M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
A Baby for Sarah
21 The Lord cared for Sarah as he had said. He did for her what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant. And she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. 3 Abraham named his son Isaac. Sarah gave birth to this son of Abraham. 4 Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded.
5 Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.[a] Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. 7 No one thought that I would be able to have Abraham’s child. But I have given Abraham a son while he is old.”
Hagar and Ishmael
8 Isaac grew and became old enough to eat food. At that time Abraham gave a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.) 10 So Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave woman and her son. When we die, our son Isaac will inherit everything we have. I don’t want her son to inherit any of our things.”
11 This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac. 13 I will also make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation. I will do this because he is your son, too.”
14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Hagar carried these things and her son. She went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
15 Later, all the water was gone from the bag. So Hagar put her son under a bush. 16 Then she went away a short distance and sat down. Hagar thought, “My son will die. I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry.
17 God heard the boy crying. And God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. 18 Help the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.”
19 Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water. Then she gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert. He learned to shoot with a bow very well. 21 He lived in the Desert of Paran. His mother found a wife for him in Egypt.
Abraham’s Bargain with Abimelech
22 Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of Abimelech’s army. They said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 So make a promise to me here before God. Promise that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger. Be as kind to me as I have been to you.”
24 And Abraham said, “I promise.” 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about Abimelech’s servants. They had captured a well of water.
26 But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today.”
27 Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle. And they made an agreement. 28 Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech.
29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?”
30 Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me. That will prove that you believe I dug this well.”
31 So that place was called Beersheba[b] because they made a promise to each other there.
32 So Abraham and Abimelech made an agreement at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.
33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba. There Abraham prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. 34 And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
A Story About Vineyard Workers
20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. 2 The man agreed to pay the workers one silver coin[a] for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. 3 About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. 4 So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o’clock and again at three o’clock. Both times he hired people to work in his vineyard. 6 About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ 7 They answered, ‘No one gave us a job.’ The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the workers I hired first.’
9 “The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker received one silver coin. 10 Then the workers who were hired first came to get their pay. They thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one silver coin. 11 When they got their silver coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. 12 They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as you paid us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ 13 But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. 14 So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. 15 I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’
16 “So those who are last now will someday be first. And those who are first now will someday be last.”
Jesus Talks About His Own Death
17 Jesus was going to Jerusalem. His 12 followers were with him. While they were on the way, Jesus gathered the followers together and spoke to them privately. He said to them, 18 “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law. They will say that he must die. 19 They will give the Son of Man to the non-Jewish people. They will laugh at him and beat him with whips, and then they will kill him on a cross. But on the third day after his death, he will be raised to life again.”
A Mother Asks Jesus a Favor
20 Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus. Her sons were with her. The mother bowed before Jesus and asked him to do something for her.
21 Jesus asked, “What do you want?”
She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side in your kingdom. And promise that the other son will sit at your left side.”
22 But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you accept the kind of suffering that I must suffer?”[b]
The sons answered, “Yes, we can!”
23 Jesus said to them, “Truly you will suffer the same things that I will suffer. But I cannot choose who will sit at my right side or my left side. Those places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”
24 The other ten followers heard this and were angry with the two brothers.
25 Jesus called all the followers together. He said, “You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. 26 But it should not be that way among you. If one of you wants to become great, then he must serve the rest of you like a servant. 27 If one of you wants to become first, then he must serve the rest of you like a slave. 28 So it is with the Son of Man. The Son of Man did not come for other people to serve him. He came to serve others. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a great many people followed Jesus. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. The blind men heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
31 All the people criticized the blind men. They told them to be quiet. But the blind men shouted more and more, “Lord, Son of David, please help us!”
32 Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They answered, “Lord, we want to be able to see.”
34 Jesus felt sorry for the blind men. He touched their eyes, and at once they were able to see. Then the men followed Jesus.
10 These are the men who sealed the agreement:
Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, sealed it.
These men also sealed it: Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah. These are the priests.
9 These are the Levites who sealed it: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, 10 and their fellow Levites: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani and Beninu.
14 These are the leaders of the people who sealed the agreement: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim and Baanah.
28 The rest of the people took an oath. They were the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers and Temple servants. And they were all those who separated themselves from foreigners to keep the Teachings of God. It was also their wives and their sons and daughters who could understand. 29 They joined their fellow Israelites and their leading men. They took an oath, which was tied to a curse in case they broke the oath. They promised to follow the Teachings of God, which they had been given through Moses the servant of God. These people also promised to obey all the commands, rules and laws of the Lord our Master.
30 They said:
We promise not to let our daughters marry foreigners. And we promise not to let our sons marry their daughters. 31 The foreigners might bring goods or grain to sell on the Sabbath. But we will not buy on the Sabbath day or any holy day. Every seventh year we will not plant. And that year we will forget all that people owe us.
