M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
7 Eternal One (to Moses): Look! I have made it so that Pharaoh will deal with you as a god and your brother Aaron as your prophet. 2 I want you to tell Aaron everything that I command you. Then your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to release My people Israel from his land. 3 But I am going to harden Pharaoh’s stubborn heart so that I can perform sign after sign, wonder after wonder in the land of Egypt. 4 Still Pharaoh will ignore the message you give him. Then I will unleash the power of My hand against Egypt and liberate My vast armies—My people, the children of Israel—from Egypt with amazing acts of judgment. 5 When I stretch out My hand against Egypt and free the children of Israel from their oppressive grasp, the Egyptians will have no doubt that I am the Eternal.
6 Moses and Aaron did exactly what the Eternal commanded. 7 When they confronted Pharaoh, Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83.
8 The Eternal then continued His instructions to Moses and Aaron.
Eternal One: 9 When Pharaoh says, “Do something wondrous to prove yourselves,” then, Moses, tell Aaron, “Take your staff and toss it at Pharaoh’s feet, and it will be transformed into a snake.”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did exactly what the Eternal told them to do. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it was transformed into a snake.
11 Pharaoh then sent for all the sages and sorcerers; and the most talented magicians in Egypt stepped up and performed the same act with their own incantations. 12 Each magician threw down his staff, and each staff turned into a snake. But Aaron’s staff devoured all of the other staffs. 13 And still Pharaoh’s heart was as hard as stone; he did not pay any attention to what Moses and Aaron said, just as the Eternal had predicted.
Eternal One (to Moses): 14 Pharaoh’s heart is as hard as stone. He refuses to release My people. 15 Go visit him again in the morning when he is walking out to the water. Wait for him along the bank of the Nile and carry the staff which turned into a snake. 16 Give Pharaoh My message: “The Eternal One, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you: ‘Release My people, so that they may serve Me in the desert. You have not paid any attention until now. 17 You will know that I am the Eternal by the next miracle I am going to perform. I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff that is in my hand, and the water will be turned into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and this river will be fouled with the rotting mess so that the Egyptians will no longer be able to drink from it.’” 19 Give this instruction to Aaron: “Take your staff in hand and raise it over all the waters of Egypt—over the rivers, canals, ponds, and lakes—so that the water will be turned into blood. Blood will appear throughout the land of Egypt, even in the water kept in wooden and stone vessels.”
20 Moses and Aaron did exactly as the Eternal had instructed. In full view of Pharaoh and all of his servants, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water in the Nile. When he did, all the water turned into blood. 21 The fish that lived in the Nile began to die, and the river took on a foul smell. The Egyptians were no longer able to drink from it. The water-turned-blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt. 22 But Pharaoh summoned the most talented magicians in Egypt who performed the same act with their own incantations. So Pharaoh’s heart remained as hard as stone, and he paid no attention to Moses and Aaron just as the Eternal had predicted. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went back to his house without giving this wondrous miracle a second thought.
24 The Egyptians had to dig wells along the edge of the Nile in order to have water to drink, because they were no longer able to drink from the Nile. 25 Seven days and nights went by after the Eternal had struck the Nile and turned the water into blood.
10 The Lord then recruited and deployed 70[a] more disciples. He sent them ahead, in teams of two, to visit all the towns and settlements between them and Jerusalem. 2 This is what He ordered.
Jesus: There’s a great harvest waiting in the fields, but there aren’t many good workers to harvest it. Pray that the Harvest Master will send out good workers to the fields.
3 It’s time for you 70 to go. I’m sending you out armed with vulnerability, like lambs walking into a pack of wolves. 4 Don’t bring a wallet. Don’t carry a backpack. I don’t even want you to wear sandals. Walk along barefoot, quietly, without stopping for small talk. 5 When you enter a house seeking lodging, say, “Peace on this house!” 6 If a child of peace—one who welcomes God’s message of peace—is there, your peace will rest on him. If not, don’t worry; nothing is wasted. 7 Stay where you’re welcomed. Become part of the family, eating and drinking whatever they give you. You’re My workers, and you deserve to be cared for. Again, don’t go from house to house, 8 but settle down in a town and eat whatever they serve you. 9 Heal the sick and say to the townspeople, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
10 Of course, not every town will welcome you. If you’re rejected, walk through the streets and say, 11 “We’re leaving this town. We’ll wipe off the dust that clings to our feet in protest against you. But even so, know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” 12 I tell you the truth, on judgment day, Sodom will have an easier time of it than the town that rejects My messengers.
