M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Universal Language, Babel, Confusion
11 Now the whole earth [a]used the same language and [b]the same words. 2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land (A)of Shinar and [c]settled there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used (B)tar for mortar. 4 They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top (C)will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves (D)a name, otherwise we (E)will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” 5 (F)The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [d](G)the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be [e]impossible for them. 7 Come, (H)let Us go down and there (I)confuse their [f]language, so that they will not understand one another’s [g]speech.” 8 So the Lord (J)scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called [h](K)Babel, because there the Lord confused the [i]language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.
Descendants of Shem
10 (L)These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and [j]became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters.
12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.
14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters.
16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.
18 Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the father of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters.
20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he became the father of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters.
22 Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor; 23 and Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters.
24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of (M)Terah; 25 and Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters.
26 Terah lived seventy years, and became (N)the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and (O)Haran became the father of (P)Lot. 28 Haran died [k]in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in (Q)Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and (R)Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was (S)Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was (T)Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah [l]and Iscah. 30 (U)Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out [m]together from (V)Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and [n]settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
10 Jesus (A)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to (B)heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
2 (C)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, (D)Simon, who is called Peter, and (E)Andrew his brother; and [a](F)James the son of Zebedee, and [b]John his brother; 3 (G)Philip and [c]Bartholomew; (H)Thomas and (I)Matthew the tax collector; [d](J)James the son of Alphaeus, and (K)Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the [e]Zealot, and (L)Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not [f]go [g]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the (N)Samaritans; 6 but rather go to (O)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, [h]preach, saying, ‘(P)The kingdom of heaven [i]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 (Q)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a [j]bag for your journey, or even two [k]coats, or sandals, or a staff; for (R)the worker is worthy of his [l]support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay [m]at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you enter the [n]house, (S)give it your [o]greeting. 13 If the house is worthy, [p]give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, [q]take back your blessing of peace. 14 Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, (T)shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, (U)it will be more tolerable for the land of (V)Sodom and Gomorrah in (W)the day of judgment than for that city.
A Hard Road before Them
16 “(X)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [r]be (Y)shrewd as serpents and (Z)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the (AA)courts and scourge you (AB)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (AC)But when they hand you over, (AD)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For (AE)it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(AF)Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (AG)children will rise up against parents and [s]cause them to be put to death. 22 (AH)You will be hated by all because of My name, but (AI)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (AJ)persecute you in [t]one city, flee to [u]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (AK)until the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(AL)A [v]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (AM)If they have called the head of the house [w](AN)Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not (AO)fear them, (AP)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 (AQ)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (AR)upon the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [x](AT)hell. 29 (AU)Are not two sparrows sold for a [y]cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (AV)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (AW)you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore (AX)everyone who [z]confesses Me before men, I will also confess [aa]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (AY)whoever [ab]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “(AZ)Do not think that I came to [ac]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to (BA)set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and (BB)a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37 “(BC)He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And (BD)he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 (BE)He who has found his [ad]life will lose it, and he who has lost his [ae]life for My sake will find it.
The Reward of Service
40 “(BF)He who receives you receives Me, and (BG)he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 (BH)He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And (BI)whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these [af]little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
Reconciliation with God
10 Now (A)while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself (B)before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. 2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “(C)We have been unfaithful to our God and have [a]married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. 3 So now (D)let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and [b](E)their children, according to the counsel of [c]my lord and of (F)those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done (G)according to the law. 4 Arise! For this matter is [d]your responsibility, but we will be with you; (H)be courageous and act.”
5 Then Ezra rose and (I)made the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel, take oath that they would do according to this [e]proposal; so they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra (J)rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, (K)he did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. 7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, (L)trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore, (M)make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and (N)do His will; and (O)separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” 12 Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, “That’s right! As you have said, so it is [f]our duty to do. 13 But there are many people; it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. 14 Let our leaders [g]represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the (P)fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah [h]opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.
16 But the exiles did so. And [i]Ezra the priest selected men who were heads of fathers’ households for each of their father’s households, all of them by name. So they [j]convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17 They finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month.
List of Offenders
18 Among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of (Q)Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. 19 They [k]pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, (R)they offered a ram of the flock for their offense. 20 Of the sons of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah; 21 and of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah; 22 and of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.
23 Of Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer.
24 Of the singers there was Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri.
25 Of Israel, of the sons of (S)Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah and Benaiah; 26 and of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah; 27 and of the sons of (T)Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza; 28 and of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai; 29 and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth; 30 and of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh; 31 and of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, (U)Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah; 33 of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei; 34 of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, 38 Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah and Joseph. 43 Of the sons of (V)Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. 44 All these had married (W)foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
Cornelius’s Vision
10 Now there was a man at (A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was (B)called the Italian [a]cohort, 2 a devout man and (C)one who feared God with all his household, and (D)gave many [b]alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. 3 About (E)the [c]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw (F)in a vision (G)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And (H)fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and [d]alms (I)have ascended (J)as a memorial before God. 5 Now dispatch some men to (K)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; 6 he is staying with a tanner named (L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his [e]servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to (M)Joppa.
9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, (N)Peter went up on (O)the housetop about (P)the [f]sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he (Q)fell into a trance; 11 and he *saw (R)the [g]sky opened up, and an [h]object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and [i]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the [j]air. 13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, [k]kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, (S)Lord, for (T)I have never eaten anything [l]unholy and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “(U)What God has cleansed, no longer consider [m]unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the [n]object was taken up into the [o]sky.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in [p]mind as to what (V)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, (W)the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was reflecting on (X)the vision, (Y)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, [q]three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs and (Z)accompany them [r]without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and (AA)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, (AB)was divinely directed by a (AC)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear [s](AD)a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Peter at Caesarea
And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and (AE)some of (AF)the brethren from (AG)Joppa accompanied him. 24 On the following day he entered (AH)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and [t](AI)worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, “(AJ)Stand up; I too am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found (AK)many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how (AL)unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet (AM)God has shown me that I should not call any man [u]unholy or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “(AN)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during (AO)the [v]ninth hour; and behold, (AP)a man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your [w]alms have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to (AQ)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have [x]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
Gentiles Hear Good News
34 (AR)Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that (AS)God is not one to show partiality, 35 but (AT)in every nation the man who [y](AU)fears Him and [z]does what is right is welcome to Him. 36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, (AV)preaching [aa](AW)peace through Jesus Christ (He is (AX)Lord of all)— 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 [ab]You know of (AY)Jesus of Nazareth, how God (AZ)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, [ac](BA)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for (BB)God was with Him. 39 We are (BC)witnesses of all the things He did both in the [ad]land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also (BD)put Him to death by hanging Him on a [ae]cross. 40 (BE)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 (BF)not to all the people, but to (BG)witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us (BH)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He (BI)ordered us to [af]preach to the people, and solemnly to (BJ)testify that this is the One who has been (BK)appointed by God as (BL)Judge of the living and the dead. 43 Of Him (BM)all the prophets bear witness that through (BN)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, (BO)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the [ag]message. 45 (BP)All the [ah]circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been (BQ)poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them (BR)speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 “(BS)Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who (BT)have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48 And he (BU)ordered them to be baptized (BV)in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.