M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Decides to Leave Laban
31 Now Jacob[a] used to listen while Laban’s sons kept on complaining,[b] “Jacob has taken over everything our father owns! He made himself wealthy from what belongs to our father!” 2 Jacob also noticed that the way[c] Laban had been looking at him wasn’t as nice as it had been just two days earlier.[d]
3 Then the Lord ordered Jacob, “Go back to your father’s territory and to your relatives. I’ll be with you.”
4 Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come out to the field where his flock was 5 and informed them, “I’ve noticed that the way[e] your father has been looking at us hasn’t been as nice as it was just two days ago.[f] But my father’s God has been with me. 6 You know I’ve been serving your father with all my heart. 7 Even so, your father has cheated me. He broke our wage agreement ten times. However, God didn’t allow him to harm me.
8 “When Laban said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flock gave birth to speckled ones. Then when he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ all the flock gave birth to streaked offspring.
9 “So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. 10 As it was, when it was time for the livestock to breed, I once looked up in a dream, and the male goats that were mating[g] with the flock were producing streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring.
11 “Later, the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, ‘Jacob.’
“‘Here I am,’ I replied
12 “‘Look around!’ he said. ‘Go ahead, look! All the male goats have been mating with the flock, producing offspring that are streaked, speckled, and spotted, because I’ve been watching everything that Laban has done to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, the place where you consecrated that stone and made a vow to me. Now get up, leave this territory, and return to your native land.’”[h]
Rachel and Leah Consent to Leave
14 Then Rachel and Leah asked him, “Do we have anything left of inheritance[i] remaining in our father’s house? 15 He’s treating us like foreigners. He sold us and spent all of the money[j] that rightfully belonged to us. 16 Furthermore, all of the wealth that God has stripped away from our father belongs to us now and to our children. So do everything that God tells you to do.” 17 So Jacob got up, seated his children and wives on camels, 18 and drove all his livestock ahead of him, with everything that belonged to him, including the livestock that he had bought and accumulated in Paddan-aram,[k] intending to deliver them to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
Laban Pursues Jacob
19 Meanwhile, Laban had been out shearing his sheep. While he was away, Rachel stole her father’s personal idols.[l] 20 Moreover, Jacob had deceived[m] Laban the Aramean,[n] because he had never told him that he was intending to leave. 21 Jacob fled, taking everything that he owned. He got up, crossed the river,[o] and headed to the hill country of Gilead. 22 Three days later, somebody reported to Laban that Jacob had left, 23 so he took his relatives with him and pursued Jacob. Laban[p] was on the road for seven days when he finally caught up with Jacob[q] in the hill country of Gilead.
God Warns Laban
24 That night, God appeared to Laban the Aramean[r] in a dream and warned him, “Be careful what you say to Jacob, whether it’s one word good or bad.” 25 Meanwhile, Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain, where Laban had caught up with him.[s] Laban and his relatives encamped on that same mountain in the hill country of Gilead, too.
26 Then Laban asked Jacob, “What did you do? You deceived me,[t] carried off my daughters like you would war captives,[u] 27 ran away from me secretly,[v] and stole from me by not keeping me informed. Otherwise, I could have sent you off with a party and singing, accompanied by a band playing tambourines and harps. 28 As it is, you didn’t even allow me to kiss my grandchildren[w] and daughters goodbye! You’ve acted foolishly. 29 It’s actually in my power to do some serious[x] evil to you, but last night the God of your father told me, ‘Be careful what you say to Jacob whether good or evil.’ 30 Now, you can go if you must go, because you certainly are longing to go to your father’s house. But why did you steal my gods?”
Laban Searches for His Idols
31 “I was afraid,” Jacob replied. “I thought you might take your daughters from me. 32 Now as to your gods, if you find someone has them in their possession, he’s a dead man.[y] Take our relatives as witnesses, search through our belongings, and take whatever belongs to you that’s in my possession.” But Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the idols.[z] 33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tents of the two maid servants, but he didn’t find them.[aa] Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
34 Meanwhile, Rachel had taken the idols,[ab] placed them inside the saddle of her camel, and sat on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but found nothing. 35 Then Rachel told her father, “Sir, please don’t be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence. It’s that time of the month.”[ac] So Laban[ad] searched for the idols,[ae] but never did find them.[af]
Jacob Rebukes Laban
36 Then Jacob got angry and started an argument with Laban. “What have I done?” he demanded. “What’s my crime that would cause you to come pursue me so violently? 37 Now that you’ve searched all my belongings, what did you find that belongs to your house? Set it here in front of our relatives[ag] and we’ll let them judge between us! 38 Meanwhile, these past 20 years that I’ve been with you, your sheep and goats never had miscarriages, I never once ate any of the rams from your flock, 39 and whatever was torn by beasts, I never bothered to bring to you. Instead, I bore the losses myself. Even so, you demanded that I provide restitution for anything that was stolen, whether during the day or the night. 40 As it was, I was attacked by drought during the day and by cold at night. I never got any decent rest. 41 I’ve lived in your house these 20 years—serving fourteen years for your two daughters and another six years for your flocks. During all that time you changed[ah] my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father—the God of Abraham, the God whom Isaac feared—had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty handed. But God saw my misery and how hard I’ve worked with my own hands—and he rebuked you last night.”
43 But Laban answered Jacob, “These women are my daughters. These children are my children. The flocks are mine. In fact, everything that you see belongs to me. But what would I do today to my daughters and the children they have borne? 44 Come, let’s make a covenant just between you and me. And let it serve as a witness between you and me.”
