The Bible Reading Plan

Exodus Chapter 20

¹⁸All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.

¹⁹They said to Moses, "Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don't let God speak with us, lest we die." ²⁰Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won't sin." ²¹The people stayed at a distance, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

²²ForeverOne said to Moses, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

²³You shall most certainly not make alongside of me gods of silver, or gods of gold for yourselves.

²⁴You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.

²⁵If you make me an altar of stone, don't build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.

²⁶Nor shall you go up by steps to my altar, so your nakedness is not exposed to it.'

Exodus Chapter 21

²"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.

³If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him.

⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

⁵But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;' ⁶then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.

1 Kings Chapter 11

¹Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites; ²of the nations concerning which ForeverOne said to the children of Israel, "You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon joined to these in love.

³He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

⁴For, when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with ForeverOne his God, as was the heart of David his father.

⁵For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

⁶Solomon did what was evil in the sight of ForeverOne, and didn't fully follow ForeverOne, as David his father [had].

⁷Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.

⁸So he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ForeverOne was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from ForeverOne, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he didn't keep what ForeverOne commanded.

¹¹Therefore ForeverOne said to Solomon, "Because this is done by you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.

¹²Notwithstanding I will not do it in your days, for David your father's sake; but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

¹³However I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen." ¹⁴ForeverOne raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's offspring in Edom.

¹⁵For, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had struck every male in Edom ¹⁶(for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom); ¹⁷Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child.

¹⁸They arose out of Midian, and came to Paran; and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and appointed him food, and gave him land.

¹⁹Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him [to be his] wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

²⁰The sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh.

²¹When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me depart, that I may go to my own country." ²²Then Pharaoh said to him, "But what have you lacked with me, that behold, you seek to go to your own country?" He answered, "Nothing, however only let me depart." ²³God raised up [another] adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.

²⁴He gathered men to him, and became captain over a troop, when David killed them [of Zobah]: and they went to Damascus, and lived there, and reigned in Damascus.

²⁵He was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad [did]: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Nehemiah Chapter 5

¹²Then they said, "We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do, even as you say." Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise.

¹³Also I shook out my lap, and said, "So may God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that doesn't perform this promise; even thus be he shaken out, and emptied." All the assembly said, "Amen," and praised ForeverOne. The people did according to this promise.

¹⁴Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, [that is], twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bread of the governor.

¹⁵But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants ruled over the people: but I didn't do so, because of the fear of God.

¹⁶Yes, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered there to the work.

¹⁷Moreover there were at my table, of the Jews and the rulers, one hundred fifty men, besides those who came to us from among the nations that were around us.

¹⁸Now what was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this I didn't demand the bread of the governor, because the slavery was heavy on this people.

¹⁹Remember to me, my God, for good, all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah Chapter 6

¹Now when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah, and to Geshem the Arabian, and to the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it; (though even to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates;) ²Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together in [one of] the villages in the plain of Ono." But they intended to harm me.

³I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I can't come down. Why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?" ⁴They sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them the same way.

⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand, ⁶in which was written, "It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel. Because of that, you are building the wall. You would be their king, according to these words.

⁷You have also appointed prophets to preach of you at Jerusalem, saying, 'There is a king in Judah!' Now it will be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together." ⁸Then I sent to him, saying, "There are no such things done as you say, but you imagine them out of your own heart." ⁹For they all would have made us afraid, saying, "Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done. But now, [God], strengthen my hands."

Luke Chapter 22

⁷The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed.

⁸He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat." ⁹They said to him, "Where do you want us to prepare?" ¹⁰He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters.

¹¹Tell the householder, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' ¹²He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there." ¹³They went, found things as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles.

¹⁵He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, ¹⁶for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in God's Kingdom." ¹⁷He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, "Take this, and share it among yourselves, ¹⁸for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God's Kingdom comes." ¹⁹He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me." ²⁰Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

²¹But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.

²²The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!" ²³They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

²⁴A dispute also arose among them, which of them was considered to be greatest.

²⁵He said to them, "The kings of the nations dominate them, and those who have authority over them are called 'benefactors.' ²⁶But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves.

²⁷For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Isn't it he who sits at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

²⁸But you are those who have continued with me in my trials.

²⁹I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, ³⁰that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." ³¹The Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, ³²but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers." ³³He said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!" ³⁴He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times."