹ and they dig another well, and they strive also for it, and he calleth its name `Hatred.'

²² And he removeth from thence, and diggeth another well, and they have not striven for it, and he calleth its name Enlargements, and saith, `For -- now hath Jehovah given enlargement to us, and we have been fruitful in the land.'

²³ And he goeth up from thence [to] Beer-Sheba,

²⁴ and Jehovah appeareth unto him during that night, and saith, `I [am] the God of Abraham thy father, fear not, for I [am] with thee, and have blessed thee, and have multiplied thy seed, because of Abraham My servant;'

²⁵ and he buildeth there an altar, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah, and stretcheth out there his tent, and there Isaac's servants dig a well.

²⁶ And Abimelech hath gone unto him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol head of his host;

²⁷ and Isaac saith unto them, `Wherefore have ye come unto me, and ye have hated me, and ye send me away from you?'

²⁸ And they say, `We have certainly seen that Jehovah hath been with thee, and we say, `Let there be, we pray thee, an oath between us, between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

²⁹ do not evil with us, as we have not touched thee, and as we have only done good with thee, and send thee away in peace; thou [art] now blessed of Jehovah.'

³⁰ And he maketh for them a banquet, and they eat and drink,

³¹ and rise early in the morning, and swear one to another, and Isaac sendeth them away, and they go from him in peace.

³² And it cometh to pass during that day that Isaac's servants come and declare to him concerning the circumstances of the well which they have digged, and say to him, `We have found water;'

³³ and he calleth it Shebah, [oath,] therefore the name of the city [is] Beer-Sheba, [well of the oath,] unto this day.

³⁴ And Esau is a son of forty years, and he taketh a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite,

³⁵ and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

25 `Then shall the reign of the heavens be likened to ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom;

² and five of them were prudent, and five foolish;

³ they who were foolish having taken their lamps, did not take with themselves oil;

⁴ and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps.

⁵ `And the bridegroom tarrying, they all nodded and were sleeping,

⁶ and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Lo, the bridegroom doth come; go ye forth to meet him.

⁷ `Then rose all those virgins, and trimmed their lamps,

⁸ and the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out;

⁹ and the prudent answered, saying -- Lest there may not be sufficient for us and you, go ye rather unto those selling, and buy for yourselves.

¹⁰ `And while they are going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those ready went in with him to the marriage-feasts, and the door was shut;

¹¹ and afterwards come also do the rest of the virgins, saying, Sir, sir, open to us;

¹² and he answering said, Verily I say to you, I have not known you.

¹³ `Watch therefore, for ye have not known the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man doth come.

¹⁴ `For -- as a man going abroad did call his own servants, and did deliver to them his substance,

¹⁵ and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his several ability, went abroad immediately.

¹⁶ `And he who did receive the five talents, having gone, wrought with them, and made other five talents;

¹⁷ in like manner also he who [received] the two, he gained, also he, other two;

¹⁸ and he who did receive the one, having gone away, digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

¹⁹ `And after a long time cometh the lord of those servants, and taketh reckoning with them;

²⁰ and he who did receive the five talents having come, brought other five talents, saying, `Sir, five talents thou didst deliver to me; lo, other five talents did I gain besides them.

²¹ `And his lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou wast faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord.

²² `And he who also did receive the two talents having come, said, Sir, two talents thou didst deliver to me; lo, other two talents I did gain besides them.

²³ `His lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou wast faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord.

²⁴ `And he also who hath received the one talent having come, said, Sir, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering from whence thou didst not scatter;

²⁵ and having been afraid, having gone away, I hid thy talent in the earth; lo, thou hast thine own!

²⁶ `And his lord answering said to him, Evil servant, and slothful, thou hadst known that I reap where I did not sow, and I gather whence I did not scatter!

²⁷ it behoved thee then to put my money to the money-lenders, and having come I had received mine own with increase.

²⁸ `Take therefore from him the talent, and give to him having the ten talents,

²⁹ for to every one having shall be given, and he shall have overabundance, and from him who is not having, even that which he hath shall be taken from him;

³⁰ and the unprofitable servant cast ye forth to the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.

³¹ `And whenever the Son of Man may come in his glory, and all the holy messengers with him, then he shall sit upon a throne of his glory;

³² and gathered together before him shall be all the nations, and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd doth separate the sheep from the goats,

³³ and he shall set the sheep indeed on his right hand, and the goats on the left.

