M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
23 Sarah lived 127 years; this was the length of the life of Sarah.
2 And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, [a]that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead and said to the sons of Heth,
4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
5 And the Hittites replied to Abraham,
6 Listen to us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in any tomb or grave of ours that you choose; none of us will withhold from you his tomb or hinder you from burying your dead.
7 And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the Hittites.
8 And he said to them, If you are willing to grant my dead a burial out of my sight, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar for me,
9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns—it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me here in your presence as a burial place to which I may hold fast among you.
10 Now Ephron was present there among the sons of Heth; so, in the hearing of all who went in at the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, saying,
11 No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and the cave that is in it I give you. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.
12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land.
13 And he said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, But if you will give it, I beg of you, hear me. I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.
14 Ephron replied to Abraham, saying,
15 My lord, listen to me. The land is worth 400 shekels of silver; what is that between you and me? So bury your dead.
16 So Abraham listened to what Ephron said and acted upon it. He weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre [Hebron]—the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and in all its borders round about—was made over
18 As a possession to Abraham in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at his city gate.
19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of [b]Machpelah to the east of Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
20 The field and the cave in it were conveyed to Abraham for a permanent burial place by the sons of Heth.
22 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables (comparisons, stories used to illustrate and explain), saying,
2 The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son
3 And sent his servants to summon those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they refused to come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my banquet; my bullocks and my fat calves are killed, and everything is prepared; come to the wedding feast.
5 But they were not concerned and paid no attention [they ignored and made light of the summons, treating it with contempt] and they went away—one to his farm, another to his business,
6 While the others seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and put them to death.
7 [Hearing this] the king was infuriated; and he sent his soldiers and put those murderers to death and burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants, The wedding [feast] is prepared, but those invited were not worthy.
9 So go to the thoroughfares where they leave the city [where the main roads and those from the country end] and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.
10 And those servants went out on the crossroads and got together as many as they found, both bad and good, so [the room in which] the wedding feast [was held] was filled with guests.
11 But when the king came in to view the guests, he looked intently at a man there who had on no wedding garment.
12 And he said, Friend, how did you come in here without putting on the [appropriate] wedding garment? And he was speechless ([a]muzzled, gagged).
13 Then the king said to the attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
14 For many are called (invited and summoned), but few are chosen.
15 Then the Pharisees went and consulted and plotted together how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.
16 And they sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that You are [b]sincere and what You profess to be and that You teach the way of God truthfully, regardless of consequences and being afraid of no man; for You are impartial and do not regard either the person or the position of anyone.
17 Tell us then what You think about this: Is it lawful to pay tribute [levied on individuals and to be paid yearly] to Caesar or not?
18 But Jesus, aware of their malicious plot, asked, Why do you put Me to the test and try to entrap Me, you pretenders (hypocrites)?
19 Show me the money used for the tribute. And they brought Him a denarius.
20 And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and title are these?
21 They said, Caesar’s. Then He said to them, Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God.
22 When they heard it they were amazed and marveled; and they left Him and departed.
23 The same day some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection [of the dead], came to Him and they asked Him a question,
24 Saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies, leaving no children, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother.(A)
25 Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and, having no children, left his wife to his brother.
26 The second also died childless, and the third, down to the seventh.
27 Last of all, the woman died also.
28 Now, in the resurrection, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.
29 But Jesus replied to them, You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor God’s power.
30 For in the resurrected state neither do [men] marry nor are [women] given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.
31 But as to the resurrection of the dead—have you never read what was said to you by God,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living!(B)
33 And when the throng heard it, they were astonished and filled with [[c]glad] amazement at His teaching.
34 Now when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced ([d]muzzled) the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35 And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him.
36 Teacher, which [e]kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?]
37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).(C)
38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.(D)
40 These two commandments [f]sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.
41 Now while the Pharisees were still assembled there, Jesus asked them a question,
42 Saying, What do you think of the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of David.
43 He said to them, How is it then that David, under the influence of the [Holy] Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying,
44 The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet?(E)
45 If then David thus calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone venture or dare to question Him.
12 Now these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and their brethren in the days of Jeshua.
8 And the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his brethren, was over the thanksgiving [choirs].
9 Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood opposite them according to their offices.
10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim of Eliashib, Eliashib of Joiada,
11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan of Jaddua.
12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 Of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 Of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 As for the Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of fathers’ houses were recorded, as well as the priests, until the reign of Darius the Persian.
23 The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’ houses, were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan son of Eliashib.
