The Bible Reading Plan

Genesis Chapter 48

¹It happened after these things, that someone said to Joseph, "Behold, your father is sick." He took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

²Someone told Jacob, and said, "Behold, your son Joseph comes to you," and Israel strengthened himself, and sat on the bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, ⁴and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.' ⁵Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, will be mine.

⁶Your issue, who you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

⁷As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem)." ⁸Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are these?" ⁹Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." He said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them." ¹⁰Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he couldn't see. He brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

¹¹Israel said to Joseph, "I didn't think I would see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed also." ¹²Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

¹³Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near to him.

¹⁴Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

2 Samuel Chapter 2

²⁹Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim.

³⁰Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.

³¹But the servants of David had struck of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, [so that] three hundred sixty men died.

³²They took up Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.

2 Samuel Chapter 3

¹Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: and David grew stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

²To David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; ³and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; ⁴and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

⁶It happened, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong in the house of Saul.

⁷Now Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and [Ishbosheth] said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?" ⁸Then was Abner very angry for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, "Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me this day with a fault concerning this woman!

⁹God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as ForeverOne has sworn to David, I don't do even so to him; ¹⁰to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba." ¹¹He could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

¹²Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, "Whose is the land?" and saying, "Make your alliance with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you, to bring all Israel around to you." ¹³He said, "Good; I will make a treaty with you; but one thing I require of you. That is, you shall not see my face, unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face." ¹⁴David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I pledged to be married to me for one hundred foreskins of the Philistines." ¹⁵Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Paltiel the son of Laish.

¹⁶Her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go! Return!" and he returned.

¹⁷Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, "In times past, you sought for David to be king over you.

¹⁸Now then do it; for ForeverOne has spoken of David, saying, 'By the hand of my servant David, I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.'" ¹⁹Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benjamin.

²⁰So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. David made Abner and the men who were with him a feast.

²¹Abner said to David, "I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires." David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

2 Chronicles Chapter 26

¹¹Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, who went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.

¹²The whole number of the heads of fathers' [houses], even the mighty men of valor, was two thousand and six hundred.

¹³Under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, who made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging.

¹⁵He made in Jerusalem engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and on the battlements, with which to shoot arrows and great stones. His name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, until he was strong.

¹⁶But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against ForeverOne his God; for he went into the temple of ForeverOne to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁷Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of ForeverOne, who were valiant men: ¹⁸and they resisted Uzziah the king, and said to him, "It isn't for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to ForeverOne, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary; for you have trespassed; neither shall it be for your honor from ForeverOne God." ¹⁹Then Uzziah was angry; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was angry with the priests, the leprosy broke forth in his forehead before the priests in the house of ForeverOne, beside the altar of incense.

²⁰Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked on him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from there; yes, himself hurried also to go out, because ForeverOne had struck him.

²¹Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of ForeverOne: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.

²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, "He is a leper." Jotham his son reigned in his place.

Luke Chapter 2

³⁹When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

⁴⁰The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

⁴¹His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.

⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast, ⁴³and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn't know it, ⁴⁴but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵When they didn't find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.

⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.

⁴⁷All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

⁴⁸When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you." ⁴⁹He said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?" ⁵⁰They didn't understand the saying which he spoke to them.

⁵¹And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Luke Chapter 3

¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ²in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

³He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.

⁴As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.

⁶All flesh will see God's salvation.'" ⁷So he said to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Produce fruit worthy of repentance, and don't begin to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father;' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!

⁹Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. So every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire."