M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
23 When Sarah reached the end of her life, she was 127 years old. 2 She died at Kiriath-arba (a city now known as Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went in where her body was laid out to mourn and weep over her. 3 When he got up from his place beside her, he spoke to the Hittites who had been his neighbors for many years.
Abraham: 4 I am a stranger and an outsider living here among you. In my heartache, I am asking you please to allow me to obtain some property here among you as a grave site for my dead wife. This would allow me to give her a proper burial.
5 The Hittites conferred and answered Abraham.
Hittites: 6 Listen, my lord. We recognize you are a powerful prince among us, and God is certainly with you. Bury your dead in the best of our burial places. None of us will deny you any tomb so that you might properly bury your dead.
7 Abraham got up and bowed in respect to the people of the land, the Hittites.
Abraham (to the Hittites): 8 If you are really willing for me to give my dead wife a proper burial, then would you please ask Ephron (Zohar’s son) for me 9 if I might buy the cave of Machpelah. It is a tract of land he owns located at the end of his field. With you as my witnesses, I will offer him full price for the property as a place to bury my dead.
10 Now it happened that Ephron was sitting right there among the Hittites. He personally answered Abraham so that all those present at the city gate could hear.
Ephron: 11 No, my lord, listen: I will not sell it to you; I will give you the field and the cave that lies on the property. In the presence of all of these people, my people, I give it to you so that you can go and bury your dead.
12 Abraham again bowed in respect to the people of the land 13 and replied to Ephron so all those present could hear.
Abraham: Please, listen to what I have to say. I will gladly pay you a fair price for the field. Please accept it from me. That way I can bury my dead in peace.
This account reveals the complex and rather ambiguous Near Eastern way of negotiating a purchase. The transaction takes place publicly at the city gate in the presence of the community leaders who could serve as advisors to the deal or witnesses if the deal goes awry. Initially Ephron offers to give the land to Abraham for a burial site, but in true Near Eastern style the patriarch indicates respectfully that he desires to purchase it instead. Ephron’s true motive may be seen in his counteroffer; the property is worth 10 pounds of silver, a not-so-insignificant price for a tract of land on the edge of his property. Abraham’s motive is clear enough. He wants to own outright a parcel of land near where he and his family have lived for many years, a land promised to him by God, a land where now Sarah has died and needs a proper burial. Gifts come with strings attached, and Abraham does not want to owe Ephron or anyone else for that matter. He knows full well he owes everything to God.
14 Ephron answered Abraham.
Ephron: 15 My lord, listen to me. The property is worth 10 pounds of silver. Surely that is an amount we can agree on. So go, and bury your dead in peace.
16 So Abraham accepted Ephron’s offer, and he weighed out the silver for him in the amount they had agreed upon in the presence of the Hittites—10 pounds of silver, according to the weights among the merchants of that time.
17 So it was that the field of Ephron in Machpelah, east of Mamre, the field with the cave in it and the trees on it all passed 18 to Abraham and became his legal possession in the presence of the Hittites and all those officials present at the city gate. 19 After the agreement was made, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (an area now known as Hebron) in Canaan. 20 The field and the cave in it became Abraham’s property with the approval of the Hittites; now he had a proper place to bury his dead.
22 Jesus went on speaking in parables.
Jesus: 2 The kingdom of heaven is like a king whose son was getting married. The king organized a great feast, a huge wedding banquet. 3 He invited everyone he knew. The day of the wedding arrived, and the king sent his servants into town to track down his guests—but when the servants approached them with the king’s message, they refused to come. 4 So the king sent out another batch of servants.
King: Tell those people I’ve invited to come to the wedding banquet! Tell them I have prepared a great feast! Everything is ready! The oxen and fattened cattle have all been butchered, the wine is decanted, and the table is laid out just so.
5 And off the servants went, and they carried the king’s message to the errant guests—who still paid not a whit of attention. One guest headed into his field to work; another sat at his desk to attend to his accounts. 6 The rest of the guests actually turned on the servants, brutalizing them and killing them. 7 When he learned of this, the king was furious. He sent his army to kill the murderers and burn their towns. 8 But there was, of course, still a wedding to celebrate.
King (to his remaining servants): The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited didn’t rise to the occasion. 9 So go into the streets and invite anyone you see; invite everyone you meet.
