M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 When all the kings beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland and all along the coast of the Great [Mediterranean] Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites heard this,
2 They gathered together with one accord to fight Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4 They worked cunningly, and went pretending to be ambassadors and took [provisions and] old sacks on their donkeys and wineskins, old, torn, and mended,
5 And old and patched shoes on their feet and wearing old garments; and all their supply of food was dry and moldy.
6 And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, We have come from a far country; so now, make a covenant with us.
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you live among us; how then can we make a covenant with you?
8 They said to Joshua, We are your servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are you? From where have you come?
9 They said to him, From a very far country your servants have come because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard the fame of Him, and all that He did in Egypt,
10 And all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.
11 So our elders and all the residents of our country said to us, Take provisions for the journey and go to meet [the Israelites] and say to them, We are your servants; and now make a covenant with us.
12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we set out to go to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become moldy.
13 These wineskins (bottles) which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and our garments and our shoes have become old because of the very long journey.
14 So the [Israelite] men partook of their food and did not consult the Lord.
15 Joshua made peace with them, covenanting with them to let them live, and the assembly’s leaders swore to them.
16 Then three days after they had made a covenant with [the strangers, the Israelites] heard that they were their neighbors and that they dwelt among them.
17 And the Israelites set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
18 But the Israelites did not slay them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, [to spare them]. And all the assembly murmured against the leaders.
19 But all the leaders said to all the assembly, We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, so now we may not touch them.
20 This we will do to them: we will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.
21 And the leaders said to them, Let them live [and be our slaves]. So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the assembly, just as the leaders had said of them.
22 Joshua called the men and said, Why did you deceive us, saying, We live very far from you, when you dwell among us?
23 Now therefore you are cursed, and of you there shall always be slaves, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
24 They answered Joshua, Because it was surely told your servants that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the land’s inhabitants from before you. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
25 And now, behold, we are in your hand; do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.
26 So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the Israelites, so that they did not kill them.
27 But Joshua then made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place which He should choose.
Psalm 140
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men;
2 They devise mischiefs in their heart; continually they gather together and stir up wars.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent’s; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!(A)
4 Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent men who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me; they have spread cords as a net by the wayside, they have set traps for me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
6 I said to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
7 O God the Lord, the Strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not their wicked plot and device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
9 Those who are fencing me in raise their heads; may the mischief of their own lips and the very things they desire for me come upon them.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into floods of water or deep water pits, from which they shall not rise.
11 Let not a man of slanderous tongue be established in the earth; let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him [let calamity follow his evildoings].
12 I know and rest in confidence upon it that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will secure justice for the poor and needy [of His believing children].
13 Surely the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence (before Your very face).
Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me. Give ear to my voice when I cry to You.
2 Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.(B)
3 Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
4 Incline my heart not to submit or consent to any evil thing or to be occupied in deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity; and let me not eat of their dainties.
5 Let the righteous man smite and correct me—it is a kindness. Oil so choice let not my head refuse or discourage; for even in their evils or calamities shall my prayer continue.(C)
6 When their rulers are overthrown in stony places, [their followers] shall hear my words, that they are sweet (pleasant, mild, and just).
7 The unburied bones [of slaughtered rulers] shall lie scattered at the mouth of Sheol, [as unregarded] as the lumps of soil behind the plowman when he breaks open the ground.(D)
8 But my eyes are toward You, O God the Lord; in You do I trust and take refuge; pour not out my life nor leave it destitute and bare.
9 Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and the snares of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall together into their own nets, while I pass over them and escape.
3 That is to say, If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, will he return to her again? [Of course not!] Would not that land [where such a thing happened] be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot [against Me] with many lovers—yet would you now return to Me? says the Lord [or do you even think to return to Me?]
2 Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see. Where have you not been adulterously lain with? By the wayside you have sat waiting for lovers [eager for idolatry], like an Arabian [desert tribesman who waits to plunder] in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your vile harlotry and your wickedness (unfaithfulness and disobedience to God).
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now cried to Me: My Father, You were the guide and companion of my youth?
5 Will He retain His anger forever? Will He keep it to the end? Behold, you have so spoken, but you have done all the evil things you could and have had your way and have carried them through.
6 Moreover, the Lord said to me [Jeremiah] in the days of Josiah the king [of Judah], Have you seen what that faithless and backsliding Israel has done—how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree and there played the harlot?
