M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
50 Then Joseph threw himself on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him.(A) 2 Joseph commanded the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel;(B) 3 they spent forty days doing this, for that is the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.(C)
4 When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph addressed the household of Pharaoh, “If now I have found favor with you, please speak to Pharaoh as follows: 5 My father made me swear an oath; he said, ‘I am about to die. In the tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.’ Now therefore let me go up, so that I may bury my father; then I will return.”(D) 6 Pharaoh answered, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.(E) 9 Both chariots and charioteers went up with him. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and sorrowful lamentation, and he observed a time of mourning for his father seven days.(F) 11 When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;[a] it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had instructed them. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham bought as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.(G) 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
Joseph Forgives His Brothers
15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?”(H) 16 So they approached[b] Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, 17 ‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also wept,[c] fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.”(I) 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?(J) 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.(K) 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.(L)
Joseph’s Last Days and Death
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were also born on Joseph’s knees.
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely come to you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”(M) 25 So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, “When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 And Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old; he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,(A) 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.(B) 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.(C)
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”(D)
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(E) 8 Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.(F) 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(G)
10 And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?”(H) 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”(I) 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”(J) 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”(K) 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”(L)
15 As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[a](M) 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.(N) 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”(O)
18 So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done,(P) 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,(Q) 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;[c] with you I am well pleased.”[d](R)
The Ancestors of Jesus
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,(S) 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,(T) 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,(U) 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,[e] son of Nahshon,(V) 33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni,[f] son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,(W) 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,(X) 37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.(Y)
Job Reaffirms His Innocence
16 Then Job answered:
2 “I have heard many such things;
miserable comforters are you all.
3 Have windy words no limit?
Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?(A)
4 I also could talk as you do,
if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you
and shake my head at you.(B)
5 I could encourage you with my mouth,
and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.
6 “If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,
and if I refrain, how much of it leaves me?
7 Surely now God has worn me out;
he has[a] made desolate all my company.(C)
8 And he has[b] shriveled me up,
which is a witness against me;
my leanness has risen up against me,
and it testifies to my face.(D)
9 He has torn me in his wrath and hated me;
he has gnashed his teeth at me;
my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.(E)
10 They have gaped at me with their mouths;
they have struck me insolently on the cheek;
they mass themselves together against me.(F)
11 God gives me up to the evil
and casts me into the hands of the wicked.(G)
12 I was at ease, and he broke me in two;
he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;
he set me up as his target;(H)
13 his archers surround me.
He slashes open my kidneys and shows no mercy;
he pours out my gall on the ground.(I)
14 He bursts upon me again and again;
he rushes at me like a warrior.(J)
15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin
and have laid my strength in the dust.(K)
16 My face is red with weeping,
and deep darkness is on my eyelids,
17 though there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.(L)
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood;
let my outcry find no resting place.(M)
19 Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is on high.(N)
20 My friends scorn me;
my eye pours out tears to God,
21 that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God,
as[c] one does for a neighbor.(O)
22 For when a few years have come,
I shall go the way from which I shall not return.(P)
Job Prays for Relief
17 “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;
the grave is ready for me.(Q)
2 Surely there are mockers around me,
and my eye dwells on their provocation.(R)
3 “Lay down a pledge for me with yourself;
who is there who will give surety for me?(S)
4 Since you have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore you will not let them triumph.(T)
5 Those who denounce friends for reward—
the eyes of their children will fail.(U)
6 “He has made me a byword of the peoples,
and I am one before whom people spit.(V)
7 My eye has grown dim from grief,
and all my members are like a shadow.(W)
8 The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent stir themselves up against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous hold to their way,
and they who have clean hands grow stronger and stronger.(X)
10 But you, come back now, all of you,
and I shall not find a sensible person among you.
11 My days are past; my plans are broken off,
the desires of my heart.(Y)
12 They make night into day;
‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’[d]
13 If I look for Sheol as my house,
if I spread my couch in darkness,(Z)
14 if I say to the Pit, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’(AA)
15 where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?(AB)
16 Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the dust?”(AC)
The Ministry of the Apostles
4 Think of us in this way: as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.(A) 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. 4 I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.(B)
6 I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so that you may learn through us what “Not beyond what is written” means, so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you?[a] What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive?(C)
8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! If only you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to humans.(D) 10 We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are sensible people in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.(E) 11 To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are naked and beaten and homeless,(F) 12 and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;(G) 13 when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.
Fatherly Admonition
14 I am not writing this to make you ashamed but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I fathered you through the gospel.(H) 16 I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me.(I) 17 For this reason I sent[b] you Timothy, who is my beloved and trustworthy child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 But some of you, thinking that I am not coming to you, have become arrogant. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.(J) 20 For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power. 21 What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick or with love in a spirit of gentleness?(K)
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.