M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 Back when King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim ruled the land, 2 these four kings formed an alliance and made war on five other kings: Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (a city now known as Zoar). 3 All of these joined forces in the valley of Siddim (near the area now known as the Dead Sea[a]). 4 You see, the five latter kings had been conquered by Chedorlaomer and so they had served him for 12 years; but in the 13th year, they rebelled against him. 5 In the 14th year, Chedorlaomer and the three kings who were allied with him squashed rebellions of the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir all the way to El-paran, which lies on the edge of the wilderness.
7 Then Chedorlaomer and his allies turned back and did the same in En-mishpat (a city also known as Kadesh), and they conquered all of the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites, who lived then in Hazazon-tamar. 8-9 The five kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) all went and joined in battle in the valley of Siddim against the four kings (Chedorlaomer of Elam, Tidal of Goiim, Amraphel of Shinar, and Arioch of Ellasar). 10 The valley of Siddim held many dangers; it was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled the battle, some of their soldiers fell into the pits and were killed. The rest managed to make it out alive to the hill country. 11 As a result, Chedorlaomer and his allies captured all of the spoils of battle from the retreating forces of Sodom and Gomorrah—their provisions, weapons, and other supplies. Then they left. 12 But before they left they took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother who lived in Sodom, prisoner along with all of his goods.
13 Then one of the men who had escaped the battle went and found Abram, the Hebrew, who at that time was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite (brother of Eshcol and of Aner—some of Abram’s allies). He told Abram what had happened. 14 As soon as Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he gathered a company of his most reliable and best-trained men (there were 318 of them, all born in his household) and pursued the enemy as far north as Dan. 15 When he caught up with them, Abram divided up his men, surrounded the enemy, and attacked them during the night. He and his soldiers crushed the invaders and pursued any survivors all the way to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 After the battle Abram recovered all the spoils the enemy had taken and brought them back with him. He rescued his nephew Lot and brought him back, along with his goods; there were other captives, too, including some women whom he rescued.
17 After Abram and his men defeated Chedorlaomer and the other kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him on his return at the valley of Shaveh (an area also known as the King’s Valley). 18 The priest-king of Jerusalem,[b] Melchizedek, came out to meet him as well and brought out bread and wine for them. Melchizedek was a priest of the One whom he called the “the Most High God.”[c] 19 Priest-king Melchizedek offered a special blessing to Abram.
King Melchizedek: May Abram be blessed by the Most High God,
Creator of the heavens and earth.
20 Blessing and honor to the Most High God,
who has clearly delivered your enemies into your hands!
Abram gave the priest-king a tenth of all of the captured goods he was bringing back with him.
This unusual encounter has sparked much interest over the centuries. Melchizedek, it seems, appears out of nowhere. There is no genealogical record for him; he is described simply as the priest-king of Salem, likely a reference to the city that will one day be known as Jerusalem. The Hebrew root of the name Salem means “peace” (shalom). Melchizedek comes in peace, offering the victors a meal to sustain them on their journey home. Abram, in return, gives Melchizedek ten percent of the spoils claimed in battle. There are two other scriptural references to Melchizedek in Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7. The writer of Hebrews compares the priestly role of Jesus to the ancient priestly order of Melchizedek showing that Jesus’ role, like that of Melchizedek, is superior in every way to the later Levitical priests.
King of Sodom (to Abram): 21 Give me the people, and you can take all of the spoils for yourself.
Abram: 22 I have pledged a solemn oath to the Eternal One—the Most High God, Creator of the heavens and earth. 23 I promised that I would not keep any shred of what belongs to you—not a thread of a garment or a strap of a sandal. That way you could never take credit for any wealth of mine. 24 I will take nothing except the food my men have eaten. As for the men who fought with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—let them take their shares, but I will take nothing more.
13 That same day, Jesus left the house and went to sit by the sea. 2 Large crowds gathered around Him, and He got into a boat on the sea and sat there. The crowd stood on the shore waiting for His teaching.
This next sermon series, the third of Jesus’ five Mosaic-like sermons, is filled with parables or stories with a deeper meaning about the kingdom of heaven.
