M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Meets Esau
33 When Jacob looked off in the distance, there was Esau coming toward him, accompanied by 400 men! So Jacob divided Leah’s children, Rachel, and the children of the two servants into separate groups.[a] 2 Then he positioned the women servants and their children first, then Leah and her children next, and then Rachel and Joseph after them. 3 Then he went out to meet Esau,[b] passing in front of all of them, and bowed low to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. Then he fell on his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
5 When Esau eventually looked around, he saw the women and the children. “Who are these people[c] with you?” he asked.
“The children, whom God has graciously given[d] your servant,” he answered. 6 Then the women servants approached, accompanied by their children, and bowed low. 7 Leah also approached, and she and her children bowed low. After this, Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed low.
8 Then Esau asked, “What are all these livestock for?”
“To solicit favor from you,[e] sir,”[f] Jacob answered.
9 But Esau replied, “I already have so much, my brother, so keep what belongs to you.”
10 “Please,” Jacob implored him, “don’t refuse. If I’m to receive favor from you, then receive this gift from me, because seeing your face is like seeing the face of God, since you have favorably accepted me. 11 So receive my blessing, which has been sent to you, since God has been gracious to me. Besides, I have enough.” Because Jacob kept pressing him, Esau accepted the gifts.
12 Then Esau suggested, “Let’s set out and travel together, but let me go in front of you.”
13 “Sir, you know[g] that the children are frail,” Jacob suggested, “and the ewes and cows with me are still nursing their young. If they’re driven even for a day, the entire flock will die. 14 So allow yourself to[h] go ahead of your servant while I travel more slowly, letting the herds set their own pace[i] with the children until I arrive to see my lord in Seir.”
15 Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”
“Why do that?” Jacob asked. “I’ve already found favor in your sight, sir.”[j] 16 So Esau set out that very day back on his way to Seir, 17 but Jacob set out for Succoth, built a house there, and constructed some cattle shelters. He named the place Succoth.[k]
Jacob Buys Land in Shechem
18 After Jacob had arrived safely from Paddan-aram,[l] he entered the city of Shechem, which was located in the territory of Canaan, and encamped facing that city. 19 Then he bought a parcel of land for 100 pieces of silver from the descendants of Hamor, Shechem’s father. He pitched his tent there, 20 set up an altar, and named it El-elohe-israel.[m]
The Parable about a Farmer(A)
4 Then Jesus[a] began to teach again beside the sea. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it,[b] while the entire crowd remained beside the sea on the shore. 2 He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on stony ground, where they didn’t have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn’t have any roots, they dried up. 7 Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes came up and choked them out, and they didn’t produce anything. 8 But others fell on good soil and produced a crop. They grew up, increased in size, and produced 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[c] 9 He added, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
10 When he was alone with the Twelve and those around him, they began to ask him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables 12 so that
‘they may see clearly but not perceive,
and they may hear clearly but not understand,
otherwise they might turn around and be forgiven.’”[d]
Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer(C)
13 Then he told them, “You don’t understand this parable, so how can you understand any of the parables? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like the seeds[e] along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others are like the seeds[f] sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it, 17 but since they don’t have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away. 18 Still others are like the seeds[g] sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word, 19 but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop. 20 Others are like the seeds[h] sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[i]
A Light under a Basket(D)
21 Then Jesus[j] told them, “A lamp isn’t brought indoors to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? It’s to be put on a lamp stand, isn’t it? 22 Nothing is hidden except for the purpose of having it revealed, and nothing is secret except for the purpose of having it come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!
24 He went on to say to them, “Pay attention to what you’re hearing! You will be evaluated by the same standard with which you do your evaluating, and still more will be given to you, 25 because whoever has something, will have more given to him. But whoever has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”
The Parable about a Growing Seed
26 He was also saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. 27 He sleeps and gets up night and day while the seeds sprout and grow, although he doesn’t know how 28 the ground produces grain by itself—first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, he immediately starts cutting with his sickle because the harvest time has come.”
The Parable about a Mustard Seed(E)
30 He was also saying, “How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it? 31 It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. Although it’s the smallest of[k] all the seeds on earth, 32 when it’s planted it comes up and becomes larger than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that the birds in the sky can nest in its shade.”
Why Jesus Used Parables(F)
33 With many other parables like these, Jesus[l] kept speaking his message to them according to their ability to understand. 34 He did not tell them anything without using[m] a parable, though he explained everything to his disciples in private.
Jesus Calms the Sea(G)
35 That day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross to the other side.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him away in a boat without making any special preparations.[n] Other boats were with him. 37 A violent windstorm came up, and the waves began breaking into the boat, so that the boat was rapidly[o] becoming swamped.
38 But Jesus[p] was in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. So they woke him up and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and told the sea, “Calm down! Be still!” Then the wind stopped blowing, and there was a great calm. 40 He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”
41 Overcome with fear, they kept saying to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
The Jewish People Defeat Their Enemies
9 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, when the king’s order and edict was about to be carried out, on the day when the enemies of the Jewish people expected to prevail over them, things were turned around so that the Jewish people themselves prevailed over those who hated them.
2 The Jewish people assembled in their towns throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who intended to harm them, and no one could oppose them because all the people had come to fear the Jews.[a] 3 All the provincial officials, the regional authorities,[b] the governors, and those doing the king’s work supported the Jewish people because the fear of Mordecai had come over[c] them. 4 Indeed, Mordecai was a powerful[d] official in the palace and his fame spread throughout the provinces. Indeed, the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.[e]
5 The Jewish people struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did with their enemies as they pleased. 6 In Susa the capital the Jewish people killed and destroyed 500 people. 7 They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Hammedatha’s son Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, but they did not lay their hands on the spoils.
