M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 22
Sacrifice of the Son.[a] 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am!”
2 God said, “Take your son, your only son, the one you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah[b] and offer him as a burnt offering on the mountain that I will show you.”
3 Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled a donkey, and took two servants and his son Isaac with him. He also took the wood for the burnt offering and set out toward the place about which God had spoken. 4 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw that place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there. We will worship and then we will return to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it upon his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the knife. They then set out together. 7 Isaac turned to his father Abraham and said, “My father!”
He answered, “Here I am, my son.”
He continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son!” And the two of them went on together.
9 They then arrived at the place of which God had spoken. There Abraham built an altar and piled up the wood. He tied up his son Isaac and placed him upon the altar so that he was lying upon the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
12 The angel said, “Do not reach out your hand against the boy! Do not harm him in any way! Now I know that you fear God and you have not even withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram that had its horns caught in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 Abraham called that place, “The Lord will provide,” for he said, “On the mountain the Lord provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called Abraham from heaven again 16 and said, “I swear by my own self, thus says the Lord: because you have done this and did not withhold your son from me, your only son, 17 I will bless you with every blessing and I will make your descendants very numerous, like the stars of the heavens or the sand on the shore of the sea. Your descendants shall take possession of the cities of your enemies. 18 All the nations of the earth shall be blessed through your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.”
19 Abraham returned to his servants, and together they set out toward Beer-sheba, where Abraham made his dwelling.
20 Children of Abraham’s Brother.[c] Afterward, Abraham received this news: “Behold, Milcah has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah gave birth to these eight sons for Nahor, the brother of Abraham. 24 His concubine, Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Encounters at Jerusalem
Chapter 21
The Entry into Jerusalem.[a] 1 When they drew near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent off two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village directly ahead of you, and as soon as you enter you will find a tethered donkey and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell them, ‘The Lord needs them.’ Then he will let you have them at once.” 4 This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion:[b]
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 The disciples went off and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on their backs, and he sat on them.[c] 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that preceded him and those that followed kept shouting:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord![d]
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was filled with excitement. “Who is this?” the people asked, 11 and the crowds replied, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
12 Jesus Cleanses the Temple.[e] Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those whom he found buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written:
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’
but you are making it a den of thieves.”[f]
14 The blind and the crippled came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes witnessed the wonderful things he was performing and heard the children crying out in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became infuriated 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus replied, “Yes. Have you never read the text:
‘Out of the mouths of infants and babies who are nursing
you have received fitting praise’?”
17 Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
18 The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree.[g] Early the next morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. 19 Noticing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went over to it but found nothing on its branches except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never give forth fruit again!” And instantly the fig tree withered away.
20 When the disciples witnessed this, they were stunned, and they asked, “How could that fig tree wither away in an instant?” 21 Jesus answered them, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to this fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be accomplished. 22 Whatever you ask for in faith-filled prayer, you will receive.”
23 The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[h] When he entered the temple and began to teach, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them in reply, “I will also ask you one question. If you give me an answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did John’s baptism originate? From heaven or from men?”
They argued among themselves, “If we say: ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”
27 Therefore, they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Then neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.[i]
28 The Parable of the Two Sons.[j]“What is your opinion about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he had a change of heart and went. 30 The father then gave the same instruction to the second son, who answered, ‘Of course I will,’ but then did not go. 31 Which of the two complied with his father’s instruction?” They responded, “The first.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to show you the path of righteousness, but you did not believe him, whereas the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Yet even after you realized that, you still refused to change your minds and believe in him.
33 The Parable of the Tenants.[k]“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, fenced it in on all sides, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went off on a journey.
34 “When the time for harvest approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the produce. 35 But the tenants seized his servants and beat one of them, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again, he sent more servants, but they treated them in the same manner.
37 “Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 39 And so they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 “Now what do you think the owner of the vineyard will do to those tenants when he comes?” 41 They said to him, “He will kill those evil men, and then he will lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest.”
42 Jesus then said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes’?
43 Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce fruit in abundance. [ 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken into pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.]”[l]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who regarded him as a prophet.
Chapter 11
Repeopling of Jerusalem.[a] 1 The leaders of the people took up residence in Jerusalem. Therefore, the rest of the people cast lots. One man out of ten was to reside in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine were to remain in the surrounding towns. 2 The people commended all those who willingly agreed to live in Jerusalem.
The Residents in Jerusalem. 3 These are the leaders of the province who lived in Jerusalem. However, in the towns of Judah all the others lived on their own property: Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants.
4 In Jerusalem there dwelt both the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin. These were the Judahites: Athaiah, the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mehallalel, of the descendants of Perez; 5 Maaseiah, the son of Baruch, son of Colhozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a descendent of Shelah. 6 The total number of the sons of Perez who dwelt in Jerusalem was four hundred and sixty-eight valiant warriors.