³⁴ `Then shall the king say to those on his right hand, Come ye, the blessed of my Father, inherit the reign that hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world;

³⁵ for I did hunger, and ye gave me to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye received me;

³⁶ naked, and ye put around me; I was infirm, and ye looked after me; in prison I was, and ye came unto me.

³⁷ `Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungering, and we nourished? or thirsting, and we gave to drink?

³⁸ and when did we see thee a stranger, and we received? or naked, and we put around?

³⁹ and when did we see thee infirm, or in prison, and we came unto thee?

⁴⁰ `And the king answering, shall say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] to one of these my brethren -- the least -- to me ye did [it].

⁴¹ Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Go ye from me, the cursed, to the fire, the age-during, that hath been prepared for the Devil and his messengers;

⁴² for I did hunger, and ye gave me not to eat; I did thirst, and ye gave me not to drink;

⁴³ a stranger I was, and ye did not receive me; naked, and ye put not around me; infirm, and in prison, and ye did not look after me.

⁴⁴ `Then shall they answer, they also, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or infirm, or in prison, and we did not minister to thee?

⁴⁵ `Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of these, the least, ye did [it] not to me.

⁴⁶ And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.'

2 After these things, at the ceasing of the fury of the king Ahasuerus, he hath remembered Vashti, and that which she did, and that which hath been decreed concerning her;

² and servants of the king, his ministers, say, `Let them seek for the king young women, virgins, of good appearance,

³ and the king doth appoint inspectors in all provinces of his kingdom, and they gather every young woman -- virgin, of good appearance -- unto Shushan the palace, unto the house of the women, unto the hand of Hege eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, and to give their purifications,

⁴ and the young woman who is good in the eyes of the king doth reign instead of Vashti;' and the thing is good in the eyes of the king, and he doth so.

⁵ A man, a Jew, there hath been in Shushan the palace, and his name [is] Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite --

⁶ who had been removed from Jerusalem with the removal that was removed with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed --

⁷ and he is supporting Hadassah -- she [is] Esther -- daughter of his uncle, for she hath neither father nor mother, and the young woman [is] of fair form, and of good appearance, and at the death of her father and her mother hath Mordecai taken her to him for a daughter.

⁸ And it cometh to pass, in the word of the king, even his law, being heard, and in many young women being gathered unto Shushan the palace, unto the hand of Hegai, that Esther is taken unto the house of the king, unto the hand of Hegai, keeper of the women,

⁹ and the young woman is good in his eyes, and she receiveth kindness before him, and he hasteneth her purifications and her portions -- to give to her, and the seven young women who are provided -- to give to her, from the house of the king, and he changeth her and her young women to a good [place in] the house of the women.

¹⁰ Esther hath not declared her people, and her kindred, for Mordecai hath laid a charge on her that she doth not declare [it];

¹¹ and during every day Mordecai is walking up and down before the court of the house of the women to know the welfare of Esther, and what is done with her.

¹² And in the drawing nigh of the turn of each young woman to come in unto the king Ahasuerus, at the end of there being to her -- according to the law of the women -- twelve months, for so they fulfil the days of their purifications; six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices, and with the purifications of women,

¹³ and with this the young woman hath come in unto the king, all that she saith is given to her, to go in with her, out of the house of the women, unto the house of the king;

¹⁴ in the evening she hath gone in, and in the morning she hath turned back unto the second house of the women, unto the hand of Shaashgaz eunuch of the king, keeper of the concubines; she cometh not in any more unto the king except the king hath delighted in her, and she hath been called by name.

¹⁵ And in the drawing nigh of the turn of Esther -- daughter of Abihail, uncle of Mordecai, whom he had taken to him for a daughter -- to come in unto the king, she hath not sought a thing except that which Hegai eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, saith, and Esther is receiving grace in the eyes of all seeing her.

¹⁶ And Esther is taken unto the king Ahasuerus, unto his royal house, in the tenth month -- it [is] the month of Tebeth -- in the seventh year of his reign,

¹⁷ and the king loveth Esther above all the women, and she receiveth grace and kindness before him above all the virgins, and he setteth a royal crown on her head, and causeth her to reign instead of Vashti,

¹⁸ and the king maketh a great banquet to all his heads and his servants -- the banquet of Esther -- and a release to the provinces hath made, and giveth gifts as a memorial of the king.

