M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

24 By that time Abraham was very old. The Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. ² The best servant in his house was in charge of everything Abraham had. Abraham said to him, “Put your hand under my thigh. ³ The Lord is the God of heaven and the God of earth. I want you to make a promise to me in his name. I’m living among the people of Canaan. But I want you to promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. ⁴ Instead, promise me that you will go to my country and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there.”

⁵ The servant asked Abraham, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back with me to this land? Then should I take your son back to the country you came from?”

⁶ “Make sure you don’t take my son back there,” Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father’s family. He brought me out of my own land. He made me a promise. He said, ‘I will give this land to your family after you.’ The Lord will send his angel ahead of you. So you will be able to get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ The woman may not want to come back with you. If she doesn’t, you will be free from your promise. But don’t take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh. He promised to do what his master wanted.

¹⁰ The servant chose ten of his master’s camels and left. He loaded the camels with all kinds of good things from his master. He started out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He stopped near the well outside the town. There he made the camels get down on their knees. It was almost evening, the time when women go out to get water.

¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Make me successful today. Be kind to my master Abraham. ¹³ I’m standing beside this spring. The daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out here to get water. ¹⁴ I will speak to a young woman. I’ll say to her, ‘Please lower your jar so I can have a drink.’ Suppose she says, ‘Have a drink of water, and I’ll get some for your camels too.’ Then let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. That’s how I’ll know you have been kind to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out. She was carrying a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Milkah’s son Bethuel. Milkah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful. No man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring. She filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her. He said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

¹⁸ “Have a drink, sir,” she said. She quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll get water for your camels too. I’ll keep doing it until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the stone tub. Then she ran back to the well to get more water. She got enough for all his camels. ²¹ The man didn’t say a word. He watched her closely. He wanted to learn whether the Lord had given him success on the journey he had made.

²² The camels finished drinking. Then the man took out a gold nose ring. It weighed about a fifth of an ounce. He also took out two gold bracelets. They weighed about four ounces. ²³ Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you? And please tell me something else. Is there room in your father’s house for us? Can we spend the night there?”

²⁴ She answered, “I’m the daughter of Bethuel. He’s the son Milkah had by Nahor.” ²⁵ She continued, “We have plenty of straw and feed for your camels. We also have room for you to spend the night.”

²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “I praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord hasn’t stopped being kind and faithful to my master. The Lord has led me on this journey. He has brought me to the house of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ The young woman ran home. She told her mother’s family what had happened. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother named Laban. He hurried out to the spring to meet the man. ³⁰ Laban had seen the nose ring. He had seen the bracelets on his sister’s arms. And he had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said to her. So Laban went out to the man. He found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ “The Lord has given you his blessing,” he said. “So come with me. Why are you standing out here? I’ve prepared my house for you. I also have a place for the camels.”

³² So the man went to the house. The camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought for the camels. And water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was placed in front of him. But he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve told you what I have to say.”

“Then tell us,” Laban said.

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become rich. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold. He has also given him male and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah had a son by him when she was old. He has given that son everything he owns. ³⁷ My master made me promise him. He said, ‘I’m living in the land of the people of Canaan. But promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. ³⁸ Instead, go to my father’s family and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son there.’

³⁹ “Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’

⁴⁰ “He replied, ‘I have walked faithfully with the Lord. He will send his angel with you. He will give you success on your journey. So you will be able to get a wife for my son. She will be from my own relatives and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ When you go to my relatives, suppose they refuse to give her to you. Then you will be free from the promise you made to me.’

⁴² “Today I came to the spring. I said, ‘Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Please make me successful on this journey I’ve made. ⁴³ I’m standing beside this spring. A young woman will come out to get water. I’ll say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ⁴⁴ Suppose she says, “Have a drink of water, and I’ll get some for your camels too.” Then let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out. She was carrying a jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

⁴⁶ “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder. She said, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll get water for your camels too.’ So I drank. She also got water for the camels.

