M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
13 So Abram went up from Egypt—he and his wife and everything that belonged to him, and Lot with him—to the Negev. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver and gold. 3 He proceeded by stages from the Negev as far as Beth-El—to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-El and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar that he had made there at first, and there Abram called on the Name of Adonai.
Lot Separates From Abram
5 Now Lot, who was going with Abram, also had sheep and cattle and tents, 6 so that the land could not support them living together, because their possessions were many, and they were not able to stay together. 7 So there was a quarrel between the shepherds of Abram’s livestock and the shepherds of Lot’s livestock. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land then.)
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between me and you, or between my shepherds and yours, since we are relatives. 9 Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If to the left, then I’ll go to the right, and if to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the whole area surrounding the Jordan was well watered in its entirety (before Adonai destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)—like Adonai’s garden, like the land of Egypt—till you come to Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole area surrounding the Jordan. Lot journeyed to the east, and they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the valley. And he moved his tent from place to place near Sodom. 13 But the people of Sodom were evil—very great sinners against Adonai.
14 After Lot separated himself from him, Adonai had said to Abram, “lift up your eyes, now, and look from the place where you are, to the north, south, east and west. 15 For all the land that you are looking at, I will give to you and to your seed forever. 16 I will make your seed like the dust of the earth so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your seed could also be counted. 17 Get up! Walk about the land through its length and width—for I will give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tent from place to place, and came and dwelt by Mamre’s large trees, which are in Hebron, and there built an altar to Adonai.
The Lord of Shabbat
12 At that time Yeshua went through the grain fields on Shabbat. His disciples became hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not permitted on Shabbat.”
3 But He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he became hungry, and those with him? 4 How he entered into the house of God, and they ate the showbread, which was not permitted for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the kohanim? [a] 5 Or haven’t you read in the Torah that on Shabbat the kohanim in the Temple break Shabbat and yet are innocent? 6 But I tell you that something greater than the Temple is here. 7 If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[b] you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat.”
9 Leaving from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a withered hand was there. And so that they might accuse Him, they questioned Yeshua, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat?”
11 He said to them, “What man among you will not grab his sheep and lift it out, if it falls into a pit on Shabbat? 12 How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is permitted to do good on Shabbat.”
13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
God’s Chosen Servant Brings Hope
15 Knowing this, Yeshua went away from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 And He sternly warned them not to make Him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 “Here is My servant whom I chose,
the One I love, in whom My soul takes delight.
I will put My Ruach upon Him,
and He shall proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A crushed reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
until He brings forth justice to victory.
21 And in His name the nations shall hope.”[c]
Whose Power Will Rule?
22 Then a demon-plagued man, who was blind and mute, was brought to Yeshua; and He healed him, so that he spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were astounded and saying, “This can’t be Ben-David, can it?”
24 But hearing this, the Pharisees said, “This fellow drives out demons only by beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Ruach Elohim, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “For this reason I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Ruach will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Ruach ha-Kodesh will not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the one to come.”
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? For from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his good treasury brings forth good, and the evil man from his evil treasury brings forth evil. 36 But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment, men will give account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
A Sign Greater than Jonah
38 Then some of the Torah scholars and Pharisees answered Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But Yeshua replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation clamors for a sign, yet no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights,[d] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South[e] will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “Now when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places looking for rest and doesn’t find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back home where I came from.’ And when it comes, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And that man’s last condition becomes worse than the first. So also will it be for this evil generation.”
Embrace and Refrain
46 While Yeshua was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers were standing outside, trying to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, trying to speak to You.”[f]
48 But to the one telling Him this, Yeshua responded, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?” 49 Stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Favor with the King
2 Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. 2 So the king said to me, “Why is your face so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very frightened, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 The king asked me, “What is your request?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it seems good to the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried that I may rebuild it.”
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” Since it pleased the king to send me, I set a time for him.
7 I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to pass through until I arrive in Judah, 8 as well as a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest so he will give me lumber to make beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the Temple, for the wall of the city and for the residence I will occupy.”
The king granted me the requests because the good hand of my God was upon me.
9 Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and I gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officials and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite officials heard all this, they were very displeased that a man had come to seek the welfare of Bnei-Yisrael.
Inspecting the Walls
11 I came to Jerusalem, and after I was there for three days, 12 I got up during the night along with a few men. But I did not tell anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no animals with me except the animal I was riding. 13 By night I went out by the Valley Gate toward Jackal Spring and the Dung Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, where there was not enough room for my animal to pass with me; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and returned to the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, but as yet I had not told the Jews, the kohanim, the nobles, the officials or the rest of the workers.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burnt. Come! Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
18 Then I told them how the good hand of my God was on me and the words that the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let us begin building!” So they prepared themselves for this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I responded to them saying, “The God of heaven will bring us success. We His servants will arise and build. But you have no part, right, or historical claim in Jerusalem.”
Persecution and Deliverance
12 Now at that time Herod the king seized some from Messiah’s community to do them harm. 2 He had Jacob, John’s brother, put to death with the sword. 3 Seeing it pleased the Judean leaders, he proceeded to capture Peter as well. This was during the Days of Matzah. 4 After seizing him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads with four soldiers each to guard him. He was intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer for him was being offered fervently to God by Messiah’s community.
6 Now that very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping—bound with two chains between two soldiers, while guards before the gate were keeping watch over the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He poked Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up! Quick!” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” and he did so. Then he tells him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 Peter went out and kept following him—he didn’t know that what was happening with the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they passed a first guard and a second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself. They went out and walked along a narrow street. Suddenly the angel left him.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for real that the Lord has sent His angel[a] and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Judean people were expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Miriam, the mother of John (also called Mark), where many were assembled together and praying. 13 When he knocked on the door of the entrance gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Although she recognized Peter’s voice, out of joy she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 They said to her, “You’re crazy!” But she kept insisting it was so. But they were saying, “It is his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed! 17 But he motioned with his hand for them to be silent, and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, “Go tell these things to Jacob and the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.
18 When day came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod made a search for him and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea and stayed in Caesarea.
Herod Gets His Due
20 Now it happened that Herod was furious with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him, united. Having won over Blastus, the king’s personal aide, they began asking for peace—because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country.
21 On an appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes and, taking his seat upon the throne, began to make a speech to them. 22 The people were shouting, “The voice of a god and not a human!” 23 Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck him down—because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God kept on growing and multiplying. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their service, taking along John (who was also called Mark).
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.