M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians ^(A)embalmed Israel. ³ Then the forty days to do this were fulfilled, because in this manner the days of embalming are fulfilled. And the Egyptians ^(B)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ Then the days of weeping for him were past, and Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘^(C)My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave ^(D)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” So now, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. ⁹ There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very ^[a]immense camp. ¹⁰ And they came to the ^[b]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they ^(E)lamented there with a very great and ^[c]immense lamentation; and he ^[d]observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ Now the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at ^[e]the threshing floor of Atad, and they said, “This is an ^[f]immense ^[g]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named ^[h]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

Jacob’s Burial at Machpelah

¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them. ¹³ Indeed, his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in ^(F)the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field for his possession as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

¹⁵ Then Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said, “^(G)What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and returns back to us all the evil which we dealt against him!” ¹⁶ So they ^[i]sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying, ¹⁷ ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they dealt evil against you.”’ So now, please forgive the transgression of the slaves of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers also came and ^(H)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your slaves.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? ²⁰ As for you, ^(I)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do ^[j]what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive. ²¹ So now, do not be afraid; ^(J)I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke to their heart.

The Death of Joseph

²² Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were ^(K)born on Joseph’s knees. ²⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “^(L)I am about to die, but God will surely ^[k]take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He swore to ^(M)Abraham, to ^(N)Isaac, and to ^(O)Jacob.” ²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely ^[l]take care of you, and ^(P)you shall carry my bones up from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of 110 years; and ^(Q)they embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(A)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(B)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of ^(C)Annas and ^(D)Caiaphas, ^(E)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all ^(F)the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^(K)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^(L)do not begin to say ^[d]to yourselves, ‘^(M)We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ But indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(N)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^(O)Then what should we do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two ^[e]tunics is to ^(P)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² And ^(Q)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “^[f]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ And soldiers were also questioning him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^(R)extort anyone, and ^(S)be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John, ^(T)as to whether he was the ^[g]Christ, ^16 (U)John answered, saying to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(V)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn up the chaff with ^(W)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the gospel to the people. ¹⁹ But when ^(X)Herod the tetrarch was reproved by him because of ^(Y)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which ^(Z)Herod had done, ²⁰ Herod also added this to them all: ^(AA)he locked John up in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

^21 (AB)Now it happened that when all the people were being baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^(AC)praying, heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “^(AD)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus

^23 (AE)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, ^[h]as was supposed,

Troublesome Comforters

16 Then Job answered and said,

Job Seeks Hope

Servants of Christ

4 Let a man consider us in this manner, as ^(A)servants of Christ and ^(B)stewards of ^(C)the mysteries of God. ² In this case, moreover, it is required ^[a]of stewards that one be found faithful. ³ But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human ^[b]court. In fact, I do not even examine myself. ⁴ For I ^(D)am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this ^(E)acquitted. But the one who examines me is the Lord. ⁵ Therefore ^(F)do not go on ^[c]passing judgment before ^[d]the time, but wait ^(G)until the Lord comes who will both ^(H)bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of hearts. And then each one’s ^(I)praise will come to him from God.

⁶ Now these things, brothers, I have applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to go beyond ^(J)what is written, so that no one of you will ^(K)become puffed up ^(L)on behalf of one against the other. ⁷ For who regards you as superior? ^(M)What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸ You are ^(N)already filled, you have already become rich, you have ruled without us—and how I wish that you had ruled indeed so that we also might rule with you. ⁹ For, I think that God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men ^(O)condemned to death, because we ^(P)have become a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. ¹⁰ We are ^(Q)fools for the sake of Christ, but ^(R)you are prudent in Christ! ^(S)We are weak, but you are strong! You are glorious, but we are without honor! ¹¹ To this present hour we ^(T)hunger and thirst, and are poorly clothed, and roughly treated, and homeless; ¹² and we labor, ^(U)working with our own hands; when we are ^(V)reviled, we bless; when we are ^(W)persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when we are slandered, we try to plead; we have ^(X)become as the scum of the world, the grime of all things, even until now.

¹⁴ I do not write these things to ^(Y)shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved ^(Z)children. ¹⁵ For if you were to have countless ^(AA)tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in ^(AB)Christ Jesus I ^(AC)became your father through the ^(AD)gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I exhort you, be ^(AE)imitators of me. ¹⁷ For this reason I ^(AF)have sent to you ^(AG)Timothy, who is my ^(AH)beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, ^(AI)just as I teach everywhere in every church. ¹⁸ Now some have become ^(AJ)puffed up, as though I were not ^(AK)coming to you. ¹⁹ But I ^(AL)will come to you soon, ^(AM)if the Lord wills, and I shall know, not the ^[e]words of those who are ^(AN)puffed up but their power. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God does ^(AO)not consist in ^[f]words but in power. ²¹ What do you desire? ^(AP)Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?