M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Isaac is Born
21 The Lord came to Sarah, just as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the very time that God had told him.
3 Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac—the very one whom Sarah bore for him! 4 On the eighth day after his son Isaac had been born,[a] Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Now Sarah had said, “God has caused me to laugh,[b] and all who hear about it[c] will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse sons? Yet I have given birth to a son in my husband’s[d] old age!”
Hagar and Ishmael Leave
8 The child grew and eventually was weaned, so Abraham threw a tremendous banquet on the very day Isaac was weaned. 9 Nevertheless, when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian—whom Hagar had borne to Abraham—making fun of Isaac,[e] 10 she told Abraham, “Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave’s son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!”
11 Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son, 12 but God told Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac. 13 Nevertheless, I will make the slave girl’s son into a nation, since he, too, is your offspring.”
14 So early the next morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a leather bottle of water, gave them to Hagar, and placed them on her shoulder. He then sent her away, along with the child. She went off and roamed in the Beer-sheba wilderness. 15 Eventually, the water in the leather bottle ran out, so she placed the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat by herself about a distance of a bowshot away, because she kept saying to herself, “I can’t bear to watch the child die!” That’s why she sat a short distance away, crying aloud and weeping.
The Lord Rescues Hagar and Ishmael
17 God heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. He asked her, “What’s wrong with you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the youth where he is. 18 Get up! Pick up the youth and grab his hand, because I will make a great nation of his descendants.”[f] 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went, filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He settled in the wilderness and became an expert archer. 21 Later he settled in the desert area of Paran, and his mother chose a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
A Covenant with Abimelech
22 About that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, told Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you’re doing. 23 Therefore swear an oath here by God that you won’t deal falsely with me, my sons, or my descendants. Just as I’ve dealt graciously with you, won’t you do so with me and with the land in which you live as a foreigner?”
24 And Abraham replied, “I agree!” 25 But then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized.
26 “I don’t know who did this thing,” Abimelech replied. “You didn’t report this to me, and I didn’t hear about it until today.”
27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and presented them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 Then Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs, 29 so Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set aside?”
30 He replied, “You are to accept from me these seven ewe lambs as a witness that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba, because the two of them swore an oath.[g] 32 So after they had made a covenant in Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to Philistine territory.
33 Abraham[h] planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord God Everlasting. 34 After this, Abraham resided as a foreigner in Philistine territory for a long period of time.
The Workers in the Vineyard
20 “The kingdom from[a] heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing to pay the workers one denarius[b] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock,[c] he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. 4 He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard, too, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So off they went. He went out again about noon[d] and about three o’clock[e] and did the same thing. 6 About five o’clock[f] he went out and found some others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why are you standing here all day long without work?’ 7 They told him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard as well.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his manager, ‘Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with[g] the first.’ 9 Those who were hired at five o’clock[h] came, and each received a denarius.
10 “When the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each received a denarius as well. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner, 12 ‘These last fellows worked only one hour, but you paid them the same as us, and we’ve been working all day,[i] enduring the scorching heat!’
13 “But he told one of them, ‘Friend, I’m not treating you unfairly. You did agree with me for a denarius, didn’t you? 14 Take what is yours and go. I want to give this last man as much as I gave you.[j] 15 I am allowed to do what I want with my own money,[k] am I not? Or are you envious[l] because I’m generous?’
16 “In the same way, the last will be first, and the first will be last, because many are called, but few are chosen.”[m]
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time(A)
17 When Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples[n] aside and told them as they were walking along, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 Then they will hand him over to unbelievers[o] to be mocked, whipped, and crucified, but on the third day he will be raised.”
The Request of James and John(B)
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus[p] with her sons. She bowed down in front of him to ask him for a favor. 21 He asked her, “What do you want?”
She told him, “Promise[q] that in your kingdom these two sons of mine will sit on your right and on your left.”
22 Jesus replied, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink from the cup that I’m going to drink from?”[r]
They told him, “We can.”
23 He told them, “You will indeed drink from my cup. But it’s not up to me to grant you a seat at my right hand or at my left. These positions have already been prepared for others by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard this, they became furious with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called the disciples[s] and said, “You know that the rulers of the unbelievers[t] lord it over them and their superiors act like tyrants over them. 26 That’s not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. 28 That’s the way it is with the Son of Man. He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men(C)
29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus.[u] 30 When two blind men who were sitting by the roadside heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Have mercy on us, Lord,[v] Son of David!” 31 When the crowd told them harshly to be silent, they shouted even louder, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They told him, “Lord, we want to be able to see!”[w] 34 Then Jesus, deeply moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and at once they could see again. So they followed him.
Signatories to the Agreement
10 [a]Here is a list of those who signed: Hacaliah’s son Nehemiah the governor, Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah, 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 were the descendants of Levi: Azaniah’s son Jeshua, Binnui from the descendants of Henadad, Kadmiel, 10 also their relatives Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The leaders of the people included[b] 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.
Commitments of the Covenant
28 The rest of the people, the priests, the descendants of Levi, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple Servants, and everyone who had separated themselves from the peoples of the surrounding[c] lands for the Law of God—their wives, their sons, their daughters, and all who had knowledge and understanding— 29 joined with their relatives and their leaders. They entered into an oath—enforced by a curse[d]—to walk in God’s Law that was given through God’s servant Moses, and to be careful to obey all of the commands of the Lord, our Lord, as well as his regulations and statutes: 30 “We will not give our daughters in marriage[e] to the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons. 31 As for the people of the land who bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. We will forego planting crops, and we will cancel debts during every seventh year.”
Commitments for Temple Service
32 We also obligated ourselves to contribute annually a third of a shekel[f] for services relating to the Temple of our God— 33 for the bread set out on the table,[g] for the daily grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbath offerings, for the New Moon festivals, for the appointed festivals, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the service of the Temple of our God.
34 We—the priests, the descendants of Levi, and the people—cast lots to determine when to bring the wood offering into the Temple of our God, just as our ancestors’ families were appointed annually to maintain the altar fire of the Lord our God, as recorded in the Law. 35 We also cast lots to determine when[h] to bring the first fruits of our land and the annual first fruits of all fruit of every tree to the Temple of the Lord, 36 as well as the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as recorded in the Law, along with the firstlings of our herds and our flocks, to present to the Temple of our God for the priests that minister in the Temple of our God. 37 We also determined[i] to present the first fruits of our ground grain, our offerings, the fruit of all kinds of trees, wines, and oil to the priests, to the chambers of the Temple of our God, and the tithes of our land to the descendants of Levi, so those descendants of Levi could collect the tithes in all the towns where we worked: 38 “And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, will be with the descendants of Levi when the descendants of Levi receive tithes, and the descendants of Levi will bring the tithe of the tithes into the store rooms of the Temple of our God. 39 For the Israelis and the descendants of Levi will bring the grain offering, the wine, and the oil into the chambers where the vessels of the sanctuary are, along with the ministering priests, the porters, and the singers. We will not neglect the Temple of our God.”
Paul’s Trip to Macedonia and Greece
20 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. Then he said goodbye to them and left to go to Macedonia. 2 He went through those regions and encouraged the people[a] with everything he had to say. Then he went to Greece 3 and stayed there for three months. When he was about to sail for Syria, a plot was initiated against him by the Jews, so he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater (the son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. 6 After the Festival[b] of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi, and days later we joined them in Troas and stayed there for seven days.
Paul’s Farewell Visit to Troas
7 On the first day of the week, when we had met to break bread, Paul began to address the people.[c] Since he intended to leave the next day, he went on speaking until midnight. 8 Now there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in a window, began to sink off into a deep sleep as Paul kept speaking longer and longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down, bent over[d] him, took him into his arms, and said, “Stop being alarmed, because he’s still alive.” 11 Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. He talked with them for a long time, until dawn, and then left. 12 They took the young man away alive and were greatly relieved.
Paul’s Trip to Miletus
13 We proceeded to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we intended to pick up Paul. He had arranged it this way, since he had planned to travel there on foot. 14 When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 We sailed from there and on the following day arrived off Chios. The next day, we crossed over to Samos and stayed at Trogyllium.[e] The day after that, we came to Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in Asia, as he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.
Paul Meets with the Ephesian Elders
17 From Miletus he sent messengers[f] to Ephesus to ask the elders of the church to meet with him. 18 When they came to him, he told them, “You know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day I set foot in Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank from telling you anything that would help you nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus.[g] 22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that in town after town the Holy Spirit assures me that imprisonment and suffering are waiting for me. 24 But I don’t place any value on my life, if only I can finish my race and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I traveled preaching about the kingdom will ever see my face again. 26 I therefore declare to you today that I’m not responsible for the blood of any of you, 27 because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God. 28 Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to be shepherds of God’s[h] church, which he acquired with his own blood. 29 I know that when I’m gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. 30 Indeed, some of your own men will arise and distort the truth in order to lure the disciples into following them. 31 So be alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped tearfully warning each of you.
32 “I’m now entrusting you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and secure for you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I never desired anyone’s silver, gold, or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who were with me. 35 In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”[i]
36 When Paul[j] had said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them. 37 All of them cried and cried[k] as they put their arms around Paul and kissed[l] him affectionately. 38 They were especially sorrowful because of what he had said—that they would never see his face again. Then they took him to the ship.
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