10 And the servants did just that—they went into the streets and invited everyone they met, rich and poor, good and bad, high and low, sick and well. Everyone who was invited came, and the wedding hall practically burst with guests.
11 The king looked around the wedding party with glee, but he spotted one man who was not dressed appropriately. In fact, he was dressed rather plainly, in clothes not at all fitting for a fine nuptial feast.
King: 12 Kind sir, how did you get in here without a proper suit of wedding clothes?
The man was speechless. He had been invited in off the street, after all! 13 Getting no response, the king told his servants,
King: Tie him up, and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and grinding of teeth.
14 For many are invited, but few are chosen.
15 At that, the Pharisees left. They determined to trap this Jesus with His own words—hang Him by His own rope, you might say. 16 They sent a batch of students to Him, along with a group that was loyal to Herod.
Students: Teacher, we know You are a man of integrity and You tell the truth about the way of God. We know You don’t cotton to public opinion. 17 And that is why we trust You and want You to settle something for us: should we, God’s chosen people, pay taxes to Caesar or not?
18 Jesus knew these men were out to trap Him.
Jesus: You hypocrites! Why do you show up here with such a transparent trick? 19 Bring Me a coin you would use to pay tax.
Someone handed Him a denarius.[a] 20 Jesus fingered the coin.
Jesus: Of whom is this a portrait, and who owns this inscription?
Students: 21 Caesar.
Jesus: Well then, render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
22 And those who had come hoping to trick Jesus were confounded and amazed. And they left Him and went away.
23 That same day, a band of Sadducees—a sect of Jewish aristocrats who, among other things, did not expect a resurrection or anticipate any sort of future life at all—put their own question to Jesus.
Sadducees: 24 Teacher, the law of Moses teaches that if a married man dies with no children, then his brother must marry the widow and father children in his brother’s name. 25 Now we knew a family of seven brothers. The eldest brother married and died, and since he had no children, the next brother married his widow. 26 And shortly thereafter, that second brother died and the next until there were seven marriages with the same woman. 27 Eventually the wife died. 28 So now, Teacher, whose wife will she be at the resurrection? Will she have seven husbands, since they were each married to her?
According to Deuteronomy 25:5–6, a family member is supposed to marry a relative’s widow to carry on the deceased’s family name. Each man in this story dies, having fathered no children; that poor widow keeps marrying these brothers, and they keep dying. So in heaven, who is the husband?
Jesus: 29 You know neither God’s Scriptures nor God’s power—and so your assumptions are all wrong. 30 At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the messengers of heaven.
In heaven all will be devoting themselves to praise. It will not be a simple continuation of life on earth.
31 A key to this resurrected life can be found in the words of Moses, which you do claim to read: 32 “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”[b] Our God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.
33 And again the crowd was amazed. They were astonished at His teaching.
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, a group of Pharisees met to consider new questions that might trip up Jesus. 35 A legal expert thought of one that would certainly stump Him.
Pharisees: 36 Teacher, of all the laws, which commandment is the greatest?
Jesus (quoting Scripture): 37 “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[d] 40 The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.
41 Since the Pharisees were gathered together there, Jesus took the opportunity to pose a question of His own.
Jesus: 42 What do you think about the Anointed One? Whose Son is He?
Pharisees: But, of course, He is the Son of David.
Jesus: 43 Then how is it that David—whose words were surely shaped by the Spirit—calls Him “Lord”? For in his psalms David writes,
44 The Master said to my master
“Sit here at My right hand,
in the place of honor and power,
And I will gather Your enemies together,
lead them in on hands and knees,
and You will rest Your feet on their backs.”[e]
