M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 28
1 Isaac called to Jacob and blessed him and gave him this command: “You must not take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan. 2 Up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, the father of your mother, and take a wife from there, from among the daughters of Laban, the brother of your mother. 3 May God Almighty bless you; may he make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you become a multitude of people. 4 May he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land in which you have dwelt as an alien, the land that God gave to Abraham.” 5 Thus, Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, and the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that when he had blessed him, he had commanded him, “You must not take a wife from among the Canaanites.” 7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan-aram. 8 Esau then understood that Isaac disapproved of the daughters of Canaan. 9 He therefore went to Ishmael and, besides the wives he already had, he took as wife Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.
10 Jacob’s Dream at Bethel.[a] Jacob left from Beer-sheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 He came upon a certain place and spent the night there for the sun was setting. He took a stone and used it as a pillow and slept in that place. 12 He had a dream. There was a ladder resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending upon it.
13 And the Lord stood before him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying shall be given to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth and shall extend to the west and the east, the north and the south. All the nations of the earth shall be blessed through you and through your descendants. 15 I am with you and I will protect you wherever you go. I will make you return to this country, for I will not abandon you without having done all that I have promised you.”
16 Jacob woke from sleep and said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was filled with fear and said, “How terrible this place is! This is truly the house of God, this is the gate to heaven.”
18 In the morning Jacob arose early, took the rock that he had used as a pillow, and erected it as a pillar pouring oil on top of it. 19 He named the place Bethel,[b] although the city had previously been called Luz.
20 Jacob made a vow, “If God remains with me and protects me in this journey that I am making and gives me bread to eat and clothes to cover me, 21 and if I return in peace to my father’s house, the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone that I am erecting as a pillar shall be a shrine to God. I will offer you one-tenth of everything that you give me.”
Chapter 27
Jesus Is Handed Over to Pilate.[a] 1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in council to decide how to put him to death. 2 They bound him and led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
Judas Hangs Himself.[b] 3 When Judas discovered that Jesus, whom he betrayed, had been condemned he was seized with a sense of remorse, and he brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” They replied, “Of what importance is that to us? That is your responsibility.” 5 Flinging the silver pieces into the temple, he departed. Then he went off and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests retrieved the silver coins and said, “It is not lawful for us to deposit this into the temple treasury, for it is blood money.” 7 They conferred together, and then used it to purchase the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 This is the reason why that field to this very day is called the Field of Blood.
9 Thus was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:[c]
“And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price set on his head by the people of Israel,
10 and they used them to purchase the potter’s field
as the Lord had commanded me.”
11 Jesus Is Questioned by Pilate.[d]Meanwhile, Jesus was brought into the presence of the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said so.”[e] 12 And when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he offered no reply. 13 Pilate then said to him, “Have you not heard how many charges they have brought against you?” 14 But he did not offer a single word in response, much to the governor’s amazement.[f]
15 Jesus Is Sentenced to Death. Now on the occasion of the feast, the governor’s custom was to release to the people one prisoner whom they had designated. 16 At that particular time, they had in custody a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. 17 Therefore, after the people had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which man do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over.
19 While he was still seated on the judge’s bench, his wife sent him a message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man. I have been greatly troubled today by a dream that I had about him.”[g]
20 Meanwhile, the chief priests and the elders had persuaded the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 Therefore, when the governor asked them, “Which of the two men do you want me to release to you?” they shouted, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate asked them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them shouted, “Let him be crucified!” 23 He asked, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they only screamed all the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was about to occur, he took some water and washed his hands[h] in full view of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” 25 With one voice the entire crowd cried out, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”[i] 26 He then released Barabbas to them, and after Jesus had been scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
27 Jesus Is Crowned with Thorns.[j] Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they placed it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. Then, bending the knee before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They also spat upon him and, taking the reed, used it to strike him on the head. 31 And when they had finished mocking him, they stripped him of the robe, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him away to crucify him.
