M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Tricks Isaac
27 When Isaac was old, his eyes were not good. He could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him. Isaac said, “Son.”
Esau answered, “Here I am.”
2 Isaac said, “I am old. I don’t know when I might die. 3 So take your bow and arrows, and go hunting in the field. Kill an animal for me to eat. 4 Prepare the tasty food that I love. Bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die.” 5 So Esau went out in the field to hunt.
Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father talking to your brother Esau. 7 Your father said, ‘Kill an animal. Prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 So obey me, my son. Do what I tell you. 9 Go out to our goats and bring me two young ones. I will prepare them just the way your father likes them. 10 Then you will take the food to your father. And he will bless you before he dies.”
11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man. I am smooth! 12 If my father touches me, he will know I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me. He will place a curse on me because I tried to trick him.”
13 So Rebekah said to him, “If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame. Just do what I said. Go and get the goats for me.”
14 So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother. Then she cooked them in the special way Isaac enjoyed. 15 She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house. She put them on the younger son Jacob. 16 She took the skins of the goats. And she put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. 17 Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 Jacob went in to his father and said, “Father.”
And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?”
19 Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat some meat of the animal I hunted for you. Then bless me.”
20 But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find and kill the animal so quickly?”
Jacob answered, “Because the Lord your God led me to find it.”
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son. If I can touch you, I will know if you are really my son Esau.”
22 So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice. But your hands are hairy like the hands of Esau.” 23 Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 24 Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”
Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.”
25 Then Isaac said, “Bring me the food. I will eat it and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and Isaac ate. Jacob gave him wine, and he drank. 26 Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come near and kiss me.” 27 So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes and blessed him. Isaac said,
“The smell of my son
is like the smell of the field
that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you plenty of rain
and good soil.
Then you will have plenty of grain and wine.
29 May nations serve you.
May peoples bow down to you.
May you be master over your brothers.
May your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May everyone who curses you be cursed.
And may everyone who blesses you be blessed.”
30 Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Then, just as Jacob left his father Isaac, Esau came in from hunting. 31 Esau also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. He said, “Father, rise and eat the food that your son killed for you. Then bless me.”
32 Isaac asked, “Who are you?”
He answered, “I am your son—your firstborn son—Esau.”
33 Then Isaac trembled greatly. He said, “Then who was it that hunted the animals and brought me food before you came? I ate it, and I blessed him. And it is too late now to take back my blessing.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he let out a loud and bitter cry. He said to his father, “Bless me—me, too, my father!”
35 But Isaac said, “Your brother came and tricked me. He has taken your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Jacob[a] is the right name for him. He has tricked me these two times. He took away my share of everything you own. And now he has taken away my blessing.” Then Esau asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered, “I gave Jacob the power to be master over you. And all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept him strong with grain and wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son.”
38 But Esau continued, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me, too, Father!” Then Esau began to cry out loud.
39 Isaac said to him,
“You will live far away from the best land,
far from the rain.
40 You will live by using your sword
and be a slave to your brother.
But when you struggle,
you will break free from him.”
41 After that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing from Isaac. Esau thought to himself, “My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him. After that I will kill Jacob.”
42 Rebekah heard about Esau’s plan to kill Jacob. So she sent for Jacob. She said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. 43 So, son, do what I say. My brother Laban is living in Haran. Go to him at once! 44 Stay with him for a while, until your brother is not so angry. 45 In time, your brother will not be angry. He will forget what you did to him. Then I will send a servant to bring you back. I don’t want to lose both of my sons on the same day.”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of these Hittite women here in this land, I want to die.”
The Plan to Kill Jesus
26 After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers, 2 “You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be killed on a cross.”
3 Then the leading priests and the Jewish elders had a meeting at the palace of the high priest. The high priest’s name was Caiaphas. 4 At the meeting, they planned to set a trap to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5 But they said, “We must not do it during the feast. The people might cause a riot.”
A Woman with Perfume for Jesus
6 Jesus was in Bethany. He was at the house of Simon, who had a harmful skin disease. 7 While Jesus was there, a woman came to him. She had an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.
8 His followers saw the woman do this and were upset. They asked, “Why waste that perfume? 9 It could be sold for a great deal of money, and the money could be given to the poor.”
10 But Jesus knew what happened. He said, “Why are you troubling this woman? She did a very beautiful thing for me. 11 You will always have the poor with you. But you will not always have me. 12 This woman poured perfume on my body to prepare me for burial. 13 I tell you the truth. The Good News will be told to people in all the world. And in every place where it is preached, what this woman has done will be told. And people will remember her.”
Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus
14 Then 1 of the 12 followers went to talk to the leading priests. This was the follower named Judas Iscariot. 15 He said, “I will give Jesus to you. What will you pay me for doing this?” The priests gave Judas 30 silver coins. 16 After that, Judas waited for the best time to give Jesus to the priests.