45 So Jacob took a stone and raised it as a pillar. 46 Then Jacob told his relatives, “Go gather some stones.” So they picked up stones and stacked them one on top of the other. Then they had a meal together there by the stack of stones. 47 Laban named the place Jegar-sahadutha,[ai] but Jacob named it Galeed.[aj]
48 Then Laban said, “This stack will serve as a witness between you and me today.” That’s how the place came to be named Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah,[ak] because Laban[al] said, “May the Lord watch between you and me, when we are estranged[am] from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take other wives besides them, though no one is watching[an] us, keep in mind that God stands as a witness between you and me.”
51 “Look!” Laban added, “Here is the stack of stones and here is the pillar that I’ve set up between you and me. 52 This stack is a witness, and so is this pillar, reminding me not to cross beyond this stack of stones, and reminding you not to pass by this stack in my direction, intending to cause harm. 53 May Abraham’s God and Nahor’s god judge between us.”
So Jacob made an oath by his father’s Fear,[ao] 54 offered sacrifices there on the mountain, and called on his relatives to eat some food. So they ate the food and spent the night on the mountain. 55 [ap]Early the next morning, Laban woke up, kissed his grandchildren and daughters, blessed them, and then left for home.[aq]
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man(A)
2 Several days later, Jesus[a] returned to Capernaum and it was reported that he was at home. 2 Such a large crowd gathered that there wasn’t room for them, even in front of the door. Jesus[b] was speaking his message to them 3 when some people[c] came and brought him a paralyzed man being carried by four men. 4 Since they couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof over the place where he was. They dug through it and let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some scribes were sitting there, arguing among themselves,[d] 7 “Why does this man talk this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 At once, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were saying to themselves. “Why are you arguing about such things among yourselves?”[e] he asked them. 9 “Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 But I want you to know[f] that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he told the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 12 So the man[g] got up, immediately picked up his mat, and went out in front of all of them.
As a result, all of the people were amazed and began to glorify God as they kept on saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus Calls Matthew(B)
13 Jesus[h] went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd kept coming to him, and he kept teaching them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s desk. Jesus[i] told him, “Follow me!” So Levi[j] got up and followed him.
15 Later, he was having dinner at Levi’s[k] house. Many tax collectors and sinners were also eating with Jesus and his disciples, because there were many who were following him. 16 When the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink[l] with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard that, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
A Question about Fasting(C)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees would fast regularly. Some people[m] came and asked Jesus,[n] “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
19 Jesus replied, “The wedding guests[o] can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”
The Unshrunk Cloth(D)
21 “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. If he does, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured[p] into fresh wineskins.”
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath(E)
23 Jesus[q] happened to be going through the grain fields on a Sabbath.[r] As they made their way, his disciples began picking the heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are they doing what is not lawful on Sabbath days?”[s]
25 He asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 How was it that he went into the House of God during the lifetime[t] of Abiathar the high priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some of it to his companions?”
27 Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Haman is Executed
7 The king and Haman went in to have a drink with Queen Esther. 2 On the second day the king again told Esther as they drank wine, “What’s your petition, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What’s your request? Up to half of the kingdom, and it will be done.”
3 Queen Esther answered: “If I’ve found favor with you, your majesty, and if it seems good to the king, let my life be given to me as my petition and my people as my request. 4 Indeed, I and my people have been sold to be annihilated, killed, and destroyed. If we had just been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because the trouble wouldn’t have been sufficient to bother the king.”[a]
5 Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the person who would dare[b] do this?”
6 Esther replied, “An adversary and an enemy—it’s this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7 The king got up from the banquet in anger and went out to the palace garden, while Haman stood there begging Queen Esther to spare his life,[c] because he realized that the king intended to harm him.[d]
8 When the king returned to the banquet hall from the palace garden, Haman was prostrate on the couch where Esther was. The king asked, “Will this man[e] even assault the queen with me in the house?” The king had no sooner spoken than they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, observed, “Look there! A pole is standing 50 cubits[f] high at Haman’s house that he prepared for Mordecai, whose report benefitted[g] the king!”
The king said, “Hang[h] him on it.” 10 So they hanged[i] Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and then the king’s anger subsided.
God will Judge Everyone
2 Therefore, you have no excuse—every one of you who judges. For when you pass judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who act like this is based on[a] truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on those who practice these things and then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or are you unaware of his rich kindness, forbearance, and patience, that it is God’s kindness that is leading you to repent?
5 But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he will repay everyone according to what that person has done: 7 eternal life to those who strive for glory, honor, and immortality by patiently doing good; 8 but wrath and fury for those who in their selfish pride refuse to believe the truth and practice wickedness instead. 9 There will be suffering and anguish for every human being who practices doing evil, for Jews first and for Greeks as well. 10 But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who practices doing good, initially for Jews but also for Greeks as well, 11 because God does not show partiality.
12 For all who have sinned apart from the Law will also perish apart from the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. 13 For it is not merely those who hear the Law who are righteous in God’s sight. No, it is those who follow the Law, who will be justified. 14 For whenever gentiles, who do not possess the Law, do instinctively what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law. 15 They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, a fact to which their own consciences testify, and their thoughts will either accuse or excuse them 16 on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah,[b] will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.
Who is a Jew?
17 Now if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the Law, and boast about God, 18 and know his will, and approve of what is best because you have been instructed in the Law; 19 and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, 20 an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of infants because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in the Law— 21 as you teach others, do you fail to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 As you forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? As you abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 As you boast about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? 24 As it is written, “God’s name is being blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.”[c]
25 For circumcision is valuable if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, your having been circumcised has no more value than if you were uncircumcised. 26 So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision, won’t it? 27 The man who is uncircumcised physically but who keeps the Law will condemn you who break the Law, even though you have the written Law[d] and circumcision. 28 For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just external and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law.[e] That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.
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