M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Meets Rachel
29 Then Jacob [a]went on his journey, and came to the land of (A)the sons of the east. 2 He looked, and [b]saw (B)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from (C)Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the (D)son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is (E)Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” 7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob (F)kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a [c](G)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and (H)she ran and told her father.
13 So when (I)Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and (J)embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things. 14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are (K)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my [d]relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall (L)your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was (M)beautiful of form and [e]face. 18 Now Jacob (N)loved Rachel, so he said, “(O)I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days (P)because of his love for her.
Laban’s Treachery
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my [f]time is completed, that I may (Q)go in to her.” 22 Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. 24 Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “(R)What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (S)deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not [g]the practice in our place to [h]marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which (T)you shall serve with me for another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed (U)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [i]Laban for (V)another seven years.
31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was [j]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him [k]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has [l](W)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “(X)Because the Lord has [m]heard that I am [n]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become [o]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (Y)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will [p]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him [q](Z)Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Jesus Is Risen!
28 (A)Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, (B)Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for (C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away (D)the stone and sat upon it. 3 And (E)his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “[a](F)Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, (G)just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you (H)into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them [b]and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus *said to them, “[c](I)Do not be afraid; go and take word to (J)My brethren to leave (K)for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
11 Now while they were on their way, some of (L)the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this should come to (M)the governor’s ears, we will win him over and [d]keep you out of trouble.” 15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely (N)spread among the Jews, and is (O)to this day.
The Great Commission
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded (P)to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but (Q)some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “(R)All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [e](S)Go therefore and (T)make disciples of (U)all the nations, (V)baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, (W)I am with you [f]always, even to (X)the end of the age.”
Esther Plans a Banquet
5 Now it came about (A)on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood (B)in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s [a]rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the [b]throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, (C)she obtained favor in his sight; and (D)the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? (E)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.” 4 Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
5 Then the king said, “(F)Bring Haman quickly that we may do [c]as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. 6 [d]As they drank their wine at the banquet, (G)the king said to Esther, “(H)What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” 7 So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is: 8 (I)if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do [e]what I request, may the king and Haman come to (J)the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do [f]as the king says.”
Haman’s Pride
9 Then Haman went out that day glad and pleased of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai (K)in the king’s gate and (L)that he did not stand up or [g]tremble before him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai. 10 Haman controlled himself, however, went to his house and [h]sent for his friends and his wife (M)Zeresh. 11 Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the [i](N)number of his sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had [j](O)promoted him above the princes and servants of the king. 12 Haman also said, “Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and (P)tomorrow also I am [k]invited by her with the king. 13 Yet all of this [l]does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at (Q)the king’s gate.” 14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “(R)Have a [m]gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet.” And the [n]advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
Safe at Malta
28 When (A)they had been brought safely through, (B)then we found out that (C)the island was called [a]Malta. 2 (D)The [b]natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and (E)received us all. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out [c]because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When (F)the [d]natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “(G)Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, [e]justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 However (H)he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and (I)began to say that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had (J)prayed, he (K)laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. 10 They also honored us with many [f]marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they [g]supplied us with [h]all we needed.
Paul Arrives at Rome
11 At the end of three months we set sail on (L)an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had [i]the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. 12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 [j]There we found some (M)brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. 15 And the (N)brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the [k]Market of Appius and [l]Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was (O)allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
17 After three days [m]Paul called together those who were (P)the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “(Q)Brethren, (R)though I had done nothing against our people or (S)the customs of our [n]fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 And when they had (T)examined me, they (U)were willing to release me because there was (V)no ground [o]for putting me to death. 19 But when the Jews [p]objected, I was forced to (W)appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I [q]requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing (X)this chain for (Y)the sake of the hope of Israel.” 21 They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of (Z)the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what [r]your views are; for concerning this (AA)sect, it is known to us that (AB)it is spoken against everywhere.”
23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at (AC)his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly (AD)testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, (AE)from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. 24 (AF)Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. 25 And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying,
‘(AG)Go to this people and say,
“[s](AH)You will keep on hearing, [t]but will not understand;
And [u]you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
27 (AI)For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes;
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.”’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that (AJ)this salvation of God has been sent (AK)to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” 29 [[v]When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]
30 And he stayed two full years [w]in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, 31 [x](AL)preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (AM)with all openness, unhindered.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.