24 And the chiefs of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their brethren opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, as David, God’s man, commanded, [one] watch [singing] in response to [the men in the opposite] watch.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers guarding at the storehouses of the gates.
26 These were in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
27 And for the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings, and with singing, cymbals, harps, and lyres.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the plain and circuit around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites,
29 And also from Beth-gilgal and the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem.
30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I brought the princes of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great companies of them who gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right upon the wall toward the Dung Gate.
32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the princes of Judah,
33 And Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
35 And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
36 And his kinsmen—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, Hanani—with the musical instruments of David, God’s man. And Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 At the Fountain Gate they went up straight ahead by the stairs of the City of David at the wall’s ascent above David’s house to the Water Gate on the east.
38 The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left; I followed with half of the people upon the wall, above the Tower of the Furnaces to the Broad Wall,
39 And above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate and by the Fish Gate and by the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of Hammeah, even to the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.
40 So the two companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I, and the half of the officials with me;
41 And the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 And Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang and made themselves heard, with Jezrahiah as leader.
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women also and the children rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
44 On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by law for the priests and the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served [faithfully].
45 And they performed the due service of their God and of the purification; so did the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had commanded.
46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old, there was a chief of singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and [later] of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart what was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart what was for the sons of Aaron [the priests].
22 Brethren and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make in your presence.
2 And when they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, they were all the more quiet. And he continued,
3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but reared in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated according to the strictest care in the Law of our fathers, being ardent [even a zealot] for God, as all of you are today.
4 [Yes] I harassed (troubled, molested, and persecuted) this Way [of the Lord] to the death, putting in chains and committing to prison both men and women,
5 As the high priest and whole council of elders (Sanhedrin) can testify; for from them indeed I received letters with which I was on my way to the brethren in Damascus in order to take also those [believers] who were there, and bring them in chains to Jerusalem that they might be punished.
6 But as I was on my journey and approached Damascus, about noon a great blaze of light flashed suddenly from heaven and shone about me.
7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me [harass and trouble and molest Me]?
8 And I replied, Who are You, Lord? And He said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene, Whom you are persecuting.
9 Now the men who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear [[a]the sound of the uttered words of] the voice of the One Who was speaking to me [so that they could [b]understand it].
10 And I asked, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord answered me, Get up and go into Damascus, and there it will be told you all that it is destined and appointed for you to do.
11 And since I could not see because [of the dazzlingly glorious intensity] of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and [thus] I arrived in Damascus.
12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, well spoken of by all the Jews who resided there,
13 Came to see me, and standing by my side said to me, Brother Saul, [c]look up and receive back your sight. And in that very [d]instant I [recovered my sight and] looking up saw him.
14 And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to hear a voice from His [own] mouth and a message from His [own] lips;
15 For you will be His witness unto all men of everything that you have seen and heard.
16 And now, why do you delay? Rise and be baptized, and [e]by calling upon His name, wash away your sins.
17 Then when I had come back to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple [[f]enclosure], I fell into a trance (an ecstasy);
18 And I saw Him as He said to me, Hurry, get quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive your testimony about Me.
19 And I said, Lord, they themselves well know that throughout all the synagogues I cast into prison and flogged those who believed on (adhered to and trusted in and relied on) You.
20 And when the blood of Your witness (martyr) Stephen was shed, I also was personally standing by and consenting and approving and guarding the garments of those who slew him.
21 And the Lord said to me, Go, for I will send you far away unto the Gentiles (nations).
22 Up to the moment that Paul made this last statement, the people listened to him; but now they raised their voices and shouted, Away with such a fellow from the earth! He is not fit to live!
23 And as they were shouting and tossing and waving their garments and throwing dust into the air,
24 The commandant ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks, and that he be examined by scourging in order that [the commandant] might learn why the people cried out thus against him.
25 But when they had stretched him out with the thongs (leather straps), Paul asked the centurion who was standing by, Is it legal for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned [without a trial]?
26 When the centurion heard that, he went to the commandant and said to him, What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!
27 So the commandant came and said to [Paul], Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? And he said, Yes [indeed]!
28 The commandant replied, I purchased this citizenship [as a capital investment] for a big price. Paul said, But I was born [Roman]!
29 Instantly those who were about to examine and flog him withdrew from him; and the commandant also was frightened, for he realized that [Paul] was a Roman citizen and he had put him in chains.
30 But the next day, desiring to know the real cause for which the Jews accused him, he unbound him and ordered the chief priests and all the council (Sanhedrin) to assemble; and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation