M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Jacob called his sons together and said:
My sons, I am Jacob,
your father Israel.
2 Come, gather around,
as I tell your future.
3 Reuben, you are my oldest,
born at the peak of my powers;
you were an honored leader.
4 Uncontrollable as a flood,
you slept with my wife
and disgraced my bed.
And so you no longer deserve
the place of honor.
5 Simeon and Levi,
you are brothers,
each a gruesome sword.
6 I never want to take part
in your plans or deeds.
You slaughtered people
in your anger,
and you crippled cattle
for no reason.
7 Now I place a curse on you
because of
your fierce anger.
Your descendants
will be scattered
among the tribes of Israel.
8 Judah, you will be praised
by your brothers;
they will bow down to you,
as you defeat your enemies.
9 (A) My son, you are a lion
ready to eat your victim!
You are terribly fierce;
no one will bother you.
10 You will have power and rule
until nations obey you[a]
and come bringing gifts.
11 You will tie your donkey
to a choice grapevine
and wash your clothes
in wine from those grapes.
12 Your eyes are darker than wine,
your teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun, you will settle
along the seashore
and provide safe harbors
as far north as Sidon.
14 Issachar, you are a strong donkey
resting in the meadows.[b]
15 You found them so pleasant
that you worked too hard
and became a slave.
16 Dan,[c] you are the tribe
that will bring justice
to Israel.
17 You are a snake that bites
the heel of a horse,
making its rider fall.
18 Our Lord, I am waiting
for you to save us.
19 Gad,[d] you will be attacked,
then attack your attackers.
20 Asher, you will eat food
fancy enough for a king.
21 Naphtali, you are a wild deer
with lovely fawns.[e]
22 Joseph, you are a fruitful vine
growing near a stream
and climbing a wall.[f]
23 Enemies attacked with arrows,
refusing to show mercy.
24 But you stood your ground,
swiftly shooting back
with the help of Jacob's God,
the All-Powerful One—
his name is the Shepherd,
Israel's mighty rock.[g]
25 Your help came from the God
your father worshiped,
from God All-Powerful.
God will bless you with rain
and streams from the earth;
he will bless you
with many descendants.
26 My son, the blessings I give
are better than the promise
of ancient mountains
or eternal hills.[h]
Joseph, I pray these blessings
will come to you,
because you are the leader
of your brothers.
27 Benjamin, you are a fierce wolf,
destroying your enemies
morning and evening.
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is how Jacob gave each of them their proper blessings.
Jacob's Death
29-31 (B) Jacob told his sons:
Soon I will die, and I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too. 32 Both the cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites.
33 (C) When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed and died.
The Birth of Jesus
(Matthew 1.18-25)
2 About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books.[a] 2 These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.[b]
3 Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. 4 So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.
5 Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, 6 and while they were there, 7 she gave birth to her first-born[c] son. She dressed him in baby clothes[d] and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds
8 That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. 9 (A) All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. 10 But the angel said, “Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. 11 This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”
13 Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:
14 “Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
who pleases God.”
15 After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.
17 When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. 18 Everyone listened and was surprised. 19 But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.
20 As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.
21 (B) Eight days later Jesus' parents did for him what the Law of Moses commands.[e] And they named him Jesus, just as the angel had told Mary when he promised she would have a baby.
Simeon Praises the Lord
22 (C) The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the Law of Moses says a mother is supposed to do after her baby is born.[f]
They took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord, 23 (D) just as the Law of the Lord says, “Each first-born[g] baby boy belongs to the Lord.” 24 The Law of the Lord also says parents have to offer a sacrifice, giving at least a pair of doves or two young pigeons. So that is what Mary and Joseph did.
25 At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. He loved God and was waiting for him to save the people of Israel. God's Spirit came to him 26 and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord.
27 When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the Law of Moses says should be done for a new baby, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. 28 Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,
29 “Lord, I am your servant,
and now I can die in peace,
because you have kept
your promise to me.
30 With my own eyes I have seen
what you have done
to save your people,
31 and foreign nations
will also see this.
32 (E) Your mighty power is a light
for all nations,
and it will bring honor
to your people Israel.”
33 Jesus' parents were surprised at what Simeon had said. 34 Then he blessed them and told Mary, “This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him, 35 and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger. But all this will show what people are really thinking.”
Anna Speaks about the Child Jesus
36 (F) The prophet Anna was also there in the temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. In her youth she had been married for seven years, but her husband died. 37 And now she was 84 years old.[h] Night and day she served God in the temple by praying and often going without eating.[i]
38 At this time Anna came in and praised God. She spoke about the child Jesus to everyone who hoped for Jerusalem to be set free.
The Return to Nazareth
39 (G) After Joseph and Mary had done everything that the Law of the Lord commands, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child Jesus grew. He became strong and wise, and God blessed him.
