M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abraham Marries Keturah
25 Abraham married Keturah, 2 and they had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Later, Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan, and when Dedan grew up, he had three sons: Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 Midian also had five sons: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.
5-6 While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac, and when Abraham died, he left everything to Isaac.
The Death of Abraham
7-8 Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175. 9-10 (A) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him east of Hebron[a] in Machpelah Cave that was part of the field Abraham had bought from Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. Abraham was buried there beside his wife Sarah. 11 God blessed Isaac after this, and Isaac moved to a place called “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”[b]
Ishmael's Descendants
12 Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the slave woman of Sarah. 13 Ishmael had twelve sons, in this order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 Each of Ishmael's sons was a tribal chief, and a village was named after each of them.
17-18 Ishmael had settled in the land east of his brothers, and his sons[c] settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt on the way to Asshur.[d] Ishmael was 137 when he died.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
19 Isaac was the son of Abraham, 20 and he was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria.[e]
Almost 20 years later, 21 Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the Lord to let her have a child, and the Lord answered his prayer.
22 Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, “Why is this happening to me?” Finally, she asked the Lord why her twins were fighting, 23 (B) and he told her:
“Your two sons will become
two separate nations.[f]
The younger of the two
will be stronger,
and the older son
will be his servant.”
24 When Rebekah gave birth, 25 the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau.[g] 26 The second baby grabbed on to his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob.[h] Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son
27 As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob lived the quiet life of a shepherd.[i] 28 Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother's favorite son.
29 One day, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came home hungry 30 and said, “I'm starving to death! Here and now give me some of that red stew!” That's how Esau got the name “Edom.”[j]
31 Jacob replied, “Sell me your rights as the first-born son.”[k]
32 “I'm about to die,” Esau answered. “What good will those rights do me?”
33 (C) But Jacob said, “Promise me your birthrights, here and now!” And that's what Esau did. 34 Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
(Mark 13.1,2; Luke 21.5,6)
24 After Jesus left the temple, his disciples came over and said, “Look at all these buildings!”
2 Jesus replied, “Do you see these buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place.”
Warning about Trouble
(Mark 13.3-13; Luke 21.7-19)
3 (A) Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
4 Jesus answered:
Don't let anyone fool you. 5 Many will come and claim to be me. They will say they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.
6 You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. 7 (B) Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. 8 But this is just the beginning of troubles.
9 (C) You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. 10 Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. 12 Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. 13 (D) But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. 14 When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.
The Horrible Thing
(Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24)
15 (E) Someday you will see that “Horrible Thing” in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! 16 If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. 17 (F) If you are on the roof[a] of your house, don't go inside to get anything. 18 If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. 19 It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. 20 And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.[b] 21 (G) This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. 22 If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.
23 Someone may say, “Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” But don't believe it. 24 False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. 25 But I have warned you ahead of time. 26 (H) If you are told the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told he is in some secret place, don't believe it! 27 The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28 (I) Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.[c]
When the Son of Man Appears
(Mark 13.24-27; Luke 21.25-28)
29 (J) Right after those days of suffering,
“The sun will become dark,
and the moon
will no longer shine.
The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky[d]
will be shaken.”
30 (K) Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man.[e] All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.
A Lesson from a Fig Tree
(Mark 13.28-31; Luke 21.29-33)
32 Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know summer is near. 33 So when you see all these things happening, you will know the time has almost come.[f] 34 I can promise you that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. 35 The sky and the earth won't last forever, but my words will.
No One Knows the Day or Time
(Mark 13.32-37; Luke 17.26-30,34-36)
36 No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know.[g] Only the Father knows. 37 (L) When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. 38 People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. 39 (M) They didn't know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. This is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.
40 Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 41 Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 42 So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come. 43 (N) Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. 44 Always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.
Faithful and Unfaithful Servants
(Luke 12.35-48)
45 Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? 46 Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. 47 You may be sure a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. 48 But suppose one of the servants thinks the master won't return until late. 49 Suppose this evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. 50 If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. 51 This servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.
Queen Vashti Disobeys King Xerxes
1 1-2 (A) King Xerxes[a] of Persia lived in his capital city of Susa[b] and ruled 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.[c] 3 During the third year of his rule, Xerxes gave a big dinner for all his officials and officers. The governors and leaders of the provinces were also invited, and even the commanders of the Persian and Median armies came. 4 For 180 days he showed off his wealth and spent a lot of money to impress his guests with the greatness of his kingdom.
5 At the end of this time, King Xerxes gave another dinner and invited everyone in the city of Susa, no matter who they were. The eating and drinking lasted seven days in the beautiful palace gardens. 6 The area was decorated with blue and white cotton curtains tied back with purple linen cords that ran through silver rings fastened to marble columns. Couches of gold and silver rested on pavement that had all kinds of designs made from costly bright-colored stones and marble and mother-of-pearl.
