The Bible Reading Plan

Genesis Chapter 24

²²As the camels had done drinking, the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, ²³and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father's house for us to stay?" ²⁴She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." ²⁵She said moreover to him, "We have straw and enough fodder, and room to stay in." ²⁶The man bowed his head, and worshiped ForeverOne.

²⁷He said, "Blessed be ForeverOne, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, ForeverOne has led me on the way to the house of my master's relatives." ²⁸The young lady ran, and told her mother's house about these words.

²⁹Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.

³⁰When he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, "This is what the man said to me," he came to the man. Behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

³¹He said, "Come in, you blessed of ForeverOne. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels." ³²The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels. He gave straw and fodder for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

³³Food was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told my message." He said, "Speak on!" ³⁴He said, "I am Abraham's servant.

³⁵ForeverOne has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

³⁶Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him.

³⁷My master made me swear, saying, 'Don't get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸but you shall go to my father's house, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son.' ³⁹I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not follow me?' ⁴⁰He said to me, 'ForeverOne, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall get a wife for my son from my relatives, and of my father's house.

⁴¹Then you shall be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives. If they don't give her to you, you shall be free from my oath.'

Judges Chapter 9

⁷When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, "Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.

⁸The trees went out on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us.' ⁹"But the olive tree said to them, 'Should I leave my abundance, with which by me they honor God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?' ¹⁰"The trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and reign over us.' ¹¹"But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?' ¹²"The trees said to the vine, 'Come and reign over us.' ¹³"The vine said to them, 'Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?' ¹⁴"Then all the trees said to the bramble, 'Come and reign over us.' ¹⁵"The bramble said to the trees, 'If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.' ¹⁶"Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands ¹⁷(for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: ¹⁸and you have risen up against my father's house today, and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother); ¹⁹if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house today, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: ²⁰but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech." ²¹Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

²²Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.

²³God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: ²⁴that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

²⁵The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them: and Abimelech was told.

²⁶Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers, and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.

²⁷They went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod [the grapes], and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

²⁸Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?

²⁹Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech." He said to Abimelech, "Increase your army, and come out!" ³⁰When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

³¹He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, "Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and behold, they constrain the city [to take part] against you.

³²Now therefore, go up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field: ³³and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early, and rush on the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion."

1 Chronicles Chapter 19

¹⁶When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they sent messengers, and drew out the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head.

¹⁷David was told, and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came on them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.

¹⁸The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians [the men of] seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the army.

¹⁹When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David, and served him: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.

1 Chronicles Chapter 20

¹At the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out [to battle], Joab led out the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Joab struck Rabbah, and overthrew it.

²David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set on David's head: and he brought out the spoil of the city, exceeding much.

³He brought out the people who were there, and cut [them] with saws, and with iron picks, and with axes. David did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴After this, there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines: then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, of the sons of the giant; and they were subdued.

⁵There was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

⁶There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were twenty-four, six [on each hand], and six [on each foot]; and he also was born to the giant.

⁷When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother killed him.

⁸These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Matthew Chapter 22

⁴¹Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴²saying, "What do you think of the AnointedOne? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "Of David." ⁴³He said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ⁴⁴'ForeverOne said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?' ⁴⁵"If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" ⁴⁶No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.

Matthew Chapter 23

¹Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, ²saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat.

³So whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don't do their actions; for they speak but don't act.

⁴For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them.

⁵But they do all their actions to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries wide and enlarge the fringes of their garments, ⁶and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi, Rabbi' by men.

⁸But you are not to be called 'Rabbi', for one is your teacher, the AnointedOne, and all of you are brothers.

⁹Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.

¹⁰Neither be called teachers, for one is your teacher, the AnointedOne.

¹¹But he who is greatest among you will be your servant.

¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁴[*"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don't enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.] ¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.

¹⁶"Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.' ¹⁷You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

¹⁸And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?' ¹⁹You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

²⁰So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it.

²¹He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living in it.

²²He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.