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 (H) Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for Passover. 42 And when Jesus was twelve years old, they all went there as usual for the celebration. 43 After Passover his parents left, but they did not know that Jesus had stayed on in the city. 44 They thought he was traveling with some other people, and they went a whole day before they started looking for him. 45 When they could not find him with their relatives and friends, they went back to Jerusalem and started looking for him there.
46 Three days later they found Jesus sitting in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was surprised at how much he knew and at the answers he gave.
48 When his parents found him, they were amazed. His mother said, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried, and we have been searching for you!”
49 Jesus answered, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I would be in my Father's house?”[j] 50 But they did not understand what he meant.
51 Jesus went back to Nazareth with his parents and obeyed them. His mother kept on thinking about all that had happened.
52 (I) Jesus became wise, and he grew strong. God was pleased with him and so were the people.
Eliphaz's Second Speech
If You Had Any Sense
15 Eliphaz from Teman[a] said:
* 2 Job, if you had any sense,
3 you would stop spreading
all of this hot air.
4 Your words are enough
to make others turn from God
and lead them to doubt.
5 And your sinful, scheming mind
is the source of all you say.
6 I am not here as your judge;
your own words are witnesses
against you.
7 Were you the first human?
Are you older than the hills?
8 Have you ever been present
when God's council[b] meets?
Do you alone have wisdom?
9 Do you know and understand
something we don't?
10 We have the benefit of wisdom
older than your father.
11 And you have been offered
comforting words from God.
Isn't this enough?
12 Your emotions are out of control,
making you look fierce;
13 that's why you attack God
with everything you say.
14 (A) No human is pure and innocent,
15 and neither are angels—
not in the sight of God.
If God doesn't trust his angels,
16 what chance do humans have?
We are so terribly evil
that we thirst for sin.
Just Listen to What I Know
17 Just listen to what I know,
and you will learn
18 wisdom known by others
since ancient times.
19 Those who gained such insights
also gained the land,
and they were not influenced
by foreign teachings.
20 But suffering is in store
each day for those who sin.
21 Even in times of success,
they constantly hear
the threat of doom.
22 Darkness, despair, and death
are their destiny.
23 They scrounge around for food,
all the while dreading
the approaching darkness.
24 They are overcome with despair,
like frightened soldiers facing
a fearsome king in battle.
25 This is because they rebelled
against God All-Powerful
26 and have attacked him
with their weapons.
27 They may be rich and fat,
28 but they will live in the ruins
of deserted towns.
29 Their property and wealth
will shrink and disappear.
30 They won't escape the darkness,
and the blazing breath of God
will set their future aflame.
* 31 They have put their trust
in something worthless;
now they will become worthless
32 like a date palm tree
without a leaf.[c]
33 Or like vineyards or orchards
whose blossoms and unripe fruit
drop to the ground.
34 Yes, the godless and the greedy
will have nothing but flames
feasting on their homes,
35 because they are the parents
of trouble and vicious lies.
Working Together for God
3 My friends, you are acting like the people of this world. That's why I could not speak to you as spiritual people. You are like babies as far as your faith in Christ is concerned. 2 (A) So I had to treat you like babies and feed you milk. You could not take solid food, and you still cannot, 3 because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves you are not spiritual and you are acting like the people of this world.
4 (B) Some of you say you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't this how ordinary people behave? 5 Apollos and I are merely servants who helped you to have faith. It was the Lord who made it all happen. 6 (C) I planted the seeds, Apollos watered them, but God made them sprout and grow. 7 What matters isn't those who planted or watered, but God who made the plants grow. 8 The one who plants is just as important as the one who waters. And each one will be paid for what they do. 9 Apollos and I work together for God, and you are God's garden and God's building.
Only One Foundation
10 God treated me with undeserved grace and let me become an expert builder. I laid a foundation on which others have built. But we must each be careful how we build, 11 because Christ is the only foundation. 12-13 Whatever we build on this foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment. Then everyone will find out if we have used gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw. 14 We will be rewarded if our building is left standing. 15 But if it is destroyed by the fire, we will lose everything. Yet we ourselves will be saved, like someone escaping from flames.
16 (D) All of you surely know you are God's temple and his Spirit lives in you. 17 Together you are God's holy temple, and God will destroy anyone who destroys his temple.
18 Don't fool yourselves! If any of you think you are wise in the things of this world, you will have to become foolish before you can be truly wise. 19 (E) This is because God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish. It is just as the Scriptures say, “God catches the wise when they try to outsmart him.” 20 (F) The Scriptures also say, “The Lord knows that the plans made by wise people are useless.” 21-22 So stop bragging about what anyone has done. Paul and Apollos and Peter[a] all belong to you. In fact, everything is yours, including the world, life, death, the present, and the future. Everything belongs to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.