M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 21
The Promised Son.[a] 1 The Lord visited Sarah, as he had said he would. The Lord fulfilled what he had promised to Sarah. 2 Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the very time that the Lord had established. 3 Abraham named the son whom Sarah bore Isaac. 4 Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him to do. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.
6 Sarah said, “God has given me a reason to laugh out loud. All will smile because of me.” 7 She then said, “Who would have ever said to Abraham, ‘Sarah will nurse sons’? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Ishmael Is Sent Away.[b] 8 Isaac grew and was weaned. On the day that he was weaned, Abraham threw a great banquet. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, the one whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with[c] her son Isaac. 10 She said to Abraham, “Send this slave and her son away, for the son of this slave must not be an heir together with my son Isaac.”
11 This greatly distressed Abraham for he was concerned for his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let this matter with your son and the slave woman distress you. Listen to what Sarah tells you. Listen to her voice, for it is through Isaac that descendants will bear your name. 13 But I will also make the son of the slave woman become a great nation, for he is your son.”
14 Abraham arose early in the morning and gave Hagar bread and a skin of water, placing them on her back. He entrusted the child to her and sent her away. They left and wandered in the desert of Beer-sheba.
15 When they used up all the water in the skin, she placed the child under a bush 16 and went and sat down opposite him, about the distance of a bowshot. She said, “I do not want to see the child die.” She sat opposite him and began to sob.
17 But God heard the voice of the child, and the angel of God called upon Hagar from the heavens and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not fear because God has heard the voice of the child from where he lies. 18 Get up, take the child, and hold him by the hand because I will make a great nation of him.”
19 God opened her eyes, and she was able to see a spring of water. She went over to it and filled the skin and gave the child some water to drink.
20 God was with the child, and he grew and lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 He lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother found him a wife in the land of Egypt.
22 First Link with the Promised Land.[d] At that time, Abimelech along with Phicol, the commander of his army, came and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do. 23 Therefore, swear by God that you will not act deceitfully with me or with my sons or my descendants. As I have been friendly to you, so too, you will be friendly with me and with the land in which you have dwelt as a guest.”
24 Abraham answered, “I swear it.”
25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that the servants of Abimelech had seized. 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this thing. You never told me about this and I did not hear about it until today.”
27 So Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 Abraham set apart seven fat lambs. 29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of the seven lambs that you have set aside?”
30 He answered, “Please take these seven lambs from me, and let them be a sign to you that I dug this well.” 31 Because of this the place is called Beer-sheba (the well of the seven), for they both swore an oath there. 32 After the covenant had been concluded at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk at Beer-sheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. 34 Abraham dwelt in the land of the Philistines for many years.
Chapter 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.[a] 1 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[b] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 Going out about nine o’clock,[c] he saw some others standing idle in the marketplace. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard and I will give you what is just.’ 5 When he went out again around noon and at three in the afternoon,[d] he did the same. 6 Then, about five o’clock,[e] he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the workers and give them their pay, beginning with those who came last and ending with the first.’ 9 When those who had started to labor at five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Therefore, those who had come first thought that they would receive more, but they were paid a denarius, the same as the others. 11 And when they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and yet you have rewarded them on the same level with us who have borne the greatest portion of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “The owner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Did you not agree with me to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and leave. I have chosen to pay the latecomers the same as I pay you. 15 Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 Thus, the last will be first and the first will be last.”
17 Jesus Predicts His Passion a Third Time.[f] As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves and said to them, 18 “Behold, we are now going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”
20 The Son of Man Has Come To Serve.[g] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons and made a request of him after kneeling before him. 21 “What do you wish?” he asked her. She said to him, “Promise that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup[h] I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.”
23 He then said to them, “You shall indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not in my power to grant. Those places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the other ten disciples heard this, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 26 This must not be so with you. Instead, whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your servant. 28 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[i]
29 Two Blind Men Receive Sight.[j] As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they learned that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, take pity on us.” 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be silent, but they only shouted even more loudly, “Lord, Son of David, take pity on us.”
32 Jesus stopped and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, grant that our eyes may be opened.” 34 Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes. Immediately, they received their sight and followed him.
Chapter 10
The Agreement of the People. 1 In view of all this, we intend to make a firm agreement in writing. On the sealed document will appear the signatures of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
2 Those whose names were on the sealed document were, first of all, Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah. 3 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 4 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 5 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 6 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 7 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 8 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 9 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah: these are the priests.
