M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Memorial Stones from Jordan
4 Now when all the nation had finished crossing the (A)Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “(B)Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in (C)the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” 4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them, “[a]Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6 [b]Let this be a sign among you, so that (D)when your children ask [c]later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall say to them, ‘Because the (E)waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a (F)memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
8 Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to (G)the lodging place and put them down there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve (H)stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; 11 and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed before the people. 12 (I)The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; 13 about 40,000 equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.
14 (J)On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they [d]revered him, just as they had [e]revered Moses all the days of his life.
15 Now the Lord said to [f]Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry (K)the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were [g]lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the (L)tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 [h](M)Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up (N)at Gilgal. 21 He said to the sons of [i]Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on (O)dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the [j]Red Sea, (P)which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 that (Q)all the peoples of the earth may know that the (R)hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may [k](S)fear the Lord your God [l]forever.”
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[a]Many times they have [b](A)persecuted me from my (B)youth up,”
(C)Let Israel now say,
2 “[c]Many times they have [d]persecuted me from my youth up;
Yet they have (D)not prevailed against me.
3 “The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The Lord (E)is righteous;
He has cut in two the (F)cords of the wicked.
5 May all who (G)hate Zion
Be (H)put to shame and turned backward;
6 Let them be like (I)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it [e]grows up;
7 With which the reaper does not fill his [f]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his (J)bosom;
8 Nor do those who pass by say,
“The (K)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.
A Song of Ascents.
130 Out of the (L)depths I have cried to You, O Lord.
2 Lord, (M)hear my voice!
Let (N)Your ears be attentive
To the (O)voice of my supplications.
3 If You, [g]Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could (P)stand?
4 But there is (Q)forgiveness with You,
That You may be (R)feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my (S)soul does wait,
And [h](T)in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen (U)for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, (V)hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is (W)lovingkindness,
And with Him is (X)abundant redemption.
8 And He will (Y)redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Childlike Trust in the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (Z)proud, nor my eyes [i](AA)haughty;
Nor do I [j]involve myself in (AB)great matters,
Or in things (AC)too [k]difficult for me.
2 Surely I have (AD)composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned (AE)child rests [l]against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child [m]within me.
3 O Israel, (AF)hope in the Lord
(AG)From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for Mercy and Help
64 [a]Oh, that You would rend the heavens and (A)come down,
That the mountains might (B)quake at Your presence—
2 [b]As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the (C)nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did (D)awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from days of old (E)they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who (F)waits for Him.
5 You (G)meet him who rejoices in (H)doing righteousness,
Who (I)remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, (J)You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in them a long time;
And shall we be saved?
6 For all of us have become like one who is (K)unclean,
And all our (L)righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us (M)wither like a leaf,
And our (N)iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is (O)no one who calls on Your name,
Who arouses himself to take hold of You;
For You have (P)hidden Your face from us
And have [c]delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord, (Q)You are our Father,
We are the (R)clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the (S)work of Your hand.
9 Do not be (T)angry beyond measure, O Lord,
(U)Nor remember iniquity forever;
Behold, look now, all of us are (V)Your people.
10 Your (W)holy cities have become a (X)wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful (Y)house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And (Z)all our precious things have become a ruin.
12 Will You (AA)restrain Yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?
Sabbath Questions
12 (A)At that [a]time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to (B)pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what (C)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and (D)they ate the [b]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple [c]break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something (E)greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this [d]means, ‘(F)I desire [e]compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
Lord of the Sabbath
8 For (G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9 (H)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned [f]Jesus, asking, “(I)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, “(J)What man [g]is there among you who [h]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 (K)How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do [i]good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” (L)He stretched it out, and it was restored to [j]normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and [k](M)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
15 But Jesus, [l]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and (N)He healed them all, 16 and (O)warned them not to [m]tell who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18 “(P)Behold, My [n]Servant whom I [o]have chosen;
(Q)My Beloved in whom My soul [p]is well-pleased;
(R)I will put My Spirit upon Him,
(S)And He shall proclaim [q]justice to the [r]Gentiles.
19 “(T)He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 “(U)A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He will not put out,
Until He [s]leads [t]justice to victory.
21 “(V)And in His name the [u]Gentiles will hope.”
The Pharisees Rebuked
22 (W)Then a (X)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [v]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the (Y)Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man (Z)casts out demons only by [w]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (AA)And (AB)knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “[x]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [y]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If (AC)Satan casts out Satan, he [z]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I (AD)by [aa]Beelzebul cast out demons, (AE)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But (AF)if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30 (AG)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(AH)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (AI)Whoever [ab]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [ac]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (AJ)this age or in the age to come.
Words Reveal Character
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for (AK)the tree is known by its fruit. 34 (AL)You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak [ad]what is good? (AM)For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 (AN)The good man brings out of his good treasure [ae]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [af]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [ag]careless word that people [ah]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in (AO)the day of judgment. 37 For [ai]by your words you will be justified, and [aj]by your words you will be condemned.”
The Desire for Signs
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, (AP)we want to see a [ak]sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “(AQ)An evil and adulterous generation craves for a [al]sign; and yet no [am]sign will be given to it but the [an]sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as (AR)Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will (AS)the Son of Man be (AT)three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 (AU)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because (AV)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, (AW)something greater than Jonah is here. 42 (AX)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, (AY)something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “(AZ)Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and (BA)the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Changed Relationships
46 (BB)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His (BC)mother and (BD)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”[ao] 48 But [ap]Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.