Jesus Eats the Passover Feast
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to Jesus. They said, “We will prepare everything for you to eat the Passover Feast. Where do you want to have the feast?”
18 Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man. Tell him that the Teacher says, ‘The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover Feast with my followers at your house.’” 19 The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover Feast.
20 In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his 12 followers. 21 They were all eating. Then Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. One of you 12 will turn against me.”
22 This made the followers very sad. Each one said to Jesus, “Surely, Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you. Am I?”
23 Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl is the one who will turn against me. 24 The Son of Man will die. The Scriptures say this will happen. But how terrible it will be for the person who gives the Son of Man to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas said to Jesus, “Teacher, surely I am not the one. Am I?” (Judas is the one who would give Jesus to his enemies.)
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The Lord’s Supper
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it. This bread is my body.”
27 Then Jesus took a cup. He thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. 28 This is my blood which begins the new[a] agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins. 29 I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine[b] again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 They sang a hymn. Then they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will All Leave Him
31 Jesus told the followers, “Tonight you will lose your faith because of me. It is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will kill the shepherd,
and the sheep will scatter.’ Zechariah 13:7
32 But after I rise from death, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter said, “All the other followers may lose their faith because of you. But I will never lose my faith.”
34 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Tonight you will say you don’t know me. You will say this three times before the rooster crows.”
35 But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone
36 Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He told Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to come with him. Then Jesus began to be very sad and troubled. 38 He said to Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, “My heart is full of sorrow and breaking with sadness. Stay here with me and watch.”
39 Then Jesus walked a little farther away from them. He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup[c] of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” 40 Then Jesus went back to his followers and found them asleep. Jesus said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. Your spirit wants to do what is right. But your body is weak.”
42 Then Jesus went away a second time. He prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, then I pray that what you want will be done.”
43 Then Jesus went back to the followers. Again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So Jesus left them and went away one more time and prayed. This third time he prayed, he said the same thing.
45 Then Jesus went back to the followers and said, “You are still sleeping and resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be given to sinful people. 46 Get up. We must go. Here comes the man who has turned against me.”
Jesus Is Arrested
47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas came up. Judas was 1 of the 12 followers. He had many people with him. They had been sent from the leading priests and the elders of the people. They carried swords and clubs. 48 Judas had planned to give them a signal. He had said, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him.” 49 At once Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” Then Judas kissed him.
50 Jesus answered, “Friend, do the thing you came to do.”
Then the men came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51 When that happened, one of Jesus’ followers reached for his sword and pulled it out. The follower struck the servant of the high priest with the sword and cut off his ear.
52 Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. All who use swords will be killed with swords. 53 Surely you know I could ask my Father, and he would give me more than 12 armies of angels. 54 But this thing must happen this way so that it will be as the Scriptures say.”
55 Then Jesus said to the crowd, “You came to get me with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple teaching. You did not arrest me there. 56 But all these things have happened so that it will be as the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
Jesus Before the Leaders
57 Those men who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. The teachers of the law and the Jewish elders were gathered there. 58 Peter followed Jesus but did not go near him. He followed Jesus to the courtyard of the high priest’s house. He sat down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.
59 The leading priests and the Jewish council tried to find something false against Jesus so that they could kill him. 60 Many people came and told lies about him. But the council could find no real reason to kill Jesus. Then two people came and said, 61 “This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63 But Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “You must swear to this. I command you by the power of the living God to tell us the truth. Tell us, are you the Christ, the Son of God?”
64 Jesus answered, “Yes, I am. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One. And you will see him coming in clouds in the sky.”
65 When the high priest heard this, he was very angry. He tore his clothes and said, “This man has said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses. You all heard him say these things against God. 66 What do you think?”
The people answered, “He is guilty, and he must die.”
67 Then the people there spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. Others slapped Jesus. 68 They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ! Tell us who hit you!”
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
69 At that time, Peter was sitting in the courtyard. A servant girl came to him and said, “You were with Jesus, that man from Galilee.”
70 But Peter said that he was never with Jesus. He said this to all the people there. Peter said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71 Then he left the courtyard. At the gate, another girl saw him. She said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again, Peter said that he was never with Jesus. Peter said, “I swear that I don’t know this man Jesus!”
73 A short time later, some people standing there went to Peter. They said, “We know you are one of those men who followed Jesus. We know this because of the way you talk.”
74 Then Peter began to curse. He said, “May a curse fall on me if I’m not telling the truth. I don’t know the man.” After Peter said this, a rooster crowed. 75 Then he remembered what Jesus had told him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.
Haman Plans to Destroy the Jews
3 After these things happened, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He gave Haman a new rank that was higher than all the important men. 2 And all the royal officers at the king’s gate would bow down and kneel before Haman. This was what the king had ordered. But Mordecai would not bow down, and he did not kneel.
