M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Lot Is Captured
14 Now Amraphel was king of Babylonia. Arioch was king of Ellasar. Kedorlaomer was king of Elam. And Tidal was king of Goiim. 2 All these kings went to war against several other kings: Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela. (Bela is also called Zoar.)
3 These kings who were attacked united their armies in the Valley of Siddim. (The Valley of Siddim is now the Dead Sea.) 4 These kings had served Kedorlaomer for 12 years. But in the thirteenth year, they all turned against him. 5 Then in the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings with him came and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim. They also defeated the Zuzites in Ham and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim. 6 And they defeated the Horites in the mountains of Edom to El Paran. (El Paran is near the desert.) 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). They defeated all the Amalekites. They also defeated the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8 At that time the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela went out to fight in the Valley of Siddim. (Bela is called Zoar.) 9 They fought against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Babylonia, and Arioch king of Ellasar. So there were four kings fighting against five. 10 There were many tar pits in the Valley of Siddim. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies ran away. Some of the soldiers fell into the tar pits. But the others ran away to the mountains.
11 Now Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned. They also took all their food. 12 They took Lot, Abram’s nephew who was living in Sodom. The enemy also took everything he owned. Then they left. 13 One of the men who was not captured went to Abram, the Hebrew. He told Abram what had happened. At that time Abram was camped near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre was a brother of Eshcol and a brother of Aner. And they had all made an agreement to help Abram.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 Abram learned that Lot had been captured. So he called out his 318 trained men who had been born in his camp. Abram led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan. 15 That night he divided his men into groups. And they made a surprise attack against the enemy. They chased them all the way to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then Abram brought back everything the enemy had stolen. Abram brought back the women and the other people. And he also brought back Lot and everything Lot owned.
17 After defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, Abram went home. As Abram was returning, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. (That is now called King’s Valley.)
18 Melchizedek king of Salem also went to meet Abram. Melchizedek was a priest for God Most High. He brought bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,
“Abram, may God Most High give you blessings.
God made heaven and earth.
20 And we praise God Most High.
He has helped you to defeat your enemies.”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had brought back from the battle.
21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “You may keep all these things for yourself. Just give me my people who were captured.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I make a promise to the Lord. He is the God Most High, who made heaven and earth. 23 I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours. I will not keep even a thread or a sandal strap. That way you cannot say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will keep nothing but the food my young men have eaten. But give Aner, Eshcol and Mamre their share of what we won. They went with me into battle.”
A Story About Planting Seed
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Large crowds gathered around him. So Jesus got into a boat and sat, while the people stayed on the shore. 3 Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. 4 While he was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. 5 Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t enough dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, the plants dried up because they did not have deep roots. 7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. 8 Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and became grain. Some plants made 100 times more grain. Other plants made 60 times more grain, and some made 30 times more grain. 9 Let those with ears use them and listen!”
Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach
10 The followers came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you use stories to teach the people?”
11 Jesus answered, “Only you can know the secret truths about the kingdom of heaven. Other people cannot know these secret truths. 12 The person who has something will be given more. And he will have all he needs. But the person who does not have much, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I use stories to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really understand. 14 So they show that the things Isaiah said about them are true:
‘You will listen and listen, but you will not understand.
You will look and look, but you will not learn.
15 For these people have become stubborn.
They do not hear with their ears.
And they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might really understand
what they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears.
They might really understand in their minds.
If they did this, they would come back to me and be forgiven.’ Isaiah 6:9-10
16 But you are blessed. You understand the things you see with your eyes. And you understand the things you hear with your ears. 17 I tell you the truth. Many prophets and good people wanted to see the things that you now see. But they did not see them. And many prophets and good people wanted to hear the things that you now hear. But they did not hear them.
Jesus Explains the Seed Story
18 “So listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer. 19 What is the seed that fell by the road? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching about the kingdom but does not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away the things that were planted in that person’s heart. 20 And what is the seed that fell on rocky ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and quickly accepts it with joy. 21 But he does not let the teaching go deep into his life. He keeps it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching he accepted, then he quickly gives up. 22 And what is the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching but lets worries about this life and love of money stop that teaching from growing. So the teaching does not produce fruit[a] in that person’s life. 23 But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces fruit, sometimes 100 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 30 times more.”
A Story About Wheat and Weeds
24 Then Jesus told them another story. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. 25 That night, when everyone was asleep, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat. Then the enemy went away. 26 Later, the wheat grew and heads of grain grew on the wheat plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. 27 Then the man’s servants came to him and said, ‘You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?’ 28 The man answered, ‘An enemy planted weeds.’ The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to pull up the weeds?’ 29 The man answered, ‘No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. 30 Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At harvest time I will tell the workers this: First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.’”
Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast
31 Then Jesus told another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. A man plants the seed in his field. 32 That seed is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants. It becomes a tree, big enough for the wild birds to come and make nests in its branches.”