32 The Way of the Cross. As they went out, they encountered a man from Cyrene,[k] named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
33 Jesus Is Crucified on Calvary. When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull,[l] 34 they offered him some wine to drink that had been mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink the mixture.[m] 35 And after they had crucified him,[n] they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down there to keep guard over him. 37 Above his head was inscribed the charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Two thieves were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.[o]
39 Those people who passed by jeered at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who claimed you could destroy the temple and rebuild it within three days, save yourself! If you truly are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41 In much the same way, the chief priests, together with the scribes and the elders, joined in the mockery, saying, 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusted in God; now let God deliver him if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 The thieves who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
45 Jesus Dies on the Cross.[p] Beginning at midday, there was darkness over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 And about three o’clock[q] Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47 On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 One of them immediately ran off to get a sponge, which he soaked in vinegar, put on a stick, and gave to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 Then Jesus again cried out in a loud voice and gave up his spirit.
51 And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and rocks were split apart. 52 The tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.[r] 54 Now when the centurion and those who were keeping watch over Jesus with him witnessed the earthquake and all that was happening, they were terrified, and they said, “Truly, this man was the Son of God.”
55 Many women were also present, looking on from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and ministered to him. 56 Among these were Mary Magdalene,[s] Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb.[t] When evening came, there arrived a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. So Pilate ordered that it be handed over to him.
59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb that he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled an immense stone against the entrance of the tomb and departed. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulcher.
62 The Guard at the Tomb. The next day, on the morning after the preparation day,[u] the chief priests and the Pharisees came to Pilate in a group 63 and said to him, “Your Excellency, we recall that while he was still alive, this impostor said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ 64 Therefore, issue orders that the tomb be kept under surveillance until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may go there and steal his body, and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This final deception would be worse than the first.”
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go and make the grave as secure as you can.” 66 And so they went forth and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard.
Chapter 4
Mordecai Persuades Esther To Help. 1 When Mordecai heard all that was going on, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city wailing loudly and sorrowfully. 2 But he came to a halt at the entrance to the king’s gate because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed to go in. 3 (Similarly, in every province to which the king’s edict and order reached, the Jews went into great mourning, with fasting, mourning, and weeping. Many put on sackcloth and ashes.)
4 When Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs went to her and told her about Mordecai, she became deeply troubled. She sent clothes for him to wear in place of the sackcloth, but he refused to do so. 5 Esther then called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been assigned to her service, and ordered him to find out what this action of Mordecai meant and why it was being done.
6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the public square in front of the king’s gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of silver that Haman had promised to put in the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.
8 [a]“Remember the days of your lowly estate,” Mordecai had Hathach say, “when you were brought up in my charge; for Haman, who stands next to the king, has asked for our death.9 Invoke the Lord and speak to the king on our behalf; save us from death.”
8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the edict that had been published in Susa, for the annihilation of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther. Hathach was to urge her to go into the king’s presence to plead for mercy and intercede with him for her people.9 Hathach went back to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she gave him a message for Mordecai: 11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the royal provinces are aware that any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner palace without being summoned suffers automatic death. The sole exception to this rule is if the king extends to such a person the golden scepter, which spares his life. Yet as for me, I have not been summoned by the king for thirty days.”
12 When Esther’s words reached Mordecai, 13 he sent back this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 Even if you remain silent now, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place;[b] but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows? Perhaps it was for just such a time as this that you obtained the royal dignity.”
15 Then Esther sent back this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, and assemble all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same thing. After that, I will go to the king—against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
17 Then Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
Chapter C
The Prayer of Mordecai.1 [c]Calling to mind everything that the Lord had done, Mordecai prayed to him in these words:
2 “O Lord God, King and ruler of all things, the entire universe is subject to your power, and no one can thwart you in your intention to save Israel.3 You made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under the firmament.4 You are Lord of all, and there is no one, O Lord, who can resist you.5 Since you know all things, O Lord, you realize that it was not because of insolence or pride or a desire for glory that I so acted in refusing to bow down to this haughty Haman.6 To ensure the salvation of Israel, I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet.7 But I acted in this way so as not to place human glory above the glory of God. I will not bow down to anyone but you, my Lord, and I will not act in this way out of pride.