10 The Levites were Jeshua, son of Azaniah, Binnui, of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, 11 and their kinsmen Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 12 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 13 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 14 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
15 The leaders of the people were Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 16 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 17 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 18 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 19 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 20 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 21 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 22 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 23 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 24 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 25 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 26 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 27 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, 28 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
29 The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all the others who had separated themselves from the neighboring peoples of the lands to adhere to the law of God—their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who are capable of understanding— 30 have now joined their brothers, the nobles, and with a solemn oath have sworn to follow the law of God which was given through Moses, the servant of God, and to observe and obey all the commandments, the rules, and the statutes of the Lord, our Lord.
31 We have agreed that we will not give our daughters in marriage to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.[a] 32 Moreover, if the people of the country bring any merchandise or grain to sell on the sabbath day, we will not purchase it from them on the sabbath or on a holy day. Also, we will forego the crops of the seventh year and cancel the debts of every person.
33 We willingly assume these following obligations for ourselves: we will give one-third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God: 34 for the loaves, for the showbread, for the daily cereal offering, for the daily holocaust, for the sacrifices on Sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, for the holy offerings, for sin offerings to make expiation on behalf of Israel, and for all the duties of the house of our God.
35 We have also cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people for the wood offering, so that it will be brought into the house of our God by each family in turn, at appointed times each year, to be burned on the altar of the Lord, our God, as prescribed in the law. 36 Furthermore, we pledge to bring the firstfruits of our crops and of our fruit trees.
37 Also, as it is prescribed in the law, we will bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our children and of our animals, including the firstborn of our flocks and herds. 38 We will also bring the first batch of our dough and our offerings of the fruit of every tree, the wine, and the oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God, as well as the tithes from our soil to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all of our rural farming villages.
39 An Aaronite priest must accompany the Levites when they collect the tithes, and the Levites are to bring one-tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.[b] 40 For the Israelites and the Levites must bring the offerings of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms of the treasury where the vessels of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers are lodged. Under no circumstances shall we neglect the house of our God.
Chapter 20
Journey to Macedonia and Greece.[a] 1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he embraced them and set out on his journey to Macedonia.[b] 2 As he traveled through those areas, he gave the believers much encouragement. Then he arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months.
Return to Troas. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot against him was devised by the Jews, and so he decided to return by way of Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.[c] 5 They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas.[d] 6 We sailed from Philippi after the feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
Paul’s Witness and Testament[e]
Paul Raises Eutychus to Life. 7 On the first day of the week, when we gathered for the breaking of the bread, Paul spoke to the people, and because he was going to leave on the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled, 9 and a young man named Eutychus, who was sitting on the window ledge, became ever more drowsy as Paul talked on and on. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below, and when they picked him up, he was dead.
10 Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and took him in his arms. “Do not be alarmed,” he said. “He is still alive.”[f] 11 Then he went back upstairs and broke bread and ate. He went on to converse with them until dawn, at which time he left. 12 Meanwhile, they had taken the boy home, greatly relieved that he was alive.
13 Journey to Miletus. We went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard, since he intended to continue his journey by land. 14 When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene.
15 We sailed from there, and on the following day we reached a point opposite Chios. A day later, we reached Samos; and the day after that, we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. He was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
17 Paul’s Farewell Speech at Miletus.[g] From Miletus, he sent a message to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Church. 18 When they came to him, he addressed them as follows:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that befell me as a result of the intrigues of the Jews. 20 I did not hesitate to tell you what was for your benefit as I proclaimed the word to you and taught you publicly as well as from house to house. 21 I have attested to Jews and Gentiles alike about repentance before God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that I will face imprisonment and hardships. 24 As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “I have gone among you proclaiming the kingdom, but now I realize that none of you will ever see my face again. 26 Therefore, I solemnly declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, and be shepherds of the Church of God that he purchased with the price of his own blood.
29 “I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own ranks men will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. 31 Therefore, be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never ceased night and day to warn every one of you with tears.
32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that is able to build you up and give you your inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You are aware that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. 35 In all this, I have shown you that by such hard work we must help the weak, keeping in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”[h]
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down and prayed with them. 37 They were all weeping loudly as they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 for they were deeply distressed at his words that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.