M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joseph Interprets Two Dreams
40 After these things happened, two of the king’s officers displeased the king. These officers were the man who served wine to the king and the king’s baker. 2 The king became angry with his officer who served him wine and his baker. 3 So he put them in the prison of the captain of the guard. This was the same prison where Joseph was kept. 4 The captain of the guard put the two prisoners in Joseph’s care. They stayed in prison for some time.
5 One night both the king’s officer who served him wine and the baker had a dream. Each had his own dream with its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw they were worried. 7 Joseph asked the king’s officers who were with him, “Why do you look so unhappy today?”
8 The two men answered, “We both had dreams last night. But no one can explain the meaning of them to us.”
Joseph said to them, “God is the only One who can explain the meaning of dreams. So tell me your dreams.”
9 So the man who served wine to the king told Joseph his dream. He said, “I dreamed I saw a vine. 10 On the vine there were three branches. I watched the branches bud and blossom, and then the grapes ripened. 11 I was holding the king’s cup. So I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I gave it to the king.”
12 Then Joseph said, “I will explain the dream to you. The three branches stand for three days. 13 Before the end of three days the king will free you. He will allow you to return to your work. You will serve the king his wine just as you did before. 14 But when you are free, remember me. Be kind to me. Tell the king about me so that I can get out of this prison. 15 I was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews. And I have done nothing here to deserve being put in prison.”
16 The baker saw that Joseph’s explanation of the dream was good. So he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. I dreamed there were three bread baskets on my head. 17 In the top basket there were all kinds of baked food for the king. But the birds were eating this food out of the basket on my head.”
18 Joseph answered, “I will tell you what the dream means. The three baskets stand for three days. 19 Before the end of three days, the king will cut off your head! He will hang your body on a pole. And the birds will eat your flesh.”
20 Three days later it was the king’s birthday. So he gave a feast for all his officers. In front of his officers, he let the chief officer who served his wine and the chief baker out of prison. 21 The king gave his chief officer who served wine his old position. Once again he put the king’s cup of wine into the king’s hand. 22 But the king hanged the baker on a pole. Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would. 23 But the officer who served wine did not remember Joseph. He forgot all about him.
Jesus Teaches About Divorce
10 Then Jesus left that place. He went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again, crowds came to him. And Jesus taught them as he always did.
2 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”
4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away.”[a]
5 Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you refused to accept God’s teaching. 6 But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’[b] 7 ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife.[c] 8 And the two people will become one body.’[d] So the people are not two, but one. 9 God has joined the two people together. So no one should separate them.”
10 Later, the followers and Jesus were in the house. They asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery against her. 12 And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”
Jesus Accepts Children
13 Some people brought their small children to Jesus so he could touch them. But his followers told the people to stop bringing their children to him. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was displeased. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them. The kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children. 15 I tell you the truth. You must accept the kingdom of God as a little child accepts things, or you will never enter it.” 16 Then Jesus took the children in his arms. He put his hands on them and blessed them.
A Rich Young Man’s Question
17 Jesus started to leave, but a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to get the life that never ends?”
18 Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’”[e]
20 The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked straight at the man and loved him. Jesus said, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor. You will have a reward in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22 He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left. The man was sad because he was very rich.
23 Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard[f] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 And it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!”
26 The followers were even more amazed and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked straight at them and said, “For people this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything to follow you!”
29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields for me and for the Good News 30 will get a hundred times more than he left. Here in this world he will have more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things, he will also suffer for his belief. But in the age that is coming he will have life forever. 31 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And those who are last now will be first in the future.”
Jesus Talks About His Own Death
32 Jesus and the people with him were on the road to Jerusalem. Jesus was leading the way. The followers were amazed, but those who followed behind them were afraid. Jesus took the 12 apostles aside and talked with them alone. He told them what would happen in Jerusalem. 33 He said, “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be given to the leading priests and teachers of the law. They will say that he must die. They will give him to the non-Jewish people, 34 who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and kill him. But on the third day after his death, he will rise to life again.”
Two Followers Ask Jesus a Favor
35 Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. They said, “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”
36 Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 They answered, “You will have glory in your kingdom. Let one of us sit at your right, and let one of us sit at your left.”
38 Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I must drink? And can you be baptized with the same kind of baptism that I must have?”[g]
39 They answered, “Yes, we can!”
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the same cup that I will drink. And you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must have. 40 But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left. These places are for those for whom they are prepared.”
41 The ten followers heard this. They began to be angry with James and John.
42 Jesus called all the followers together. He said, “The non-Jewish people have men they call rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. 43 But it should not be that way among you. If one of you wants to become great, then he must serve you like a servant. 44 If one of you wants to become the most important, then he must serve all of you like a slave. 45 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people.”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
46 Then they came to the town of Jericho. As Jesus was leaving there with his followers and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road. 47 He heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by. The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, please help me!”
