M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The People of Israel Suffer
1 1-5 (A) When Jacob went to Egypt, his son Joseph was already there. So Jacob took his eleven other sons and their families. They were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Altogether, Jacob had 70 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren[a] who went with him.
6 After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died, 7 (B) the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them.
8 (C) Many years later a new king came to power. He did not know what Joseph had done for Egypt, 9 and he told the Egyptians:
There are too many of those Israelites in our country, and they are becoming more powerful than we are. 10 (D) If we don't outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger. And if our country goes to war, they could easily fight on the side of our enemies and escape from Egypt.
11 The Egyptians put slave bosses in charge of the people of Israel and tried to wear them down with hard work. Those bosses forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses,[b] where the king[c] could store his supplies. 12 But even though the Israelites were mistreated, their families grew larger, and they took over more land. Because of this, the Egyptians feared them worse than before 13 and made them work so hard 14 that their lives were miserable. The Egyptians were cruel to the people of Israel and forced them to make bricks and to mix mortar and to work in the fields.
15 Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew[d] mothers when they gave birth. 16 He told them, “If a Hebrew woman gives birth to a girl, let the child live. If the baby is a boy, kill him!”
17 But the two women were faithful to God and did not kill the boys, even though the king had told them to. 18 The king called them in again and asked, “Why are you letting those baby boys live?”
19 They answered, “Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born.” 20-21 God was good to the two women because they truly respected him, and he blessed them with children of their own.
The Hebrews kept increasing 22 (E) until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, “As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River! But you can let the girls live.”
Jesus and the Devil
(Matthew 4.1-11; Mark 1.12,13)
4 When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. 2 For 40 days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating.[a] When it was all over, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God's Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.”
4 (A) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, ‘No one can live only on food.’ ”
5 Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth. 6 The devil said, “I will give all this power and glory to you. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 Just worship me, and you can have it all.”
8 (B) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:
‘Worship the Lord your God
and serve only him!’ ”
9 Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, “If you are God's Son, jump off. 10-11 (C) The Scriptures say:
‘God will tell his angels
to take care of you.
They will catch you
in their arms,
and you will not even hurt
your feet on the stones.’ ”
12 (D) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ”
13 After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.
Jesus Begins His Work
(Matthew 4.12-17; Mark 1.14,15)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. 15 He taught in the Jewish synagogues, and everyone praised him.
The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus
(Matthew 13.53-58; Mark 6.1-6)
16 Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, 17 he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,
18 (E) “The Lord's Spirit
has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news
to the poor.
The Lord has sent me
to announce freedom
for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind,
to free everyone
who suffers,
19 and to say, ‘This is the year
the Lord has chosen.’ ”
20 Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue looked straight at Jesus.
21 Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”
22 All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, “Isn't he Joseph's son?”
23 Jesus answered:
You will certainly want to tell me this saying, “Doctor, first make yourself well.” You will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum. 24 (F) But you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown.
25 (G) Once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years, and people everywhere were starving. There were many widows in Israel, 26 (H) but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon. 27 (I) During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy.[b] But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.
28 When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus say this, they became so angry 29 that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there. 30 But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.
A Man with an Evil Spirit
(Mark 1.21-28)
31 Jesus went to the town of Capernaum in Galilee and taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 (J) His teaching amazed them because he spoke with power. 33 There in the synagogue was a man with an evil spirit. He yelled out, 34 “Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One.”
35 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out. The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him.
36 They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, “What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!” 37 News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country.
Jesus Heals Many People
(Matthew 8.14-17; Mark 1.29-34)
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon's home. When Jesus got there, he was told that Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. 39 So Jesus went over to her and ordered the fever to go away. Right then she was able to get up and serve them a meal.
40 After the sun had set, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus. He put his hands on each one of them and healed them. 41 Demons went out of many people and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered the demons not to speak because they knew he was the Messiah.
42 The next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone, and crowds came looking for him. When they found him, they tried to stop him from leaving. 43 But Jesus said, “People in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom. This is why I was sent.” 44 So he kept on preaching in the synagogues in Judea.[c]
Bildad's Second Speech
How Long Will You Talk?
18 Bildad from Shuah[a] said:
2 How long will you talk?
Be sensible! Let us speak.
3 Or do you think that we
are dumb animals?
4 You cut yourself in anger.
Will that shake the earth
or even move the rocks?
* 5 (A) The lamps of sinful people
soon are snuffed out,
6 leaving their tents dark.
7 Their powerful legs become weak,
and they stumble on schemes
of their own doing.
* 8 Before they know it,
9 they are trapped in a net,
10 hidden along the path.
11 Terror strikes and pursues
from every side.
12 Starving, they run,
only to meet disaster,
13 then afterwards to be eaten alive
by death itself.
14 Those sinners are dragged
from the safety of their tents
to die a gruesome death.
15 Then their tents and possessions
are burned to ashes,
16 and they are left like trees,
dried up from the roots.
17 They are gone and forgotten,
18 thrown far from the light
into a world of darkness,
19 without any children
to carry on their name.
20 Everyone, from east to west,
is overwhelmed with horror.
21 Such is the fate of sinners
and their families
who don't know God.
Immoral Followers
5 (A) I have heard terrible things about some of you. In fact, you are behaving worse than Gentiles. A man is even sleeping with his own stepmother.[a] 2 You are proud, when you ought to feel bad enough to chase away anyone who acts like this.
3-4 I am with you only in my thoughts. But in the name of our Lord Jesus I have already judged this man, as though I were with you in person. So when you meet together and the power of the Lord Jesus is with you, I will be there too. 5 You must then hand that man over to Satan. His body will be destroyed, but his spirit will be saved when the Lord Jesus returns.
6 (B) Stop being proud! Don't you know how a little yeast can spread through the whole batch of dough? 7 (C) Get rid of the old yeast! Then you will be like fresh bread made without yeast, and this is what you are. Our Passover lamb is Christ, who has already been sacrificed. 8 (D) So don't celebrate the festival by being evil and sinful, which is like serving bread made with yeast. Be pure and truthful and celebrate by using bread made without yeast.
9 In my other letter[b] I told you not to have anything to do with immoral people. 10 But I wasn't talking about the people of this world. You would have to leave this world to get away from everyone who is immoral or greedy or who cheats or worships idols. 11 I was talking about your own people who are immoral or greedy or worship idols or curse others or get drunk or cheat. Don't even eat with them! 12 Why should I judge outsiders? Aren't we supposed to judge only church members? 13 (E) God judges everyone else. The Scriptures say, “Chase away any of your own people who are evil.”
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