M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Memorial Stones
4 After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan,(A) the Lord spoke to Joshua: 2 “Choose 12 men from the people, one man for each tribe,(B) 3 and command them: Take 12 stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests[a] are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
4 So Joshua summoned the 12 men he had selected from the Israelites, one man for each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go across to the ark of the Lord your God in the middle of the Jordan. Each of you lift a stone onto his shoulder, one for each[b] of the Israelite tribes, 6 so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’(C) 7 you should tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan’s waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”(D)
8 The Israelites did just as Joshua had commanded them. The 12 men took stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each[c] of the Israelite tribes, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there. 9 Joshua also set up 12 stones in the middle[d] of the Jordan where the priests[e] who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are there to this day.(E)
10 The priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried across, 11 and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the Lord crossed in the sight of the people. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh went in battle formation in front of the Israelites,(F) as Moses had instructed them. 13 About 40,000 equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses.(G) 15 The Lord told Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony[f](H) to come up from the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 When the priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan, and their feet[g] stepped out on solid ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course, flowing over all the banks as before.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month,[h] and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. 20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’(I) 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over,(J) just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. 24 This is so that all the people of the earth may know(K) that the Lord’s hand is mighty,(L) and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”(M)
Psalm 129
Protection of the Oppressed
A song of ascents.
1 Since my youth they have often attacked me—
let Israel say—
2 Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.(A)
3 Plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.(B)
4 The Lord is righteous;
He has cut the ropes of the wicked.(C)
5 Let all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.(D)
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it grows up[a](E)
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.(F)
8 Then none who pass by will say,
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you.”
We bless you in the name of Yahweh.(G)
Psalm 130
Awaiting Redemption
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to You, Yahweh!(H)
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let Your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.(I)
3 Yahweh, if You considered sins,
Lord, who could stand?(J)
4 But with You there is forgiveness,
so that You may be revered.(K)
5 I wait for Yahweh; I wait
and put my hope in His word.(L)
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.(M)
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord.(N)
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with Him is redemption in abundance.(O)
8 And He will redeem Israel
from all its sins.(P)
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(Q)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too difficult for me.(R)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself
like a little weaned child with its mother;
I am like a little child.(S)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(T)
64 [a]If only You would tear the heavens open
and come down,(A)
so that mountains would quake at Your presence(B)—
2 [b]as fire kindles the brushwood,
and fire causes water to boil—
to make Your name known to Your enemies,
so that nations will tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome works(C)
that we did not expect,
You came down,(D)
and the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened,
no eye has seen any God except You,
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.(E)
5 You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember You in Your ways.
But we have sinned, and You were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[c]
6 All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[d] garment;(F)
all of us wither like a leaf,(G)
and our iniquities(H) carry us away like the wind.
7 No one calls on Your name,
striving to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us(I)
and made us melt because of[e][f] our iniquity.
8 Yet Lord, You are our Father;(J)
we are the clay, and You are our potter;
we all are the work of Your hands.(K)
9 Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.(L)
Please look—all of us are Your people!
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.(M)
11 Our holy and beautiful[g] temple,
where our fathers praised You,
has been burned with fire,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.(N)
12 Lord, after all this, will You restrain Yourself?
Will You keep silent and afflict severely?(O)
Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath.(A) His disciples(B) were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful(C) to do on the Sabbath!”
3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry— 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate[a] the sacred bread, which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?(D) 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law[b] that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?(E) 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!(F) 7 If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice,(G)[c] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”(H)
The Man with the Paralyzed Hand
9 Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue.(I) 10 There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”(J)
11 But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep[d] that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?(K) 12 A man is worth far more than a sheep,(L) so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored,(M) as good as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.(N)
The Servant of the Lord
15 When Jesus became aware of this, He withdrew from there. Huge crowds[e] followed Him, and He healed them all.(O) 16 He warned them not to make Him known,(P) 17 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
18 Here is My Servant whom I have chosen,
My beloved in whom My soul delights;
I will put My Spirit on Him,
and He will proclaim justice to the nations.(Q)
19 He will not argue or shout,
and no one will hear His voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a bruised reed,
and He will not put out a smoldering wick,
until He has led justice to victory.[f]
21 The nations will put their hope in His name.(R)[g]
A House Divided
22 Then a demon-possessed man(S) who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Him. He healed him, so that the man[h] could both speak and see.(T) 23 And all the crowds were astounded and said, “Perhaps this is the Son of David!”(U)
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”(V)
25 Knowing their thoughts,(W) He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan(X) drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.(Y) 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.(Z) 29 How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up(AA) the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me,(AB) and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Because of this,(AC) I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy,(AD) but the blasphemy against[i] the Spirit will not be forgiven.[j] 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man,(AE) it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.(AF)
A Tree and Its Fruit
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad[k] and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.(AG) 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow(AH) of the heart. 35 A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good,[l] and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.(AI) 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment(AJ) people will have to account(AK) for every careless word they speak.[m] 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”(AL)
39 But He answered them,(AM) “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.(AN) 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights,(AO) so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,(AP) because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!(AQ) 42 The queen of the south(AR) will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!
An Unclean Spirit’s Return
43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any.(AS) 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. 45 Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first.(AT) That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”
True Relationships
46 He(AU) was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly His mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to Him.(AV) 47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.”[n]
48 But He replied to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples,(AW) He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother.”(AX)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.