13 It’s going to be bad for you, Chorazin! It’s going to be bad for you, Bethsaida! If the mighty works done in your streets had been done in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, they would have been moved to turn to God and cry out in sackcloth and ashes. 14 On judgment day, Tyre and Sidon will have an easier time of it than you. 15 It’s going to be bad for you, too, Capernaum! Will you be celebrated to heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.
16 Listen, disciples: if people give you a hearing, they’re giving Me a hearing. If they reject you, they’re rejecting Me. And if they reject Me, they’re rejecting the One who sent Me. So—go now!
17 When the 70[b] completed their mission and returned to report on their experiences, they were elated.
Seventy: It’s amazing, Lord! When we use Your name, the demons do what we say!
Jesus: 18 I know. I saw Satan falling from above like a lightning bolt. 19 I’ve given you true authority. You can smash vipers and scorpions under your feet.[c] You can walk all over the power of the enemy. You can’t be harmed. 20 But listen—that’s not the point. Don’t be elated that evil spirits leave when you say to leave. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
21 Then Jesus Himself became elated. The Holy Spirit was on Him, and He began to pray with joy.
Jesus: Thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Thank You for hiding Your mysteries from the wise and intellectual, instead revealing them to little children. Your ways are truly gracious. 22 My Father has given Me everything. No one knows the full identity of the Son except the Father, and nobody knows the full identity of the Father except the Son, and the Son fully reveals the Father to whomever He wishes. 23 (then almost in a whisper to the disciples) How blessed are your eyes to see what you see! 24 Many prophets and kings dreamed of seeing what you see, but they never got a glimpse. They dreamed of hearing what you hear, but they never heard it.
25 Just then a scholar of the Hebrew Scriptures tried to trap Jesus.
Scholar: Teacher, what must I do to experience the eternal life?
Jesus (answering with a question): 26 What is written in the Hebrew Scriptures? How do you interpret their answer to your question?
Scholar: 27 You shall love—“love the Eternal One your God with everything you have: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind”[d]—and “love your neighbor as yourself.”[e]
Jesus: 28 Perfect. Your answer is correct. Follow these commands and you will live.
29 The scholar was frustrated by this response because he was hoping to make himself appear smarter than Jesus.
Scholar: Ah, but who is my neighbor?
Jesus: 30 This fellow was traveling down from Jerusalem to Jericho when some robbers mugged him. They took his clothes, beat him to a pulp, and left him naked and bleeding and in critical condition. 31 By chance, a priest was going down that same road, and when he saw the wounded man, he crossed over to the other side and passed by. 32 Then a Levite who was on his way to assist in the temple also came and saw the victim lying there, and he too kept his distance. 33 Then a despised Samaritan journeyed by. When he saw the fellow, he felt compassion for him. 34 The Samaritan went over to him, stopped the bleeding, applied some first aid, and put the poor fellow on his donkey. He brought the man to an inn and cared for him through the night.
35 The next day, the Samaritan took out some money—two days’ wages[f] to be exact—and paid the innkeeper, saying, “Please take care of this fellow, and if this isn’t enough, I’ll repay you next time I pass through.”
36 Which of these three proved himself a neighbor to the man who had been mugged by the robbers?
Scholar: 37 The one who showed mercy to him.
Jesus: Well then, go and behave like that Samaritan.
This story brings together many themes from Jesus’ teaching of the Kingdom. Samaritans are seen as “half-breeds” by Jesus’ fellow Jews—racially mixed and also religiously compromised. By making a Samaritan the hero of the story, Jesus is once again tweaking assumptions and breaking out of conventional boxes: “In the kingdom of God,” Jesus is saying, “the outcasts and last can move to the front of the line.” The focus for Jesus is not on the kinds of sophisticated arguments preferred by the religious scholar; for Jesus the kingdom of God is about living life, and in particular, living a life of love for God and for neighbor—whoever that neighbor may be.