8 “Now, Lord, my God and King, O God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies are determined to exterminate us and to destroy the inheritance that has been yours from times of old.9 Do not forsake your people whom you redeemed and brought out of Egypt for yourself.10 Hear my prayer and have mercy on your heritage. Turn our sorrow into joy so that we may live to sing praise to your name, O Lord. Do not silence the lips of those who praise you.”
11 And all the Israelites also cried aloud with all their strength, since death was before their eyes.
The Prayer of Esther.12 Queen Esther, too, was seized with great anguish and sought recourse from the Lord.13 Removing her splendid robes, she put on garments of sadness and mourning. Instead of rich perfumes, she covered her head with dirt and ashes. She greatly mortified her body, and every part that she used to adorn elegantly, she now covered with her disheveled hair.
14 Then Esther prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, and said: “O my Lord, you alone are our King. Come to my assistance, for I am alone and have no one to help me but you.15 My life is in great danger.16 From my earliest days I was taught by my family that you, O Lord, chose Israel out of all the nations and our fathers from among all their forebearers, as an everlasting heritage, and that you have fulfilled all the promises you made to them.17 But now we have sinned against you, and you have handed us over to our enemies18 because we paid honor to their gods. You are just, O Lord.
19 “However, now our enemies are not satisfied with our bitter slavery. They have vowed to their idols20 to annul the decree you have proclaimed and destroy your heritage, to silence the mouths of those who praise you and to destroy your altar and the glory of your house,[d]21 and instead, to open the mouths of the nations to praise their worthless idols and to offer an earthly king everlasting praise.
22 “O Lord, do not consign your scepter to gods who do not exist. Do not let our enemies exult in our downfall, but turn their designs against them and make an example of the chief of our persecutors.23 Remember us, O Lord. Reveal yourself in this time of our tribulation, and give me courage, O King of gods and Master of every dominion.24 Give me the power of persuasive speech when I face the lion and enable me to turn his heart to hatred of the one who is our enemy so that he and all those who share his feelings may perish.25 Save us by your arm and come to my aid, for I am alone and have no one on whom to rely but you, O Lord.
“You know all things.26 You are fully aware that I hate the honors offered by the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised or of any alien.27 You know the straits I am in. I loathe the symbol of my proud position that I wear on my head on days when I appear in public. I detest it as if it were an unclean rag, and I do not wear it on days when I am in private.28 I, your servant, have never eaten at Haman’s table, nor have I attended any banquet of the king or drunk the wine of libations.29 From the day I changed my state until now, I have experienced no joy except in you, O Lord, God of Abraham.30 O God all-powerful, give heed to the pleas of those in despair. Deliver us from the power of the wicked and rescue me from my fear.”
Chapter D
Esther Appears before the King.1 [e]On the third day, having finished her prayers, Esther removed her penitential garments and arrayed herself in the splendor due to her state.2 Thus beautifully adorned, she invoked the aid of God, who watches over and saves all, and took her two maids with her.3 One of them provided gentle support for her,4 while the other followed, bearing her train.5 She was radiant in the splendor of her beauty, and her countenance was joyous as though permeated with love, but her heart was filled with fear.6 She passed through one door after another and finally stood in the presence of the king. He was seated on his royal throne, clothed in all his kingly regalia adorned with gold and precious stones, so that his appearance was terrifying.
7 He looked up, and his face blazed with anger when he saw her. The queen grew faint, turned pale, and steadied herself against the head of the maid who preceded her.8 Then God changed the king’s mood from anger to one of gentleness. In alarm he sprang from his throne, held her in his arms until she revived, and soothed her with comforting words.9 “What is the matter, Esther?” he said to her. “I am your husband. Take courage.10 You shall not die, for our decree applies only to the common folk.11 Come near!”12 Then he raised his gold scepter and, touching her neck with it, embraced her and said: “Speak to me.”