32 We will be responsible for obeying the commands. We will pay for the service of the Temple of our God. We will give an eighth of an ounce of silver each year. 33 It is to pay for the bread that is set out on the table. It is to pay for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings. It is for the offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moon festivals and special feasts. It is for the holy offerings. And it is for the offerings to remove the sins of the Israelites so they will belong to God. It is for the work of the Temple of our God.
34 We are the priests, the Levites and the people. We have thrown lots to decide when each family must bring wood to the Temple. This is to be done at certain times each year. The wood is for burning on the altar of the Lord our God. We will do this as it is written in the Teachings.
35 We also will bring the first fruits from our crops. And we will bring the first fruits of every tree to the Temple each year.
36 We will bring our firstborn sons and cattle to the Temple. We will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks. We will do this as it is written in the Teachings. We will bring them to the priests who are serving in the Temple.
37 We will bring things to the priests at the storerooms of the Temple. We will bring the first of our ground meal, our offerings, the fruit from all our trees and our new wine and oil. And we will bring a tenth of our crops to the Levites. The Levites will collect these things in all the towns where we work. 38 A priest of Aaron’s family must be with the Levites when they receive the tenth of the people’s crops. The Levites must bring a tenth of all they receive to the Temple of our God. Then they will put it in the storerooms of the treasury. 39 The people of Israel and the Levites are to bring their gifts to the storerooms. These are the gifts of grain, new wine and oil. The things for the Temple are kept in the storerooms. It is also where the priests, who are serving, the gatekeepers and singers stay.
We will not ignore the Temple of our God.
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 When the trouble stopped, Paul sent for the followers to come to him. He encouraged them and then told them good-bye. Paul left and went to the country of Macedonia. 2 He said many things to strengthen the followers in the different places on his way through Macedonia. Then he went to Southern Greece. 3 He stayed there three months. He was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So Paul decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria. 4 Some men went with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from the city of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from the city of Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, two men from Asia. 5 These men went first, ahead of Paul, and waited for us at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we met them in Troas five days later. We stayed there seven days.
Paul’s Last Visit to Troas
7 On the first day of the week,[a] we all met together to break bread.[b] Paul spoke to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he kept on talking till midnight. 8 We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lamps in the room. 9 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window. As Paul continued talking, Eutychus was falling into a deep sleep. Finally, he went sound asleep and fell to the ground from the third floor. When they picked him up, he was dead. 10 Paul went down to Eutychus. He knelt down and put his arms around him. He said, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” 11 Then Paul went upstairs again, broke bread, and ate. He spoke to them a long time, until it was early morning. Then he left. 12 They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
The Trip from Troas to Miletus
13 We sailed for the city of Assos. We went first, ahead of Paul. He wanted to join us on the ship there. Paul planned it this way because he wanted to go to Assos by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. 15 The next day, we sailed from Mitylene and came to a place near Chios. The next day, we sailed to Samos. A day later, we reached Miletus. 16 Paul had already decided not to stop at Ephesus. He did not want to stay too long in Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.
The Elders from Ephesus
17 Now from Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said, “You know about my life from the first day I came to Asia. You know the way I lived all the time I was with you. 19 The Jews plotted against me. This troubled me very much. But you know that I always served the Lord. I never thought of myself first, and I often cried. 20 You know I preached to you, and I did not hold back anything that would help you. You know that I taught you in public and in your homes. 21 I warned both Jews and Greeks to change their lives and turn to God. And I told them all to believe in our Lord Jesus. 22 But now I must obey the Holy Spirit and go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. 23 I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit tells me that troubles and even jail wait for me. 24 I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.
25 “And now, I know that none of you will ever see me again. All the time I was with you, I was preaching the kingdom of God. 26 So today I can tell you one thing that I am sure of: If any of you should be lost, I am not responsible. 27 This is because I have told you everything God wants you to know. 28 Be careful for yourselves and for all the people God has given you. The Holy Spirit gave you the work of caring for this flock. You must be like shepherds to the church of God.[c] This is the church that God bought with his own death. 29 I know that after I leave, some men will come like wild wolves and try to destroy the flock. 30 Also, men from your own group will rise up and twist the truth. They will lead away followers after them. 31 So be careful! Always remember this: For three years I never stopped warning each of you. I taught you night and day. I often cried over you.
32 “Now I am putting you in the care of God and the message about his grace. That message is able to give you strength, and it will give you the blessings that God has for all his holy people. 33 When I was with you, I never wanted anyone’s money or fine clothes. 34 You know that I always worked to take care of my own needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35 I showed you in all things that you should work as I did and help the weak. I taught you to remember the words of Jesus. He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 When Paul had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37-38 And they all cried because Paul had said that they would never see him again. They put their arms around him and kissed him. Then they went with him to the ship.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.