The Bible Reading Plan

Exodus Chapter 20

¹God spoke all these words, saying, ²"I am Yahweh your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.

³"Have no other gods before me.

⁴"Don't make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below the land: ⁵don't bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the fathers, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷"Don't carry the name of Yahweh your God emptily, for Yahweh will not clear the one who carries his name emptily.

⁸"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Labor for six days, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. Don't do any work in it. Not you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant. Not your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your gates; ¹¹for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

¹²"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you.

¹³"Don't murder.

¹⁴"Don't commit adultery.

¹⁵"Don't steal.

¹⁶"Don't give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷"Don't covet your neighbor's house. Don't covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

1 Kings Chapter 10

¹When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to prove him with hard questions. ²She came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was in her heart. ³Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hidden from the king which he didn't tell her. ⁴When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, ⁵and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their clothing, and his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Yahweh; there was no more spirit in her. ⁶She said to the king, "It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom. ⁷However I didn't believe the words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it. Behold, the half was not told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. ⁸Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. ⁹Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness." ¹⁰She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones. There came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

¹¹The navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees and precious stones. ¹²The king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of Yahweh, and for the king's house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen, to this day.

¹³King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to what Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.

¹⁴Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, ¹⁵in addition to [what] the traders [brought], and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. ¹⁶King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one buckler. ¹⁷[he made] three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. ¹⁹There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays. ²⁰Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom. ²¹All king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was considered nothing in the days of Solomon. ²²For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

²³So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²⁴All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁵They brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

²⁶Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. ²⁷The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars he made to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance. ²⁸The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. ²⁹A chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, they brought them out by their means.

Nehemiah Chapter 4

²¹So we did the work. Half [of the people] held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared. ²²Likewise at the same time I said to the people, "Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day." ²³So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.

Nehemiah Chapter 5

¹Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews. ²For there were some who said, "We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain, that we may eat and live." ³There were also some who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain, because of the famine." ⁴There were also some who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tribute using our fields and our vineyards as collateral. ⁵Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children as their children. Behold, we bring our sons and our daughters into slavery to be servants, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is also not in our power to help it, because other men have our fields and our vineyards."

⁶I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. ⁷Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, "You exact usury, everyone of his brother." I held a great assembly against them. ⁸I said to them, "We, after our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Jews that were sold to the nations; and would you even sell your brothers, and should they be sold to us?" Then they held their peace, and found not a word to say. ⁹Also I said, "The thing that you do is not good. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰I likewise, my brothers and my servants, lend them money and grain. Please let us stop this usury. ¹¹Please restore to them, even today, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, that you are charging them."

Luke Chapter 21

²⁵There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; ²⁶men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸But when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near."

²⁹He told them a parable. "See the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰When they are already budding, you see it and know by your own selves that the summer is already near. ³¹Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that God's Kingdom is near. ³²Absolutely I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things are accomplished. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.

³⁴"So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly. ³⁵For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth. ³⁶So be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man."

³⁷Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and every night he would go out and spend the night on the mountain that is called Olivet. ³⁸All the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him.

Luke Chapter 22

¹Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. ²The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people.

³Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was counted with the twelve. ⁴He went away, and talked with the chief priests and captains about how he might deliver him to them. ⁵They were glad, and agreed to give him money. ⁶He consented, and sought an opportunity to deliver him to them in the absence of the multitude.