7 And I said, After she has done all these things, she will return to Me; but she did not return, and her faithless and treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8 And I saw, even though [Judah knew] that for this very cause of committing adultery (idolatry) I [the Lord] had put faithless Israel away and given her a bill of divorce; yet her faithless and treacherous sister Judah was not afraid, but she also went and played the harlot [following after idols].
9 And through the infamy and unseemly frivolity of Israel’s whoredom [because her immorality mattered little to her], she polluted and defiled the land, [by her idolatry] committing adultery with [idols of] stones and trees.
10 But in spite of all this, her faithless and treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me in sincerity and with her whole heart, but only in sheer hypocrisy [has she feigned obedience to King Josiah’s reforms], says the Lord.(A)
11 And the Lord said to me, Backsliding and faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false and treacherous Judah.
12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north [where the ten tribes have been taken as captives] and say, Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord, and I will not cause My countenance to fall and look in anger upon you, for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not keep My anger forever.
13 Only know, understand, and acknowledge your iniquity and guilt—that you have rebelled and transgressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice, says the Lord.
14 Return, O faithless children [of the whole twelve tribes], says the Lord, for I am Lord and Master and Husband to you, and I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a tribal family—and I will bring you to Zion.(B)
15 And I will give you [spiritual] shepherds after My own heart [in the final time], who will feed you with knowledge and understanding and judgment.
16 And it shall be that when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the Lord, they shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of the Lord. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they [seriously] remember it, nor shall they miss or visit it, nor shall it be repaired or made again [for instead of the ark, which represented God’s presence, He will show Himself to be present throughout the city].(C)
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, in the renown and name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; nor shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their own evil hearts.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and together they shall come out of the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your fathers.
19 And I thought how [gloriously and honorably] I would set you among My children and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage, the most beautiful and best [inheritance] among all nations! And I thought you would call Me My Father and would not turn away from following Me.
20 Surely, as a wife treacherously and faithlessly departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously and faithlessly with Me, O house of Israel, says the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and pleading of the sons of Israel, because they have perverted their ways, they have [eagerly] forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, O faithless sons, [says the Lord, and] I will heal your faithlessness. [And they answer] Behold, we come to You, for You are the Lord our God.
23 Truly in vain is the hope of salvation from the hills and from the tumult and noisy throng on the mountains; truly in and with the Lord our God rests the salvation of Israel.
24 [We have been ruined as a nation by our faithlessness and idolatry] for the shameful thing has consumed all for which our fathers toiled from our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie prostrate in our shame, and let our dishonor and confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.
17 And six days after this, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
2 And His appearance underwent a change in their presence; and His face shone [a]clear and bright like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.
3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, who kept talking with Him.
4 Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good and delightful that we are here; if You approve, I will put up three booths here—one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a shining cloud [[b]composed of light] overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is My Son, My Beloved, with Whom I am [and [c]have always been] delighted. Listen to Him!(A)
6 When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were [d]seized with alarm and struck with fear.
7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, Get up, and do not be afraid.
8 And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus cautioned and commanded them, Do not mention to anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.
10 The disciples asked Him, Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
11 He replied, Elijah does come and will get everything restored and ready.
12 But I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know or recognize him, but did to him as they liked. So also the Son of Man is going to be treated and suffer at their hands.
13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.(B)
14 And when they approached the multitude, a man came up to Him, kneeling before Him and saying,
15 Lord, do pity and have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy (is [e]moonstruck) and he suffers terribly; for frequently he falls into the fire and many times into the water.
16 And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to cure him.
17 And Jesus answered, O you unbelieving ([f]warped, wayward, rebellious) and [g]thoroughly perverse generation! How long am I to remain with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to Me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked privately, Why could we not drive it out?
20 He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of [h]firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [[i]that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
21 [j]But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
22 When they were going about here and there in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is going to be turned over into the hands of men.
23 And they will kill Him, and He will be raised [to life] again on the third day. And they were deeply and exceedingly grieved and distressed.
24 When they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel [the temple tax] went up to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the half shekel?(C)
25 He answered, Yes. And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him [about it] first, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or tribute—from their own sons or from others [k]not of their own family?
26 And when Peter said, From other people [l]not of their own family, Jesus said to him, Then the sons are exempt.
27 However, in order not to give offense and cause them to stumble [that is, to cause them [m]to judge unfavorably and unjustly] go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation