M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Death and Burial of Sarah
23 Now [a]Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 Sarah died in (A)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham [b]went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the (B)sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am (C)a stranger and a sojourner among you; (D)give me [c]a (E)burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord, you are a [d](F)mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” 7 So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your [e]wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach (G)Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in [f]your presence for [g]a burial site.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even (H)of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me; (I)I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” 12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13 He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred (J)shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham (K)weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the [h]hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, [i]commercial standard.
17 So (L)Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were [j]within all the confines of its border, [k]were deeded over 18 to Abraham for a possession (M)in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it, [l]were (N)deeded over to Abraham for [m]a burial site by the sons of Heth.
Parable of the Marriage Feast
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]may be compared to [b]a king who [c]gave a (B)wedding feast for his son. 3 And he (C)sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he (D)sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own [d]farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to (E)the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with [e]dinner guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw (F)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘(G)Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into (H)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are [f](I)called, but few are (J)chosen.”
Tribute to Caesar
15 (K)Then the Pharisees went and [g]plotted together how they might trap Him [h]in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the (L)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and [i]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it [j]lawful to give a (M)poll-tax to (N)Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their [k]malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the (O)coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a [l]denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “(P)Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and (Q)leaving Him, they went away.
Jesus Answers the Sadducees
23 (R)On that day some (S)Sadducees (who say (T)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘(U)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, (V)not [m]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither (W)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘(X)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, (Y)they were astonished at His teaching.
34 (Z)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (AA)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, [n](AB)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘(AC)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [o]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘(AD)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (AE)On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
41 (AF)Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about [p]the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “(AG)The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David [q](AH)in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44 ‘(AI)The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”’?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 (AJ)No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him [r]another question.
Priests and Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel
12 Now these are (A)the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their [a]kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.
8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was [b]in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. 9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them (B)in their service divisions. 10 Jeshua [c]became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim [d]became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib [e]became the father of Joiada, 11 and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers’ households were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of [f]Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
The Chief Levites
22 As for the Levites, the heads of fathers’ households were registered in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan and Jaddua; so were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers’ households, were registered in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, (C)to praise and give thanks, [g]as prescribed by David the man of God, (D)division corresponding to division. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at (E)the storehouses of the gates. 26 These served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of (F)Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
Dedication of the Wall
27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs (G)to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. 28 So the sons of the singers were assembled from the district around Jerusalem, and from (H)the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 The priests and the Levites (I)purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates and the wall.
Procedures for the Temple
31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great [h]choirs, [i](J)the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward (K)the Refuse Gate. 32 Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them, 33 with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, 36 and his [j]kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, (L)with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At (M)the Fountain Gate they went directly up (N)the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to (O)the Water Gate on the east.
38 (P)The second [k]choir proceeded to the [l]left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, (Q)above the Tower of Furnaces, to (R)the Broad Wall, 39 and above (S)the Gate of Ephraim, by (T)the Old Gate, by the (U)Fish Gate, (V)the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at (W)the Gate of the Guard. 40 Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with the trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. And the singers [m]sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, 43 and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because (X)God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.
44 On that day (Y)men were also appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who [n]served. 45 For they performed the [o]worship of their God and the service of purification, together with the singers and the gatekeepers (Z)in accordance with the command of David and of his son Solomon. 46 For in the days of David and (AA)Asaph, in ancient times, there were [p](AB)leaders of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God. 47 So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers (AC)as each day required, and (AD)set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron.
Paul’s Defense before the Jews
22 “(A)Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the [a](B)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,
3 “(C)I am (D)a Jew, born in (E)Tarsus of (F)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated [b]under (G)Gamaliel, [c](H)strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as (I)you all are today. 4 (J)I persecuted this (K)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also (L)the high priest and all (M)the Council of the elders [d]can testify. From them I also (N)received letters to (O)the brethren, and started off for (P)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [e]as prisoners to be punished.
6 “(Q)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am (R)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me (S)saw the light, to be sure, but (T)did not [f]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘(U)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I (V)could not see because of the [g]brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.
12 “A certain (W)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and (X)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘(Y)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [h](Z)at that very time I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘(AA)The God of our fathers has (AB)appointed you to know His will and to (AC)see the (AD)Righteous One and to hear an [i]utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AE)a witness for Him to all men of (AF)what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? (AG)Get up and be baptized, and (AH)wash away your sins, (AI)calling on His name.’
17 “It happened when I (AJ)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (AK)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘(AL)Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (AM)I used to imprison and (AN)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (AO)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (AP)to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(AQ)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (AR)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and (AS)throwing off their cloaks and (AT)tossing dust into the air, 24 the [j]commander ordered him to be brought into (AU)the barracks, stating that he should be (AV)examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [k]with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [l]lawful for you to scourge (AW)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the [m]commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The [n]commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The [o]commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to (AX)examine him immediately [p]let go of him; and the [q]commander also (AY)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [r](AZ)put him in chains.
30 But on the next day, (BA)wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he (BB)released him and ordered the chief priests and all (BC)the [s]Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.