33 Then Jesus told another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”
34 Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people. He always used stories to teach people. 35 This is as the prophet said:
“I will speak using stories;
I will tell things that have been secret since the world was made.” Psalm 78:2
Jesus Explains About the Wheat and Weeds
36 Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.”
37 Jesus answered, “The man who planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. And the good seed are all of God’s children in the kingdom. The weeds are those people who belong to the Evil One. 39 And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age. And the workers who gather are God’s angels.
40 “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be this way at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will gather out of his kingdom all who cause sin and all who do evil. 42 The angels will throw them into the blazing furnace. There the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain. 43 Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let those with ears use them and listen!
Stories of a Treasure and a Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. The man was very happy to find the treasure. He went and sold everything that he owned to buy that field.
45 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. 46 One day he found a very valuable pearl. The man went and sold everything he had to buy that pearl.
A Story of a Fishing Net
47 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish. 49 It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. 50 The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace. In that place the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”
51 Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes, we understand.”
52 Then Jesus said to them, “So every teacher of the law who has been taught about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He has both new things and old things saved in his house. And he brings out both those new things and old things.”
Jesus Goes to His Hometown
53 When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there. 54 He went to the town where he grew up. He taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and this power to do miracles? 55 He is only the son of the carpenter. And his mother is Mary. His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. 56 And all his sisters are here with us. So where does this man get all these things?” 57 And the people refused to accept Jesus.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town or in his own home.”
58 The people there did not believe in Jesus. So Jesus did not do many miracles there.
Builders of the Wall
3 Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work. They rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They gave it to the Lord’s service and set its doors in place. They worked as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and they gave it to the Lord’s service. Then they went on to the Tower of Hananel. 2 The men of Jericho built the part of the wall next to the priests. And Zaccur son of Imri built next to them.
3 The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. They set the boards in place. And they put its doors, bolts and bars in place. 4 Meremoth son of Uriah made repairs next to them. (Uriah was the son of Hakkoz.) Meshullam son of Berekiah worked next to Meremoth. (Berekiah was the son of Meshezabel.) And Zadok son of Baana worked next to Meshullam. 5 The men from Tekoa made repairs next to them. But the leading men of Tekoa would not work under their supervisors.
6 Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They set its boards in place. And they put its doors, bolts and bars in place. 7 Next to them, men from Gibeon and Mizpah made repairs. Melatiah was from Gibeon, and Jadon was from Meronoth. These places were ruled by the governor west of the Euphrates River. 8 Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah made repairs. He was a goldsmith. And next to him, Hananiah made repairs. He was one of the people who made perfume. These men rebuilt Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 The next part of the wall was repaired by Rephaiah son of Hur. He was ruler of half of the district of Jerusalem. 10 Next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs. He worked opposite his own house. And next to him, Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another part of the wall. And they repaired the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh made repairs. He was ruler of half of the district of Jerusalem. His daughters helped him.
13 Hanun and the people of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and put its doors, bolts and bars in place. They also repaired the 500 yards of the wall to the Trash Gate.
14 Malkijah son of Recab repaired the Trash Gate. He was ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt that gate and put its doors, bolts and bars in place.
15 Shallun son of Col-Hozeh repaired the Fountain Gate. He was ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it and put a roof over it. And he put its doors, bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam. It is next to the King’s Garden. He repaired the wall all the way to the steps. They went down from the older part of the city. 16 Next to Shallun, Nehemiah[a] son of Azbuk made repairs. He was ruler of half of the district of Beth Zur. He made repairs up to a place opposite the tombs of David. He made repairs as far as the man-made pool and the House of the Heroes.
17 Next to him, the Levites made repairs. Some worked under Rehum son of Bani. Next to him, Hashabiah made repairs for his district. He was ruler of half of the district of Keilah. 18 Next to him, Binnui son of Henadad and his relatives made repairs. Binnui was the ruler of the other half of the district of Keilah. 19 Next to them, Ezer son of Jeshua worked. He was ruler of Mizpah. He repaired another part of the wall. He worked across from the way up to the storehouse for weapons. And he worked to the place where the wall turns. 20 Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai worked very hard to repair another part of the wall. It went from the place where the wall turns to the entrance of the house of Eliashib. He was the high priest. 21 Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah worked. (Uriah was the son of Hakkoz.) He repaired another part of the wall. It went from the entrance to Eliashib’s house to the far end of it.
22 Next to him worked the priests from the surrounding area. 23 Next to them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their own house. Next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah made repairs beside his own house. (Maaseiah was the son of Ananiah.) 24 Next to him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another part of the wall. It went from Azariah’s house to the place where the wall turned. And it went to the corner. 25 Palal son of Uzai worked across from the place where the wall turned. And he worked by the tower on the upper palace. That is near the courtyard of the king’s guard. Next to Palal, Pedaiah son of Parosh made repairs. 26 The Temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel. They made repairs as far as a point opposite the Water Gate. They worked toward the east and the tower that extends from the palace. 27 Next to them, the men of Tekoa made repairs. They worked on the wall from the great tower that extends from the palace to the wall of Ophel.