3 Then the royal officers at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why don’t you obey the king’s command?” 4 And they said this to him every day. When he did not listen to them, they told Haman about it. They wanted to see if Haman would accept Mordecai’s behavior because Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.
5 Then Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down to him or kneel before him. And he became very angry. 6 He had been told who the people of Mordecai were. And he thought of himself as too important to try to kill only Mordecai. So he looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, in all of Xerxes’ kingdom.
7 It was in the first month of the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ rule. That is the month of Nisan. Pur (that is, the lot) was thrown before Haman. The lot was used to choose a day and a month. So the twelfth month, the month of Adar, was chosen.
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain group of people in all the areas of your kingdom. They are scattered among the other people. They keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all the other people. And they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not right for you to allow them to continue living in your kingdom. 9 If it pleases the king, let an order be given to destroy those people. Then I will pay 375 tons of silver to those who do the king’s business. They will put it into the royal treasury.”
10 So the king took his signet ring off and gave it to Haman. Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, was the enemy of the Jews. 11 Then the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are yours. Do with them as you please.”
12 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal secretaries were called. They wrote out all of Haman’s orders. They wrote to the king’s governors and to the captains of the soldiers in each area. And they wrote to the important men of each group of people. The orders were written to each area in its own form of writing. And they were written to each group of people in their own language. They were written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with his signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by messengers to all the king’s empire. They stated the king’s order to destroy, kill and completely wipe out all the Jews. That meant young and old, women and little children, too. The order said to kill all the Jews on a single day. That was to be the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which was Adar. And it said to take all the things that belonged to the Jews. 14 A copy of the order was to be given out as a law in every area. It was to be made known to all the people so that they would be ready for that day.
15 The messengers set out, hurried by the king’s command. At the same time the order was given in the palace at Susa. And the king and Haman sat down to drink. But the city of Susa was in confusion.
Paul Defends Himself
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak to defend yourself.”
Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak. 2 He said, “King Agrippa, I will answer all the charges that the Jews make against me. I think it is a blessing that I can stand here before you today. 3 I am very happy to talk to you, because you know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things that the Jews argue about. Please listen to me patiently.
4 “All the Jews know about my whole life. They know the way I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group of Jewish people. 6 Now I am on trial because I hope for the promise that God made to our ancestors. 7 This is the promise that the 12 tribes of our people hope to receive. For this hope the Jews serve God day and night. My king, the Jews have accused me because I hope for this same promise! 8 Why do any of you people think it is impossible for God to raise people from death?
9 “I too thought I ought to do many things against Jesus from Nazareth. 10 And in Jerusalem I did many things against God’s people. The leading priests gave me the power to put many of them in jail. When they were being killed, I agreed that it was a good thing. 11 In every synagogue, I often punished them. I tried to make them say evil things against Jesus. I was so angry against them that I even went to other cities to find them and punish them.
12 “One time the leading priests gave me permission and the power to go to Damascus. 13 On the way there, at noon, I saw a light from heaven. The light was brighter than the sun. It flashed all around me and the men who were traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice speaking to me in the Jewish language.[a] The voice said, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you doing things against me? You are only hurting yourself by fighting me.’ 15 I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus. I am the One you are trying to hurt. 16 Stand up! I have chosen you to be my servant. You will be my witness—you will tell people the things that you have seen and the things that I will show you. This is why I have come to you today. 17 I will not let your own people hurt you. And I will keep you safe from the non-Jewish people too. These are the people I am sending you to. 18 I send you to open their eyes that they may turn away from darkness to the light. I send you that they may turn away from the power of Satan and turn to God. Then their sins can be forgiven and they can have a place with those people who have been made holy by believing in me.’
19 “King Agrippa, after I had this vision from heaven, I obeyed it. 20 I began telling people that they should change their hearts and lives and turn to God. I told them to do things to show that they really had changed. I told this first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and in every part of Judea, and also to the non-Jewish people. 21 This is why the Jews took me and were trying to kill me in the Temple. 22 But God helped me and is still helping me today. With God’s help I am standing here today and telling all people what I have seen. But I am saying nothing new. I am saying what Moses and the prophets said would happen. 23 They said that the Christ would die and be the first to rise from death. They said that the Christ would bring light to the Jewish and non-Jewish people.”
Paul Tries to Persuade Agrippa
24 While Paul was saying these things to defend himself, Festus said loudly, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has driven you crazy!”
25 Paul said, “Most Excellent Festus, I am not crazy. My words are true. They are not the words of a foolish man. 26 King Agrippa knows about these things. I can speak freely to him. I know that he has heard about all of these things. They did not happen off in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe!”
28 King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?”
29 Paul said, “Whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but every person listening to me today would be saved and be like me—except for these chains I have!”
30 Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up 31 and left the room. They were talking to each other. They said, “There is no reason why this man should die or be put in jail.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let this man go free, but he has asked Caesar to hear his case.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.