3 And so Jesus began to teach. On this day, He spoke in parables. Here is His first parable:
Jesus: Once there was a sower who scattered seeds. 4 One day he walked in a field scattering seeds as he went. Some seeds fell beside a road, and a flock of birds came and ate all those seeds. 5 So the sower scattered seeds in a field, one with shallow soil and strewn with rocks. But the seeds grew quickly amid all the rocks, 6 without rooting themselves in the shallow soil. Their roots got tangled up in all the stones. The sun scorched these seeds, and they died. 7 And so the sower scattered seeds near a path, this one covered with thorny vines. The seeds fared no better there—the thorns choked them, and they died. 8 And so finally the sower scattered his seeds in a patch of good earth. At home in the good earth, the seeds grew and grew. Eventually the seeds bore fruit, and the fruit grew ripe and was harvested. The harvest was immense—30, 60, 100 times what was sown.
9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Disciples: 10 Why do You speak to the people in parables?
Jesus: 11 The knowledge of the secrets of heaven has been given to you, but it has not been given to them. 12 Those who have something will be given more—and they will have abundance. Those who have nothing will lose what they have—they will be destitute. 13 I teach in parables so the people may look but not see, listen but not hear or understand.[a] 14 They are fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy:
You will listen, but you will not understand;
you will look, but you will not see.
15 The people’s hearts have turned to flab;
their ears are clogged;
their eyes are shut.
They will try to see, but they will not see;
they will try to hear, but they will not hear;
they will try to understand, but they will not comprehend.
If they, with their blindness and deafness, so choose, then I will heal them.[b]
16-17 Many holy prophets and righteous men and women and people of prayer and doers of good have wanted to see but did not see, and have wanted to hear but did not hear. Your eyes and ears are blessed.
18 This is what the parable of the sower means. 19 It is about the kingdom of heaven. When someone hears the story of the Kingdom and cannot understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away whatever goodness and holiness had been sown in the heart. This is like the seeds sown beside the road. 20-21 You know people who hear the word of God and receive it joyfully—but then, somehow, the word fails to take root in their hearts. It is temporary. As soon as there is trouble for those people, they trip: those people are the seeds strewn on the rocky soil. 22 And you know people who hear the word, but it is choked inside them because they constantly worry and prefer the wealth and pleasures of the world: they prefer drunken dinner parties to prayer, power to piety, and riches to righteousness. Those people are like the seeds sown among thorns. 23 The people who hear the word and receive it and grow in it—those are like the seeds sown on good soil. They produce a bumper crop, 30 or 60 or 100 times what was sown.
Our Father in heaven plants many seeds in order to ensure that some seeds bear fruit. The final harvest, however, is worth any amount of hard work.
24 Jesus told them another parable.
Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like this: Once there was a farmer who sowed good seeds in his field. 25 While the farmer’s workers were sleeping, his enemy crept into the field and sowed weeds among all the wheat seeds. Then he snuck away again. 26 Eventually the crops grew—wheat, but also weeds. 27 So the farmer’s workers said to him, “Sir, why didn’t you sow good seeds in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”
28 “My enemy must have done this,” replied the farmer.
“Should we go pull up all the weeds?” asked his workers.
29 “No,” said the farmer. “It’s too risky. As you pull up the weeds, you would probably pull up some wheat as well. 30 We’ll let them both grow until harvesttime. I will tell the harvesters to collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, and only then to harvest the wheat and bring it to my barn.”
31 Jesus told them another parable.
Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a sower took and planted in his field. 32 Mustard seeds are minute, tiny—but the seeds grow into trees. Flocks of birds can come and build their nests in the branches.
33 And Jesus told a fourth parable.
Jesus: Imagine a woman preparing a loaf of bread. The kingdom of heaven is like the leaven she folds into her dough. She kneads and kneads until the leaven is worked into all the dough.
Without the leaven, the dough remains flat. But the secret is the almost invisible leaven making her loaves fluff and rise.
34 Jesus gave all these teachings to the crowd in parables. Indeed, He spoke only in parables 35 in fulfillment of the prophetic words of the psalms:
I will open My mouth in parables;
I will tell them things that have been hidden and obscure since the very beginning of the world.[c]
36 Then Jesus left the crowds and returned to His house. His disciples followed Him.
Disciples: Explain to us the story You told about the weeds.
Jesus: 37 The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world; the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom. The weeds—who do you think the weeds are? They are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who threw the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the workers are God’s heavenly messengers. 40 In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned—well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. 42 They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. 43 And the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field. A crafty man found the treasure buried there and buried it again so no one would know where it was. Thrilled, he went off and sold everything he had, and then he came back and bought the field with the hidden treasure part of the bargain.