28 The priests made repairs above the Horse Gate. Each worked in front of his own house. 29 Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs across from his own house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah made repairs. He was the guard of the East Gate. 30 Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, made repairs. They worked on another part of the wall. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs. It was across from where he lived. 31 Next to him, Malkijah made repairs. He was one of the goldsmiths. He worked as far as the house of the Temple servants and the traders. That is across from the Inspection Gate. And he worked as far as the room above the corner of the wall. 32 The goldsmiths and the traders made repairs on another part of the wall. It was between the room above the corner of the wall and the Sheep Gate.
Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen
13 In the church at Antioch there were these prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (also called Niger), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene), Manaen (who had grown up with Herod, the ruler) and Saul. 2 They were all worshiping the Lord and giving up eating.[a] The Holy Spirit said to them, “Give Barnabas and Saul to me to do a special work. I have chosen them for it.”
3 So they gave up eating and prayed. They laid their hands on[b] Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus
4 Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went to the city of Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. 5 When they came to Salamis, they preached the Good News of God in the Jewish synagogues. John Mark was with them to help.
6 They went across the whole island to Paphos. In Paphos they met a Jew who was a magician. His name was Bar-Jesus. He was a false prophet, 7 who always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor. Sergius Paulus was a smart man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the message of God. 8 But Elymas, the magician (that is what his name means), was against them. He tried to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. 9 But Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Saul’s other name was Paul.) He looked straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies. You are always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies! 11 Now the Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.”
Then everything became dark for Elymas. He walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw this, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas Leave Cyprus
13 Paul and those with him sailed away from Paphos. They came to Perga, in Pamphylia. But John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their trip from Perga and went to Antioch, a city in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas: “Brothers, if you have any message that will encourage the people, please speak!”
16 Paul stood up. He raised his hand and said, “Men of Israel and you other people who worship God, please listen! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors. He made the people great during the time they lived in Egypt. He brought them out of that country with great power. 18 And he was patient with them[c] for 40 years in the desert. 19 God destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave the land to his people. 20 All this happened in about 450 years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king. God gave them Saul son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was king for 40 years. 22 After God took him away, God made David their king. This is what God said about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse. He is the kind of man I want. He will do all that I want him to do.’ 23 So God has brought one of David’s descendants to Israel to be their Savior. That descendant is Jesus. And God promised to do this. 24 Before Jesus came, John[d] preached to all the people of Israel. He told them about a baptism of changed hearts and lives. 25 When he was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the Christ. He is coming later. I am not worthy to untie his sandals.’
26 “Brothers, sons in the family of Abraham, and you non-Jews who worship God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not realize that Jesus was the Savior. They did not understand the words that the prophets wrote, which are read every Sabbath day. But they made them come true when they said Jesus was guilty. 28 They could not find any real reason for Jesus to die, but they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 They did to him all that the Scriptures had said. Then they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him up from death! 31 After this, for many days, the people who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him. They are now his witnesses to the people. 32 We tell you the Good News about the promise God made to our ancestors. 33 We are their children, and God has made this promise come true for us. God did this by raising Jesus from death. We read about this also in Psalm 2:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’ Psalm 2:7
34 God raised Jesus from death. He will never go back to the grave and become dust. So God said:
‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings
that I promised to David.’ Isaiah 55:3
35 But in another place God says:
‘You will not let your Holy One
rot in the grave.’ Psalm 16:10
36 David did God’s will during his lifetime. Then he died and was buried with his fathers. And his body did rot in the grave! 37 But the One God raised from death did not rot in the grave. 38-39 Brothers, you must understand what we are telling you: You can have forgiveness of your sins through Jesus. The law of Moses could not free you from your sins. But everyone who believes is free from all sins through him. 40 Be careful! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:
41 ‘Listen, you people who doubt!
You can wonder, and then die.
I will do something in your lifetime that will amaze you.
You won’t believe it even when you are told about it!’” Habakkuk 1:5
42 While Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people asked them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 After the meeting, many Jews followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. With the Jews there were many who had changed to the Jewish religion and worshiped God. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God’s kindness.
44 On the next Sabbath day, almost all the people in the city came to hear the word of the Lord. 45 Seeing the crowd, the Jews became very jealous. They said insulting things and argued against what Paul said. 46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke very boldly. They said, “We must speak the message of God to you first. But you refuse to listen. You are judging yourselves not worthy of having eternal life! So we will now go to the people of other nations! 47 This is what the Lord told us to do. The Lord said:
‘I have made you a light for the non-Jewish nations.
You will show people all over the world the way to be saved.’” Isaiah 49:6
48 When the non-Jewish people heard Paul say this, they were happy. They gave honor to the message of the Lord. And many of the people believed the message. They were the ones chosen to have life forever.
49 And so the message of the Lord was spreading through the whole country. 50 But the Jews stirred up some of the important religious women and the leaders of the city against Paul and Barnabas. They started trouble against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their area. 51 So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet[e] and went to Iconium. 52 But the followers were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.