M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joshua Becomes Moses’s Successor
31 When Moses had finished speaking all[a] these words to all Israel, 2 he said to them, “I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’(A) 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua also will cross over before you, as the Lord promised.(B) 4 The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 The Lord will give them over to you, and you shall deal with them in full accord with the command that I have given to you.(C) 6 Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”(D)
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them, and you will put them in possession of it.(E) 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”(F)
The Law to Be Read Every Seventh Year
9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.(G) 10 Moses commanded them, “Every seventh year, in the scheduled year of remission, during the Festival of Booths,[b](H) 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.(I) 12 Assemble the people—men, women, and children, as well as the aliens residing in your towns—so that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God and to observe diligently all the words of this law(J) 13 and so that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”(K)
Moses and Joshua Receive God’s Charge
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Your time to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting,(L) 15 and the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.(M)
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will lie down with your ancestors. Then this people will begin to prostitute themselves to the foreign gods in their midst, the gods of the land into which they are going; they will forsake me, breaking my covenant that I have made with them.(N) 17 My anger will be kindled against them on that day. I will forsake them and hide my face from them; they will become easy prey, and many terrible troubles will come upon them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these troubles come upon us because our God is not in our midst?’(O) 18 On that day I will surely hide my face on account of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Now, therefore, write this song, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, in order that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I promised on oath to their ancestors, and they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, despising me and breaking my covenant.(P) 21 And when many terrible troubles come upon them, this song will confront them as a witness because it will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants. For I know what they are inclined to do even now, before I have brought them into the land that I promised them on oath.”(Q) 22 That very day Moses wrote this song and taught it to the Israelites.(R)
23 Then the Lord[c] commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.”(S)
24 When Moses had finished writing down in a book the words of this law to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,(T) 26 “Take this book of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God; let it remain there as a witness against you.(U) 27 For I know well how rebellious and stubborn you are. If you already have been so rebellious toward the Lord while I am still alive among you, how much more after my death!(V) 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may recite these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.(W) 29 For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, turning aside from the way that I have commanded you. In time to come trouble will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”(X)
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses recited the words of this song, to the very end, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
97 Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.(A)
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.(B)
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.(C)
102 I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!(D)
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.(E)
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.(F)
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.(G)
107 I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word.(H)
108 Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your ordinances.(I)
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.(J)
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.(K)
111 Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.(L)
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.(M)
113 I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law.(N)
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.(O)
115 Go away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.(P)
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope.(Q)
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually.
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain.(R)
119 All the wicked of the earth I count[a] as dross;
therefore I love your decrees.(S)
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.(T)
False and True Worship
58 Shout out; do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.(A)
2 Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they want God on their side.[a](B)
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day
and oppress all your workers.(C)
4 You fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.(D)
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?(E)
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?(F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?(G)
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator[b] shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.(H)
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,(I)
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.(J)
11 The Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your needs in parched places
and make your bones strong,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never fail.(K)
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.(L)
13 If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath,
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
serving your own interests or pursuing your own affairs;(M)
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(N)
Concerning Almsgiving
6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.(A)
2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.(B) 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a](C)
Concerning Prayer
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.(D) 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[b](E)
7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.(F) 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be revered as holy.
10 May your kingdom come.
May your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.(G)
11 Give us today our daily bread.[c](H)
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.(I)
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial,[d]
but rescue us from the evil one.[e](J)
14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,(K) 15 but if you do not forgive others,[f] neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.(L)
Concerning Fasting
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[g]
Concerning Treasures
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[h] consume and where thieves break in and steal,(M) 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust[i] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.(N) 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Eye
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,(O) 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Serving Two Masters
24 “No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.[j](P)
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[k] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?(Q) 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?(R) 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?[l] 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God[m] and his[n] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(S)
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
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.