⁴⁷ “I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel. He’s the son Milkah had by Nahor.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose. I put the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸ And I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. He had led me on the right road. He had led me to get for my master’s son the granddaughter of my master’s brother. ⁴⁹ Now will you be kind and faithful to my master? If you will, tell me. And if you won’t, tell me. Then I’ll know which way to turn.”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “The Lord has done all of this. We can’t say anything to you one way or the other. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah. Take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has said.”

⁵² Abraham’s servant heard what they said. So he bowed down to the Lord with his face to the ground. ⁵³ He brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing. He gave all of them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴ Then Abraham’s servant and the men who were with him ate and drank. They spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman stay with us ten days or so. Then you can go.”

⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Don’t make me wait. The Lord has given me success on my journey. Send me on my way so I can go to my master.”

⁵⁷ Then they said, “Let’s get Rebekah and ask her about it.” ⁵⁸ So they sent for her and asked, “Will you go with this man?”

“Yes, I’ll go,” she said.

⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way with Abraham’s servant and his men. They also sent Rebekah’s servant with her. ⁶⁰ And they gave Rebekah their blessing. They said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her female servants got ready. They got on their camels to go back with the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² By that time Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi. He was living in the Negev Desert. ⁶³ One evening he went out to the field. He wanted to spend some time thinking. When he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel. ⁶⁵ She asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

“He’s my master,” the servant answered. So she covered her face with her veil.

⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had belonged to his mother Sarah. And he married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother died.

A Warning Against Doing Things for the Wrong Reasons

23 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat,” he said. ³ “So you must be careful to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. They don’t practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry. Then they put them on other people’s shoulders. But they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for others to see. On their foreheads and arms they wear little boxes that hold Scripture verses. They make the boxes very wide. And they make the tassels on their coats very long. ⁶ They love to sit down in the place of honor at dinners. They also love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. ⁷ They love to be greeted with respect in the markets. They love it when people call them ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “But you shouldn’t be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth ‘father.’ You have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ You shouldn’t be called ‘teacher.’ You have one Teacher, and he is the Messiah. ¹¹ The most important person among you will be your servant. ¹² People who lift themselves up will be made humble. And people who make themselves humble will be lifted up.

How Terrible for the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

^13-14 “How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.

¹⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “How terrible for you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’ ¹⁷ You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’ ¹⁹ You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it. ²¹ And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it. ²² And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.

²³ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. ²⁴ You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!

²⁵ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of a cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.

²⁷ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and ‘clean.’ ²⁸ It is the same with you. On the outside you seem to be doing what is right. But on the inside you are full of what is wrong. You pretend to be what you are not.

²⁹ “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the godly. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of those who lived before us, we wouldn’t have done what they did. We wouldn’t have helped to kill the prophets.’ ³¹ So you are witnesses against yourselves. You admit that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. ³² So go ahead and finish the sins that those who lived before you started!

³³ “You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape from being sentenced to hell? ³⁴ So I am sending you prophets, wise people, and teachers. You will kill some of them. You will nail some to a cross. Others you will whip in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. ³⁵ So you will pay for all the godly people’s blood spilled on earth. I mean from the blood of godly Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. Zechariah was the one you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ What I’m about to tell you is true. All this will happen to those who are now living.

³⁷ “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. And you would not let me! ³⁸ Look, your house is left empty. ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” (Psalm 118:26)

13 At that time the Book of Moses was read out loud. All the people heard it. It was written there that no Ammonite or Moabite could ever become a member of God’s community. ² That’s because they hadn’t given the people of Israel food and water. Instead, they had hired Balaam to put a curse on them. But our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ When that law was read, the people of Judah obeyed it. They sent out of Israel everyone who was from another nation.

⁴ Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms in the house of our God. He had worked closely with Tobiah. ⁵ He had also provided a large room for Tobiah. It had been used to store the grain offerings. The incense and the objects for the temple had been put there. And a tenth of the grain, olive oil and fresh wine had been kept there. That’s what the Law required for the Levites. That’s also what it required for the musicians and the men who guarded the temple gates. The gifts for the priests had been kept there too.

