M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God's 10 special commands
5 Moses called all the Israelites to come together. He said to them:
Listen, Israelites, to the rules and commands that I am teaching to you today. Learn them. Be careful to obey them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Sinai. 3 He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke clearly to you from the middle of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time, I stood between the Lord and you. I repeated the Lord's message to you. You were afraid of the fire, so you did not go up the mountain.)
God said this:
6 ‘I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt, the country where you were slaves.
7 You must not have any other gods except me.
8 You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea. 9 You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their grandchildren and their children too. That is how I will punish everyone who hates me. 10 But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever.
11 You must not speak the name of the Lord your God in a wrong way. The Lord will punish anyone who speaks his name in a wrong way.
12 Always make the Sabbath day a special day for God, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You have six days every week to do all your work. 14 But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. It is special for the Lord your God. You must not do any work on that day. Your son and your daughter must not work on that day. Your servants, male or female, must not work on that day. Your ox or your donkey or any of your animals must not work on that day, nor any foreign person who lives among you. Then your servants can rest in the same way as you rest. 15 You must remember that you were slaves in Egypt. But I, the Lord your God, brought you out by my powerful authority. So the Lord your God has told you to make the Sabbath day a special day.
16 Always respect your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Then you will live for many years in the land that the Lord your God will give to you. And you will be happy.
17 You must not murder anyone.
18 You must not have sex with another person's wife or husband.
19 You must not take another person's things for yourself.
20 You must not say false things against your neighbour.
21 You must not want to take your neighbour's wife for yourself. You must not want his house or his land, or his servants, male or female. You must not want his ox or his donkey or anything else that belongs to your neighbour.’
22 These are the commands that the Lord spoke to you. You were all there together at the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the middle of a great fire. There was a cloud and it was very dark. He gave only those commands. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and he gave them to me.
23 The mountain was burning with fire and you heard God's voice speak from the darkness. Then the leaders and older men of your tribes came to speak to me. 24 They said, ‘The Lord our God has shown us how great and how powerful he is. We have heard his voice from the middle of the fire. We have learned this: People can continue to live, even after God has spoken to them. 25 But now we think that this great fire will kill us. We do not want to die! If we continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God, we will surely die. 26 The God who lives for ever has spoken to us from the middle of the fire. Has anyone ever heard him speak like that and then continued to live? 27 We ask you to go near to the Lord our God. Listen to everything that he says. Then you should tell us what he says to you. We will listen carefully and we will obey him.’
28 The Lord heard what you said to me. He said to me, ‘I have heard what these people have said to you. What they said is right. 29 I really want them to respect me with fear. I want them to obey my commands in the future! If they do that, everything will be well for them and for their descendants for ever. 30 Now tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you should stay here with me. I will tell you all the commands, rules and laws that you must teach to the people. Then they can obey them in the land that I will give them to live in.’
32 So you must be careful to do everything that the Lord your God has commanded you to do. You must not refuse to obey any of his laws. 33 Live in the way that he has commanded you. If you do that, you will be happy in the land where you are going. You will live for a long time in the land that will be your home.
This psalm is a song that the sons of Korah wrote for the music leader. Use special music. It is a special song by Heman the Ezrahite.
A sad cry[a]
88 Lord, you are the God who rescues me.
I call out to you in the day,
and I pray for help at night.
2 Please listen to my prayer!
I am calling to you for help!
3 There is a lot of trouble in my life.
I feel that I am near to death.
4 People see me as if I am already in my grave.
I feel completely helpless.
5 I am the same as people who have died.
Their bodies already lie in their graves.
You do not remember them any more
You cannot use your power to help them.
6 You have put me in the deep hole of death,
far down in a very dark place.
7 Your anger is very heavy on me.
It is like the waves of the sea that knock me down.
8 You have caused my best friends
to keep away from me.
They do not even want to look at me.
A trap has caught me
and I cannot escape.
9 My eyes have become weak
because I am so sad.
