M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
47 Joseph went to Pharaoh. He told him, “My father and brothers have come from the land of Canaan. They’ve brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own. They are now in Goshen.” 2 Joseph had chosen five of his brothers to meet with Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What do you do for a living?”
“We’re shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh. “And that’s what our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We’ve come to live in Egypt for a while. There isn’t enough food anywhere in Canaan. There isn’t any grass for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen.”
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is open to you. Let your father and brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. Do any of them have special skills? If they do, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in to meet Pharaoh. Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing. 8 Then Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my journey through life are 130. My years have been few and hard. They aren’t as many as the years of my father and grandfather before me.” 10 Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing. Then he left him.
11 So Joseph helped his father and his brothers make their homes in Egypt. He gave them property in the best part of the land, just as Pharaoh had directed him to do. That part was known as the territory of Rameses. 12 Joseph also provided food for his father and brothers. He provided for them and the rest of his father’s family. He gave them enough for all their children.
Joseph Saves Many Lives
13 But there wasn’t any food in the whole area. In fact, there wasn’t enough food anywhere. The people of Egypt and Canaan lost their strength because there wasn’t enough food to go around. 14 Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan. People paid it to him for the grain they were buying. And Joseph brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. They said, “Give us food. What good would it do you to watch us all die? Our money is all gone.”
16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “You say your money is gone. So I’ll trade you food for your livestock.” 17 They brought their livestock to Joseph. He traded them food for their animals. They gave him their horses, sheep, goats, cattle and donkeys. He helped the people live through that year by trading them food for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year. They said, “We can’t hide the truth from you. Our money is gone. Our livestock belongs to you. We don’t have anything left to give you except our bodies and our land. 19 What good would it do you to watch us die? Why should our land be destroyed? Trade us food for ourselves and our land. Then we and our land will belong to Pharaoh. Give us some seeds so we can live and not die. We don’t want the land to become a desert.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. All the people of Egypt sold their fields. They did that because there wasn’t enough food anywhere. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 But Joseph didn’t buy the land that belonged to the priests. They received a regular share of food from Pharaoh. They had enough food from what Pharaoh gave them. That’s why they didn’t have to sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “I’ve bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. So here are some seeds for you to plant in the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. Keep the other four-fifths for yourselves. They will be seeds for the fields. And they will be food for yourselves, your children, and the other people who live with you.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “If you are pleased with us, we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26 So Joseph made a law about land in Egypt. It’s still the law today. A fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land belonging to the priests didn’t become Pharaoh’s.
27 The people of Israel lived in Egypt in the area of Goshen. They received property there. They had children and so became many.
28 Jacob lived 17 years in Egypt. He lived a total of 147 years. 29 The time came near for Israel to die. So he sent for his son Joseph. He said to him, “If you are pleased with me, put your hand under my thigh. Promise me that you will be kind and faithful to me. Don’t bury me in Egypt. 30 When I join the members of my family who have already died, carry me out of Egypt. Bury me where they are buried.”
“I’ll do exactly as you say,” Joseph said.
31 “Give me your word that you will do it,” Jacob said. So Joseph gave him his word. And Israel worshiped God as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.
Luke Writes an Orderly Report
1 Many people have attempted to write about the things that have taken place among us. 2 Reports of these things were handed down to us. There were people who saw these things for themselves from the beginning. They saw them and then passed the word on. 3 With this in mind, I myself have carefully looked into everything from the beginning. So I also decided to write down an orderly report of exactly what happened. I am doing this for you, most excellent Theophilus. 4 I want you to know that the things you have been taught are true.
The Coming Birth of John the Baptist
5 Herod was king of Judea. During the time he was ruling, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to a group of priests named after Abijah. His wife Elizabeth also came from the family line of Aaron. 6 Both of them did what was right in the sight of God. They obeyed all the Lord’s commands and rules faithfully. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was not able to have any. And they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah’s group was on duty. He was serving as a priest in God’s temple. 9 He happened to be chosen, in the usual way, to go into the temple of the Lord. There he was supposed to burn incense. 10 The time came for this to be done. All who had gathered to worship were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah. The angel was standing at the right side of the incense altar. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was amazed and terrified. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will have a child. It will be a boy, and you must call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you. His birth will make many people very glad. 15 He will be important in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or other such drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will have the same spirit and power that Elijah had. He will bring peace between parents and their children. He will teach people who don’t obey to be wise and do what is right. In this way, he will prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is old too.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I serve God. I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will have to be silent. You will not be able to speak until after John is born. That’s because you did not believe my words. They will come true at the time God has chosen.”
21 During that time, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the temple. They wondered why he stayed there so long. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple. They knew this because he kept gesturing to them. He still could not speak.
23 When his time of service was over, he returned home. 24 After that, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. She stayed at home for five months. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days, he has been kind to me. He has taken away my shame among the people.”