45 Or the kingdom of heaven is like a jeweler on the lookout for the finest pearls. 46 When he found a pearl more beautiful and valuable than any jewel he had ever seen, the jeweler sold all he had and bought that pearl, his pearl of great price.
47 Or think of it this way: the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, a net that caught a world of flickering fish. 48 When the net was full, the fishermen hauled it to shore. They separated the good fish from the bad, placing the good fish in a bucket and throwing out the inedible fish. 49 That is what the end of time will be like. The heavenly messengers will separate the good from the bad, the righteous from the wicked, the repentant from the prideful, the faithful from the hard-hearted. 50 The bad, the wicked, the prideful, and the hard-hearted will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
51 Do you understand?
Disciples: Yes, we understand.
Jesus: 52 Every scribe and teacher of the law who has become a student of the ways of the Kingdom is like the head of the household who brings some new things and some old things, both out of the storeroom.
53 With that Jesus finished teaching His parables, and He moved on. 54-56 He came to Nazareth, the town where He had grown up. He taught at the local synagogue, and the people were astonished.
People: Is this our little Jesus? Is this Mary’s son? Is this the carpenter’s son? Is this Jesus, brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Didn’t we just see His sisters yesterday at the market? Where did He learn all this? Whence His power?
57 They were offended by Him—by His teachings, by who He was.
Jesus: Prophets are respected—except in their hometowns and in their own households. There the prophet is dishonored.
58 Jesus didn’t bother to work wondrous miracles there in Nazareth because the people did not believe.
3 The sheep gate was first. Led by their brother, the high priest Eliashib, the priests began the work of rebuilding. They framed it,[a] then they set its doors in place. They proceeded to the tower of the hundred, and after dedicating it they made it as far as the tower of Hananel. 2 The men of Jericho partnered with Eliashib, as did Zacur (Imri’s son).
3 Hassenaah’s sons rebuilt the fish gate. They framed it, set its doors in place, then secured it with bolts and bars. 4 Meremoth (Hakkoz’s grandson and Uriah’s son) partnered with Hassenaah’s sons in repairing the wall, as did Meshullam (Berechiah’s son and Meshezabel’s grandson) and Zadok (Baana’s son). 5 Even the men from Tekoa partnered in the repairs; however, Jerusalem’s long-standing noblemen didn’t support the new leadership’s plans.
6 Joiada (Paseah’s son) and Meshullam (Besodeiah’s son) rebuilt the old gate. In the same way, they framed it, set its doors in place, and secured it with bolts and bars. 7 The men of Gibeon and Mizpah (that’s the Mizpah where the governor of the Persian Empire beyond the Euphrates River had his capital)—Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite—partnered with them. 8 Uzziel the goldsmith (Harhaiah’s son) partnered with them in the repairs, as did Hananiah, a perfumer. The wall they built was the broad wall. 9 There, a half-district ruler of Jerusalem named Rephaiah (Hur’s son) partnered with them in the repairs. 10 Jedaiah (Harumaph’s son) partnered with Rephaiah, working directly across from his own house, as did Hattush (Hashabneiah’s son). 11 Malchijah (Harim’s son) and Hasshub (Pahath-moab’s son) repaired another section and the oven tower. 12 A half-district ruler named Shallum (Hallohesh’s son) and his daughters partnered with Malchijah.
13 Working with the residents of Zanoah, Hanun rebuilt the valley gate. In the same way, they framed it, set its doors in place, and secured it with bolts and bars. They were able to build the wall as far as the potsherd gate—a full 500 yards past where they started.
14 The ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem rebuilt the potsherd gate. In the same way, he framed it, set its doors in place, then secured it with bolts and bars.
15 Mizpah’s ruler, Shallum (Col-hozeh’s son) repaired the fountain gate, adding a roof while framing it, setting its doors in place, and securing it with bolts and bars. It fell to him to repair the wall of the pool of Shelah—of the king’s garden—to the steps leading down and away from the city of David.
Instead of repairing the old, these people build entirely new sections of wall inside the former wall’s perimeter, because reterracing the steep incline and clearing the rubble would be far too time consuming.
16 Nehemiah (Azbuk’s son), who was ruler of the half-district of Beth-zur, built until he was directly across from David’s tombs, which is also where the artificial pool is and the house of the heroes.
