M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Creation
1 In the beginning(A) God created the heavens and the earth.[a](B)
2 Now the earth was[b] formless and empty,(C) darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.(D) 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,”(E) and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse[c] between the waters, separating water from water.”(F) 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse.(G) And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.”[d] Evening came and then morning: the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place,(H) and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and He called the gathering of the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.”(I) And it was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came and then morning: the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs(J) for festivals[e] and for days and years.(K) 15 They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars.(L) 17 God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18 to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.(M) And God saw that it was good. 19 Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the water swarm with[f] living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God created the large sea-creatures[g] and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water,(N) according to their kinds. He also created every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 So God blessed them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”(O) 23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let Us(P) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.(Q) They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth,[h] and the creatures that crawl[i] on the earth.”(R)
27 So God created man in His own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female.(S)
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,(T) and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls[j] on the earth.” 29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you,(U) 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.”(V) And it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.(W) Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 The(A) historical record[a](B) of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,(C) the Son of Abraham:(D)
From Abraham to David
2 Abraham fathered[b] Isaac,
Isaac fathered Jacob,
Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,(E)
3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez fathered Hezron,
Hezron fathered Aram,(F)
4 Aram fathered Amminadab,
Amminadab fathered Nahshon,
Nahshon fathered Salmon,
5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,
Obed fathered Jesse,(G)
6 and Jesse fathered King David.
From David to the Babylonian Exile
Then[c] David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife,(H)
7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam,
Rehoboam fathered Abijah,
Abijah fathered Asa,[d]
8 Asa[e] fathered Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat fathered Joram,[f]
Joram fathered Uzziah,(I)
9 Uzziah fathered Jotham,
Jotham fathered Ahaz,
Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,
Manasseh fathered Amon,[g]
Amon fathered Josiah,(J)
11 and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the exile to Babylon.(K)
From the Exile to the Messiah
12 Then after the exile to Babylon
Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel,
Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,
Abiud fathered Eliakim,
Eliakim fathered Azor,(L)
14 Azor fathered Zadok,
Zadok fathered Achim,
Achim fathered Eliud,
15 Eliud fathered Eleazar,
Eleazar fathered Matthan,
Matthan fathered Jacob,
16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary,
who gave birth to[h] Jesus who is called the Messiah.(M)
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, 14 generations.(N)
The Nativity of the Messiah
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.(O) 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man,(P) and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.(Q)
20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.(R) 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus,[i](S) because He will save His people from their sins.”(T)
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel,[j]
which is translated “God is with us.”(U)
24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her(V) 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.[k] And he named Him Jesus.(W)
The Decree of Cyrus
1 In(A) the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,[a] the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled.(B) The Lord put it into the mind(C) of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
2 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.(D) 3 Whoever is among His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel,(E) the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let every survivor,(F) wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
Return from Exile
5 So the family leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone God had motivated[b](G)—prepared to go up and rebuild the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors supported them[c](H) with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.(I) 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out under the supervision of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.(J) 9 This was the inventory:
30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins,
29 silver knives, 10 30 gold bowls,
410 various[d] silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
11 The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Prologue
1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach(A) 2 until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.(B) 3 After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.(C)
The Holy Spirit Promised
4 While He was together[a] with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise.(D) “This,” He said, “is what you heard from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”(E)
6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.(F) 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends[b] of the earth.”(G)
The Ascension
9 After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. 10 While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.(H) 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”(I)
United in Prayer
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room(J) upstairs where they were staying:
Peter, John,
James, Andrew,
Philip, Thomas,
Bartholomew, Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon the Zealot,
and Judas the son of James.(K)
14 All these were continually united(L) in prayer,[c] along with the women, including Mary[d] the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.(M)
Matthias Chosen
15 During these days Peter stood up among the brothers[e]—the number of people who were together was about 120—and said: 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.(N) 17 For he was one of our number and was allotted a share in this ministry.”(O) 18 Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages. He fell headfirst and burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out.(P) 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama (that is, Field of Blood). 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
Let his dwelling become desolate;
let no one live in it;[f] and
Let someone else take his position.(Q)[g]
21 “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection.”(R)
23 So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.(S) 24 Then they prayed,(T) “You, Lord, know the hearts of all; show which of these two You have chosen(U) 25 to take the place[h] in this apostolic service(V) that Judas left to go to his own place.” 26 Then they cast lots(W) for them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was numbered with the 11 apostles.
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