38 Jesus continued from there toward Jerusalem and came to another village. Martha, a resident of that village, welcomed Jesus into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, went and sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him teach. 40 Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.
Martha (interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.
Jesus: 41 Oh Martha, Martha, you are so anxious and concerned about a million details, 42 but really, only one thing matters. Mary has chosen that one thing, and I won’t take it away from her.
24 Job: Why are there not judgment times for the wicked before the Highest One?[a]
Why do those who know Him not see His judgment days?
2 After all it’s the wicked who seize land that belongs to others,
capture flocks and let them graze for themselves,
3 Drive off orphans’ donkeys,
take as collateral widows’ oxen,
4 Drive the needy off the road,
and force the poor into hiding together.
5 Look at how the poor are forced to live!
Like wild donkeys in the desert,
They spend all their energy scrounging for food,
hoping the desert provides enough to feed their children!
6 They forage for scraps out in the open
and glean what they can from the already-harvested vineyards of the wicked.
7 They settle down night after night, naked since pawning their cloaks,
and have nothing to protect them from the cold.
8 The hard mountain rains soak them
as they press themselves against rocks in the absence of real shelter;
9 The fatherless child is torn away from the breast;
the suckling babe is seized as collateral from the poor.
10 They force the poor to wander naked, no clothing to be had,
carrying the very bundles of grain they long to eat.
11 They are stationed among the terraces[b]
pressing oil from the olive that calls to their hunger;
they trample in winepresses, extracting the juice for which they thirst.
12 At the outskirts of the city, the oppressed groan,
wounded souls crying for help,
but God fails to charge the guilty who have brought them such pain.
13 They were among those who rebel against the light.
They don’t want to know what makes it shine,
nor do they live their lives in its paths.
14 It is not the poor and the victim who rebel.
It is the murderer who rises before first light
And kills the poor and the needy.
And in the dark of night, he becomes the thief.
15 And the eye of the adulterer waits for the onset of dusk;
he thinks, “No one will see me,” because he disguises his face.
16 And others break into homes in the dark.
However, by day they shut themselves up inside
because they do not know the light.
17 For all of these criminals,
the morning arrives arm in arm with the threat of being found out.
It is as the shadow of death to them,
for they are at ease with the terrors of the night.
This passage is challenging to translate because it appears to have Job arguing against his previous convictions by claiming the wicked do suffer, which fits better with Zophar’s philosophy. But that textual difficulty offers two possible explanations of Job’s apparent dual arguments. First, it is possible to read these verses as if Job is quoting his friends; he is not adopting this theology, but mocking his friends who do. Second, Job may be cursing the wicked, wishing these evil things would happen to them. The Greek version of the text, called the Septuagint, provides the second translation of this passage. Regardless of who said it and how, this passage describes the possible pitfalls of evil actions.
18 Job: The wicked may sit lightly on the surface of the waters,
but their bit of land, the parcel on which they live, is accursed;
In fact, they don’t even turn down the road to their vineyards
because they don’t produce.
19 Just as summer’s heat and drought melt and carry off the winter snow,
the land of the dead digests and carries away sinners.
20 The very wombs whence they came forget them;
the worms will feast on them until no one remembers they existed;
the skeletons of wickedness dry up and snap like twigs.
21 They deliberately prey on women with no children to protect them
and don’t care to lend a hand to widows!
22 By His power, God drags off the high and mighty with the ropes of a hunter,
and though they may rise to the top, they have no assurance of true life.
23 God may provide for them, and they may feel secure,
but His eyes are always on their ways.
24 They may make their mark—to be sure—in a brief moment of glory,
but then just as quickly the wicked are gone, like the rest of humanity,
like heads of grain cut off and dried up.
25 Now, if this is not the truth, then call me a liar
and count all this talk for nothing.