17 Down the wall, the Levites worked: Rehum (Bani’s son), then Hashabiah, the half-district ruler of Keilah who worked on behalf of his own people. 18 Then came their brothers: Bavvai (Henadad’s son), the other half-district ruler of Keilah. 19 Ezer (Jeshua’s son), who ruled in Mizpah, partnered with Bavvai on the section of the wall that faced the road leading up to the armory—as far as the point where the wall angles away.[b] 20 Then came Baruch (Zabbai’s son), who worked fervently on the section between the angle of the wall and the entrance to High Priest Eliashib’s house. 21 From that entrance all the way to the end of Eliashib’s house, Meremoth (Uriah’s son and Hakkoz’s grandson) worked, in addition to the work he had completed next to the fish gate. 22 Priests from the surrounding region repaired the next portion of the wall. 23 Benjamin and Hasshub worked on sections directly in front of their homes, then Azariah (Maaseiah’s son and Ananiah’s grandson) worked on a section beside his home. 24 From Azariah’s home to the angle and the corner, Binnui (Henadad’s son) completed a second section. 25 Palal (Uzai’s son) worked on the wall section at a point across from both the angle and the place where the upper tower comes out of the palace near the guards’ court. Then came Pedaiah (Parosh’s son) 26 and servants from the temple living on the Ophel’s hill making repairs as far as the point directly across from the water gate to the east and the upper palace tower. 27 The men of Tekoa, who worked without the support of their nobles, worked from that same tower as far as Ophel’s wall.
28 Beyond the horse gate, each priest repaired the wall section in front of his own house, 29 as did Zadok (Immer’s son) and the guard of the east gate, Shemaiah (Shecaniah’s son). 30 Then Hananiah (Shelemiah’s son) and Hanun (Zalaph’s sixth-born son) worked on the next section, and Meshullam (Berechiah’s son) worked on the section across from where he lived. 31 Malchijah, a goldsmith, then repaired the wall all the way to the place where the temple servants and the merchants live, the place across from the inspection gate just beyond the room above the corner. 32 The goldsmiths and the merchants were the ones responsible for the final area between that room and the sheep gate.
After Barnabas and Saul help deliver the relief fund to Jerusalem (11:29–30), the three men return to Antioch. With this trip by Saul (who will shortly be renamed Paul) back to Antioch, Luke’s emphasis for the rest of the book shifts away from Peter and the church in Jerusalem to focus on Paul and his mission to spread the good news to Jews and outsiders throughout the northern Mediterranean area.
13 The church in Antioch had grown strong, with many prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (a dark man from Central Africa), Lucius (from Cyrene in North Africa), Manaen (a member of Herod’s governing council), and Saul. 2 Once they were engaged in a time of worship and fasting when the Holy Spirit spoke to them, “Commission Barnabas and Saul to a project I have called them to accomplish.” 3 They fasted and prayed some more, laid their hands on the two selected men, and sent them off on their new mission. 4 Having received special commissioning by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went to nearby Seleucia on the coast. Then they caught a ship to the island of Cyprus.
5 At the city of Salamis on the east side of Cyprus, they proclaimed the message of God in Jewish synagogues, assisted by John Mark. 6-7 They went westward from town to town, finally reaching Paphos on the western shore. There the proconsul named Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear their message. At his side was an occult spiritualist and Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus 8 or Elymas (which means “magician”). Elymas argued with Barnabas and Saul, trying to keep Sergius Paulus from coming to faith.
9 Saul, who is also known as Paul, was suddenly full of the Holy Spirit. He stared directly into Elymas’s face.
Paul: 10 You’re a son of the devil. You’re an enemy of justice, you’re full of lies, and you steal opportunities from others. Why do you insist on confusing and twisting the clear, straight paths of the Lord? 11 Hear this, Elymas: the Lord’s hand is against you, and you will be as blind as a bat for a period of time, beginning right now!
At that instant, it was as if a mist came over Elymas and then total darkness. He stumbled around, groping for a hand so he could be led back home. 12 When Sergius Paulus saw this happen, he came to faith and was attracted to and amazed by the teaching about the Lord.
13 Paul and his entourage boarded a ship and set sail from Paphos. They traveled north to Perga in Pamphylia. John Mark, however, abandoned the mission and returned to Jerusalem.
