M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Parashat Vayera
The Promise of a Son
18 Then Adonai appeared to him at Mamre’s large trees while he was sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes to see, suddenly, three men were standing right by him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed down to the ground. 3 Then he said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought so you can wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree. 5 And let me bring a bit of bread so that you can refresh yourselves—then you can pass on—since you have passed by your servant.
They said, “Do just as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Knead three measures of fine flour and prepare bread loaves!” 7 Then to the herd Abraham ran and took a young ox, tender and good, and he gave it to the servant, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took butter and milk and the young ox that he had prepared and set it before them. While he was standing by them under the tree, they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
“There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then He said, “I will most surely return to you in about a year’s time, surprisingly, Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind Him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years—Sarah had stopped having the way of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I’ve grown decrepit, can I have desire—and my lord so old?”
13 Then Adonai said to Abraham, “Why is it that Sarah laughed, saying, ‘Can I really give birth when I am so old?’ 14 Is anything too difficult for Adonai? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah denied it saying, “I didn’t laugh!” For she was afraid.
But He said, “No—for you did laugh.”
Abraham Intercedes
16 Then the men got up from there and looked down over Sodom. Abraham was walking with them to send them off, 17 when Adonai said, “Should I keep secret from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham will most certainly become a great and mighty nation and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 For I have made myself known to him so that he will command his sons and his household after him to keep the way of Adonai by doing righteousness and justice, so that Adonai may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” 20 Then Adonai said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great indeed, and their sin is very grievous indeed. 21 I want to go down now, and see if they deserve destruction, as its outcry has come to Me. And if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before Adonai. 23 Abraham drew near and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing—to cause the righteous to die with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked share the same fate! Far be it from You! Shall the Judge of the whole world not exercise justice?”
26 Then Adonai said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous people within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Look, pray, I have decided to speak to my Lord, though I am dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous people are lacking five. Will You destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 So he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Perhaps forty will be found there?”
And He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
30 Then he said, “Please, let my Lord not be angry, so I may speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there?”
And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Then he said, “Look, pray, I have decided to speak to my Lord: Perhaps twenty will be found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Please, let not my Lord be angry, so I may speak once more. Perhaps ten will be found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
33 Now when He had finished speaking to Abraham, Adonai left, and Abraham returned to his place.
Two Witnesses and a Voice from Heaven
17 After six days, Yeshua takes with Him Peter and Jacob and John his brother, and brings them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 Now He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Yeshua. 4 Peter responded to Yeshua, “Master, it’s good for us to be here! If You wish, I will make three sukkot here—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”[a]
5 While He was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”[b]
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down, terrified. 7 But Yeshua came and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Stop being afraid.” 8 And lifting their eyes, they saw no one except Yeshua alone.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Yeshua commanded them, saying, “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
10 The disciples questioned Him, saying, “Why then do the Torah scholars say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Yeshua replied, “Indeed, Elijah is coming and will restore all things. [c] 12 I tell you that Elijah already came; and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Immerser.
See What Faith Can Do
14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to Yeshua, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Master, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and suffers badly. For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 And answering, Yeshua said, “O faithless and twisted generation![d] How long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 Yeshua rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Yeshua in private and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 And He said to them, “Because you trust so little. Amen, I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (21 )[e]
Second Prediction: Death and Resurrection
22 Now while they were gathering in the Galilee, Yeshua said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men; 23 and they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised.” And the disciples became greatly distressed.
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the Temple tax,[f] doesn’t He?”
25 “Yes,” Peter said.
Now when Peter came into the house, Yeshua spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? The kings of the earth, from whom do they collect tolls or tax? From their sons or from strangers?”
26 After Peter said, “From strangers,” Yeshua said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 But so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw out a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you’ll find a coin.[g] Take that, and give it to them, for Me and you.”
Hanani, Hananiah and the Returning Exiles
7 After the wall had been rebuilt, the doors set up, and the gatekeepers, singers and Levites appointed, 2 I put in charge over Jerusalem, my brother Hanani along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, for he was a man of integrity and feared God more than many. 3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened until the sun is hot. While those are still on duty, have them shut and bar the doors. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their post and some near their homes.”