Lord, every day I call to you for help.
I lift my hands up to you as I pray.
10 Your great miracles do not help dead people!
Dead people cannot get up and praise you!
Selah.
11 People in their graves
cannot talk about your faithful love!
In the world of death,
they cannot say how faithful you are.
12 In those dark places,
they do not see your miracles.
In that place where people forget everything,
they cannot know about the good things that you do.
13 But as for me, Lord,
I call to you for help.
Every morning I pray to you.
14 Lord, why do you throw me out?
Why do you turn away from me?
15 Since I was young, I have been in pain.
I have always been near to death.
You have caused bad troubles to frighten me,
so that I feel helpless.
16 Your anger is too much for me!
You are attacking me and destroying me!
17 The troubles that you send are all round me,
like a flood of deep water.
They come very near to me,
on every side.
18 You cause my friends and my neighbours
to stay away from me.
All that I have near to me is darkness.
Trouble and hope
33 It will be very bad for you who destroy other nations.
No other nation has destroyed you yet.
It will be very bad for you who deceive other nations.
No other nation has deceived you yet.
But in the end, when you stop destroying,
others will destroy you.
When you stop deceiving,
other nations will deceive you.[a]
2 Lord, please be kind to us.
We wait for you to help us.
Make us strong every day.
Rescue us when trouble happens.
3 When they hear the noise of battle,
the nations run away.
When you go to war,
they run in every direction!
4 You nations, after the battle your valuable things will quickly disappear!
It will seem like locusts have eaten them all.
Yes, we will take it all,
like a hungry crowd of locusts.
5 The Lord is greater than all others.
He lives high above the earth.
He will cause Zion's people to do what is right and fair.
6 Whatever happens, he will cause you to be strong.
He will always keep you safe,
and he will make you wise,
so that you understand things.
Respect the Lord with fear,
and he will do all this for you.
7 Look! Our brave soldiers are calling out in the streets.
The people that we sent to make peace with our enemies are weeping.
8 The big roads are empty.
Nobody is travelling anywhere.
People spoil agreements that they have made.
They do not believe what people promise.
They do not respect anyone.
9 The land itself is dry and useless.
Lebanon's forest is dying.
Sharon has become like a desert.
The trees in Bashan and Carmel have no leaves.[b]
10 The Lord says, ‘Now I will stand up to do something.
I will show that I am great and powerful.
11 My enemies, everything that you want to do will be useless.
Your thoughts are like dry grass and straw.
Your own breath will destroy you,
like a fire that burns dry grass.
12 Your people will be like wood for the fire,
and only ashes will remain.
They will burn as easily as thorn bushes
that people cut down and throw on the fire.
13 You people who live far away,
listen to what I have done!
You people who are near,
understand that I am very strong.’
14 The sinners who live in Zion are afraid.
The people who do not respect God shake with fear.
They ask, ‘Who among us can stay alive?
This is a fire that burns everything.
Nobody can stop it from burning!’
15 But some people can still live!
Those who are honest in what they do
and fair in what they say.
Those who refuse to cheat other people
so that they can become rich.
Those who refuse to accept bribes.
Those who will not listen to murderers,
and who will not think about evil things.
16 People who are like that will live in a safe place.
Danger will not reach them among the high rocks.
They will always have food to eat,
and plenty of water to drink.
17 With your own eyes, you will see the king.
He will be great and beautiful.
You will see the land that he rules.
It will reach far and wide.
18 Then you will think about the time when you were afraid.
You will say, ‘Where is the enemy's important officer?
Where is the officer that we paid taxes to?
Where is the officer who counted our strong buildings?
They are no longer here to give us trouble!’
19 You will never see those cruel people again.
You could not understand their language.
They laughed at you with strange words.
20 Now, look at Zion, the city where we have our festivals.
Yes, you will see Jerusalem.
It will be a place that is quiet and safe.
It will be like a tent that people will never move.
They will never pull up its pegs.
They will never break its ropes.
