M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Song of Moses
15 Then Moses and the Israelis sang this song to the Lord:
“I’ll sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and song,[a]
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God and I’ll praise him,
the God of my father and I’ll exalt him.
3 The Lord is a man of war,
the Lord is his name!
4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea;
his best officers sank in the Reed[b] Sea.
5 The deep covered them,
they went down into the depths like a rock.
6 Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in strength,
your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty
you broke down your enemies.
You sent forth your anger,
it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the breath[c] of your nostrils
the waters were piled up,
the flowing waters stood up like a hill,
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 “The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them,[d] I’ll overtake them,[e]
I’ll divide the spoil.
I’ll satisfy my anger[f] on them,
I’ll draw my sword,
and my hand will bring them to ruin.’
10 “You blew with your breath,[g]
and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty water.
11 “Who is like you among the gods, Lord?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor,[h] and working wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 “You have led with your gracious love
this people whom you redeemed.
You have guided them with your strength
to your holy dwelling.
14 “The nations[i] heard and they quaked,
anguish[j] seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified,
the nobles of Moab trembled uncontrollably,
and all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
16 Dread and fear have fallen on them,
because of the strength[k] of your arm.
They have become silent as a stone,
until your people pass by, Lord,
until this people you acquired pass by.
17 “You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance.
You have made a place where you will reside, Lord.
Your own hands have established a sanctuary, Lord.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
19 When the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord caused the waters of the sea to come back over them, but the Israelis walked through the middle of the sea on dry land.
The Song of Miriam
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand and went out with all the women behind her with tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them,
“Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted!
The horse and its rider
he has thrown into the sea.”
God Provides Water for the People
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Reed[l] Sea and they went to the desert of Shur. They traveled into the desert for three days and did not find water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter. (That is why it’s called[m] Marah.)[n] 24 Then the people complained against Moses: “What are we to drink?” 25 Moses[o] cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which he threw into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord[p] presented to them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what he sees to be right, listen to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then I won’t inflict on you all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians, because I am the Lord your healer.” 27 Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees, and they camped there by the water.
The Parable about the Judge and the Widow
18 Jesus[a] told his disciples[b] a parable about their need to pray all the time and never give up. 2 He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people. 3 In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while the judge[c] refused. But later, he told himself, ‘I don’t fear God or respect people, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice. Otherwise, she will keep coming and wear me out.’”
6 Then the Lord added, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. 7 Won’t God grant his chosen people justice when they cry out to him day and night? Is he slow to help them? 8 I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Jesus[d] also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’[e] 14 I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus Blesses the Little Children(A)
15 Now some people[f] were even bringing their infants to Jesus[g] to have him touch them. But when the disciples saw this, they sternly told the people[h] not to do that. 16 Jesus, however, called for the children[i] and said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these. 17 I tell all of you[j] with certainty, whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never get into it at all.”
A Rich Man Comes to Jesus(B)
18 Then an official asked Jesus,[k] “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Nobody is good except for one—God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Never commit adultery.[l] Never murder.[m] Never steal.[n] Never give false testimony.[o] Honor your father and mother.’”[p]
21 The official[q] replied, “I have kept all of these since I was a young man.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still need to do one thing. Sell everything you have and give the money[r] to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” 23 But when the official[s] heard this he became sad, because he was very rich.
Salvation and Reward(C)
24 So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he[t] said, “How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who were listening to Jesus[u] asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus[v] replied, “The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.”
28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left everything we have and followed you.”
29 Jesus[w] told them, “I tell all of you[x] with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of the kingdom of God 30 who will not receive many times as much in this world, as well as eternal life in the age to come.”
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time(D)
31 Jesus[y] took the Twelve aside and told them, “Pay attention! We’re going up to Jerusalem. Everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled, 32 because he’ll be handed over to the unbelievers,[z] and will be mocked, insulted, and spit on. 33 After they have whipped him, they’ll kill him, but on the third day he’ll rise again.” 34 But they didn’t understand any of this. What he said was hidden from them, and they didn’t know what he meant.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man(E)
35 As Jesus[aa] was approaching Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus from Nazareth[ab] was coming by. 38 So he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 The people at the front of the crowd[ac] sternly told him to be quiet, but he started shouting even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Then Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus[ad] asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see again!”