14 Paul and Barnabas continued from Perga to Pisidian Antioch; and on the Sabbath, they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the regular reading of the Hebrew Scriptures—including passages from the Law and the Prophets—the synagogue leaders sent a message to them: “Brothers, if you would like to give us some exhortation, please do so.” 16 Paul rose to his feet, offered a gesture of greeting, and began his message.
Paul: Israelites and other God-fearing people, please hear me. 17 The God of the Israelites chose our ancestors and helped them become a large population while they were living in Egypt many years ago. He displayed His great power by leading them out of that powerful nation. 18 For about 40 years, He endured their constant complaining in the wilderness. 19 He opened up some land for them in Canaan by destroying the seven nations living there, and that land became their inheritance for about 450 years. 20 They had tribal leaders[a] through the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them one—Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin—who reigned for 40 years. 22 After God moved Saul aside, He made David king in his place. God had this to say about David: “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after My own heart. He’s the kind of king who will rule in ways that please Me.”[b] 23 God has selected one of David’s descendants as the long-promised Liberator of Israel. I am speaking of Jesus.
24 Before Jesus arrived on the scene, His cousin John was hard at work, proclaiming to all the people of Israel a ceremonial washing through baptism[c] and pointing to a new direction in thought and life. 25 John’s ministry climaxed when he said, “Who do you assume me to be? I am not the One you’re looking for. No, but One is coming after me, One whose sandal thong I am unworthy to untie.”[d] 26 My brothers, fellow descendants of our common father Abraham, and others here who fear God, we are the ones to whom God has sent this message of salvation.
27 But you know the people of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus. They didn’t understand the words of the prophets that are read in the synagogues on Sabbath after Sabbath. As a result, they fulfilled the ancient prophecies by condemning Jesus. 28 Even though they could find no offense punishable by death, still they asked Pilate to execute Jesus. 29 When they carried out everything that had been foretold by the prophets, they took His body down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But that was not the end: God raised Him from the dead, 31 and over a period of many days, He appeared to those who had been His companions from the beginning of their journey in Galilee until its end in Jerusalem. They are now witnesses to everyone. 32 We are here to bring you the good news of God’s promise to our ancestors, 33 which He has now fulfilled for our children by raising Jesus. Consider the promises fulfilled in Jesus. The psalmist says, “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.”[e]
34 Elsewhere God promises that Jesus will rise and never return to death and corruption again: “I will make You the holy and faithful promises I made to David.”[f] 35 Similarly, another psalm says, “You will not abandon Me to experience death and the grave or leave Me to rot alone.”[g] 36 We all know David died and was reduced to dust after he served God’s purpose in his generation; 37 these words obviously apply not to David but to the One God raised from death before suffering decay. 38 So you must realize, my brothers, that through this resurrected man forgiveness of sins is assured to you. 39 Through Jesus, everyone who believes is set free from all sins—sins which the law of Moses could not release you from. 40 In light of all this, be careful that you do not fulfill these words of the prophet Habakkuk:
41 Look, you scoffers!
Be shocked to death.
For in your days I am doing a work,
a work you will never believe, even if someone tells you plainly![h]
42 Paul and Barnabas prepared to leave the synagogue, but the people wanted to hear more and urged them to return the following Sabbath. 43 As the people dispersed after the meeting, many Jews and converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas. Privately Paul and Barnabas continued teaching them and urged them to remain steadfast in the grace of God. 44 The next Sabbath, it seemed the whole city had gathered to hear the message of the Lord. 45 But some of the Jewish leaders were jealous when they saw these huge crowds. They began to argue with and contradict Paul’s message, as well as slander him. 46 Paul and Barnabas together responded with great confidence.
Paul and Barnabas: OK, then. It was only right that we should bring God’s message to you Jewish people first. But now, since you are rejecting our message and identifying yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the outsiders. 47 The Lord has commanded us to do this. Remember His words:
I have appointed you a light to the nations beyond Israel,
so you can bring redemption to every corner of the earth.[i]
48 These words created two strong reactions. The outsiders were thrilled and praised God’s message, and all those who had been appointed for eternal life became believers. 49 Through them the Lord’s message spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders united the aristocratic religious women and the city’s leading men in opposition to Paul and Barnabas, and soon they were persecuted and driven out of the region. 51 They simply shook the dust off their feet in protest and moved on to Iconium. 52 The disciples weren’t intimidated at all; rather, they were full of joy and the Holy Spirit.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.