M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(A)
2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel your father.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the first fruits of my vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in power.(B)
4 Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel
because you went up onto your father’s bed;
then you defiled it—you[a] went up onto my couch!(C)
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.(D)
6 May I never come into their council;
may I not be joined to their company,
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.(E)
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.(F)
8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.(G)
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion,
like a lioness—who dares rouse him up?(H)
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him,[b]
and the obedience of the peoples is his.(I)
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine
and his robe in the blood of grapes;
12 his eyes are darker than wine
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea;
he shall be a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.(J)
14 Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the sheepfolds;
15 he saw that a resting place was good
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to the burden
and became a slave at forced labor.
16 Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.(K)
17 Dan shall be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider falls backward.(L)
18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.(M)
19 Gad shall be raided by raiders,
but he shall raid at their heels.(N)
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,[e]
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.[f](Q)
23 The archers fiercely attacked him;
they shot at him and pressed him hard.(R)
24 Yet his bow remained taut,
and his arms[g] were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,(S)
25 by the God of your father, who will help you,
by the Almighty[h] who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.(T)
26 The blessings of your father
are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains,
the bounties[i] of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.(U)
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening dividing the spoil.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.(V)
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 Then he charged them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,(W) 30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.(X) 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah.(Y) 32 The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.(Z)
The Birth of Jesus
2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.(A) 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.[a]
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:(B) 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[b] the Lord.(C) 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”(D) 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[c] praising God and saying,(E)
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.(G) 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.(H)
Jesus Is Named
21 When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child,[e] and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.(I)
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord(J) 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),(K) 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.(L) 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[f](M) 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon[g] came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law,(N) 28 Simeon[h] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,(O)
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,(P)
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”(Q)
33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed(R) 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,(S) 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.(T) 38 At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child[i] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.(U)
The Return to Nazareth
39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.(V) 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.(W)
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.(X) 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.(Y) 48 When his parents[j] saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.”(Z) 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”[k](AA) 50 But they did not understand what he said to them.(AB) 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.(AC)
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years[l] and in divine and human favor.(AD)
Eliphaz Speaks: Job Undermines Religion
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Should the wise answer with windy knowledge
and fill themselves with the east wind?(A)
3 Should they argue in unprofitable talk
or in words that can do no good?
4 But you are doing away with the fear of God
and hindering meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.(B)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.(C)
7 “Are you the firstborn of the human race?
Were you brought forth before the hills?(D)
8 Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?(E)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?(F)
10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
those older than your father.(G)
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you
or the word that deals gently with you?(H)
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes flash,[a]
13 so that you turn your spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your mouth?(I)
14 What are mortals, that they can be clean?
Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous?(J)
15 God puts no trust even in his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his sight;(K)
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,
one who drinks iniquity like water!(L)
17 “I will show you; listen to me;
what I have seen I will declare—
18 what sages have told
and their ancestors have not hidden,(M)
19 to whom alone the land was given,
and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked writhe in pain all their days,
through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.(N)
21 Terrifying sounds are in their ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them.(O)
22 They despair of returning from darkness,
and they are destined for the sword.(P)
23 They wander abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand;(Q)
24 distress and anguish terrify them;
they prevail against them like a king prepared for battle.
25 Because they stretched out their hands against God
and bid defiance to the Almighty,[b](R)
26 running stubbornly against him
with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because they have covered their faces with their fat
and gathered fat upon their loins,(S)
28 they will live in desolate cities,
in houses that no one should inhabit,
houses destined to become heaps of ruins;
29 they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure,
nor will they strike root in the earth;[c](T)
30 they will not escape from darkness;
the flame will dry up their shoots,
and their blossom[d] will be swept away by the wind.(U)
31 Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves,
for emptiness will be their recompense.(V)
32 It will be paid in full before their time,
and their branch will not be green.(W)
33 They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine,
and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree.(X)
34 For the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribery.(Y)
35 They conceive mischief and bring forth evil,
and their belly prepares deceit.”(Z)
On Divisions in the Corinthian Church
3 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people but rather as fleshly, as infants in Christ.(A) 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready,(B) 3 for you are still fleshly. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling[a] among you, are you not fleshly and behaving according to human inclinations?(C) 4 For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not all too human?(D)
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and each will receive wages according to their own labor.(E) 9 For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.(F)
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Let each builder choose with care how to build on it.(G) 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.(H) 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 the work of each builder will become visible, for the day[b] will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.(I) 14 If the work that someone has built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a wage. 15 If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?[c](J) 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise.(K) 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
“He catches the wise in their craftiness,”(L)
20 and again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.”
21 So let no one boast about people.[d] For all things are yours,(M) 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.(N)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.