M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
42 When Jacob heard that there was grain available in Egypt he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another? 2 I have heard that there is grain available in Egypt. Go down and buy some for us before we all starve to death.”
3 So Joseph’s ten older[a] brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain. 4 However, Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin go with them, for fear some harm might happen to him as it had to his brother Joseph.[b] 5 So it was that Israel’s sons arrived in Egypt along with many others from many lands to buy food, for the famine was as severe in Canaan as it was everywhere else.
6 Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt, and in charge of the sale of the grain, it was to him that his brothers came, and bowed low before him, with their faces to the earth. 7 Joseph recognized them instantly, but pretended he didn’t.
“Where are you from?” he demanded roughly.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy grain.”
8-9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams of long ago! But he said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see how destitute the famine has made our land.”
10 “No, no,” they exclaimed. “We have come to buy food. 11 We are all brothers and honest men, sir! We are not spies!”
12 “Yes, you are,” he insisted. “You have come to see how weak we are.”
13 “Sir,” they said, “there are twelve of us brothers, and our father is in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is there with our father, and one of our brothers is dead.”
14 “So?” Joseph asked. “What does that prove?[c] You are spies. 15 This is the way I will test your story: I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you are not going to leave Egypt until this youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you go and get your brother! I’ll keep the rest of you here, bound in prison. Then we’ll find out whether your story is true or not. If it turns out that you don’t have a younger brother, then I’ll know you are spies.”
17 So he threw them all into jail for three days.
18 The third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man and I’m going to give you an opportunity to prove yourselves. 19 I’m going to take a chance that you are honorable;[d] only one of you shall remain in chains in jail, and the rest of you may go on home with grain for your families; 20 but bring your youngest brother back to me. In this way I will know whether you are telling me the truth; and if you are, I will spare you.” To this they agreed.
21 Speaking among themselves, they said, “This has all happened because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his terror and anguish and heard his pleadings, but we wouldn’t listen.”
22 “Didn’t I tell you not to do it?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we are going to die because we murdered him.”
23 Of course they didn’t know that Joseph understood them as he was standing there, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter. 24 Now he left the room and found a place where he could weep. Returning, he selected Simeon from among them and had him bound before their eyes. 25 Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but also gave secret instructions to put each brother’s payment at the top of his sack! He also gave them provisions for their journey. 26 So they loaded up their donkeys with the grain and started for home. 27 But when they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get some grain to feed the donkeys, there was his money in the mouth of the sack!
28 “Look,” he exclaimed to his brothers, “my money is here in my sack.” They were filled with terror. Trembling, they exclaimed to each other. “What is this that God has done to us?” 29 So they came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened.
30 “The king’s chief assistant spoke very roughly to us,” they told him, “and took us for spies. 31 ‘No, no,’ we said, ‘we are honest men, not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of one father; one is dead, and the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man told us, ‘This is the way I will find out if you are what you claim to be. Leave one of your brothers here with me and take grain for your families and go on home, 34 but bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I shall know whether you are spies or honest men; if you prove to be what you say, then I will give you back your brother and you can come as often as you like to purchase grain.’”
35 As they emptied out the sacks, there at the top of each was the money paid for the grain! Terror gripped them, as it did their father.
36 Then Jacob exclaimed, “You have bereaved me of my children—Joseph didn’t come back, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin too! Everything has been against me.”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him.”
38 But Jacob replied, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother Joseph is dead and he alone is left of his mother’s children. If anything should happen to him, I would die.”
12 Here are some of the story-illustrations Jesus gave to the people at that time:
“A man planted a vineyard and built a wall around it and dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a watchman’s tower. Then he leased the farm to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At grape-picking time he sent one of his men to collect his share of the crop. 3 But the farmers beat up the man and sent him back empty-handed.
4 “The owner then sent another of his men, who received the same treatment, only worse, for his head was seriously injured. 5 The next man he sent was killed; and later, others were either beaten or killed, until 6 there was only one left—his only son. He finally sent him, thinking they would surely give him their full respect.
7 “But when the farmers saw him coming they said, ‘He will own the farm when his father dies. Come on, let’s kill him—and then the farm will be ours!’ 8 So they caught him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner will do when he hears what happened? He will come and kill them all, and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Don’t you remember reading this verse in the Scriptures? ‘The Rock the builders threw away became the cornerstone, the most honored stone in the building! 11 This is the Lord’s doing and it is an amazing thing to see.’”
12 The Jewish leaders wanted to arrest him then and there for using this illustration, for they knew he was pointing at them—they were the wicked farmers in his story. But they were afraid to touch him for fear of a mob. So they left him and went away.
