M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Moses Presents the Privileges of the Covenant
4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and the ordinances that I’m teaching you to observe so you may live and go in to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is about to give you. 2 Do not add or subtract a thing to what I’m commanding you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God.[a] 3 You saw with your own eyes what he did in Baal Peor. The Lord your God exterminated from among you every man who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But all of you who are clinging to the Lord your God are alive today. 5 See! I taught you the statutes and the ordinances, just as the Lord God commanded. Therefore, observe them[b] when you enter the land you are about to possess. 6 Observe them carefully, because this will show your wisdom and discernment in the eyes of people who’ll listen to all these decrees. Then they’ll say: ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’ 7 For what great nation has a god so near like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? 8 And what great nation has all the decrees and righteous ordinances like all this teaching that I’m giving you today? 9 Only guard yourselves carefully so you won’t forget the things that you saw and let them slip from your mind for the rest of your life. Tell them to your children and to your grandchildren. 10 The day you stood in the presence of the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord told me, ‘Gather the people before me so they may hear my words, learn to revere me the whole time that they live in the land, and teach them[c] to their children.’”
Moses Warns against Idolatry
11 “When you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain—a mountain that was blazing with fire at its core[d] while the sky was covered with thick, dark clouds— 12 the Lord your God spoke from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to observe—the Ten Commandments that he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you to observe the statutes and ordinances in the land after you cross over to take possession of it.
15 “Therefore, for your own sake, be very careful, since you did not see any form on the day that the Lord your God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire. 16 Be careful![e] Otherwise, you will be destroyed when you make carved images for yourself—all sorts of images in the form of man, woman, 17 any animal on earth, any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18 any creeping thing on the ground, or any fish in the sea.[f] 19 Do not gaze toward the heavens and observe the sun, the moon, the stars—the entire array of the sky—with the intent[g] to worship and serve what the Lord your God gave every nation.[h] 20 For the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace—out of Egypt—to be the people of his inheritance, as you are today.
21 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. So he swore that I’ll never cross the Jordan River to enter the good land that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 22 I’m going to die in this land and I won’t cross the Jordan River, but you’re about to cross over to possess that good land. 23 Be careful! Otherwise, you will forget the covenant of the Lord your God, who established that covenant with you. Don’t make carved images of any likeness in violation of everything that you were commanded by the Lord your God. 24 Indeed, the Lord your God is a consuming[i] fire. He is a jealous God.”
Warnings against Angering God
25 “After you’ve borne children and grandchildren, have been there for a long time in the land, have become so corrupted that you make images of any form, and have done evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, you will provoke him to anger. 26 Heaven and earth will testify against what has occurred[j] today: you’ll surely and swiftly be destroyed from the land that you are about to possess by crossing the Jordan River. You won’t live long in it, because you’ll certainly be exterminated. 27 Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and you’ll be fewer in number in the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28 There you’ll serve gods made by human hands, serving[k] trees and stones that cannot see, hear, eat, nor smell. 29 If from there you will seek the Lord your God, then you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and soul. 30 In your distress, when all these things happen to you in days to come and you return to the Lord your God, then you will hear his voice. 31 For God is compassionate. The Lord your God won’t fail you. He won’t destroy you or forget the covenant that he confirmed with your ancestors.”
Who is Like the Lord?
32 “Indeed, ask from one end of the heavens to the other about days of old, before your time, when God created mankind on the earth. Did we ever have anything as great as this, or ever hear of anything like it? 33 Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of a fire just as you did,[l] and survived it? 34 Or has any god ever taken for himself one nation out from another nation with testings, signs, wonders, wars, awesome power,[m] and magnificent, terrifying deeds[n] as the Lord your God did in Egypt before your eyes?
35 “You have been shown this in order to know that ‘the Lord is God’ and there is no one like him. 36 You have been made to hear his voice from heaven so you may be instructed.[o] And he showed you his great fire here on earth, and you heard his voice from the middle of that fire. 37 Moreover, he loved your ancestors, chose their descendants after them, and brought you out of Egypt, accompanied by his presence and great power, 38 in order to drive out nations that are stronger and more powerful than you, to bring you into this land,[p] and to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.
39 “May you acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in the heavens above and over the earth below—there is no other God.[q] 40 May you observe his statutes and keep his commands that I’m giving you today, so that life may go well for you and for your descendants after you. That way, you’ll live a long life in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you permanently.”[r]
Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses designated three cities on the east side of the Jordan, 42 where a person who accidentally killed someone could flee, if he killed his neighbor without having enmity toward him in the past. He may flee to one of these cities and live: 43 Bezer in the desert plain for the descendants of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead for the descendants of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the descendants of Manasseh.
Moses Reviews the Law
44 This is the Law that Moses reviewed in the presence of the Israelis. 45 These are the instructions, decrees, and ordinances that Moses declared to the Israelis when they came out of Egypt. 46 He did this[s] east of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and whom Moses and the Israelis defeated after leaving Egypt. 47 So they took possession of his land, as well as the land of King Og of Bashan. Both Amorite kings lived east of the Jordan— 48 from Aroer on the edge of the Wadi[t] Arnon as far as Mount Sirion,[u] which is also called Hermon, 49 and all the Arabah east of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea[v] below the slopes of Pisgah.
A Davidic prayer
Help Us, God
86 Lord, listen and answer me,
for I am afflicted and needy.
2 Protect me, for I am faithful;[a]
My God, deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me Lord,
for I call on you all day long.
4 Your servant rejoices,
because, Lord, I set my hope on[b] you.
5 Indeed you, Lord, are kind and forgiving,
overflowing with gracious love to everyone who calls on you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
attend to my prayer of supplication.