11 So imitate me, watch my ways, follow my example, just as I, too, always seek to imitate the Anointed One.
2 I must say how pleased I am to hear that you remember me in everything and continue to hold on to the traditions I have passed on to you. 3 But it is important that you understand this about headship: the Anointed One is the head of every man, the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of the Anointed. 4 Knowing this, any man wearing a covering over his head while praying or prophesying in your gathering disgraces his head, Jesus. 5-6 On the other hand, any woman—I mean, of course, a married woman—not wearing a veil over her head while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, her husband. It wouldn’t be much different than if she walked into worship with her head shaved. For if a woman isn’t going to be veiled properly, she ought to go ahead and cut off her hair; but if it brings shame to the woman and her husband to have all her hair cut off or her head shaved clean, then by all means let her wear a veil.
7 Here’s the distinction: man is created in God’s image and for His glory, so he should not cover his head. But a wife is the glory of her husband. She ought to be covered. 8 Man, you remember, was not fashioned from the body of a woman. But woman, though she was sculpted by the hands of God, was fashioned from the bones and flesh of man.[a] 9 Furthermore, don’t forget that man was not created for woman; woman was created for man to be his helper in everything. 10 This means that a wife should wear a veil on her head as a sign she is under authority, especially when gathering in the company of heavenly messengers. 11 Regardless of how it all began, husbands and wives should recognize they are not independent; 12 for just as woman was pulled from the side of man, man is pulled from the womb of woman. In a similar way, all things and all people share the same ultimate source, God.
13 Judge for yourselves: when you gather to worship, is it appropriate for a woman to pray to God without covering her head? 14 Consider the ways of nature: doesn’t nature itself teach you that a man who wears his hair long invites shame and dishonor to cover him? 15 But doesn’t nature also teach that when a woman has long hair, it is her glory? It radiates her beauty and acts as a natural veil. 16 If you feel like debating more on this, just know that we, along with all other churches of God, have adopted the same custom.
17 On this next matter, I wish I could applaud you; but I can’t because your gatherings have become counterproductive, making things worse for the community rather than better. 18 Let me start with this: I hear that your gatherings are polarizing the community; and to be honest, this doesn’t surprise me. 19 I’ve accepted the fact that factions are sometimes useful and even necessary so that those who are authentic and those who are counterfeit may be recognized. 20 This distinction is obvious when you come together because it is not the Lord’s Supper you are eating at all. 21 When it’s time to eat, some hastily dig right in; but look—some have more than others: over there someone is hungry, and over here someone is drunk! 22 What is going on? If a self-centered meal is what you want, can’t you eat and drink at home? Do you have so little respect for God’s people and this community that you shame the poor at the Lord’s table? I don’t even know what to say to you! Are you looking for my approval? You won’t find it.
23 I passed on to you the tradition the Lord gave to me: On the same night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He took the bread in His hands; 24 and after giving thanks to God, He broke it and said, “This is My body, broken for you. Keep doing this so that you and all who come after will have a vivid reminder of Me.” 25 After they had finished dinner, He took the cup and in the same way said, “This cup is the new covenant, executed in My blood. Keep doing this; and whenever you drink it, you and all who come after will have a vivid reminder of Me.” 26 Every time you taste this bread and every time you place the cup to your mouths and drink, you are declaring the Lord’s death, which is the ultimate expression of His faithfulness and love, until He comes again.
God doesn’t demand perfection to partake at the Lord’s table, rather brokenness. Their pride is causing division during the meal; instead they need to fellowship in a shared, broken spirit.
27 So if someone takes of this bread and drinks from the Lord’s cup improperly—as you are doing—he is guilty of violating the body and blood of our Lord. 28 Examine yourselves first. Then you can properly approach the table to eat the bread and drink from the cup; 29 because otherwise, if you eat and drink without properly discerning the significance of the Lord’s body, then you eat and drink a mouthful of judgment upon yourself. 30 Because of this violation, many in your community are now sick and weak; some have even died. 31 But if we took care to judge ourselves, then we wouldn’t have to worry about being judged by another. 32 In fact, the Lord’s hand of judgment is correcting us so that we don’t suffer the same fate as the rest of the rebellious world: condemnation.
33 From now on, brothers and sisters, this is what I want you to do: when you come together to eat at the Lord’s table, wait for each other. 34 If someone is hungry and can’t wait, he should go home and eat. In that way, your gatherings won’t result in God’s judgment. The rest of the instructions I have for you will have to wait until I come.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.