13 But they sent other religious and political leaders to talk with him and try to trap him into saying something he could be arrested for.
14 “Teacher,” these spies said, “we know you tell the truth no matter what! You aren’t influenced by the opinions and desires of men, but sincerely teach the ways of God. Now tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Rome, or not?”
15 Jesus saw their trick and said, “Show me a coin and I’ll tell you.”
16 When they handed it to him he asked, “Whose picture and title is this on the coin?” They replied, “The emperor’s.”
17 “All right,” he said, “if it is his, give it to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God!” And they scratched their heads in bafflement at his reply.
18 Then the Sadducees stepped forward—a group of men who say there is no resurrection. Here was their question:
19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that when a man dies without children, the man’s brother should marry his widow and have children in his brother’s name. 20-22 Well, there were seven brothers and the oldest married and died, and left no children. So the second brother married the widow, but soon he died too and left no children. Then the next brother married her and died without children, and so on until all were dead, and still there were no children; and last of all, the woman died too.
23 “What we want to know is this:[a] In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, for she had been the wife of each of them?”
24 Jesus replied, “Your trouble is that you don’t know the Scriptures and don’t know the power of God. 25 For when these seven brothers and the woman rise from the dead, they won’t be married—they will be like the angels.
26
27 “God was telling Moses that these men, though dead for hundreds of years,[b]
28 One of the teachers of religion who was standing there listening to the discussion realized that Jesus had answered well. So he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The one that says, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only God. 30 And you must love him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.’
31 “The second is: ‘You must love others as much as yourself.’ No other commandments are greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religion replied, “Sir, you have spoken a true word in saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is far more important to love him with all my heart and understanding and strength, and to love others as myself, than to offer all kinds of sacrifices on the altar of the Temple.”
34 Realizing this man’s understanding, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared ask him any more questions.
35 Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple area, he asked them this question:
“Why do your religious teachers claim that the Messiah must be a descendant of King David? 36 For David himself said—and the Holy Spirit was speaking through him when he said it—‘God said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 37
(This sort of reasoning delighted the crowd and they listened to him with great interest.)
38 Here are some of the other things he taught them at this time:
“Beware of the teachers of religion! For they love to wear the robes of the rich and scholarly, and to have everyone bow to them as they walk through the markets. 39 They love to sit in the best seats in the synagogues and at the places of honor at banquets— 40 but they shamelessly cheat widows out of their homes and then, to cover up the kind of men they really are, they pretend to be pious by praying long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”
41 Then he went over to the collection boxes in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Some who were rich put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies.
43-44 He called his disciples to him and remarked, “That poor widow has given more than all those rich men put together! For they gave a little of their extra fat,[c] while she gave up her last penny.”
8 Bildad the Shuhite replies to Job:
2 “How long will you go on like this, Job, blowing words around like wind? 3 Does God twist justice? 4 If your children sinned against him, and he punished them, 5 and you begged Almighty God for them— 6 if you were pure and good, he would hear your prayer and answer you and bless you with a happy home. 7 And though you started with little, you would end with much.
8 “Read the history books and see— 9 for we were born but yesterday and know so little; our days here on earth are as transient as shadows. 10 But the wisdom of the past will teach you. The experience of others will speak to you, reminding you that 11-13 those who forget God have no hope. They are like rushes without any mire to grow in; or grass without water to keep it alive. Suddenly it begins to wither, even before it is cut. 14 A man without God is trusting in a spider’s web. Everything he counts on will collapse. 15 If he counts on his home for security, it won’t last. 16 At dawn he seems so strong and virile, like a green plant; his branches spread across the garden. 17 His roots are in the stream, down among the stones. 18 But when he disappears, he isn’t even missed! 19 That is all he can look forward to! And others spring up from the earth to replace him!
20 “But look! God will not cast away a good man, nor prosper evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. 22 Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame, and the wicked destroyed.”
12 And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy—the kind he can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.
3 As God’s messenger I give each of you God’s warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. 4-5 Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others.
6 God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, then prophesy whenever you can—as often as your faith is strong enough to receive a message from God. 7 If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8 If you are a preacher, see to it that your sermons are strong and helpful. If God has given you money, be generous in helping others with it. If God has given you administrative ability and put you in charge of the work of others, take the responsibility seriously. Those who offer comfort to the sorrowing should do so with Christian cheer.
9 Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. 13 When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.
14 If someone mistreats you because you are a Christian, don’t curse him; pray that God will bless him. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Work happily together. Don’t try to act big. Don’t try to get into the good graces of important people, but enjoy the company of ordinary folks. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil for evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honest clear through. 18 Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible.
19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands.[a] 20 Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you. 21 Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.