¹⁹ And in the virgins being gathered a second time, then Mordecai is sitting in the gate of the king;

²⁰ Esther is not declaring her kindred and her people, as Mordecai hath laid a charge upon her, and the saying of Mordecai Esther is doing as when she was truly with him.

²¹ In those days, when Mordecai is sitting in the gate of the king, hath Bigthan been wroth, and Teresh, (two of the eunuchs of the king, the keepers of the threshold,) and they seek to put forth a hand on king Ahasuerus,

²² and the thing is known to Mordecai, and he declareth [it] to Esther the queen, and Esther speaketh to the king in the name of Mordecai,

²³ and the thing is sought out, and found, and they are hanged both of them on a tree, and it is written in the book of the Chronicles before the king.

25 Festus, therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea,

² and the chief priest and the principal men of the Jews made manifest to him [the things] against Paul, and were calling on him,

³ asking favour against him, that he may send for him to Jerusalem, making an ambush to put him to death in the way.

⁴ Then, indeed, Festus answered that Paul is kept in Caesarea, and himself is about speedily to go on thither,

⁵ `Therefore those able among you -- saith he -- having come down together, if there be anything in this man -- let them accuse him;'

⁶ and having tarried among them more than ten days, having gone down to Caesarea, on the morrow having sat upon the tribunal, he commanded Paul to be brought;

⁷ and he having come, there stood round about the Jews who have come down from Jerusalem -- many and weighty charges they are bringing against Paul, which they were not able to prove,

⁸ he making defence -- `Neither in regard to the law of the Jews, nor in regard to the temple, nor in regard to Caesar -- did I commit any sin.'

⁹ And Festus willing to lay on the Jews a favour, answering Paul, said, `Art thou willing, to Jerusalem having gone up, there concerning these things to be judged before me?'

¹⁰ and Paul said, `At the tribunal of Caesar I am standing, where it behoveth me to be judged; to Jews I did no unrighteousness, as thou dost also very well know;

¹¹ for if indeed I am unrighteous, and anything worthy of death have done, I deprecate not to die; and if there is none of the things of which these accuse me, no one is able to make a favour of me to them; to Caesar I appeal!'

¹² then Festus, having communed with the council, answered, `To Caesar thou hast appealed; to Caesar thou shalt go.'

¹³ And certain days having passed, Agrippa the king, and Bernice, came down to Caesarea saluting Festus,

¹⁴ and as they were continuing there more days, Festus submitted to the king the things concerning Paul, saying, `There is a certain man, left by Felix, a prisoner,

¹⁵ about whom, in my being at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid information, asking a decision against him,

¹⁶ unto whom I answered, that it is not a custom of Romans to make a favour of any man to die, before that he who is accused may have the accusers face to face, and may receive place of defence in regard to the charge laid against [him].

¹⁷ `They, therefore, having come together -- I, making no delay, on the succeeding [day] having sat upon the tribunal, did command the man to be brought,

¹⁸ concerning whom the accusers, having stood up, were bringing against [him] no accusation of the things I was thinking of,

¹⁹ but certain questions concerning their own religion they had against him, and concerning a certain Jesus who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive;

²⁰ and I, doubting in regard to the question concerning this, said, If he would wish to go on to Jerusalem, and there to be judged concerning these things --

²¹ but Paul having appealed to be kept to the hearing of Sebastus, I did command him to be kept till I might send him unto Caesar.'

²² And Agrippa said unto Festus, `I was wishing also myself to hear the man;' and he said, `To-morrow thou shalt hear him;'

²³ on the morrow, therefore -- on the coming of Agrippa and Bernice with much display, and they having entered into the audience chamber, with the chief captains also, and the principal men of the city, and Festus having ordered -- Paul was brought forth.

²⁴ And Festus said, `King Agrippa, and all men who are present with us, ye see this one, about whom all the multitude of the Jews did deal with me, both in Jerusalem and here, crying out, He ought not to live any longer;

²⁵ and I, having found him to have done nothing worthy of death, and he also himself having appealed to Sebastus, I decided to send him,

²⁶ concerning whom I have no certain thing to write to [my] lord, wherefore I brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that the examination having been made, I may have something to write;

²⁷ for it doth seem to me irrational, sending a prisoner, not also to signify the charges against him.'