48 Many people scolded the blind man and told him to be quiet. But he shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Tell the man to come here.”
So they called the blind man. They said, “Cheer up! Get to your feet. Jesus is calling you.” 50 The blind man stood up quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus.
51 Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.”
52 Jesus said, “Go. You are healed because you believed.” At once the man was able to see again, and he followed Jesus on the road.
Job Answers Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 “I wish my suffering could be weighed.
And I wish my misery could be put on the scales.
3 My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
No wonder my words seem careless.
4 The arrows of God All-Powerful are in me.
My spirit drinks in their poison.
God’s terrors are gathered against me.
5 A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass to eat.
An ox is quiet when it has feed.
6 Tasteless food is not eaten without salt.
There is no flavor in the white part of an egg.
7 I refuse to touch it.
Such food makes me sick.
8 “How I wish I might have what I ask for.
How I wish God would give me what I hope for.
9 I wish God would be willing to crush me
and reach out his hand to destroy me.
10 Then I would have this comfort.
I would be glad even in this unending pain.
I would know I did not reject the words of the Holy One.
11 “I do not have the strength to wait.
There is nothing to hope for so how can I be patient?
12 I do not have the strength of stone.
My flesh is not bronze.
13 I have no power to help myself.
This is because success has been taken away from me.
14 “They say, ‘A man’s friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble.
This should be done even if he stops fearing God All-Powerful.’
15 But my brothers cannot be counted on.
They are like streams that do not flow regularly,
streams that sometimes run over.
16 They are like streams made dark by melting ice,
that rise with melting snow.
17 But they stop flowing when it is the dry season.
They go away when it is hot.
18 Groups of travelers turn away from their paths.
They go into the desert and die.
19 The groups of travelers from Tema look for water.
The traders of Sheba who travel look hopefully.
20 They are upset because they had been sure.
But when they arrive, they are disappointed.
21 You also have been no help.
You see something terrible, and you are afraid.
22 I have never said, ‘Give me a gift.
Use your wealth to pay my debt.
23 Save me from the enemy’s power.
Buy me back from the clutches of cruel people.’
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet.
Show me where I have been wrong.
25 Honest words are painful!
But your arguments prove nothing.
26 Do you mean to correct what I say?
Will you treat the words of a troubled man as if they were only wind?
27 You would even throw lots for orphans.
And you would trade away your friend.
28 “But now please look at me.
I would not lie to your face.
29 Change your mind. Do not be unfair.
Think again, because my innocence is being questioned.
30 What I am saying is not wicked.
I can tell the difference between right and wrong.
10 Brothers, the thing I want most is for all the Jews to be saved. That is my prayer to God. 2 I can say this about them: They really try to follow God. But they do not know the right way. 3 They did not know the way that God makes people right with him. And they tried to make themselves right in their own way. So they did not accept God’s way of making people right. 4 Christ ended the law, so that everyone who believes in him may be right with God.
5 Moses writes about being made right by following the law. He says, “A person who does these things will have life forever because of them.”[a] 6 But this is what the Scripture says about being made right through faith: “Don’t say to yourself, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’” (That means, “Who will go up to heaven to get Christ and bring him down to earth?”) 7 “And do not say, ‘Who will go down into the world below?’” (That means, “Who will go down to get Christ and bring him up from death?”) 8 This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.”[b] That is the teaching of faith that we tell. 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from death, then you will be saved. 10 We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths to say that we believe, and so we are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”[c] 12 That Scripture says “anyone” because there is no difference between Jew and non-Jew. The same Lord is the Lord of all and gives many blessings to all who trust in him. 13 The Scripture says, “Anyone who asks the Lord for help will be saved.”[d]
14 But before people can trust in the Lord for help, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him. And for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. 15 And before someone can go and tell them, he must be sent. It is written, “How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.”[e]
16 But not all the Jews accepted the good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?”[f] 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
18 But I ask: Didn’t people hear the Good News? Yes, they heard—as the Scripture says:
“Their message went out through all the world.
It goes everywhere on earth.” Psalm 19:4
19 Again I ask: Didn’t the people of Israel understand? Yes, they did understand. First, Moses says:
“I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that does not understand to make you angry.” Deuteronomy 32:21
20 Then Isaiah is bold enough to say:
“I was found by those who were not asking me for help.
I made myself known to people who were not looking for me.” Isaiah 65:1
21 But about Israel God says,
“All day long I stood ready to accept
people who disobey and are stubborn.” Isaiah 65:2
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.