13 She replied: “My lord, when I approached you, you looked like an angel of God, and I was filled with fear at your majestic presence.14 You are wonderful, my lord, and your face is enchanting.”15 As she said this, she fell in a faint.16 Then the king became troubled as his attendants sought to revive her.
The Journey to Rome[a]
Chapter 27
Paul’s Voyage toward Rome. 1 When it was decided that we[b] should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to Julius, a centurion of the Augustan cohort. 2 We embarked on a ship from Adramyttium[c] that was about to sail to ports in the province of Asia, and we put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.
3 On the next day, we landed at Sidon,[d] and Julius was considerate enough to allow Paul to visit his friends there and be cared for by them. 4 From there, we put out to sea again and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds. 5 Then, crossing the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.[e]
Storm and Shipwreck. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship[f] that was bound for Italy and put us on board. 7 For a good many days, we made little headway, and we experienced difficulty in reaching Cnidus.[g] Then, as the wind continued to pose difficulties, we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens,[h] near the city of Lasea.
9 Much time had already been lost, and sailing had now become hazardous, since the time of the Fast[i] had already gone by. Therefore, Paul gave them this warning, 10 “Men, I can see that this voyage will be fraught with danger and involve heavy losses, not only of the ship and the cargo but also of our lives.”
11 However, the centurion paid more attention to the advice of the captain and of the ship’s owner than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter, the majority were in favor of putting out to sea from there, in the hope that they could reach Phoenix,[j] a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
13 When a gentle southerly breeze began to blow, they thought that they would be able to achieve their objective. They weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, hugging the shore. 14 But before long a violent wind, called a northeaster, swept down on them. 15 Since the ship was caught up in it, we had to give way to the wind and let ourselves be driven along.
16 As we passed along the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda,[k] we managed with some difficulty to secure the ship’s lifeboat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used cables to undergird the ship. Then, afraid of running aground on the shallows of Syrtis,[l] they lowered the sea anchor and so let themselves drift.
18 We were being pounded so violently by the storm that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 Then on the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days, neither the sun nor the stars could be seen, and the storm continued to rage until we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.
21 When they all had gone without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete. Then you would have avoided all this damage and loss. 22 I urge you now to keep up your courage. There will be no loss of life among you. Only the ship will be lost.
23 “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve appeared to me, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You shall appear before Caesar. Furthermore, for your sake God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, men, keep up your courage. I have complete trust in God that what he told me will be fulfilled. 26 But we will run aground on some island.”
27 On the fourteenth night, we were still drifting across the Adriatic Sea.[m] About midnight, the sailors began to suspect that they were nearing land, 28 so they took soundings and found that the water was twenty feet deep. A little farther on they again took soundings and found fifteen feet.
29 Fearing that we might run aground on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 The sailors then tried to abandon ship. They had already lowered the lifeboat into the sea, on the pretext that they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay[n] with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the lifeboat and set it adrift.
33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “This is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense, going hungry and eating nothing. 34 Therefore, I beg you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose even a hair of his head.”
35 After he had said this, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged and began to eat. 37 Altogether, there were two hundred and seventy-six persons on board. 38 After they had eaten as much as they wanted they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 In the morning, they did not recognize the land, but they sighted a bay with a sandy beach, and they decided to run the ship aground on this if they could. 40 And so they cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time, they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then, hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41 But they struck a reef, and the vessel ran aground. The bow became stuck and remained unmovable, while the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the waves.
42 The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners lest any of them might swim away and escape. 43 However, the centurion was determined to spare Paul’s life, and he prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land, 44 while the rest were to follow either on planks or on pieces of wreckage from the ship. In this way, all were brought safely to land.
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