M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abram Promised a Son
15 After these things (A)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 Abram said, “O Lord [b]God, what will You give me, since I [c]am childless, and the [d]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “[e]Since You have given no [f]offspring to me, [g]one (E)born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; (F)but one who will come forth from your own [h]body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and (G)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “(H)So shall your [i]descendants be.” 6 (I)Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of (J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (K)give you this land to [j]possess it.” 8 He said, “O Lord [k]God, (L)how may I know that I will [l]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[m]Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he [n]brought all these to Him and (M)cut them [o]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he (N)did not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, (O)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, [p]terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that (P)your [q]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, [r]where (Q)they will be enslaved and oppressed (R)four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out (S)with [s]many possessions. 15 As for you, (T)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in (U)the fourth generation they will return here, for (V)the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which (W)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(X)To your [t]descendants I have given this land,
From (Y)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (Z)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 (A)At that [a]time (B)Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “(C)This is John the Baptist; [b]he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 For when (D)Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him (E)in prison because of (F)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [c]John as (H)a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of (I)Herodias danced [d]before them and pleased (J)Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of [e]his dinner guests. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried [f]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
Five Thousand Fed
13 (K)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the [g]people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He went [h]ashore, He (L)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and (M)healed their sick.
15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already [i]late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 They *said to Him, “We have here only (N)five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Ordering the [j]people to [k]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (O)blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full (P)baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 (Q)Immediately He [l]made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, (R)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already [m]a long distance from the land, [n]battered by the waves; for the wind was [o](S)contrary. 25 And in (T)the [p]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is (U)a ghost!” And they cried out [q]in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “(V)Take courage, it is I; (W)do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “(X)You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly (Y)God’s Son!”
34 (Z)When they had crossed over, they came to land at (AA)Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place [r]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they implored Him that they might just touch (AB)the fringe of His cloak; and as many as (AC)touched it were cured.
Work Is Ridiculed
4 [a]Now it came about that when (A)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. 2 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and (B)the [b]wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the [c](C)dusty rubble even the burned ones?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—(D)if a fox should [d]jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”
4 (E)Hear, O our God, how we are despised! (F)Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not [e](G)forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have [f]demoralized the builders.
6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a [g]mind to work.
7 [h]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the [i]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them (H)conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.
Discouragement Overcome
9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we (I)set up a guard against them day and night.
10 Thus [j]in Judah it was said,
“The strength of the burden bearers is failing,
Yet there is much [k]rubbish;
And we ourselves are unable
To rebuild the wall.”
11 Our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.” 12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “[l]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” 13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the [m]exposed places, and I (J)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows. 14 When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “(K)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and (L)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that (M)God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah. 17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18 As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while [n]the trumpeter stood near me. 19 I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. 20 At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, [o]rally to us there. (N)Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from [p]dawn until the stars [q]appeared. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” 23 So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.
Acceptance and Opposition
14 In (A)Iconium (B)they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner (C)that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of (D)Greeks. 2 But (E)the Jews who [a](F)disbelieved stirred up the [b]minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against (G)the brethren. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there (H)speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that [c](I)signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4 (J)But the [d]people of the city were divided; and some [e]sided with (K)the Jews, and some with (L)the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and (M)the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to (N)stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of (O)Lycaonia, (P)Lystra and (Q)Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to (R)preach the gospel.
8 At (S)Lystra (T)a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, (U)when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had (V)faith to be [f]made well, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” (W)And he leaped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the (X)Lycaonian language, “(Y)The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” 12 And they began calling Barnabas, [g]Zeus, and Paul, [h]Hermes, because he was [i]the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was [j]just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and (Z)wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when (AA)the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they (AB)tore their [k]robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also (AC)men of the same nature as you, and (AD)preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these [l](AE)vain things to a (AF)living God, (AG)who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 [m]In the generations gone by He (AH)permitted all the [n]nations to (AI)go their own ways; 17 and yet (AJ)He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and (AK)gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, [o]satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
19 But (AL)Jews came from (AM)Antioch and (AN)Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they (AO)stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while (AP)the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to (AQ)Derbe. 21 After they had (AR)preached the gospel to that city and had (AS)made many disciples, they returned to (AT)Lystra and to (AU)Iconium and to (AV)Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of (AW)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in (AX)the faith, and saying, “(AY)Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When (AZ)they had appointed (BA)elders for them in every church, having (BB)prayed with fasting, they (BC)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 They passed through (BD)Pisidia and came into (BE)Pamphylia. 25 When they had spoken the word in (BF)Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to (BG)Antioch, from (BH)which they had been (BI)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had [p]accomplished. 27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to (BJ)report all things that God had done with them and [q]how He had opened a (BK)door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent [r]a long time with (BL)the disciples.
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