M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Abraham and Abimelech
20 Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar, 2 (A)he said that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3 One night God appeared to him in a dream and said, “You are going to die, because you have taken this woman; she is already married.”
4 But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, “Lord, I am innocent! Would you destroy me and my people? 5 Abraham himself said that she was his sister, and she said the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience, and I have done no wrong.”
6 God replied in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did it with a clear conscience; so I kept you from sinning against me and did not let you touch her. 7 But now, give the woman back to her husband. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, so that you will not die. But if you do not give her back, I warn you that you are going to die, you and all your people.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelech called all his officials and told them what had happened, and they were terrified. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? What wrong have I done to you to make you bring this disaster on me and my kingdom? No one should ever do what you have done to me. 10 Why did you do it?”
11 Abraham answered, “I thought that there would be no one here who has reverence for God and that they would kill me to get my wife. 12 She really is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not of my mother, and I married her. 13 So when God sent me from my father's house into foreign lands, I said to her, ‘You can show how loyal you are to me by telling everyone that I am your brother.’”
14 Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and at the same time he gave him sheep, cattle, and slaves. 15 He said to Abraham, “Here is my whole land; live anywhere you like.” 16 He said to Sarah, “I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver as proof to all who are with you that you are innocent; everyone will know that you have done no wrong.”
17-18 Because of what had happened to Sarah, Abraham's wife, the Lord had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech's palace to have children. So Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed him. He also healed his wife and his slave women, so that they could have children.
Jesus Teaches about Divorce(A)
19 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him by asking, “Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reason he wishes?”
4 (B)Jesus answered, “Haven't you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? 5 (C)And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’ 6 So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.”
7 (D)The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?”
8 Jesus answered, “Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. 9 (E)I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, commits adultery if he marries some other woman.”
10 His disciples said to him, “If this is how it is between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus answered, “This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it. 12 For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children(F)
13 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and to pray for them, but the disciples scolded the people. 14 Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
15 He placed his hands on them and then went away.
The Rich Young Man(G)
16 Once a man came to Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me concerning what is good?” answered Jesus. “There is only One who is good. Keep the commandments if you want to enter life.”
18 (H)“What commandments?” he asked.
Jesus answered, “Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; 19 (I)respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
20 “I have obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else do I need to do?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.
23 Jesus then said to his disciples, “I assure you: it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven. 24 I repeat: it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were completely amazed. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked.
26 Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible.”
27 Then Peter spoke up. “Look,” he said, “we have left everything and followed you. What will we have?”
28 (J)Jesus said to them, “You can be sure that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the New Age, then you twelve followers of mine will also sit on thrones, to rule the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake, will receive a hundred times more and will be given eternal life. 30 (K)But many who now are first will be last, and many who now are last will be first.
The People Confess Their Sins
9 1-2 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month the people of Israel gathered to fast in order to show sorrow for their sins. They had already separated themselves from all foreigners. They wore sackcloth and put dust on their heads as signs of grief. Then they stood and began to confess the sins that they and their ancestors had committed. 3 For about three hours the Law of the Lord their God was read to them, and for the next three hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.
4 There was a platform for the Levites, and on it stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. They prayed aloud to the Lord their God.
5 The following Levites gave a call to worship: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said:
“Stand up and praise the Lord your God;
praise him forever and ever!
Let everyone praise his glorious name,
although no human praise is great enough.”
The Prayer of Confession
6 And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer:
“You, Lord, you alone are Lord;
you made the heavens and the stars of the sky.
You made land and sea and everything in them;
you gave life to all.
The heavenly powers bow down and worship you.
7 (A)You, Lord God, chose Abram
and led him out of Ur in Babylonia;
you changed his name to Abraham.
8 (B)You found that he was faithful to you,
and you made a covenant with him.
You promised to give him the land of the Canaanites,
the land of the Hittites and the Amorites,
the land of the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites,
to be a land where his descendants would live.
You kept your promise, because you are faithful.
9 (C)“You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt;
you heard their call for help at the Red Sea.
10 (D)You worked amazing miracles against the king,
against his officials and the people of his land,
because you knew how they oppressed your people.
You won then the fame you still have today.
11 (E)Through the sea you made a path for your people
and led them through on dry ground.
Those who pursued them drowned in deep water,
as a stone sinks in the raging sea.
12 (F)With a cloud you led them in daytime,
and at night you lighted their way with fire.
13 (G)At Mount Sinai you came down from heaven;
you spoke to your people
and gave them good laws and sound teachings.
14 You taught them to keep your Sabbaths holy,
and through your servant Moses you gave them your laws.
15 (H)“When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven,
and water from a rock when they were thirsty.
You told them to take control of the land
which you had promised to give them.
16 (I)But our ancestors grew proud and stubborn
and refused to obey your commands.
17 (J)They refused to obey; they forgot all you did;
they forgot the miracles you had performed.
In their pride they chose a leader
to take them back to slavery in Egypt.
But you are a God who forgives;
you are gracious and loving, slow to be angry.
Your mercy is great; you did not forsake them.
