M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
32 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my mouth.(A)
2 May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew,
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth.(B)
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord,
ascribe greatness to our God!(C)
4 The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
just and upright is he;(D)
5 yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him,[a]
a perverse and crooked generation.(E)
6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
O foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father who created you,
who made you and established you?(F)
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years long past;
ask your father, and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.(G)
8 When the Most High[b] apportioned the nations,
when he divided humankind,
he fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the gods;[c](H)
9 the Lord’s own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted share.(I)
10 He sustained[d] him in a desert land,
in a howling wilderness waste;
he shielded him, cared for him,
guarded him as the apple of his eye.(J)
11 As an eagle stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
and bears them aloft on its pinions,(K)
12 the Lord alone guided him;
no foreign god was with him.(L)
13 He set him atop the heights of the land
and fed him with[e] produce of the field;
he nursed him with honey from the crags,
with oil from flinty rock,(M)
14 curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs and rams,
Bashan bulls and goats,
together with the choicest wheat—
you drank fine wine from the blood of grapes.(N)
15 Jacob ate his fill;[f]
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked.
You grew fat, bloated, and gorged!
He abandoned God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.(O)
16 They made him jealous with strange gods;
with abhorrent things they provoked him.(P)
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to deities they had never known,
to new ones recently arrived,
whom your ancestors had not feared.(Q)
18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you;[g]
you forgot the God who gave you birth.(R)
19 The Lord saw it and was jealous;[h]
he spurned[i] his sons and daughters.(S)
20 He said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom there is no faithfulness.(T)
21 They made me jealous with what is no god,
provoked me with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with what is no people,
provoke them with a foolish nation.(U)
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger
and burns to the depths of Sheol;
it devours the earth and its increase
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.(V)
23 I will heap disasters upon them,
spend my arrows against them:(W)
24 wasting hunger,
burning consumption,
bitter pestilence.
The teeth of beasts I will send against them,
with venom of things crawling in the dust.(X)
25 In the street the sword shall bereave,
and in the chambers terror
for young man and woman alike,
nursing child and old gray head.(Y)
26 I said, “I will make an end of them[j]
and blot out the memory of them from humankind,”(Z)
27 but I feared provocation by the enemy,
for their adversaries might misunderstand
and say, “Our hand is triumphant;
it was not the Lord who did all this.” ’(AA)
28 They are a nation void of sense;
there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern what their end would be.(AB)
30 How could one have routed a thousand
and two put a myriad to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?(AC)
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
our enemies are fools.[k](AD)
32 Their vine comes from the vinestock of Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents,
the cruel venom of asps.(AE)
34 Is not this laid up in store with me,
sealed up in my treasuries,(AF)
35 for the day of vengeance[l] and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip?
Because the day of their calamity is at hand;
their doom comes swiftly.(AG)
36 Indeed, the Lord will vindicate his people,
have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone,
neither bond nor free remaining.(AH)
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,(AI)
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their libations?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 See now that I, even I, am he;
there is no god besides me.
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal;
and no one can deliver from my hand.(AJ)
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
41 when I whet my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.(AK)
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired enemy.’(AL)
43 Praise, O heavens,[m] his people;
worship him, all you gods![n]
For he will avenge the blood of his children[o]
and take vengeance on his adversaries;
he will repay those who hate him[p]
and cleanse the land for his people.”[q](AM)
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua[r] son of Nun. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law.(AN) 47 This is no trifling matter for you but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”(AO)
Moses’s Death Foretold
48 On that very day the Lord addressed Moses as follows: 49 “Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession;(AP) 50 you shall die there on the mountain that you ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin, 51 because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain my holiness among the Israelites.(AQ) 52 Although you may view the land from a distance, you shall not enter it, the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”(AR)
121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee your servant’s well-being;
do not let the godless oppress me.(A)
123 My eyes fail from watching for your salvation
and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.(B)
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes.(C)
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
so that I may know your decrees.(D)
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken.
127 Truly I love your commandments
more than gold, more than fine gold.(E)
128 Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;[a]
I hate every false way.(F)
129 Your decrees are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.(G)
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.(H)
131 With open mouth I pant,
because I long for your commandments.(I)
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your custom toward those who love your name.(J)
133 Keep my steps steady according to your promise,
and never let iniquity have dominion over me.(K)
134 Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.(L)
135 Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.(M)
136 My eyes shed streams of tears
because your law is not kept.(N)
137 You are righteous, O Lord,
and your judgments are right.(O)
138 You have appointed your decrees in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.(P)
139 My zeal consumes me
because my foes forget your words.(Q)
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.(R)
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your law is the truth.(S)
143 Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but your commandments are my delight.(T)
144 Your decrees are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.(U)
Injustice and Oppression to Be Punished
59 See, the Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(A)
2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.(B)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.(C)
4 No one brings suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas; they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and bearing iniquity.(D)
5 They hatch adders’ eggs
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.(E)
6 Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.(F)
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.(G)
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their ways.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.(H)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and deliverance does not reach us;
we wait for light, but there is only darkness;
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.(I)
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
groping like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among the vigorous[a] as though we were dead.(J)
11 We all growl like bears;
like doves we moan mournfully.
We wait for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.(K)
12 For our transgressions before you are many,
and our sins testify against us.
Our transgressions indeed are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(L)
13 transgressing and denying the Lord
and turning away from following our God,
talking oppression and revolt,
conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.(M)
14 Justice is turned back,
and deliverance stands at a distance,
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.(N)
15 Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.(O)
16 He saw that there was no one
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene,
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.(P)
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing
and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.(Q)
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render requital.(R)
19 So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory,
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the Lord drives on.(S)
20 And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.(T)
21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouths of your children or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.(U)
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.(A) 2 For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
Profaning the Holy
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.(B)
Ask, Search, Knock
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.(C) 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.(D) 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? 10 Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? 11 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.(E)
The Narrow Gate
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.(F) 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.(G) 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles?(H) 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(I) 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.
Concerning Self-Deception
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.(J) 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’(K) 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’(L)
Hearers and Doers
24 “Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.(M) 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these words, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,(N) 29 for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.
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.