7 In my troubled times I will call on you,
for you will answer me.
8 No one can compare with you among the gods, Lord;
No one can accomplish[c] your work.
9 All the nations that you have established will come
and worship you, my Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great,
and you are doing awesome things;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
let me wholeheartedly[d] revere your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole being;
and I will honor your name continuously.
13 For great is your gracious love to me;
you’ve delivered me from the depths of Sheol.[e]
14 God, arrogant men rise up against me,
while a company of ruthless individuals want to kill me.
They do not have regard for you.[f]
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate God,
merciful and patient,[g]
with unending gracious love and faithfulness.
16 Return to me and have mercy on me;
clothe your servant with your strength
and deliver the son of your maid servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness,
so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed.
For you, Lord, will help and comfort me.
A psalm by the descendants of Korah. A song.
The Holy City for All People
87 God’s[h] foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken about you,
city of God.
4 I will mention Rahab and Babylon
among those who acknowledge me—
including Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia[i]—
“This one was born there,” they say.[j]
5 Indeed, about Zion it will be said:
“More than one person[k] was born in it,” and
“The Most High himself did[l] it.”
6 The Lord will record,
as he registers the peoples,[m]
“This one was born there.”
The Government of Justice
32 “Look, a king will reign in righteousness,
and rulers will rule with justice.
2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
and a hiding place from[a] storms,
like streams of water in the desert,
in[b] the shadow of a great rock in an exhausted[c] land.
3 Then the eyes of those who can see won’t turn away,
and the ears of those who can hear will listen.
4 The hearts of reckless people will understand sound judgment,
and the tongues of those who stammer will be ready to speak clearly.
5 People will no longer call a fool[d] noble,
nor will a bad person be declared honorable.
6 For fools utter contempt,
and their minds plot[e] wrong things:
practicing ungodliness,
spreading lies about the Lord,
leaving the pangs of hungry people unsatisfied,
and depriving thirsty people of drink.
7 Furthermore, the crimes of bad people are evil;
and[f] they devise wicked schemes,
destroying the poor[g] with lying words,
even when needy people plead[h] a just cause.
8 But those who are decent plan noble things,
and by noble deeds they stand.”
A Rebuke for Complacent Women
9 “As for you ladies of leisure—
Get up and listen to my voice!
You daughters who feel so complacent—
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year,
you complacent women will shudder;
for the grape harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not[i] come.
11 So tremble, you ladies of leisure!
Shudder, you daughters who feel so complacent!
Strip down and make yourselves naked down to the waist![j]
Then wrap yourself in[k] sackcloth and beat your breasts.[l]
12 For people will be beating their breasts
in mourning[m] over the pleasant fields,
over the fruitful vines,
13 and over the land of my people
overgrown with thorns and[n] briers—
yes, over all the houses of merriment
and over this city of revelry.
14 “For the palace will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
the citadel and watchtower
will become barren wastes forever,
the delight of wild donkeys,
and a pasture for[o] flocks,
15 until the Spirit from on high is poured upon us,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.”
Restoration of God’s Reign
16 “Then justice will live in the wilderness,
and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field.
17 The effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful dwellings,
in secure homes and in undisturbed resting places.
19 But it will hail when the forest comes down,
and the wood[p] will be leveled completely.
20 How happy you will be, sowing your seed beside every stream,
and[q] letting your[r] cattle and donkeys range freely!”
The Letter to the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the messenger[a] of the church in Ephesus, write:
‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says this:
2 ‘I know what you’ve been doing, your toil, and your endurance. I also know that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles, but are not, and have found them to be false. 3 You have endured and suffered because of my name, yet you have not grown weary. 4 However, I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Therefore, remember how far you have fallen. Repent and go back to what you were doing at first. If you don’t, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this is to your credit: You hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 ‘Let everyone[b] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life that is in God’s paradise to everyone who overcomes.’”[c]
The Letter to the Church in Smyrna
8 “To the messenger[d] of the church in Smyrna, write:
‘The first and the last, who was dead and became alive, says this:
9 ‘I know your suffering and your poverty—though you are rich—and the slander committed by those who claim to be Jews but are not. They are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The Devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.
11 ‘Let everyone[e] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes[f] will never be hurt by the second death.’”
The Letter to the Church in Pergamum
12 “To the messenger[g] of the church in Pergamum, write:
‘The one who holds the sharp, two-edged sword, says this:
13 ‘I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. Yet you hold on to my name and have not denied your faith in me,[h] even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you: You have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. 15 You also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 So repent. If you don’t, I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 ‘Let everyone[i] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who overcomes.’”[j] I will also give him a white stone. On the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the person who receives it.’”
The Letter to the Church in Thyatira
18 “To the messenger[k] of the church in Thyatira, write:
‘The Son of God, whose eyes are like flaming fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says this:
19 ‘I know what you’ve been doing—your love, faithfulness,[l] service, and endurance—and that your last actions are greater than the first. 20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and who teaches and leads my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refused to repent of her immorality. 22 Look! I am going to strike her with illness.[m] Those who commit adultery with her will also suffer greatly, unless they repent from acting like her. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will reward each of you as your actions deserve.
24 ‘But as for the rest of you in Thyatira—you who do not hold to this teaching and who have not learned what some people call the deep things of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else. 25 Just hold on to what you have until I come. 26 I will give authority over the nations to the person who overcomes[n] and continues to do what I’ve commanded[o] to the end, and
27 ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter;
shattering them like clay pots.’[p]
28 ‘Just as I have received authority from my Father, I will also give him the morning star.
29 ‘Let everyone[q] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
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