M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Water at Massah and Meribah
17 [a] The whole community[b] of the Israelites traveled on their journey[c] from the wilderness of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim.[d] Now[e] there was no water for the people to drink.[f] 2 So the people contended[g] with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!”[h] Moses said to them, “Why do you contend[i] with me? Why do you test[j] the Lord?” 3 But the people were very thirsty[k] there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world[l] did you bring us up from Egypt—to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”[m]
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with[n] this people?—a little more[o] and they will stone me!”[p] 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people;[q] take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 6 I will be standing[r] before you there on[s] the rock in Horeb, and you will strike[t] the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.”[u] And Moses did so in plain view[v] of the elders of Israel.
7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord,[w] saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Victory over the Amalekites
8 [x] Amalek came[y] and attacked[z] Israel in Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our[aa] men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him,[ab] and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses would raise his hands,[ac] then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest[ad] his hands, then Amalek prevailed. 12 When[ae] the hands of Moses became heavy,[af] they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other,[ag] and so his hands were steady[ah] until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua destroyed[ai] Amalek and his army[aj] with the sword.[ak]
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the[al] book, and rehearse[am] it in Joshua’s hearing;[an] for I will surely wipe out[ao] the remembrance[ap] of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,”[aq] 16 for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lord[ar]—that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”[as]
The Authority of Jesus
20 Now one[a] day, as Jesus[b] was teaching the people in the temple courts[c] and proclaiming[d] the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law[e] with the elders came up[f] 2 and said to him,[g] “Tell us: By what authority[h] are you doing these things?[i] Or who is it who gave you this authority?” 3 He answered them,[j] “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 John’s baptism[k]—was it from heaven or from people?”[l] 5 So[m] they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So[n] they replied that they did not know[o] where it came from. 8 Then[p] Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you[q] by whose authority[r] I do these things.”
The Parable of the Tenants
9 Then[s] he began to tell the people this parable: “A man[t] planted a vineyard,[u] leased it to tenant farmers,[v] and went on a journey for a long time. 10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave[w] to the tenants so that they would give[x] him his portion of the crop.[y] However, the tenants beat his slave[z] and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So[aa] he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed.[ab] 12 So[ac] he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 13 Then[ad] the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son;[ae] perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So[af] they threw him out of the vineyard and killed[ag] him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy[ah] those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”[ai] When the people[aj] heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”[ak] 17 But Jesus[al] looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?[am] 18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,[an] and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”[ao] 19 Then[ap] the experts in the law[aq] and the chief priests wanted to arrest[ar] him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But[as] they were afraid of the people.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
20 Then[at] they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere.[au] They wanted to take advantage of what he might say[av] so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction[aw] of the governor. 21 Thus[ax] they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly,[ay] and show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.[az] 22 Is it right[ba] for us to pay the tribute tax[bb] to Caesar[bc] or not?” 23 But Jesus[bd] perceived their deceit[be] and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius.[bf] Whose image[bg] and inscription are on it?”[bh] They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 So[bi] he said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”[bj] 26 Thus[bk] they were unable in the presence of the people to trap[bl] him with his own words.[bm] And stunned[bn] by his answer, they fell silent.
Marriage and the Resurrection
27 Now some Sadducees[bo] (who contend that there is no resurrection)[bp] came to him. 28 They asked him,[bq] “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man[br] must marry[bs] the widow and father children[bt] for his brother.[bu] 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman[bv] and died without children. 30 The second[bw] 31 and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman died too. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be?[bx] For all seven had married her.”[by]
34 So[bz] Jesus said to them, “The people of this age[ca] marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are regarded as worthy to share in[cb] that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.[cc] 36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels[cd] and are sons of God, since they are[ce] sons[cf] of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised[cg] in the passage about the bush,[ch] where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.[ci] 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living,[cj] for all live before him.”[ck] 39 Then[cl] some of the experts in the law[cm] answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!”[cn] 40 For they did not dare any longer to ask[co] him anything.
The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord
41 But[cp] he said to them, “How is it that they say that the Christ[cq] is David’s son?[cr] 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my[cs] lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’[ct]
44 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”[cu]
Jesus Warns the Disciples against Pride
45 As[cv] all the people were listening, Jesus[cw] said to his disciples, 46 “Beware[cx] of the experts in the law.[cy] They[cz] like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings[da] in the marketplaces[db] and the best seats[dc] in the synagogues[dd] and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They[de] devour[df] widows’ property,[dg] and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”
Elihu’s Third Speech[a]
35 Then Elihu answered:
2 “Do you think this to be[b] just
when[c] you say, ‘My right before God’?[d]
3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’[e]
and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’[f]
4 I[g] will reply to you,[h]
and to your friends with you.
5 Gaze at the heavens and see;
consider the clouds, which are higher than you.[i]
6 If you sin, how does it affect God?[j]
If your transgressions are many,
what does it do to him?[k]
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,
or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness affects only[l] a person like yourself,
and your righteousness only other people.[m]
9 “People[n] cry out
because of the excess of oppression;[o]
they cry out for help
because of the power[p] of the mighty.[q]
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,
who gives songs in the night,[r]
11 who teaches us[s] more than[t] the wild animals of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
12 Then[u] they cry out—but he does not answer—
because of the arrogance of the wicked.
13 Surely it is an empty cry[v]—God does not hear it;
the Almighty does not take notice of it.
14 How much less, then,
when you say that you do not perceive him,
that the case is before him
and you are waiting for him![w]
15 And further,[x] when you say
that his anger does not punish,[y]
and that he does not know transgression![z]
16 So Job opens his mouth to no purpose;[aa]
without knowledge he multiplies words.”
Living by Faith, Not by Sight
5 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in,[a] is dismantled,[b] we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this earthly house[c] we groan, because we desire to put on[d] our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed, after we have put on[e] our heavenly house,[f] we will not be found naked. 4 For we groan while we are in this tent,[g] since we are weighed down,[h] because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose[i] is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.[j] 6 Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth[k] we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we live[l] by faith, not by sight. 8 Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away[m] from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So then whether we are alive[n] or away, we make it our ambition to please him.[o] 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,[p] so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.[q]
The Message of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,[r] we try to persuade[s] people,[t] but we are well known[u] to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too. 12 We are not trying to commend[v] ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us,[w] so that you may be able to answer those who take pride[x] in outward appearance[y] and not in what is in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ[z] controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ[aa] died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.[ab] 16 So then from now on we acknowledge[ac] no one from an outward human point of view.[ad] Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view,[ae] now we do not know him in that way any longer. 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away[af]—look, what is new[ag] has come![ah] 18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us[ai] the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea[aj] through us. We plead with you[ak] on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God[al] made the one who did not know sin[am] to be sin for us, so that in him[an] we would become the righteousness of God.
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