The Coming Birth of Jesus
26 In the sixth month after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. 27 He was sent to a virgin. The girl was engaged to a man named Joseph. He came from the family line of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel greeted her and said, “The Lord has blessed you in a special way. He is with you.”
29 Mary was very upset because of his words. She wondered what kind of greeting this could be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary. God is very pleased with you. 31 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago. 33 The Son of the Most High God will rule forever over his people. They are from the family line of Jacob. That kingdom will never end.”
34 “How can this happen?” Mary asked the angel. “I am a virgin.”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of the Most High God will cover you. So the holy one that is born will be called the Son of God. 36 Your relative Elizabeth will have a child even though she is old. People thought she could not have children. But she has been pregnant for six months now. 37 That’s because what God says will always come true.”
38 “I serve the Lord,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me just as you said it would.” Then the angel left her.
13 “My eyes have seen everything God has done.
My ears have heard it and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know.
I’m as clever as you are.
3 In fact, I long to speak to the Mighty One.
I want to argue my case with God.
4 But you spread lies about me and take away my good name.
If you are trying to heal me,
you aren’t very good doctors!
5 I wish you would keep your mouths shut!
Then people would think you were wise.
6 Listen to my case.
Listen as I make my appeal.
7 Will you say evil things in order to help God?
Will you tell lies for him?
8 Do you want to be on God’s side?
Will you argue his case for him?
9 Would it turn out well if he looked you over carefully?
Could you fool him as you might fool human beings?
10 He would certainly hold you responsible
if you took his side in secret.
11 Wouldn’t his glory terrify you?
Wouldn’t the fear of him fall on you?
12 Your sayings are as useless as ashes.
The answers you give are as weak as clay.
13 “So be quiet and let me speak.
Then I won’t care what happens to me.
14 Why do I put myself in danger?
Why do I take my life in my hands?
15 Even if God kills me, I’ll still put my hope in him.
I’ll argue my case in front of him.
16 No matter how things turn out,
I’m sure I’ll still be saved.
After all, no ungodly person
would dare to come into his court.
17 Listen carefully to what I’m saying.
Pay close attention to my words.
18 I’ve prepared my case.
And I know I’ll be proved right.
19 Can others bring charges against me?
If they can, I’ll keep quiet and die.
20 “God, I won’t hide from you.
Here are the only two things I want.
21 Stop treating me this way.
And stop making me so afraid.
22 Then send for me, and I’ll answer.
Or let me speak, and you reply.
23 How many things have I done wrong?
How many sins have I committed?
Show me my crime. Show me my sin.
24 Why do you turn your face away from me?
Why do you think of me as your enemy?
25 I’m already like a leaf that is blown by the wind.
Are you going to terrify me even more?
I’m already like dry straw.
Are you going to keep on chasing me?
26 You write down bitter things against me.
You make me suffer for the sins
I committed when I was young.
27 You put my feet in chains.
You watch every step I take.
You do it by putting marks on the bottom of my feet.
28 “People waste away like something that is rotten.
They are like clothes that are eaten by moths.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I have been chosen to be an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Our brother Sosthenes joins me in writing.
2 We are sending this letter to you, the members of God’s church in Corinth. You have been made holy because you belong to Christ Jesus. God has chosen you to be his holy people. He has done the same for all people everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is their Lord and ours.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Gives Thanks
4 I always thank my God for you. I thank him because of the grace he has given to you who belong to Christ Jesus. 5 You have been blessed in every way because of him. You have been blessed in all your speech and knowledge. 6 God has shown that what we have spoken to you about Christ is true. 7 There is no gift of the Holy Spirit that you don’t have. You are full of hope as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. 8 God will also keep you strong in faith to the very end. Then you will be without blame on the day our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God is faithful. He has chosen you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Taking Sides in the Church
10 Brothers and sisters, I make my appeal to you. I do this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I ask that all of you agree with one another in what you say. I ask that you don’t take sides. I ask that you are in complete agreement in all that you think. 11 My brothers and sisters, I have been told you are arguing with one another. Some people from Chloe’s house have told me this. 12 Here is what I mean. One of you says, “I follow Paul.” Another says, “I follow Apollos.” Another says, “I follow Peter.” And still another says, “I follow Christ.”
13 Does Christ take sides? Did Paul die on the cross for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. 15 No one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 It’s true that I also baptized those who live in the house of Stephanas. Besides that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to preach the good news. He commanded me not to preach with wisdom and fancy words. That would take all the power away from the cross of Christ.
Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 It is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart.” (Isaiah 29:14)
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where are the great thinkers of our time? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe. 22 Jews require signs. Greeks look for wisdom. 23 But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it’s foolish. 24 But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and Greeks. To them Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when God chose you. Not many of you were considered wise by human standards. Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you belonged to important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important. 29 So no one can boast to God. 30 Because of what God has done, you belong to Christ Jesus. He has become God’s wisdom for us. He makes us right with God. He makes us holy and sets us free. 31 It is written, “The one who boasts should boast about what the Lord has done.” (Jeremiah 9:24)
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