M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Bricks without Straw
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”(A) 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”(B) 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.”(C) 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!”(D) 5 Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land[a] and yet you want them to stop laboring!”(E) 6 That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors,(F) 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’(G) 9 Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will pay attention to[b] it and not to deceptive words.”
10 So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw.(H) 11 Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it, but your work will not be lessened in the least.” 12 So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters urged them on, saying, “Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.”[c] 14 And the Israelite supervisors whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them were beaten and were asked, “Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?”(I)
15 Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! But the fault is with you.”[d] 17 He said, “You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’(J) 18 Go now and work, for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.” 20 As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them. 21 They said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”(K)
22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O my Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me?(L) 23 Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”(M)
Some Women Accompany Jesus
8 Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,(A) 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,(B) 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them[a] out of their own resources.
The Parable of the Sower
4 When a large crowd was gathering, as people were coming to him from town after town, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed some fell on a path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and as it grew up it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(C)
The Purpose of the Parables
9 Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant.(D) 10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[b] of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak[c] in parables, so that
‘looking they may not perceive
and hearing they may not understand.’
The Parable of the Sower Explained
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.(E) 12 The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. 14 As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with endurance.
A Lamp under a Jar
16 “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar or puts it under a bed; rather, one puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.(F) 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.(G) 18 So pay attention to how you listen, for to those who have, more will be given, and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.”(H)
The True Kindred of Jesus
19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”(I)
Jesus Calms a Storm
22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out,(J) 23 and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. 24 They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.(K) 25 Then he said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were terrified and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?”
Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac
26 Then they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes,[d] which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn[e] any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me,”(L) 29 for Jesus[f] had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.(M)
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding, and the demons[g] begged Jesus[h] to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.(N)
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they became frightened.(O) 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed.(P) 37 Then the whole throng of people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes[i] asked Jesus[j] to leave them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.(Q) 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might be with him, but Jesus[k] sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’s feet and began pleading with him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying.
As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. 43 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all she had on physicians,[l] no one could cure her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter[m] said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”(R) 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.”(S) 47 When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. 48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”(T)
49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.”(U) 50 When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.” 51 When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was weeping and grieving for her, but he said, “Do not cry, for she is not dead but sleeping.”(V) 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But taking her by the hand, he called out, “Child, get up!”(W) 55 Her spirit returned, and she stood up at once, and he directed them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.(X)
Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can a mortal be of use to God?
Can even the wisest be of service to him?(A)
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty[a] if you are righteous,
or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your piety that he reproves you
and enters into judgment with you?(B)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
There is no end to your iniquities.(C)
6 For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason
and stripped the naked of their clothing.(D)
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.(E)
8 The powerful possess the land,
and the favored live in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty-handed,
and the arms of the orphans you have crushed.[b](F)
10 Therefore snares are around you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or darkness so that you cannot see;
a flood of water covers you.(G)
12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
See the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 Therefore you say, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge through the deep darkness?(H)
14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see,
and he walks on the dome of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
that the wicked have trod?
16 They were snatched away before their time;
their foundation was washed away by a flood.(I)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone,’
and ‘What can the Almighty[c] do to us?’[d]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but the plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.(J)
19 The righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent laugh them to scorn,(K)
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
and what they left, the fire has consumed.’(L)
21 “Agree with God,[e] and be at peace;
in this way good will come to you.(M)
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and lay up his words in your heart.(N)
23 If you return to the Almighty,[f] you will be restored,
if you remove unrighteousness from your tents,(O)
24 if you treat gold like dust
and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent bed,(P)
25 and if the Almighty[g] is your gold
and your precious silver,(Q)
26 then you will delight yourself in the Almighty[h]
and lift up your face to God.(R)
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.(S)
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and light will shine on your ways.(T)
29 When others are humiliated, you say it is pride,
for he saves the humble.(U)
30 He will deliver even those who are guilty;
they will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.”[i](V)
The Rights of an Apostle
9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?(A) 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.(B)
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to our food and drink?(C) 5 Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife,[a] as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?(D) 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?(E) 7 Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?(F)
8 Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?(G) 10 Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we harvest material[b] things?(H) 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more?
Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.(I) 13 Do you not know that those who work in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar?(J) 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.(K)
15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that—no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! 16 If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a wage, but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission.(L) 18 What then is my wage? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
19 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might gain all the more.(M) 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to gain Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might gain those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not outside God’s law but am within Christ’s law) so that I might gain those outside the law.(N) 22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I might become a partner in it.
24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.(O) 25 Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.(P) 26 So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air, 27 but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.(Q)
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.