4 Now the city was spacious and large, but there were few people within it and no houses were being built. 5 So my God put into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the people to be registered by genealogy. I found the scroll of the genealogical record of those who formerly returned. I found the following written there:
6 These are the people of the province who returned from the captivity of the exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken away, and who returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each man to his own town. 7 Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of Bnei-Yisrael was:
8 The sons of Parosh—2,172
9 The sons of Shephatiah—372
10 The sons of Arah—652
11 The sons of Pahat-moab, from the sons of Jeshua and Joab—2,818
12 The sons of Elam—1,254
13 The sons of Zattu—845
14 The sons of Zaccai—760
15 The sons of Binnui—648
16 The sons of Bebai—628
17 The sons of Azgad—2,328
18 The sons of Adonikam—667
19 The sons of Bigvai—2,067
20 The sons of Adin—655
21 The sons of Ater of Hezekiah—98
22 The sons of Hashum—328
23 The sons of Bezai—324
24 The sons of Hariph—112
25 The sons of Gibeon—95
26 The men of Bethlehem and Neto-phah—188
27 The men of Anathoth—128
28 The men of Beth-azmaveth—42
29 The men of Kiriath-jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth—743
30 The men of Ramah and Geba—621
31 The men of Michmas—122
32 The men of Bethel and Ai—123
33 The men of the other Nebo—52
34 The sons of the other Elam—1,254
35 The sons of Harim—320
36 The sons of Jericho—345
37 The sons of Lod, Hadid and Ono—721
38 The sons of Senaah—3,930
39 The kohanim:
The sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua—973
40 The sons of Immer—1,052
41 The sons of Pashhur—1,247
42 The sons of Harim—1,017
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua of Kadmiel from the sons of Hodeiah—74
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph—148
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita and the sons of Shobai—138.
46 The sanctuary servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaot, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Neziah and the sons of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58 the sons of Jala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim and the sons of Amon.
60 All the Temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants—392.
61 Now the following were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon and Immer—but they were not able to identify their ancestral houses or whether their descendants were from Israel: 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah and the sons of Nekoda—642.
63 Also of the kohanim: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai. (Their ancestor took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and subsequently was called by their name.) 64 These sought their names in the genealogies, but were not found; so they were disqualified from the priesthood. 65 The governor said to them that they should not eat any of the most holy things until a kohen arose with Urim and Thummim[a].
66 The whole congregation together was 42,360, 67 not including their male and female servants—these were 7,337—as well as 245 male and female singers.
68 There were 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.
69 Some from among the family leaders contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury: gold drachmas—1,000; bowls—50; and priestly tunics—500. 70 Those from the heads of ancestral lines gave to the treasury for the work: gold drachmas—20,000; silver minas—2,000. 71 The rest of the people gave: gold drachmas—20,000; silver minas—2,000; and priestly tunics—67.
72 So the kohanim, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, and the Temple servants, even all Israel, dwelt in their towns.
Ezra Reads the Torah
Then the seventh month came and Bnei-Yisrael were in their towns.
Synagogue Responses Vary
17 After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went to the Jewish people; and for three Shabbatot, he debated the Scriptures with them. 3 He opened them and gave evidence that Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, saying, “This Yeshua, whom I declare to you, is the Messiah.” 4 Some of them were convinced and became attached to Paul and Silas, as were a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and no small number of the leading women.
5 But some of the Jewish people became jealous. Taking some wicked fellows of the marketplace and gathering a crowd, they stirred the city into an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, trying to bring Paul and Silas out to the mob. 6 When they did not find them, they instead began dragging Jason and some of the brethren before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them! They are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Yeshua.” 8 Hearing these things, the crowd and the city officials were confused. 9 But after receiving bail from Jason and the rest, they released them.
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. Upon arrival, they made their way to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, because they received the message with goodwill, searching the Scriptures each day to see whether these things were true. 12 Therefore many of them believed, as well as quite a few prominent Greek women and men.
13 But when the Jewish people of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea, they came there too, agitating and inciting the people. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those escorting Paul brought him as far as Athens. After receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.
An Unknown God in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was aroused within him when he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was debating in the synagogue with the Jewish people and the God-fearers, as well as in the marketplace every day with all who happened to be there. 18 Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What’s this babbler trying to say?” while others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities”—because he was proclaiming the Good News of Yeshua and the resurrection. 19 So they took Paul to the Aereopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are talking about? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears, so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and foreigners visiting there used to pass their time doing nothing but telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul stood in the middle of the Aereopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in all ways you are very religious. 23 For while I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth,[a] does not live in temples made by hands. [b] 25 Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything,[c] since He Himself gives to everyone life and breath and all things. [d] 26 From one He made every nation of men to live on the face of the earth, having set appointed times and the boundaries of their territory. [e] 27 They were to search for Him, and perhaps grope around for Him and find Him. Yet He is not far from each one of us, [f] 28 for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’
As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ [g] 29 Since we are His offspring, we ought not to suppose the Deity is like gold or silver or stone, an engraved image of human art and imagination. [h] 30 Although God overlooked the periods of ignorance, now He commands everyone everywhere to repent. 31 For He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness, through a Man whom He has appointed.[i] He has brought forth evidence of this to all men, by raising Him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began scoffing. But others said, “We will hear from you again about this.” 33 So Paul left from their midst. 34 But some men joined with him and believed—among them Dionysius (a member of the council of the Aereopagus), a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.