⁶ But I wasn’t in Jerusalem while all of that was going on. I had returned to the Persian King Artaxerxes, the king of Babylon. I went to him in the 32nd year of his rule. Some time later I asked him to let me return to Jerusalem. ⁷ When I got back, I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done. He had provided a room for Tobiah. It was in the courtyards of God’s house. ⁸ So I was very unhappy. I threw all of Tobiah’s things out of the room. ⁹ I gave orders to make the rooms pure and “clean” again. Then I put the supplies from God’s house back into them. That included the grain offerings and the incense.

¹⁰ I also learned that the shares the Levites were supposed to receive hadn’t been given to them. So all the Levites and musicians had to leave their regular temple duties. They had to go back and farm their own fields. ¹¹ I gave a warning to the officials. I asked them, “Why aren’t you taking care of God’s house?” Then I brought the Levites and musicians together. I stationed them in their proper places. I put them back to work.

¹² All the people of Judah brought a tenth of the grain, olive oil and fresh wine. They took it to the storerooms. ¹³ I put some men in charge of the storerooms. They were Shelemiah, Zadok and Pedaiah. Shelemiah was a priest. Zadok was a teacher of the law. And Pedaiah was a Levite. I made Hanan their assistant. He was the son of Zakkur. Zakkur was the son of Mattaniah. I knew that these men could be trusted. They were put in charge of handing out the supplies to the other Levites.

¹⁴ You are my God. Remember me because of what I’ve done. I’ve worked faithfully for your temple and its services. So please don’t forget the good things I’ve done.

¹⁵ In those days I saw some people of Judah stomping on grapes in winepresses. They were doing it on the Sabbath day. Other people were bringing in grain. They were loading it on donkeys. Still other people were loading up wine, grapes, figs and other kinds of things. They were bringing all of it into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them not to sell food on that day. ¹⁶ People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish. In fact, they were bringing in all kinds of goods. They were selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. The people of Judah were buying them. ¹⁷ I gave a warning to the nobles of Judah. I said, “Why are you doing such an evil thing? You are misusing the Sabbath day! ¹⁸ Your people of long ago did the very same things. That’s why our God has brought all this trouble on us. That’s why he’s making this city suffer so much. Now you are making him even angrier against Israel. You are misusing the Sabbath day.”

¹⁹ Evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath day started. So I ordered the gates to be shut. They had to remain closed until the Sabbath day was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates. I told them not to let anything be brought in on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Once or twice some traders and sellers spent the night outside Jerusalem. They were hoping to sell all kinds of goods. ²¹ But I gave them a warning. I said, “Why are you spending the night by the wall? If you do this again, I’ll arrest you.” So from that time on they didn’t come on the Sabbath day anymore. ²² I commanded the Levites to make themselves pure. Then I told them to go and guard the gates. I wanted the Sabbath day to be kept holy.

You are my God. Remember me because of the good things I’ve done. Be kind to me according to your great love.

²³ In those days I also saw that some men of Judah had married women from Ashdod. Others had married women from Ammon or Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod. Or they spoke the language of one of the other nations. They didn’t even know how to speak the language of Judah. ²⁵ So I gave them a warning. I cursed them. I beat up some of them. I pulled their hair out. I had them make a promise in God’s name. I said, “You must promise not to give your daughters to be married to their sons. You must promise not to let their daughters marry your sons. And you must not marry their daughters either. ²⁶ That’s how Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned. He married women from other nations. There wasn’t a king like him anywhere. His God loved him. In fact, God made him king over the whole nation of Israel. But even he was led into sin by women from other lands. ²⁷ Now I hear that you too are doing all of the same terrible and evil things. You aren’t being faithful to our God. You are marrying women from other lands.”

²⁸ One of the sons of Joiada was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Joiada, the son of Eliashib, was the high priest. I drove Joiada’s son away from me.