42 So Jesus told him, “See again! Your faith has made you well.” 43 Immediately the man[ae] could see again and began to follow Jesus,[af] glorifying God. All the people saw this and gave praise to God.
Elihu Begins His Discourse
33 “Now please listen to what I have to say, Job.
Listen to every word!
2 Look! I’ve begun to speak,[a]
and I’m fashioning my words.[b]
3 I speak from the innocence[c] of my heart;
and my lips will utter what I sincerely know.
4 “The spirit of God fashioned me;
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Answer me, if you can!
Present your case! Take your stand in my presence!
6 Look! As far as God is concerned,[d] I’m just like you are—
I, too, have been pinched off from a piece of clay.
7 Don’t be afraid of me;
I’ll go easy[e] on you.”
Elihu Reviews Job’s Claim for Innocence
8 “You spoke clearly so I could hear;
I’ve heard what you’ve said:
9 ‘I’m pure. I’m without sin;
I’m innocent. I’m harboring no iniquity inside of me.
10 Nevertheless, God[f] has found a pretext to attack me;
he considers me his enemy.
11 He has bound my feet in shackles,
and keeps watching everything I do.’”[g]
God Responds to Humanity’s Need
12 “You aren’t right about this;
My response is that God is greater than human beings.
13 Why are you arguing with him?
He doesn’t have to give explanations for what he does to you!
14 “God speaks time and time again[h]—
but nobody notices—
15 in a dream or night vision,
when a deep sleep falls on mankind
while they sleep on their beds.
16 That’s when he opens the ear of mankind,
authenticating his messages[i] to them,
17 turning a person from his actions,
keeping him[j] from pride,
18 sparing his soul from the Pit[k]
and his life from violent death.[l]
19 “He is being reproved by painful bed rest,
with continual aching in his bones.
20 He cannot stand his food,
and he[m] has no desire for appetizing food.
21 His flesh wastes away;
his bones, which once couldn’t be seen, are visible.
22 His soul is getting close to the Pit;[n]
his life is approaching its executioner.”
God Delivers through His Ransom
23 “If there’s a messenger[o] appointed to mediate for Job[p]
—one out of a thousand—
to represent the man’s integrity on his behalf,
24 to show favor to him and to plead,
‘Deliver him from having to go down to the Pit[q]—
I know where his ransom is!’
25 Let his flesh be rejuvenated[r] as he was in his youth!
Let him recover the strength of his youth.
26 Let him pray to God
and he will accept him;
he will appear before him with joyful shouts!”
The Song of the Ransomed
27 “He’ll sing to mankind with these words:
‘I’ve sinned. I have twisted what is right.
Yet he has not repaid me like I deserve.[s]
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit;[t]
my life will see the light.’
29 Indeed God does all these things
again and again[u] with a person
30 to bring back his soul from the Pit;[v]
to light him with the light of life.”
Elihu Invites Job to Respond
31 “Job, pay attention! Listen to me!
Be silent and let me speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak up, because I’d be happy to vindicate you.
33 But if you have nothing to say, then at least listen to me!
Be quiet and learn some wisdom from me.”
Ministers of the New Covenant
3 Are we beginning to recommend ourselves again? Unlike some people, we do not need letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts and known and read by everyone. 3 You are demonstrating that you are the Messiah’s[a] letter, produced by our service, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence that we have in God through the Messiah.[b] 5 By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God, 6 who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text[c] brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry of death that was inscribed in letters of stone came with such glory that the people of Israel could not gaze on Moses’ face (because the glory was fading away from it), 8 will not the Spirit’s ministry have even more glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, then the ministry of justification has an overwhelming glory. 10 In fact, that which once had glory lost its glory, because the other glory surpassed it. 11 For if that which fades away came[d] through glory, how much more does that which is permanent have glory?
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we speak very boldly, 13 not like Moses, who kept covering his face with a veil to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading away. 14 However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah[e] is that veil removed.[f] 15 Yet even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. 18 As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord’s Spirit.
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