45 How can David call his own Son “Lord”?
46 No one had an answer to Jesus’ question. And from that day forward, no one asked Him anything.
12 These are the priests and the Levites who returned with Zerubbabel (Shealtiel’s son) and Jeshua the high priest. The priests were Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their relatives during the time of Jeshua. 8 In addition the Levites who returned were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, and Judah; Mattaniah and his brothers were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 Their brothers Bakbukiah and Unni stood across from them in worship and led half of the responsive singing. 10 Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 During the time of Joiakim’s high priesthood, these were the leaders of the priestly families: from Seraiah’s family—Meraiah; from Jeremiah’s family—Hananiah; 13 from Ezra’s family—Meshullam; from Amariah’s family—Jehohanan; 14 from Malluchi’s family—Jonathan; from Shebaniah’s family—Joseph; 15 from Harim’s family—Adna; from Meraioth’s family—Helkai; 16 from Iddo’s family—Zechariah; from Ginnethon’s family—Meshullam; 17 from Abijah’s family—Zichri; from Miniamin and Moadiah’s families—Piltai; 18 from Bilgah’s family—Shammua; from Shemaiah’s family—Jehonathan; 19 from Joiarib’s family—Mattenai; from Jedaiah’s family—Uzzi; 20 from Sallai’s family—Kallai; from Amok’s family—Eber; 21 from Hilkiah’s family—Hashabiah; from Jedaiah’s family—Nethanel.
22 During the time of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were listed by the heads of their families when Darius of Persia reigned; the practice was the same for the priests. 23-24 In the book of the chronicles, the Levites who were listed as the heads of families, until the time of Johanan (Eliashib’s son), were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua (Kadmiel’s son). Their brothers stood across from them in worship and led the other half of the responsive singing following the instructions of David, the man of God. 25 The gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms inside the gate were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub. 26 These men fulfilled their responsibilities during the time of Joiakim (Jeshua’s son and Jozadak’s grandson), and in the time of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
27 Finally, the time came to dedicate the wall of Jerusalem. Levites were tracked down from all over to perform the dedication ceremonies in Jerusalem. They celebrated joyously and led the people in songs of thanksgiving, worshiping with abandon. They played cymbals and harps and other stringed instruments they could carry. 28 Singers from all around Jerusalem also came—from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth-gilgal and the farms at Geba and Azmaveth. The singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem where they lived. 30 The priests and the Levites ended the ceremonies by purifying themselves and then the people, the wall, and the gates.
Two very important characteristics of Jewish belief and behavior that set them apart from other peoples are endogamy and Sabbath: The Jewish people can only marry within and among their various tribes. After the exile the choices are limited to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but there is still opportunity for marriage and family. However, the Jews are forbidden to practice exogamy, which is marriage outside their ethnic group. The Eternal does not want the ideas and activities of other nations to influence His special people. Second, as with many of God’s instructions to Israel, the Sabbath observance reflects God’s activities in “creation week” in Genesis 1–2. The Sabbath or seventh-day rest is unique in the ancient world; and it signifies that Israel’s Eternal One is over all aspects of creation, work, play, and rest. Nehemiah understands this, and he is direct in his instructions to this new Judean community.
31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall. I had organized two large choirs to lead us in thanksgiving. One of the choirs walked south along the wall to the right, toward the potsherd gate. 32 Behind that choir marched Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah. 33 This group included Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah. 35-36 Some of the young priests played trumpets. Others played the same instruments David, the man of God, played. They came next: Zechariah, Jonathan’s son—the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph—and his brothers Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. This group was led by Ezra the scribe. 37 At the fountain gate, they went up the steps of the city of David, climbing the city wall, passing the house of David on their way to the water gate to the east.[a]
38 The other choir went to the left. Along with the remaining people up on the wall, I followed them north from the oven tower to the broad wall. 39 We went over the Ephraim gate, the old gate, the fish gate, the tower of Hananel, and all the way to the tower of the hundred. We went through the sheep gate and stopped when we arrived at the guard’s gate. 40 As they arrived at the temple of God, both choirs took their places, all the while giving thanks. Those of us leaders in the second group joined them. 41 We followed the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah played their trumpets 42 while Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer sang. The musicians were playing loudly and the singers were singing. Jezrahiah led them, 43 and together the sounds filled the city. Everyone was rejoicing and making sacrifices to God in their great joy—even the women and children got involved. Far outside Jerusalem the noise from our celebration could be heard.
44 That same day, we appointed men to be in charge of the storerooms that held everyone’s offerings—all their contributions, best offerings, and monetary tithes. These administrators were in charge of collecting from all of the villages the offerings set aside by the law for the priests and the Levites. Everyone was grateful to the priests and the Levites and were happy to contribute for all that they did. 45 Just as David and his son Solomon instructed them to do, they served God and purified the people with the help of the singers and gatekeepers. 46 It was during the united monarchy long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, that it became customary to have choir directors lead the singers in songs of worship and thanksgiving to God. 47 In these times of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, the people of Israel also contributed a daily supply of food so that the singers and the gatekeepers had enough to eat. They also designated consecrated portions for the Levites’ share, who set aside food for the priests—who are Aaron’s descendants.