7 The guests drank from gold cups, and each cup had a different design. The king was generous 8 and said to them, “Drink all you want!” Then he told his servants, “Keep their cups full.”
9 While the men were enjoying themselves, Queen Vashti gave the women a big dinner inside the royal palace.
10 By the seventh day, King Xerxes was feeling happy because of so much wine. And he asked his seven personal servants, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, 11 to bring Queen Vashti to him. The king wanted her to wear her crown and let his people and his officials see how beautiful she was. 12 The king's servants told Queen Vashti what he had said, but she refused to go to him, and this made him terribly angry.
13-14 The king called in the seven highest officials of Persia and Media. They were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These men were very wise and understood all the laws and customs of the country, and the king always asked them what they thought about such matters.
15 The king said to them, “Queen Vashti refused to come to me when I sent my servants for her. What does the law say I should do about that?”
16 Then Memucan told the king and the officials:
Your Majesty, Queen Vashti has not only embarrassed you, but she has insulted your officials and everyone else in all the provinces.
17 The women in the kingdom will hear about this, and they will refuse to respect their husbands. They will say, “If Queen Vashti doesn't obey her husband, why should we?” 18 Before this day is over, the wives of the officials of Persia and Media will find out what Queen Vashti has done, and they will refuse to obey their husbands. They won't respect their husbands, and their husbands will be angry with them.
19 Your Majesty, if you agree, you should write for the Medes and Persians a law that can never be changed. This law would keep Queen Vashti from ever seeing you again. Then you could let someone who respects you be queen in her place.
20 When the women in your great kingdom hear about this new law, they will respect their husbands, no matter if they are rich or poor.
21 King Xerxes and his officials liked what Memucan had said, 22 and he sent letters to all of his provinces. Each letter was written in the language of the province to which it was sent, and it said that husbands should be in charge of their wives and children.
Paul Is Accused in the Court of Felix
24 Five days later Ananias the high priest, together with some of their leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus, went to the governor to present their case against Paul. 2 So Paul was called in, and Tertullus stated the case against him:[a]
Honorable Felix, you have brought our people a long period of peace, and because of your concern our nation is much better off. 3 All of us are always grateful for what you have done. 4 I don't want to bother you, but please be patient with us and listen to me for just a few minutes.
5 This man has been found to be a real pest and troublemaker for our people all over the world. He is also a leader of a group called Nazarenes. 6-8 When he tried to disgrace the temple, we arrested him.[b] If you question him, you will find out for yourself that our charges are true.
9 The Jewish crowd spoke up and agreed with what Tertullus had said.
Paul Defends Himself
10 The governor motioned for Paul to speak, and he began:
I know that you have judged the people of our nation for many years, and I am glad to defend myself in your court.
11 It was no more than twelve days ago that I went to worship in Jerusalem. You can find this out easily enough. 12 Never once did the Jews find me arguing with anyone in the temple. I didn't cause trouble in the synagogues or in the city itself. 13 There is no way that they can prove these charges they are now bringing against me.
14 I admit that their leaders think the Lord's Way[c] which I follow is based on wrong beliefs. But I still worship the same God that my ancestors worshiped. And I believe everything written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets.[d] 15 I am just as sure as these people are that God will raise from death everyone, good or evil. 16 And because I am sure, I try my best to have a clear conscience in whatever I do for God or for people.
17 (A) After being away for several years, I returned here to bring gifts for the poor people of my nation and to offer sacrifices. 18 This is what I was doing when I was found going through a ceremony in the temple. I wasn't with a crowd, and there was no uproar.
19 Some Jews from Asia were there at that time, and if they have anything to say against me, they should be here now. 20 Or ask the ones who are here. They can tell you that they didn't find me guilty of anything when I was tried by their own council. 21 (B) The only charge they can bring against me is what I shouted out in court, when I said, “I am on trial today because I believe that the dead will be raised to life!”
22 Felix knew a lot about the Lord's Way.[e] But he brought the trial to an end and said, “I will make my decision after Lysias the commander arrives.” 23 He then ordered the army officer to keep Paul under guard, but not to lock him up or to stop his friends from helping him.
Paul Is Kept under Guard
24 Several days later Felix and his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, went to the place where Paul was kept under guard. They sent for Paul and listened while he spoke to them about having faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But Felix was frightened when Paul started talking to them about doing right, about self-control, and about the coming judgment. So he said to Paul, “That's enough for now. You may go. But when I have time I will send for you.” 26 After this, Felix often sent for Paul and talked with him, because he hoped that Paul would offer him a bribe.
27 Two years later Porcius Festus became governor in place of Felix. But since Felix wanted to do the Jewish leaders a favor, he kept Paul in jail.
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