M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Balaam’s Oracles
23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me this: seven altars. And prepare for me this: seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 And Balak did just as Balaam spoke, and Balak offered Balaam a bull and a ram on the altar. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself at your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell to you.” So he went to a barren height.
4 And God met with Balaam, and he said to him, “I have arranged seven altars, and I have offered a bull and a ram on the altar.” 5 Yahweh put a word in the mouth of Balaam and said, “Return to Balak, and you must 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 And he lifted up his oracle and said,
“From Aram Balak lead me,
from the mountains of the east the king of Moab,
‘Go for me, curse Jacob,
and go, denounce Israel.’
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed,
and how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced?
9 Because from the top of the rocks I see him,
from hilltops I watch him.
Behold, a people who dwell alone,
they do not consider themselves among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or as a number the fourth part of Israel?
Let my life die the death of an upright person,
and let my end be like his!”
11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have surely blessed them!” 12 He answered and said, “Should I not speak[a] what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said, “Please walk with me to another place where you will see them, but you will only see part 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 he built seven altars, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam[b] said to Balak, “Station yourself here at the burnt offering while I myself meet with Yahweh there.” 16 Then Yahweh met with Balaam, and he put a word in his mouth, and he said, “Return to Balak, and you must speak thus.” 17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing at his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” 18 Then he uttered[c] his oracle, and said,
“Stand up, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of humankind,
that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
And has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
when he has blessed, I cannot cause it to return.
21 He has no regard for evil in Jacob,
and he does not see trouble in Israel;
Yahweh his God is with him,
and a shout[d] of a king is among them.[e]
22 God, who brings them out from Egypt,
is like the strength[f] of a wild ox for them.[g]
23 Because there is no sorcery against Jacob,
and there is no divination against Israel.
Now[h] it will be said to Jacob and Israel,
what God has done!
24 Look! the people will rise like the lion;
he raises himself and will not lie down
until he eats the prey
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them[i] at all, nor bless them[j] at all!” 26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Whatever Yahweh speaks I will do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please, come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be acceptable to[k] God, and you will curse for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which looks down on the face of the Jeshimon.[l] 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me these seven altars, and prepare for me these seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 Balak did just as Balaam said, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
A Plea for Divine Retribution
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting.
Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots[b] of evildoers,
from the unrest of those who do iniquity,
3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword.
They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 to shoot from[c] their[d] hiding places at the blameless.
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in the evil matter.
They talk of secretly laying snares.
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They carefully plot[e] injustices saying,
“We have perfected the perfect plot!”[f]
Both the inner thought[g] and heart of a man are deep.
7 But God will shoot them;
with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.
8 [h] And they who would cause him[i] to stumble,
their own tongue will be against them.
All who gaze on them will shake.[j]
9 And then[k] all men[l] will fear,
and will declare the working of God,
and will understand his doing.
10 The righteous will rejoice in Yahweh and take refuge in him,
and all the upright in heart will boast.
Thanksgiving for God’s Provision
For the music director. A psalm of David. A song.[m]
65 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,
and to you the vow shall be fulfilled.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities[n] prevail over me.
As for our transgressions, you will forgive[o] them.
4 Blessed is one whom you choose and bring near,
that he may abide in your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness you will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
you who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off seas,
6 who established the mountains by his strength,
the one who is girded with might,
7 who stills the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the commotion of the peoples,
8 so that[p] the inhabitants of the farthest reaches are in awe of your signs.
You make the dawn and sunset sing for joy.
9 You care for[q] the land[r] and water it;
you greatly enrich it.
The stream of God is filled with waters.
You provide their grain,
for so you have established it.
10 You drench its furrows,
penetrating its ridges.
With rains you soften it;
its growth you bless.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,[s]
and your wagon paths drip with richness.[t]
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with joy.
13 The pasturelands put on flocks,
and the valleys clothe themselves with grain.
They shout in triumph;
they even sing.
An Oracle against Babylon
13 The oracle of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:
2 Raise a signal on a bare hill,
lift up your voice to them;
wave the hand and may they enter the gateways of the noblemen.
3 I myself I have commanded my consecrated ones,
I have also summoned my mighty warriors concerning my anger,
the ones who exalt over[a] my majesty.
4 A sound, a noise is on the mountains,
the likeness of many people!
A sound of the roar of the kingdoms,
of nations gathering!
Yahweh of hosts is mustering an army for battle.
5 They are coming from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
Yahweh and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole earth.[b]
6 Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near;
it will come like destruction from Shaddai![c]
7 Therefore all hands will grow slack,
and every human heart will melt,
8 and they will be dismayed.
Pangs and labor pains will seize them;
they will tremble like a woman giving birth.
They will stare at one another,[d]
their faces flushing.[e]
9 Look! The day of Yahweh is coming,
cruel and wrath and the burning of anger,
to make the earth a desolation,
and he will destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not flash forth their light;
the sun will keep back when it comes out,
and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their iniquity.
And I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
and I will bring the haughtiness of tyrants low.
12 I will make humanity more rare than gold
and humankind more than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will quake from its place
because of the wrath of Yahweh of hosts,
and in the day his anger burns.
14 And this shall happen:
like a hunted gazelle or sheep with none to gather them,[f]
they will each turn to his own people,
and they will each flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be pierced through,
and everyone who is carried away will fall by the sword.
16 And their children will be dashed into pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be raped.[g]
17 Look! I am stirring the Medes up against them,
who do not value silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 And their bows will shatter young men.
And they will not show mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not look compassionately on children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be like when God overthrew[h] Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will not be inhabited forever,
and it will not be dwelled in forever;[i]
and no Arab will pitch a tent there,
and shepherds will not allow their flocks to lie down there.
21 But wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures,
and the daughters of ostriches[j] will live there,
and goats will dance there.
22 And hyenas will answer in its palaces,
and jackals in the pleasure palaces;
and its time is coming soon,[k]
and its days will not be prolonged.
Greeting
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen[a] who are residing temporarily in the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
A New Birth to a Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 into an inheritance imperishable and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for you 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, 6 in which you rejoice greatly, although[b] now for a short time, if necessary,[c] you are distressed by various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more valuable than gold that is passing away, but is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom, although you[d] have not seen, you love; in whom now you believe, although you[e] do not see him, and you rejoice greatly with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining the goal of your faith, the salvation of your[f] souls.
10 Concerning this[g] salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace meant for you sought and made careful inquiry, 11 investigating for what person or which time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he[h] testified beforehand to the sufferings with reference to Christ and the glories after these things, 12 to whom it was revealed that they were serving not themselves but you with reference to the same things which now have been announced to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which[i] angels desire to look.
Be Holy in All Your Conduct
13 Therefore, when you have prepared your minds for action[j] by[k] being self-controlled, put your hope completely in the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former desires you used to conform to[l] in your ignorance, 15 but as the one who called you is holy, you yourselves be holy in all your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You will be holy, because I am[m] holy.”[n][o] 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your temporary residence, 18 because you[p] know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb 20 who was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has been revealed in these last times for you 21 who through him are believing in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from the heart,[q] 23 because you[r] have been born again, not from perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For
“all flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the grass.
The grass withers and the flower falls off,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever[s].”[t]
And this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
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