M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I will die!
2 And Jacob became very angry with Rachel and he said, Am I in God’s stead, Who has denied you children?
3 And she said, See here, take my maid Bilhah and have intercourse with her; and [when the baby comes] she shall deliver it upon my knees, that I by her may also have children.
4 And she gave him Bilhah her maid as a [secondary] wife, and Jacob had intercourse with her.
5 And Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.
6 And Rachel said, God has judged and vindicated me, and has heard my plea and has given me a son; so she named him Dan [judged].
7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings [in prayer to God] I have struggled with my sister and have prevailed; so she named him [this second son Bilhah bore] Naphtali [struggled].
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased to bear, she gave Zilpah her maid to Jacob as a [secondary] wife.
10 And Zilpah, Leah’s maid, bore Jacob a son.
11 Then Leah said, Victory and good fortune have come; and she named him Gad [fortune].
12 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, bore Jacob [her] second son.
13 And Leah said, I am happy, for women will call me blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied); and she named him Asher [happy].
14 Now Reuben went at the time of wheat harvest and found some mandrakes (love apples) in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray you, some of your son’s mandrakes.
15 But [Leah] answered, Is it not enough that you have taken my husband without your taking away my son’s [a]mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Jacob shall sleep with you tonight [in exchange] for your son’s mandrakes.
16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have certainly paid your hire with my son’s mandrakes. So he slept with her that night.
17 And God heeded Leah’s [prayer], and she conceived and bore Jacob [her] fifth son.
18 Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar [hired].
19 And Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob [her] sixth son.
20 Then Leah said, God has endowed me with a good marriage gift [for my husband]; now will he dwell with me [and regard me as his wife in reality], because I have borne him six sons; and she named him Zebulun [dwelling].
21 Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel and answered her pleading and made it possible for her to have children.
23 And [now for the first time] she became pregnant and bore a son; and she said, God has taken away my reproach, disgrace, and humiliation.
24 And she called his name Joseph [may he add] and said, May the Lord add to me another son.
25 When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place and country.
26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know the work which I have done for you.
27 And Laban said to him, If I have found favor in your sight, I pray you [do not go]; for I have learned by experience and from the omens in divination that the Lord has favored me with blessings on your account.
28 He said, State your salary and I will give it.
29 Jacob answered him, You know how I have served you, and how your possessions, your cattle and sheep and goats, have fared with me.
30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased and multiplied abundantly; and the Lord has favored you with blessings wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own house also?
31 [Laban] said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me anything, if you will do this one thing for me [of which I am about to tell you], and I will again feed and take care of your flock.
32 Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted animal and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.
33 So later when the matter of my wages is brought before you, my fair dealing will be evident and answer for me. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the sheep, if found with me, shall be counted as stolen.
34 And Laban said, Good; let it be done as you say.
35 But that same day [Laban] removed the he-goats that were streaked and spotted and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every black lamb, and put them in charge of his sons.
36 And he set [a distance of] three days’ journey between himself and Jacob; and Jacob was then left in care of the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 But Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white in the rods.
38 Then he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred and conceived when they came to drink,
39 The flocks bred and conceived in sight of the rods and brought forth lambs and kids streaked, speckled, and spotted.
40 Jacob separated the lambs, and [as he had done with the peeled rods] he also set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the dark in the [new] flock of Laban; and he put his own droves by themselves and did not let them breed with Laban’s flock.
41 And whenever the stronger animals were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed and conceive among the rods.
42 But when the sheep and goats were feeble, he omitted putting the rods there; so the feebler animals were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.
43 Thus the man increased and became exceedingly rich, and had many sheep and goats, and maidservants, menservants, camels, and donkeys.
1 The beginning [of the facts] of the good news (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, [a]the Son of God.
2 [b]Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will make ready Your way—(A)
3 A voice of one crying in the wilderness [shouting in the desert], Prepare the way of the Lord, make His [c]beaten tracks straight (level and passable)!(B)
4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness (desert), preaching a baptism [[d]obligating] repentance ([e]a change of one’s mind for the better, heartily amending one’s ways, with abhorrence of his past sins) in order [f]to obtain forgiveness of and release from sins.
5 And there kept going out to him [continuously] all the country of Judea and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, [g]as they were confessing their sins.
6 And John wore clothing woven of camel’s hair and had a leather girdle around his loins and ate locusts and wild honey.
7 And he preached, saying, After me comes He Who is stronger (more powerful and more valiant) than I, the strap of Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to stoop down and unloose.
8 I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 And when He came up out of the water, at once he [John] saw the heavens torn open and the [Holy] Spirit like a dove coming down [[h]to enter] [i]into Him.(C)
11 And there came a voice [j]out from within heaven, You are My Beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.(D)
12 Immediately the [Holy] Spirit [from within] drove Him out into the wilderness (desert),
13 And He stayed in the wilderness (desert) forty days, being tempted [all the while] by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him [continually].
14 Now after John was arrested and put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled (completed), and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ([k]have a change of mind which issues in regret for past sins and in change of conduct for the better) and believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to) the good news (the Gospel).
16 And passing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net [to and fro] in the sea, for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, Come after Me and [l]be My disciples, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And at once they left their nets and [[m]yielding up all claim to them] followed [with] Him [[n]joining Him as disciples and siding with His party].