21 The Lord will rule there as our powerful God.
Rivers and wide streams will run through it.
Our enemies will not be able to bring their ships there to attack us.
22 The Lord will keep us safe.
He is our judge, our ruler and our king.
23 At this time, your ship is not ready to go anywhere.
You have not tied the ropes.
There is nowhere to hang the sails.
But then, you will take many valuable things from your enemies.
You will share them after the battle.
Even people who cannot walk well
will carry away what they want!
24 Nobody who lives in Zion will say, ‘I am ill.’
And God will forgive their sins.
Jesus' message to the believers at Sardis
3 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Sardis:
“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
I know everything that you do. I know that people praise you. They think that you are alive. But that is not true, because really you are dead in your spirits. 2 Wake up! You must become strong again. Do not let the little bit of life that you have completely disappear! I know that there are still more things for you to do to please my Father God. 3 So remember God's message that you have heard. Obey what God has said. Turn away from the wrong things that you do. Change the way that you live. If you do not wake up, I will come to punish you. I will come secretly, like someone who robs people. So you will not know what time I will come to you.
4 But you have a few people among you in Sardis who have not done these bad things. They are like people who have kept their clothes clean. They will walk with me and they will wear white clothes. They are good people and it is right for them to wear these white clothes. 5 Everyone who wins against Satan will wear white clothes like they do. I will never remove their names from God's book of life.[a] I will say clearly to my Father and his angels that those people belong to me. 6 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
Jesus' message to the believers at Philadelphia
7 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Philadelphia:
“This is my message to you. I am the one who is completely good, the true God. I have King David's key in my hand.[b] When I open a door, nobody can shut it. And when I shut a door, nobody can open it.
8 I know everything that you do. Look! I have opened a door that is in front of you. Nobody can shut that door. I know that you are not very strong. But you have obeyed what I told you. You have continued to believe in me. 9 Some people there say that they are Jews. But that is not true. They are telling lies. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. I will cause those people to bend down low in front of you to give you honour. Then they will understand that I love you. 10 I have told you to be patient in this difficult time. You have obeyed what I told you. Because of that, I will keep you safe from the time of great trouble that will come. This trouble will come to everyone who lives in the world. It will show me what each person is really like.
11 I will come soon.[c] Continue to obey my message that you already know. Then nobody can take away your crown which is God's gift to you.[d]
12 Everyone who wins against Satan will be safe in God's house. I will make them like a strong pillar in the temple of my God. They will never leave that place again. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of his city. The name of that city is the new Jerusalem.[e] It will come down from heaven. My God will send it down to the earth. I will also write my new name on those people. 13 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
Jesus' message to the believers at Laodicea
14 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Laodicea:
“This is my message to you. I am the one whose name is ‘Amen’.[f] I faithfully tell people God's true message. Everything that God has created starts with me.
15 I know everything that you do. I know that you are neither cold nor hot. It would be better if you were either cold or hot. 16 But you are only warm. Because you are neither cold nor hot, I am ready to throw you away completely.[g]
17 You say, ‘I am rich. God has helped me to have many things. I do not need anything more.’ But you do not know how very poor you are really! You are like people who cannot see. You are like people who are without clothes. Really, other people should feel very sorry for you. 18 So I tell you that you should buy gold from me. With my gold, you would be really rich. My gold is the best, because it has been through fire. You should also buy white clothes from me to dress yourselves. Then you will not be ashamed because you have no clothes. You should also buy medicine from me to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see well.[h]
19 I help everyone that I love. When they have done wrong things, I tell them, ‘You have done a wrong thing.’ I show them the right thing that they should do. So be serious about how you live. Stop doing wrong things and turn to me. 20 Look! I am standing at the door of your house. I am knocking on your door. When you hear my voice, you should open the door. Then I will come in. We will eat a meal together as friends.
21 Everyone who wins against Satan will come to sit with me on my throne where I rule. I won against my enemies. Then I sat down with my Father on his throne. I will give you the same authority. 22 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.