M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Gold Calf
32 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god[a] who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!”(A)
2 Then Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings(B) that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from their hands, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.
Then they said, “Israel, this is your God,[b] who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”(C)
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; then he made an announcement: “There will be a festival(D) to the Lord tomorrow.” 6 Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to play.(E)
7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly.(F) 8 They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, this is your God,[c] who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”(G) 9 The Lord also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked(H) people. 10 Now leave Me alone, so that My anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”(I)
11 But Moses interceded with the Lord his God: “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from Your great anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for Your people.(J) 13 Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—You swore to them by Your very self(K) and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’”(L) 14 So the Lord relented(M) concerning the disaster He said He would bring on His people.
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.(N)
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18 But Moses replied:
It’s not the sound of a victory cry
and not the sound of a cry of defeat;
I hear the sound of singing!
19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.
21 Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin?”
22 “Don’t be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.(O) 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god[d] who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, resulting in weakness before their enemies.[e] 26 And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. 27 He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”(P) 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about 3,000 men fell dead that day among the people. 29 Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated[f] to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”(Q)
30 The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”(R)
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves.(S) 32 Now if You would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book You have written.”(T)
33 The Lord replied to Moses: “I will erase whoever has sinned against Me from My book.(U) 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, My angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.”(V) 35 And the Lord inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
Lazarus Dies at Bethany
11 Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany,(A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.(B) 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair,(C) and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Him: “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,(D) so that the Son of God(E) may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after that, He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea(F) again.”
8 “Rabbi,”(G) the disciples told Him, “just now the Jews tried to stone You,(H) and You’re going there again?”
9 “Aren’t there 12 hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.(I) 10 If anyone walks during the night,(J) he does stumble, because the light is not in him.” 11 He said this, and then He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,(K) but I’m on My way to wake him up.”
12 Then the disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”
13 Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought He was speaking about natural sleep. 14 So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
16 Then Thomas(L) (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go so that we may die with Him.”
The Resurrection and the Life
17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb(M) four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem(N) (about two miles[a] away). 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained seated in the house.
21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.”
23 “Your brother will rise(O) again,” Jesus told her.
24 Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”(P)
25 Jesus said to her, “I am(Q) the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me,(R) even if he dies, will live.(S) 26 Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever.(T) Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe You are the Messiah,(U) the Son(V) of God, who comes into the world.”(W)
Jesus Shares the Sorrow of Death
28 Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 As soon as she heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.(X) 30 Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. So they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb(Y) to cry there.
32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet(Z) and told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!”
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry[b] in His spirit(AA) and deeply moved. 34 “Where have you put him?” He asked.
“Lord,” they told Him, “come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.(AB)
36 So the Jews said, “See how He loved(AC) him!” 37 But some of them said, “Couldn’t He who opened the blind man’s eyes(AD) also have kept this man from dying?”
The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead
38 Then Jesus, angry[c] in Himself again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.(AE) 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Him, “Lord, he’s already decaying.[d] It’s been four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory(AF) of God?”(AG)
41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes and said, “Father, I thank(AH) You that You heard Me.(AI) 42 I know that You always hear Me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so they may believe You sent(AJ) Me.” 43 After He said this, He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He did believed in Him.(AK) 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees(AL) and told them what Jesus had done.
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin(AM) and said, “What are we going to do since this man does many signs? 48 If we let Him continue in this way, everyone will believe in Him! Then the Romans(AN) will come and remove both our place[e] and our nation.”
49 One of them, Caiaphas,(AO) who was high priest(AP) that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You’re not considering that it is to your[f] advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”(AQ) 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die(AR) for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children(AS) of God. 53 So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.(AT) 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly(AU) among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness,(AV) to a town called Ephraim. And He stayed there with the disciples.
55 The Jewish Passover(AW) was near, and many went up to Jerusalem(AX) from the country to purify[g] themselves before the Passover. 56 They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple complex:(AY) “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival,(AZ) will He?” 57 The chief priests(BA) and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it so they could arrest Him.
Wisdom’s Appeal
8 Doesn’t Wisdom(A) call out?
Doesn’t Understanding make her voice heard?
2 At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3 Beside the gates(B) at the entry to[a] the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4 “People, I call out to you;
my cry is to mankind.
5 Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6 Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7 For my mouth tells the truth,(C)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.(D)
9 All of them are clear to the perceptive,(E)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10 Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.(F)
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,(G)
and nothing desirable can compare with it.(H)
12 I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(I)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(J)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14 I possess good advice and competence;[b]
I have understanding and strength.(K)
15 It is by me that kings reign(L)
and rulers enact just law;
16 by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.[c]
17 I love those who love me,(M)
and those who search for me find me.(N)
18 With me are riches and honor,(O)
lasting wealth and righteousness.(P)
19 My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.(Q)
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
22 “The Lord made[d] me
at the beginning of His creation,[e]
before His works of long ago.(R)
23 I was formed before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.(S)
24 I was born
when there were no watery depths(T)
and no springs filled with water.
25 I was delivered
before the mountains and hills were established,(U)
26 before He made the land, the fields,
or the first soil on earth.
27 I was there when He established the heavens,(V)
when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,(W)
28 when He placed the skies above,
when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
29 when He set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate His command,(X)
when He laid out the foundations of the earth.(Y)
30 I was a skilled craftsman[f] beside Him.(Z)
I was His[g] delight every day,
always rejoicing before Him.
31 I was rejoicing in His inhabited world,(AA)
delighting in the human race.(AB)
32 “And now, my sons, listen to me;
those who keep my ways are happy.(AC)
33 Listen to instruction and be wise;(AD)
don’t ignore it.
34 Anyone who listens to me is happy,(AE)
watching at my doors every day,
waiting by the posts of my doorway.
35 For the one who finds me finds life(AF)
and obtains favor from the Lord,(AG)
36 but the one who misses me[h] harms himself;(AH)
all who hate me love death.”(AI)
Greeting
1 Paul,(A) an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:(B)
To the faithful saints(C) in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.[a](D)
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Rich Blessings
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.(E) 4 For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.[b](F) In love[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, 6 to the praise of His glorious grace(G) that He favored us with in the Beloved.(H)
7 We have redemption in Him(I) through His blood, the forgiveness(J) of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will,(K) according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him(L) 10 for the administration[d] of the days of fulfillment[e]—to bring everything together in the Messiah,(M) both things in heaven and things on earth(N) in Him.(O)
11 We have also received an inheritance[f] in Him, predestined(P) according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, 12 so that we who had already put our hope(Q) in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.(R)
13 When you heard the message of truth,(S) the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.(T) 14 He is the down payment(U) of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession,[g] to the praise of His glory.
Prayer for Spiritual Insight
15 This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,[h] would give you a spirit[i](V) of wisdom and revelation(W) in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the perception of your mind[j] may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope(X) of His calling,(Y) what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power(Z) to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.
God’s Power in Christ
20 He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand(AA) in the heavens(AB)— 21 far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given,[k](AC) not only in this age but also in the one to come.(AD) 22 And He put everything under His feet(AE)[l] and appointed Him as head(AF) over everything for the church, 23 which is His body,(AG) the fullness(AH) of the One who fills all things(AI) in every way.
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