18 (K)They made an idol in the shape of a bull-calf
and said it was the god who led them from Egypt!
How much they insulted you, Lord!
19 (L)But you did not abandon them there in the desert,
for your mercy is great.
You did not take away the cloud or the fire
that showed them the path by day and night.
20 In your goodness you told them what they should do;
you fed them manna and gave them water to drink.
21 Through forty years in the desert
you provided all that they needed;
their clothing never wore out,
and their feet were not swollen with pain.
22 (M)“You let them conquer nations and kingdoms,
lands that bordered their own.
They conquered the land of Heshbon, where Sihon ruled,
and the land of Bashan, where Og was king.
23 (N)You gave them as many children as there are stars in the sky,
and let them conquer and live in the land
that you had promised their ancestors to give them.
24 (O)They conquered the land of Canaan;
you overcame the people living there.
You gave your people the power to do as they pleased
with the people and kings of Canaan.
25 (P)Your people captured fortified cities,
fertile land, houses full of wealth,
cisterns already dug,
olive trees, fruit trees, and vineyards.
They ate all they wanted and grew fat;
they enjoyed all the good things you gave them.
26 (Q)“But your people rebelled and disobeyed you;
they turned their backs on your Law.
They killed the prophets who warned them,
who told them to turn back to you.
They insulted you time after time,
27 so you let their enemies conquer and rule them.
In their trouble they called to you for help,
and you answered them from heaven.
In your great mercy you sent them leaders
who rescued them from their foes.
28 When peace returned, they sinned again,
and again you let their enemies conquer them.
Yet when they repented and asked you to save them,
in heaven you heard, and time after time
you rescued them in your great mercy.
29 (R)You warned them to obey your teachings,
but in pride they rejected your laws,
although keeping your Law is the way to life.
Hard-headed and stubborn, they refused to obey.
30 (S)Year after year you patiently warned them.
You inspired your prophets to speak,
but your people were deaf,
so you let them be conquered by other nations.
31 And yet, because your mercy is great,
you did not forsake or destroy them.
You are a gracious and merciful God!
32 (T)“O God, our God, how great you are!
How terrifying, how powerful!
You faithfully keep your covenant promises.
From the time when Assyrian kings oppressed us,
even till now, how much we have suffered!
Our kings, our leaders, our priests and prophets,
our ancestors, and all our people have suffered.
Remember how much we have suffered!
33 You have done right to punish us;
you have been faithful, even though we have sinned.
34 Our ancestors, our kings, leaders, and priests
have not kept your Law.
They did not listen to your commands and warnings.
35 With your blessing, kings ruled your people
when they lived in the broad, fertile land you gave them;
but they failed to turn from sin and serve you.
36 And now we are slaves in the land that you gave us,
this fertile land which gives us food.
37 What the land produces goes to the kings
that you put over us because we sinned.
They do as they please with us and our livestock,
and we are in deep distress!”
The People Sign an Agreement
38 Because of all that has happened, we, the people of Israel, hereby make a solemn written agreement, and our leaders, our Levites, and our priests put their seals to it.
Paul in Ephesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
“We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” they answered.
3 “Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?” Paul asked.
“The baptism of John,” they answered.
4 (A)Paul said, “The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him—that is, in Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message. 7 They were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly with the people, holding discussions with them and trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some of them were stubborn and would not believe, and before the whole group they said evil things about the Way of the Lord. So Paul left them and took the believers with him, and every day[a] he held discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.
The Sons of Sceva
11 God was performing unusual miracles through Paul. 12 Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them. 13 Some Jews who traveled around and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you—who are you?”
16 The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off. 17 All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honor. 18 Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done. 19 Many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to fifty thousand silver coins.[b] 20 In this powerful way the word of the Lord[c] kept spreading and growing stronger.
The Riot in Ephesus
21 After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind[d] to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. “After I go there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.
23 It was at this time that there was serious trouble in Ephesus because of the Way of the Lord. 24 A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers. 25 So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work. 26 Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia. 27 There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed—the goddess worshiped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!”
28 As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” 29 The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were traveling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theater. 30 Paul himself wanted to go before the crowd, but the believers would not let him. 31 Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theater. 32 Meanwhile the whole meeting was in an uproar: some people were shouting one thing, others were shouting something else, because most of them did not even know why they had come together. 33 Some of the people concluded that Alexander was responsible, since the Jews made him go up to the front. Then Alexander motioned with his hand for the people to be silent, and he tried to make a speech of defense. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted together the same thing for two hours: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!”
35 At last the city clerk was able to calm the crowd. “Fellow Ephesians!” he said. “Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven. 36 Nobody can deny these things. So then, you must calm down and not do anything reckless. 37 You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against anyone, we have the authorities and the regular days for court; charges can be made there. 39 But if there is something more that you want, it will have to be settled in a legal meeting of citizens. 40 For after what has happened today, there is the danger that we will be accused of a riot. There is no excuse for all this uproar, and we would not be able to give a good reason for it.” 41 After saying this, he dismissed the meeting.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.