²⁹ You are my God. Remember what those priests have done. They have brought shame to their own work. They have also brought shame to the covenant that God made with the priests and Levites long ago.

³⁰ So I made the priests and Levites pure. I made them pure from every practice that had come from other countries and had made them impure. I gave them their duties. Each one had his own job to do. ³¹ I also made plans for gifts of wood to be brought at certain appointed times. And I made plans for the first share of the crops to be brought.

You are my God. Please remember me with kindness.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin. “My brothers,” he said, “I have always done my duty to God. To this day I feel that I have done nothing wrong.” ² Ananias the high priest heard this. So he ordered the men standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “You pretender! God will hit you! You sit there and judge me by the law. But you yourself broke the law when you commanded them to hit me!”

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul spoke to him. They said, “How dare you talk like that to God’s high priest!”

⁵ Paul replied, “Brothers, I didn’t realize he was the high priest. It is written, ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ” (Exodus 22:28)

⁶ Paul knew that some of them were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees. So he called out to the members of the Sanhedrin. “My brothers,” he said, “I am a Pharisee. I come from a family of Pharisees. I believe that people will rise from the dead. That’s why I am on trial.” ⁷ When he said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees started to argue. They began to take sides. ⁸ The Sadducees say that people will not rise from the dead. They don’t believe there are angels or spirits either. But the Pharisees believe all these things.

⁹ People were causing trouble and making a lot of noise. Some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up. They argued strongly. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ The people arguing were getting out of control. The commanding officer was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. So he ordered the soldiers to go down and take him away from them by force. The officer had told them to bring Paul into the fort.

¹¹ The next night the Lord stood near Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people about me in Jerusalem. You must do the same in Rome.”

The Plan to Kill Paul

¹² The next morning some Jews gathered secretly to make plans against Paul. They made a promise to themselves. They promised that they would not eat or drink anything until they killed him. ¹³ More than 40 men took part in this plan. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and the elders. They said, “We have made a special promise to God. We will not eat anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now then, you and the Sanhedrin must make an appeal to the commanding officer. Ask him to bring Paul to you. Pretend you want more facts about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

¹⁶ But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. So he went into the fort and told Paul.

¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the commanders. He said to him, “Take this young man to the commanding officer. He has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So the commander took Paul’s nephew to the officer.

The commander said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me. He asked me to bring this young man to you. The young man has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commanding officer took the young man by the hand. He spoke to him in private. “What do you want to tell me?” the officer asked.

²⁰ He said, “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow. They will pretend they want more facts about him. ²¹ Don’t give in to them. More than 40 of them are waiting in hiding to attack him. They have promised that they will not eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now. All they need is for you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin.”

²² The commanding officer let the young man go. But he gave him a warning. “Don’t tell anyone you have reported this to me,” he said.

Paul Is Taken to Caesarea

²³ Then the commanding officer called for two of his commanders. He ordered them, “Gather a company of 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen and 200 men armed with spears. Get them ready to go to Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. ²⁴ Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

²⁵ Here is the letter the officer wrote.

²⁶ I, Claudius Lysias, am writing this letter.

I am sending it to His Excellency, Governor Felix.

Greetings.

²⁷ The Jews grabbed Paul. They were about to kill him. But I came with my soldiers and saved him. I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. ²⁸ I wanted to know why they were bringing charges against him. So I brought him to their Sanhedrin. ²⁹ I found out that the charge against him was based on questions about their law. But there was no charge against him worthy of death or prison. ³⁰ Then I was told about a plan against the man. So I sent him to you at once. I also ordered those bringing charges against him to present their case to you.

³¹ The soldiers followed their orders. During the night they took Paul with them. They brought him as far as Antipatris. ³² The next day they let the horsemen go on with him. The soldiers returned to the fort. ³³ The horsemen arrived in Caesarea. They gave the letter to the governor. Then they handed Paul over to him. ³⁴ The governor read the letter. He asked Paul where he was from. He learned that Paul was from Cilicia. ³⁵ So he said, “I will hear your case when those bringing charges against you get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.