7 These were the Benjaminites: Sallu, the son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, 8 and his brothers Gabbai and Sallai: nine hundred and twenty-eight in number. 9 Joel, the son of Zichri, was their chief, and Judah, the son of Hassenuah, was second in charge of the city.
10 Among the priests were: Jedaiah, the son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah, the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, supervisor of the house of God, 12 and their kinsmen who were responsible for the work in the temple: eight hundred and twenty-two; Adaiah, the son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, 13 and his brethren, heads of families: two hundred and forty-two; Amashai, the son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, 14 and his brethren, valiant warriors: one hundred and twenty-eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim.
15 Among the Levites were: Shemaiah, the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, the Levitical leaders who were responsible for the outside work of the house of God; 17 Mattaniah, the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, director of the psalms who led the prayer of thanksgiving, and Bakbukiah, who ranked second among his associates; finally, Abda, the son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. 18 The total number of the Levites in the holy city was two hundred and eighty-four.
19 The gatekeepers were Akkub, Talmon, and their associates, who kept watch at the gates. They numbered one hundred and seventy-two.
20 The rest of the Israelites, including the priests and the Levites, lived in all the other cities of Judah, each man on his inherited property. 21 However, the temple slaves lived on Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.
22 The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi, the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, the singers appointed to the service of the house of God. 23 For they were under the king’s orders, and it was obligatory for them to fulfill those orders which regulated their daily activity. 24 Also, Pethahiah, the son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah, the son of Judah, was the king’s chief advisor in all matters that affected the people.
25 The Other Cities. As for the villages with their surrounding fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and Dibon and its villages, and Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshua, and in Moladah, and in Beth-pelet, 27 in Hazar-shual, and in Beer-sheba and its villages, 28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, 29 in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, 30 in Zanoah and Adullam and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. Thus they settled from Beer-sheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
31 Some of the Benjaminites also lived in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel with its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, Ono, and the Valley of Artisans.
36 Also, some divisions of the Levites in Judah settled in Benjamin.
From Jerusalem to Rome[a]
Chapter 21
Last Journey to Jerusalem[b]
Arrival at Tyre. 1 When we[c] had finally torn ourselves away from them and set sail, we traveled directly to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 There, we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, so we went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus, we passed by it on our left and sailed to Syria, landing at Tyre where the ship was to unload her cargo.
4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them for seven days. Through the Spirit, they advised Paul to abandon his plans to move on to Jerusalem. 5 However, when our time with them was ended, we left and continued on our journey. All of them, including women and children, escorted us outside the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and then bid farewell to one another. Afterward, we boarded the ship and they returned home.
Arrival at Ptolemais and Caesarea. 7 We finished our voyage from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brethren and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day, we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven,[d] and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who possessed the gift of prophecy.
10 After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. 11 He came up to us, took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”
12 When we heard this, we joined with the people who lived there in begging Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Since he would not be dissuaded, we finally gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
Various Events and Paul’s Defenses at Jerusalem
15 Paul Is Welcomed by the Elders.[e] At the end of our stay, we made preparations and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, one of the early disciples, with whom we were to stay.
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren gave us a warm welcome. 18 On the next day, Paul paid a visit to James. We accompanied him, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 When they heard this, they gave praise to God. Then they said to Paul, “You can see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are zealous upholders of the Law. 21 They have been informed in your regard that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or to observe their custom. 22 What then is to be done? They are sure to hear that you have arrived.
23 “This is what we suggest that you do. We have four men here who are under a vow. 24 Take these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay the expenses involved with the shaving of their heads. In this way, all will know that there is nothing in these reports they have been given about you and that you observe the Law. 25 As for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have informed them of our decision that they must abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from anything that has been strangled, and from unchastity.”
26 Therefore, on the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. He then entered the temple to give notice of the date when the period of purification would end and the offerings would be made for each of them.
27 Paul’s Arrest in the Temple.[f] When the seven days were nearly over, the Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple. Stirring up the whole crowd, they seized him, 28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, the Law, and this place. What is more, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30 Thus, the entire city was in turmoil, and people came running from all directions. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and the gates were then shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 Immediately, he took soldiers and centurions with him and charged down on them.
When the Jews saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander came forward, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Next he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another; and since the commander could not arrive at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When he came to the steps, the violence of the crowd was so intense that he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”
37 Just as he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” The commander replied, “So you speak Greek? 38 Then you are not the Egyptian[g] who recently started a revolt and led the four thousand assassins into the desert.” 39 Paul asserted, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city. May I have your permission to speak to the people?” 40 When the permission was granted, Paul stood on the steps and raised his hand to the people for silence. As soon as quiet was restored, he started speaking to them in Aramaic.[h]
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