The Bible Reading Plan

Exodus Chapter 18

⁷Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed and kissed him. They asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent.

⁸Moses told his father-in-law all that ForeverOne had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardships that had come on them on the way, and how ForeverOne delivered them.

⁹Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which ForeverOne had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰Jethro said, "Blessed be ForeverOne, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

¹¹Now I know that ForeverOne is greater than all gods because of the thing in which they dealt arrogantly against them." ¹²Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron came with all of the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.

¹³The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening.

¹⁴When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, "What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?" ¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

¹⁶When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws."

1 Kings Chapter 8

²⁷But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can't contain you; how much less this house that I have built!

²⁸Yet have respect for the prayer of your servant, and for his supplication, ForeverOne my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you today; ²⁹that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there;' to listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place.

³⁰Listen to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place. Yes, hear in heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

³¹"If a man sins against his neighbor, and an oath is laid on him to cause him to swear, and he comes and swear before your altar in this house; ³²then hear in heaven, and do, and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

³³"When your people Israel are struck down before the enemy, because they have sinned against you; if they turn again to you, and confess your name, and pray and make supplication to you in this house: ³⁴then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which you gave to their fathers.

³⁵"When the sky is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you afflict them: ³⁶then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.

³⁷"If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight, mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is; ³⁸whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread out his hands toward this house: ³⁹then hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know; (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men;) ⁴⁰that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave to our fathers.

⁴¹"Moreover concerning the foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for your name's sake ⁴²(for they shall hear of your great name, and of your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house; ⁴³hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by your name.

⁴⁴"If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to ForeverOne toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name; ⁴⁵then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

Nehemiah Chapter 3

¹Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up its doors; even to the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananel.

²Next to him built the men of Jericho. Next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri.

³The fish gate the sons of Hassenaah built; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

⁴Next to them repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz. Next to them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel. Next to them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.

⁵Next to them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles didn't put their necks to the work of their Lord.

⁶The old gate repaired Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, and its bolts, and its bars.

⁷Next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, [that appertained] to the throne of the governor beyond the River.

⁸Next to him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths. Next to him repaired Hananiah one of the perfumers, and they fortified Jerusalem even to the broad wall.

⁹Next to them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem.

¹⁰Next to them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, over against his house. Next to him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabneiah.

¹¹Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hasshub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired another portion, and the tower of the furnaces.

¹²Next to him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

¹³The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and one thousand cubits of the wall to the dung gate.

¹⁴The dung gate repaired Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth Haccherem; he built it, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Luke Chapter 20

¹On one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Good News, the priests and scribes came to him with the elders.

²They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?" ³He answered them, "I also will ask you one question. Tell me: ⁴the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?" ⁵They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why didn't you believe him?' ⁶But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." ⁷They answered that they didn't know where it was from.

⁸Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." ⁹He began to tell the people this parable. "A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.

¹⁰At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.

¹³The master of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my dear son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.' ¹⁴"But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' ¹⁵Then they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. So what will the master of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." When they heard that, they said, "May that never be!" ¹⁷But he looked at them and said, "Then what is this that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected was made the chief cornerstone?' ¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust." ¹⁹The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people- for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰They watched him and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.

²¹They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God.

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" ²³But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test me?

²⁴Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" They answered, "Caesar's." ²⁵He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." ²⁶They weren't able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer and were silent.