M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Making the Ark of the Covenant
37 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; it was two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.(A) 2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside and made a molding of gold around it. 3 He cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side.(B) 4 He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold 5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark. 6 He made a cover of pure gold; two cubits and a half was its length and a cubit and a half its width.(C) 7 He made two cherubim of hammered gold; at the two ends of the cover he made them, 8 one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the cover he made the cherubim at its two ends. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the cover with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were turned toward the cover.
Making the Table for the Bread of the Presence
10 He also made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.(D) 11 He overlaid it with pure gold and made a molding of gold around it. 12 He also made around it a rim a handbreadth wide, and he made a molding of gold around the rim. 13 He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 14 The rings that held the poles used for carrying the table were close to the rim. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table and overlaid them with gold. 16 And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.(E)
Making the Lampstand
17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand were made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes, and its petals were of one piece with it.(F) 18 There were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 19 three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.(G) 20 On the lampstand itself there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyxes and petals. 21 There was a calyx of one piece with it under the first pair of branches, a calyx of one piece with it under the next pair of branches, and a calyx of one piece with it under the last pair of branches—so for the six branches going out of it.(H) 22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it, the whole of it one hammered piece of pure gold. 23 He made its seven lamps and its snuffers and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made it and all its utensils of a talent of pure gold.
Making the Altar of Incense
25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood, one cubit long and one cubit wide; it was square and was two cubits high; its horns were of one piece with it.(I) 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around and its horns, and he made a molding of gold around it 27 and two golden rings for it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, to hold the poles with which to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
Making the Anointing Oil and the Incense
29 He made the holy anointing oil also and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.(J)
16 “I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away.[a](A) 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.(B) 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me.(C) 4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
The Work of the Spirit
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’(D) 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate[b] will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about[c] sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.(E)
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.(F) 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.(G) 14 He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.(H)
Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
16 “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.”(I) 17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20 Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.(J) 22 So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.(K) 23 On that day you will ask nothing of me.[d] Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.[e] 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.(L)
Peace for the Disciples
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[f](M) 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”(N)
29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.”(O) 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.(P) 33 I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!”(Q)
13 A wise child loves discipline,[a]
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.(A)
2 From the fruit of their words good persons eat good things,
but the desire of the treacherous is for wrongdoing.
3 Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives;
those who open wide their lips come to ruin.(B)
4 The appetite of the lazy craves and gets nothing,
while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.(C)
5 The righteous hate falsehood,
but the wicked act shamefully and disgracefully.
6 Righteousness guards one whose way is upright,
but sin overthrows the wicked.(D)
7 Some pretend to be rich yet have nothing;
others pretend to be poor yet have great wealth.(E)
8 Wealth is a ransom for a person’s life,
but a poor person pays no attention to a rebuke.
9 The light of the righteous rejoices,[b]
but the lamp of the wicked goes out.(F)
10 By insolence the empty-headed person makes strife,
but wisdom is with those who take advice.(G)
11 Wealth hastily gotten[c] will dwindle,
but those who gather little by little will increase it.(H)
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 Those who despise a word bring destruction on themselves,
but those who respect a command will be rewarded.(I)
14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
so that one may avoid the snares of death.(J)
15 Good sense wins favor,
but the way of the faithless is their ruin.[d](K)
16 The clever do all things intelligently,
but the fool displays folly.(L)
17 A bad messenger brings trouble,
but a faithful envoy, healing.(M)
18 Poverty and disgrace are for the one who ignores instruction,
but one who heeds reproof is honored.(N)
19 A desire realized is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools suffers harm.(O)
21 Misfortune pursues sinners,
but prosperity rewards the righteous.(P)
22 The good leave an inheritance to their children’s children,
but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.(Q)
23 The field of the poor may yield much food,
but it is swept away through injustice.(R)
24 Those who spare the rod hate their children,
but those who love them are diligent to discipline them.(S)
25 The righteous have enough to satisfy their appetite,
but the belly of the wicked is empty.(T)
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,[a] for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise(A)— 3 “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
4 And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.(B)
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect[b] and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ,(C) 6 not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul. 7 Render service with enthusiasm, as for the Lord and not for humans, 8 knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are enslaved or free.
9 And, masters,[c] do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Lord[d] in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.(D)
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power; 11 put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, 12 for our[e] struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present[f] darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.[g](E) 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm.(F) 14 Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness(G) 15 and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these,[h] take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.(H) 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.(I) 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.(J) 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,[i](K) 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.(L)
Personal Matters and Benediction
21 So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord.(M) 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are and to encourage your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers and sisters and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(N) 24 Grace be with all who have an undying love for[j] our Lord Jesus Christ.[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.