22 Paul: Brothers and fathers, please let me defend myself against these charges.
2 When they heard him speaking Aramaic, a hush came over the crowd.
Paul: 3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia. I was raised here in Jerusalem and was tutored in the great school of Gamaliel. My education trained me in the strict interpretation of the law of our ancestors, and I grew zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I encountered a movement known as the Way, and I considered it a threat to our religion, so I persecuted it violently. I put both men and women in chains, had them imprisoned, and would have killed them— 5 as the high priest and the entire council of elders will tell you. I received documentation from them to go to Damascus and work with the brothers there to arrest followers of the Way and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains so they could be properly punished. 6 I was on my way to Damascus. It was about noon. Suddenly a powerful light shone around me, 7 and I fell to the ground. A voice spoke: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” 8 I answered, “Who are You, Lord?” The voice replied, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, the One you persecute.”
9 My companions saw the light, but they didn’t hear the voice. 10 I asked, “What do You want me to do, Lord?” The Lord replied, “Get up and go to Damascus; you will be given your instructions there.” 11 Since the intense light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus. 12 I was visited there by a devout man named Ananias, a law-keeping Jew who was well spoken of by all the Jews living in Damascus. 13 He said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!” I could immediately see again, beginning with Ananias standing before me. 14 Then he said, “You have been chosen by the God of our ancestors to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the voice of God. 15 You will tell the story of what you have seen and heard to the whole world. 16 So now, don’t delay. Get up, be ceremonially cleansed through baptism,[a] and have your sins washed away, as you call on His name in prayer.”
17 I returned to Jerusalem, and I was praying here in the temple one day. I slipped into a trance 18 and had a vision in which Jesus said to me, “Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem fast! The people here will not receive your testimony about Me.” 19 I replied, “But Lord, they all know that I went from synagogue to synagogue imprisoning and beating everyone who believed in You. 20 They know what I was like and how I stood in approval of the execution of Stephen, Your witness, when he was stoned. I even held the coats of those who actually stoned him.” 21 Jesus replied, “Go, for I am going to send you to distant lands to teach the outsiders.”
These Jewish leaders are prepared to squabble with Paul about the law. But in his wisdom, Paul disarms them with his story. He is one of them; and on his journey to defend Judaism against these Christian heretics, he encountered the living God. How can anyone dispute his experience? He was trained by trustworthy Jews and lived his life according to their strict interpretation of the law. When Paul invites his audience into his experience with the supernatural, it makes debating the finer points of the law seem ridiculous. It would be like antagonizing Moses while he reiterated God’s message heard through the burning bush. But prejudice is apparently stronger than any divine message. Paul has them hanging on to every word from his mouth, until he speaks of the outsiders. The crowd immediately rises from their silence into a furious rage. The message is clear—if your revelation extends beyond our people, we will hear nothing of it. How could all of these students of the Hebrew Scriptures have been so ignorant about God’s intentions to rescue all people? The prophets declared God’s plan to offer grace to Jews and non-Jews, but no one in this crowd considered that good news.
22 They were listening quietly up until he mentioned the outsiders.
Crowd (shouting): Away with him! Such a man can’t be allowed to remain here. Kill him! He must die!
23 Chaos broke out again. People were shouting, slamming their coats down on the ground, and throwing fistfuls of dust up in the air. 24 The commandant ordered the soldiers to bring Paul to the barracks and flog him until he confessed to whatever he had done to stir up this outrage.
25 Back at the barracks, as they tied him up with leather thongs, Paul spoke to a nearby officer.
Paul: Is this legal—for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?
26 The officer went and spoke to the commandant.
Officer: What can you do about this? Did you know this fellow is a Roman citizen?
Commandant (rushing to Paul’s side): 27 What’s this? Are you really a Roman citizen?
Paul: Yes.
Commandant: 28 I paid a small fortune for my citizenship.
Paul: I was born a citizen.
29 Hearing this, those who were about to start the flogging pulled back, and the commandant was concerned because he had arrested and bound a citizen without cause. 30 He still needed to conduct an investigation to uncover the Jews’ accusations against Paul. So the next day, he removed the ties on Paul and called a meeting with the chief priests and council of elders. He brought Paul in and had him stand before the group.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.