11 On that day the number of those slain in Susa the capital was reported to the king. 12 The king told Queen Esther, “In Susa the capital the Jewish people have killed and destroyed 500 people, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what’s your petition? It will be given to you. What’s your further request? It will be done.”
13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it also be granted to the Jewish people in Susa to do tomorrow what the edict allowed them to do today,[f] and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged[g] on poles.”
14 The king said, “Let this be done.” So an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged[h] on poles. 15 The Jewish people in Susa assembled again on that day, the fourteenth of Adar, and they killed 300 people in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the spoils.
The Festival of Purim is Celebrated
16 The rest of the Jewish people in the king’s provinces assembled to defend[i] themselves, and they gained relief from their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not lay their hands on the spoils. 17 They did this on the thirteenth day of Adar and rested on the fourteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. 18 The Jewish people in Susa assembled on the thirteenth day and again on the fourteenth, and then rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of feasting and joy. 19 Therefore the Jewish people in the rural areas who live in unwalled towns make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a holiday for joy and feasting, and people send presents[j] to one another.
Official Instructions for Celebrating Purim
20 Mordecai wrote these instructions and sent letters to all the Jewish people in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 establishing that they should celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year, 22 as the days on which the Jewish people enjoyed relief[k] from their enemies. It was a month when things turned around for them, from sorrow to joy and from mourning to a holiday. They were to celebrate these days as days of feasting and joy, and they were to send presents[l] to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jewish people made a tradition[m] out of what they had begun to do and of what Mordecai had written to them, 24 since Hammedatha’s son Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, had plotted against the Jewish people to destroy them, and he had cast the pur (that is, the lot) to determine when[n] to confuse and destroy them.
25 But when Esther came before the king, he ordered through a letter that the evil plot that Haman[o] had devised against the Jewish people be rescinded,[p] and that he and his sons be hanged on poles. 26 Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur. Because of all that was written in this letter, because of what they experienced in this matter, and because of what happened to them, 27 the Jewish people established this celebration, making it a tradition[q] for themselves, for their descendants, and for all who joined with them[r] that they should not fail to observe these two days each year, based on the written instructions, and at the prescribed time. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by each family in every province and town. These days of Purim should not be neglected by[s] the Jewish people, and that they should not be forgotten by their descendants.
Queen Esther Confirms the Instructions for Purim
29 Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority confirming this second letter about Purim. 30 Letters containing wishes for peace and stability were sent to all the Jewish people, to the 127 provinces of Ahasuerus’ kingdom, 31 establishing these days of Purim at the prescribed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as the Jewish people[t] had established for themselves and for their descendants. The letter included instructions for their fasting[u] and lamentations. 32 The order of Esther established these instructions for Purim, and it was officially recorded.[v]
Other Things King Ahasuerus Did
10 King Ahasuerus imposed tribute[w] on the land and on the islands of the sea. 2 Now as to all the powerful and great deeds of Ahasuerus, along with an exact statement about the high position[x] of Mordecai to which the king promoted him, these things are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia, are they not? 3 Indeed, Mordecai the Jew was second in authority only[y] to King Ahasuerus and was a powerful official[z] among the Jewish people. Mordecai[aa] was accepted favorably by his many kinsmen, and he sought the good of his countrymen and spoke out for the welfare of all his people.[ab]
The Example of Abraham
4 What, then, are we to say about Abraham, our human ancestor? 2 For if Abraham was justified by actions, he would have had something to boast about—though not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]
4 Now to someone who works, wages are not considered a gift but an obligation. 5 However, to someone who does not work, but simply believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6 Likewise, David also speaks of the blessedness of the person whom God regards as righteous apart from actions:
7 “How blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered!
8 How blessed is the person whose sins
the Lord[b] will never charge against him!”[c]
9 Now does this blessedness come to the circumcised alone, or also to the uncircumcised? For we say, “Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.”[d] 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised? He had not yet been circumcised, but was uncircumcised. 11 Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. Therefore, he is the ancestor of all who believe while uncircumcised, in order that righteousness may be credited to them. 12 He is also the ancestor of the circumcised—those who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The Promise Comes through Faith
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the Law, but through the righteousness produced by faith. 14 For if those who were given the Law[e] are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless, 15 for the Law produces wrath. Now where there is no Law, neither can there be any violation of it.
16 Therefore, the promise[f] is based on faith, so that it may be a matter of grace and may be guaranteed for all of Abraham’s[g] descendants—not only for those who were given the Law,[h] but also for those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. 17 As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations.”[i] Abraham[j] acted in faith when he stood in the presence of God, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that don’t yet exist. 18 Hoping in spite of hopeless circumstances, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,”[k] just as he had been told:[l] “This is how many descendants you will have.”[m] 19 His faith did not weaken when he thought about his own body (which was already[n] as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old) or about Sarah’s inability to have children, 20 nor did he doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, his faith became stronger and he gave glory to God, 21 being absolutely convinced that God would do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”[o]
23 Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for him 24 but also for us. Our faith will be regarded in the same way,[p] if we believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was sentenced to death because of our sins and raised to life to justify us.
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