M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Yahweh Speaks Through Balaam
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2 So Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.
4 Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then Yahweh (A)put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6 So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7 Then he took up his [a]discourse and said,
“From (B)Aram Balak has brought me,
Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,
‘(C)Come curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’
8 (D)How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced?
9 For I see him from the top of the rocks,
And I look at him from the hills;
(E)Behold, a people who dwells alone,
And will not be reckoned among the nations.
10 (F)Who can number the dust of Jacob,
Or count the fourth part of Israel?
(G)Let [b]me die the death of the upright,
(H)And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? (I)I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly!” 12 And he replied, “Must I not be careful to speak (J)what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Discourse
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, but you will only see the end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet Yahweh over there.” 16 Then Yahweh met Balaam and (K)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” 18 Then he took up his [c]discourse and said,
“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19 (L)God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
(M)Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
(N)When He has blessed, then (O)I cannot revoke it.
21 (P)He has not observed [d]misfortune in Jacob;
(Q)Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
(R)Yahweh his God is with him,
(S)And the shout of a king is among them.
22 (T)God brings them out of Egypt,
He is for them like the (U)horns of the wild ox.
23 (V)For there is no omen against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel;
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what God has done!
24 (W)Behold, a people rises like a lioness,
And as a lion it lifts itself;
It will not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘(X)Whatever Yahweh speaks, that I must do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be right in the eyes of God that you curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the [e]wasteland. 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30 And Balak did just as Balaam had said and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
The Righteous Will Be Glad in Yahweh
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Guard my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of the (D)workers of iniquity,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from places of hiding at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They [c]hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)laying snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They searched out unrighteousness, saying,
“We have completed a diligent search”;
For the [e](K)inward thought of a man and his heart are [f]deep.
7 But (L)God [g]will shoot them with an arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
8 So [h]they will (M)cause their own tongue (N)to turn against them;
All who see them will (O)shake their head.
9 Then all men [i]will (P)fear,
And they [j]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [k]will consider [l]what He has done.
10 The righteous man will be (R)glad in Yahweh and will (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.
Blessed Is the One Whom You Choose
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 To You, there will be silence and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the (T)vow will be paid.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all flesh comes.
3 (V)Words of iniquity prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You (W)atone for them.
4 How (X)blessed is the one whom You (Y)choose and bring near to You
That he would dwell in Your courts.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By [m](AA)fearsome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and of the farthest [n](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being (AF)girded with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the rumbling of the seas,
The rumbling of their waves,
And the (AH)tumult of the peoples.
8 They who inhabit the (AI)ends of the earth are in fear on account of Your signs;
You make [o]the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [p](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You establish their (AM)grain, for thus You establish [q]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You smooth its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year [r]with Your (AO)goodness,
And Your [s]paths (AP)drip with richness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)make a loud shout, indeed, they sing.
An Oracle Concerning Babylon
13 The [a](A)oracle concerning (B)Babylon which (C)Isaiah the son of Amoz beheld.
2 (D)Lift up a standard on the [b](E)bare hill,
Heighten your voice at them,
(F)Wave the hand that they may (G)enter the doors of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My set apart ones,
I have even called My (H)mighty warriors,
My [c]proudly exulting ones,
To execute My anger.
4 A (I)sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the rumbling of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
Yahweh of hosts is mustering the host for battle.
5 They are coming from a far country,
From the (J)end of the sky,
Yahweh and His instruments of (K)indignation,
To (L)wreak destruction on the whole land.
6 Wail, for the (M)day of Yahweh is near!
It will come as (N)destruction from [d]the Almighty.
7 Therefore (O)all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s (P)heart will melt.
8 They will be (Q)terrified,
Pains and labor pangs will take hold of them;
They will (R)writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, (S)the day of Yahweh is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the (T)stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The (U)sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus I will (V)punish the world for its evil
And the (W)wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the (X)pride of the arrogant
And bring low the (Y)lofty pride of the [e](Z)ruthless.
12 I will make mortal man [f](AA)scarcer than fine gold
And mankind than the (AB)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the (AC)heavens tremble,
And (AD)the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of Yahweh of hosts
In (AE)the day of His burning anger.
14 And it will be that like a hunted gazelle,
Or like (AF)sheep with none to gather them,
They will each turn to his own people,
And each one flee to his own land.
15 Anyone who is found will be (AG)pierced through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their (AH)infants also will be dashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I am going to (AI)awaken the Medes against them,
Who will not think about silver or (AJ)take pleasure in gold.
18 And their bows will dash the (AK)young men to pieces,
They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
Nor will their (AL)eye pity [g]children.
19 And it will be that (AM)Babylon, the (AN)beauty of kingdoms, the [h]honor of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God (AO)overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will (AP)never be inhabited or dwelt in from generation to generation;
Nor will the [i](AQ)Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
21 But (AR)desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of [j]owls;
Ostriches also will dwell there, and [k]shaggy goats will leap there.
22 [l]And hyenas will howl in their fortified towers
And jackals in their luxurious (AS)palaces.
Her fateful time also [m]will soon come
And her days will not be prolonged.
A Living Hope
1 (A)Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as (B)exiles, (C)scattered throughout (D)Pontus, (E)Galatia, (F)Cappadocia, (G)Asia, and (H)Bithynia, (I)who are chosen 2 according to the (J)foreknowledge of God the Father, (K)by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the (L)obedience of Jesus Christ and the (M)sprinkling of His blood: (N)May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
3 (O)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who (P)according to His great mercy (Q)has caused us to be born again to (R)a living hope through the (S)resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an (T)inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and (U)unfading, having been (V)kept in heaven for you, 5 who are (W)protected by the power of God (X)through faith for (Y)a salvation ready (Z)to be revealed in the last time. 6 (AA)In this you greatly rejoice, even though now (AB)for a little while, (AC)if necessary, you have been grieved by (AD)various [a]trials, 7 so that the [b](AE)proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which [c]is perishable, (AF)even though tested by fire, (AG)may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at (AH)the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 And (AI)though you have not seen Him, you (AJ)love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and [d]full of glory, 9 receiving as (AK)the outcome of your faith the salvation of [e]your souls.
10 (AL)Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who (AM)prophesied of the (AN)grace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, 11 [f]inquiring to know what time or what kind of time (AO)the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was (AP)predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories [g]to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who (AQ)proclaimed the gospel to you by (AR)the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which (AS)angels long to [h]look.
13 Therefore, having [i](AT)girded your minds for action, [j](AU)being sober in spirit, fix your (AV)hope completely on the (AW)grace [k]to be brought to you at (AX)the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As [l](AY)obedient children, not [m](AZ)being conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your (BA)ignorance, 15 but [n](BB)like the Holy One who called you, [o](BC)be holy yourselves also (BD)in all your conduct; 16 because it is written, “(BE)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you (BF)address as Father the One who (BG)impartially (BH)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves [p](BI)in fear during the time of your (BJ)sojourn, 18 knowing that you were not [q](BK)redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your (BL)futile conduct inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious (BM)blood, as of a (BN)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 He was (BO)foreknown before (BP)the foundation of the world, but (BQ)appeared [r]in these last times (BR)for the sake of you 21 who through Him are (BS)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and (BT)gave Him glory, so that your faith and (BU)hope are in God.
22 Since you have (BV)in obedience to the truth (BW)purified your souls for a love of the brothers (BX)without hypocrisy, fervently love one another from [s]the heart, 23 for you have been (BY)born again (BZ)not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring (CA)word of God. 24 For,
“(CB)All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
25 (CC)But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is (CD)the word which was [t]proclaimed to you as good news.
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