M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Adam and Eve Fall Into Sin

3 The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’ ”

⁴ “You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that when you eat fruit from that tree, you will know things you have never known before. Like God, you will be able to tell the difference between good and evil.”

⁶ The woman saw that the tree’s fruit was good to eat and pleasing to look at. She also saw that it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it. ⁷ Then both of them knew things they had never known before. They realized they were naked. So they sewed together fig leaves and made clothes for themselves.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was during the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called out to the man. “Where are you?” he asked.

¹⁰ “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.”

¹¹ The Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man said, “It’s the fault of the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God spoke to the serpent. He said, “Because you have done this,

¹⁶ The Lord God said to the woman,

¹⁷ The Lord God said to Adam, “You listened to your wife’s suggestion. You ate fruit from the tree I warned you about. I said, ‘You must not eat its fruit.’

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve. She would become the mother of every living person.

²¹ The Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife to wear. ²² The Lord God said, “Just like one of us, the man can now tell the difference between good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out and pick fruit from the tree of life and eat it. If he does, he will live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God drove the man out of the Garden of Eden. He sent the man to farm the ground he had been made from. ²⁴ The Lord God drove him out and then placed angels on the east side of the garden. He also placed there a flaming sword that flashed back and forth. The angels and the sword guarded the way to the tree of life.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea. ² He said, “Turn away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ John is the one Isaiah the prophet had spoken about. He had said,

⁴ John’s clothes were made out of camel’s hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea. They also came from the whole area around the Jordan River. ⁶ When they confessed their sins, John baptized them in the Jordan.

⁷ John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing. He said to them, “You are like a nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming of God’s anger? ⁸ Live in a way that shows you have turned away from your sins. ⁹ Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones. ¹⁰ The ax is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don’t produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water, calling you to turn away from your sins. But after me, someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His pitchfork is in his hand to clear the straw from his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the storeroom. But he will burn up the husks with fire that can’t be put out.”

Jesus Is Baptized

¹³ Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He wanted to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to stop him. So he told Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you. So why do you come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be this way for now. It is right for us to do this. It carries out God’s holy plan.” Then John agreed.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷ A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”

The People Rebuild the Altar

3 The Israelites had made their homes in their towns. In the seventh month all of them gathered together in Jerusalem. ² Then Joshua began to build the altar for burnt offerings to honor the God of Israel. Joshua was the son of Jozadak. The other priests helped Joshua. So did Zerubbabel and his men. They built the altar according to what is written in the Law of Moses. Moses was a man of God. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. ³ The people who built the altar were afraid of the nations around them. But they built it anyway. They set it up where it had stood before. They sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord. They offered the morning and evening sacrifices on it. ⁴ Then they celebrated the Feast of Booths. They did it according to what is written in the Law. They sacrificed the number of burnt offerings required for each day. ⁵ After they celebrated the Feast of Booths, they sacrificed the regular burnt offerings. They offered the New Moon sacrifices. They also offered the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the Lord. And they sacrificed the offerings the people chose to give him. ⁶ On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. They did it even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple hadn’t been laid yet.

The People Begin to Rebuild the Temple

⁷ The people gave money to those who worked with stone and those who worked with wood. They gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre. Then those people brought cedar logs down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. They floated them down to Joppa. Cyrus, the king of Persia, authorized them to do it.

⁸ It was the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, began the work. Joshua, the son of Jozadak, helped him. So did everyone else. That included the priests and Levites. It also included the rest of those who had returned to Jerusalem. They had been prisoners in the land of Babylon. Levites who were 20 years old or more were appointed to be in charge of building the Lord’s house. ⁹ Those who joined together to direct the work included Joshua and his sons and brothers. They also included Kadmiel and his sons. And they included the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers. All those men were Levites. Kadmiel and his sons were members of the family line of Hodaviah.

¹⁰ The builders laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple. Then the priests came. They were wearing their special clothes. They brought their trumpets with them. The Levites who belonged to the family line of Asaph also came. They brought their cymbals with them. The priests and Levites took their places to praise the Lord. They did everything just as King David had required them to. ¹¹ They sang to the Lord. They praised him. They gave thanks to him. They said,

All the people gave a loud shout. They praised the Lord. They were glad because the foundation of the Lord’s temple had been laid. ¹² But many of the older priests and Levites and family leaders wept out loud. They had seen the first temple. So when they saw the foundation of the second temple being laid, they wept. Others shouted with joy. ¹³ No one could tell the difference between the shouts of joy and the sounds of weeping. That’s because the people made so much noise. The sound was heard far away.

Peter Heals a Beggar Who Can’t Walk

3 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. It was the time for prayer. ² A man unable to walk was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful. He had been that way since he was born. Every day someone put him near the gate. There he would beg from people going into the temple courtyards. ³ He saw that Peter and John were about to enter. So he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, and so did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man watched them closely. He expected to get something from them.

⁶ Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold. But I’ll give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk.” ⁷ Then Peter took him by the right hand and helped him up. At once the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyards. He walked and jumped and praised God. ⁹ All the people saw him walking and praising God. ¹⁰ They recognized him as the same man who used to sit and beg at the temple gate called Beautiful. They were filled with wonder. They were amazed at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks to the People at the Temple

¹¹ The man was holding on to Peter and John. All the people were amazed. They came running to them at the place called Solomon’s Porch. ¹² When Peter saw this, he said, “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us? It’s not as if we’ve made this man walk by our own power or godliness. ¹³ The God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has done this. God has brought glory to Jesus, who serves him. But you handed Jesus over to be killed. Pilate had decided to let him go. But you spoke against Jesus when he was in Pilate’s court. ¹⁴ You spoke against the Holy and Blameless One. You asked for a murderer to be set free instead. ¹⁵ You killed the one who gives life. But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. ¹⁶ This man whom you see and know was made strong because of faith in Jesus’ name. Faith in Jesus has healed him completely. You can see it with your own eyes.

¹⁷ “My fellow Israelites, I know you didn’t realize what you were doing. Neither did your leaders. ¹⁸ But God had given a promise through all the prophets. And this is how he has made his promise come true. He said that his Messiah would suffer. ¹⁹ So turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Then your sins will be wiped away. The time will come when the Lord will make everything new. ²⁰ He will send the Messiah. Jesus has been appointed as the Messiah for you. ²¹ Heaven must receive him until the time when God makes everything new. He promised this long ago through his holy prophets. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you. ²³ Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19)

²⁴ “Beginning with Samuel, all the prophets spoke about this. They said these days would come. ²⁵ What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham, ‘All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.’ (Genesis 22:18; 26:4) ²⁶ God raised up Jesus, who serves him. God sent him first to you. He did it to bless you. He wanted to turn each of you from your evil ways.”