19 He went on a little farther and saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were in [their] boat putting their nets in order.
20 And immediately He called out to them, and [[o]abandoning all mutual claims] they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him [[p]to be His disciples, side with His party, and follow Him].
21 And they entered into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He went into the synagogue and began to teach.
22 And they were completely astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching as One Who possessed authority, and not as the scribes.
23 Just at that time there was in their synagogue a man [who was in the power] of an unclean spirit; and now [immediately] he raised a deep and terrible cry from the depths of his throat, saying,
24 What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!
25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hush up (be muzzled, gagged), and come out of him!
26 And the unclean spirit, throwing the man into convulsions and [q]screeching with a loud voice, came out of him.
27 And they were all so amazed and [r]almost terrified that they kept questioning and demanding one of another, saying, What is this? What new (fresh) teaching! With authority He gives orders even to the unclean spirits and they obey Him!
28 And immediately rumors concerning Him spread [everywhere] throughout all the region surrounding Galilee.
29 And at once He left the synagogue and went into the house of Simon [Peter] and Andrew, accompanied by James and John.
30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law [s]had for some time been lying sick with a fever, and at once they told Him about her.
31 And He went up to her and took her by the hand and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she began to wait on them.
32 Now when it was evening, after the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those under the power of demons,
33 Until the whole town was gathered together about the door.
34 And He cured many who were afflicted with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to talk because they knew Him [[t]intuitively].
35 And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a [u]deserted place, and there He prayed.
36 And Simon [Peter] and those who were with him followed Him [[v]pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out],
37 And they found Him and said to Him, Everybody is looking for You.
38 And He said to them, Let us be going on into the neighboring country towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.
39 [So] He went throughout the whole of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
40 And a leper came to Him, begging Him on his knees and saying to Him, If You are willing, You are able to make me clean.
41 And being moved with pity and sympathy, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, and said to him, I am willing; be made clean!
42 And at once the leprosy [completely] left him and he was made clean [by being healed].
43 And Jesus charged him sternly (sharply and threateningly, and with earnest admonition) and [acting with deep feeling thrust him forth and] sent him away at once,
44 And said to him, See that you tell nothing [of this] to anyone; but begone, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your purification what Moses commanded, as a proof (an evidence and witness) to the people [that you are really healed].(E)
45 But he went out and began to talk so freely about it and blaze abroad the news [spreading it everywhere] that [Jesus] could no longer openly go into a town but was outside in [lonely] desert places. But the people kept on coming to Him from [w]all sides and every quarter.
6 On that night the king could not sleep; and he ordered that the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, be brought, and they were read before the king.
2 And it was found written there how Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s attendants who guarded the door, who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
3 And the king said, What honor or distinction has been given Mordecai for this? Then the king’s servants who ministered to him said, Nothing has been done for him.
4 The king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had just come into the outer court of the king’s palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.
5 And the king’s servants said to him, Behold, Haman is standing in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.
6 So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? Now Haman said to himself, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to me?
7 And Haman said to the king, For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8 Let royal apparel be brought which the king has worn and the horse which the king has ridden, and a royal crown be set on his head.
9 And let the apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes. Let him array the man whom the king delights to honor, and conduct him on horseback through the open square of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.
10 Then the king said to Haman, Make haste and take the apparel and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have spoken.
11 Then Haman took the apparel and the horse and conducted Mordecai on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.
12 Then Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hastened to his house, mourning and having his head covered.
13 And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the offspring of the Jews, you cannot prevail against him, but shall surely fall before him.
14 While they were yet talking with him, the king’s attendants came and hastily brought Haman to the dinner that Esther had prepared.
1 From Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) called to be an apostle, (a special messenger) set apart to [preach] the Gospel (good news) of and from God,
2 Which He promised in advance [long ago] through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures—
3 [The Gospel] regarding His Son, Who as to the flesh (His human nature) was descended from David,
4 And [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly [a]designated the Son of God in power [in a striking, triumphant and miraculous manner] by His resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
5 It is through Him that we have received grace (God’s unmerited favor) and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the nations,
6 And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited [as you are] to belong to Him.
7 To [you then] all God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because [the report of] your faith is made known to all the world and is [b]commended everywhere.
9 For God is my witness, Whom I serve with my [whole] spirit [rendering priestly and spiritual service] in [preaching] the Gospel and [telling] the good news of His Son, how incessantly I always mention you when at my prayers.
10 I keep pleading that somehow by God’s will I may now at last prosper and come to you.
11 For I am yearning to see you, that I may impart and share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen and establish you;
12 That is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 I want you to know, brethren, that many times I have planned and intended to come to you, though thus far I have been hindered and prevented, in order that I might have some fruit (some result of my labors) among you, as I have among the rest of the Gentiles.
14 Both to Greeks and to barbarians (to the cultured and to the uncultured), both to the wise and the foolish, I have an obligation to discharge and a duty to perform and a debt to pay.
15 So, for my part, I am willing and eagerly ready to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek,
17 For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.(A)
18 For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.
19 For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],(B)
21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and [c]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
23 And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
25 Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it).(C)
26 For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,
27 And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
28 And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome,
29 Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers,
30 Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents.
31 [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless.
32 Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.
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