M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Instructions for Setting Up the Tent
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Set up the tent (the tent of meeting) on the first day of the first month of the year. 3 Place the ark containing the words of my promise inside it, and hang the canopy over the ark. 4 Bring in the table, and arrange everything on it. Bring in the lamp stand, and set up the lamps. 5 Put the gold altar for incense in front of the ark. Put up the screen at the entrance to the tent.
6 “Put the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 Put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 Set up the surrounding courtyard, and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. 9 Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything in it. In this way you will dedicate it and all its furnishings. Then it will be holy. 10 Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all the utensils. In this way you will dedicate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and stand, and they will be dedicated.
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them. 13 Then dress Aaron in the holy clothes, and anoint him. In this way you will dedicate him to serve me as priest. 14 Have his sons come forward, and dress them in their linen robes. 15 Anoint them to serve me as priests, as you anointed their father. Their anointing will begin a permanent priesthood for them for generations to come.”
Moses Sets Up the Tent
16 Moses did everything as the Lord commanded him. 17 So the tent was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year ⌞after the Israelites had left Egypt⌟. 18 When Moses set up the tent, he put the sockets in place, put up the frames, inserted the crossbars, and set up the posts. 19 He spread the outer tent over the inner tent and put the cover on top. Moses followed the Lord’s instructions.
20 He took the words of God’s promise and put them in the ark. He put the poles on the ark and placed the throne of mercy on top of the ark. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tent and hung the canopy over it to mark off where the ark was. Moses followed the Lord’s instructions.
22 Moses put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tent outside the canopy. 23 He arranged the bread on the table in the Lord’s presence, following the Lord’s instructions. 24 He placed the lamp stand in the tent of meeting opposite the table, on the south side of the tent. 25 He set up the lamps in the Lord’s presence, following the Lord’s instructions.
26 Moses put the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the canopy. 27 He burned sweet-smelling incense on it, following the Lord’s instructions. 28 Then he put up the screen at the entrance to the tent.
29 He put the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent (the tent of meeting). He sacrificed burnt offerings and grain offerings on it. Moses followed the Lord’s instructions.
30 He put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons used this water to wash their hands and feet. 32 They would wash whenever they went into the tent of meeting or whenever they approached the altar. Moses followed the Lord’s instructions.
33 He set up the courtyard around the tent and the altar and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. Finally, Moses finished the work.
The Lord Comes to the Tent
34 Then the ⌞column of⌟ smoke covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tent. 35 Moses couldn’t go into the tent of meeting, because the smoke settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tent.
36 In all their travels, whenever the ⌞column of⌟ smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp. 37 But if the column didn’t move, they wouldn’t break camp. 38 So the Lord’s column stayed over the tent during the day, and there was fire in the smoke at night. In this way all the Israelites could see the column throughout their travels.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus(A)
19 Then Pilate had Jesus taken away and whipped. 2 The soldiers twisted some thorny branches into a crown, placed it on his head, and put a purple cape on him. 3 They went up to him, said, “Long live the king of the Jews!” and slapped his face.
The People Want Jesus Crucified
4 Pilate went outside again and told the Jews, “I’m bringing him out to you to let you know that I don’t find this man guilty of anything.” 5 Jesus went outside. He was wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cape. Pilate said to the Jews, “Look, here’s the man!”
6 When the chief priests and the guards saw Jesus, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate told them, “You take him and crucify him. I don’t find this man guilty of anything.”
7 The Jews answered Pilate, “We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard them say that, he became more afraid than ever. 9 He went into the palace again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus didn’t answer him.
10 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered Pilate, “You wouldn’t have any authority over me if it hadn’t been given to you from above. That’s why the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 When Pilate heard what Jesus said, he wanted to free him. But the Jews shouted, “If you free this man, you’re not a friend of the emperor. Anyone who claims to be a king is defying the emperor.”
13 When Pilate heard what they said, he took Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s seat in a place called Stone Pavement. (In Hebrew it is called Gabbatha.) 14 The time was about noon on the Friday of the Passover festival.
Pilate said to the Jews, “Look, here’s your king!”
15 Then the Jews shouted, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!”
Pilate asked them, “Should I crucify your king?”
The chief priests responded, “The emperor is the only king we have!”
16 Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion(B)
So the soldiers took Jesus. 17 He carried his own cross and went out ⌞of the city⌟ to a location called The Skull. (In Hebrew this place is called Golgotha.) 18 The soldiers crucified Jesus and two other men there. Jesus was in the middle.
19 Pilate wrote a notice and put it on the cross. The notice read, “Jesus from Nazareth, the king of the Jews.” 20 Many Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jewish people told Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews!’ Instead, write, ‘He said that he is the king of the Jews.’ ”
22 Pilate replied, “I have written what I’ve written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them four ways so that each soldier could have a share. His robe was left over. It didn’t have a seam because it had been woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 The soldiers said to each other, “Let’s not rip it apart. Let’s throw dice to see who will get it.” In this way the Scripture came true: “They divided my clothes among themselves. They threw dice for my clothing.” So that’s what the soldiers did.
25 Jesus’ mother, her sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary from Magdala were standing beside Jesus’ cross. 26 Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there. He said to his mother, “Look, here’s your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Look, here’s your mother!”
From that time on she lived with that disciple in his home.
Jesus Dies on the Cross(C)
28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said, “I’m thirsty.” He said this so that Scripture could finally be concluded.
29 A jar filled with vinegar was there. So the soldiers put a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick and held it to his mouth.
30 After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!”
Then he bowed his head and died.
31 Since it was Friday and the next day was an especially important day of rest—a holy day, the Jews didn’t want the bodies to stay on the crosses. So they asked Pilate to have the men’s legs broken and their bodies removed. 32 The soldiers broke the legs of the first man and then of the other man who had been crucified with Jesus.
33 When the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. 34 However, one of the soldiers stabbed Jesus’ side with his spear, and blood and water immediately came out. 35 The one who saw this is an eyewitness. What he says is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth so that you, too, will believe.
36 This happened so that the Scripture would come true: “None of his bones will be broken.” 37 Another Scripture passage says, “They will look at the person whom they have stabbed.”
Jesus Is Placed in a Tomb(D)
38 Later Joseph from the city of Arimathea asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he was afraid of the Jews). Pilate gave him permission to remove Jesus’ body. So Joseph removed it. 39 Nicodemus, the one who had first come to Jesus at night, went with Joseph and brought 75 pounds of a myrrh and aloe mixture.
40 These two men took the body of Jesus and bound it with strips of linen. They laced the strips with spices. This was the Jewish custom for burial.
41 A garden was located in the place where Jesus was crucified. In that garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. 42 Joseph and Nicodemus put Jesus in that tomb, since that day was the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.
Wisdom’s Blessings Come from the Lord
16 The plans of the heart belong to humans,
but an answer on the tongue comes from the Lord.
2 A person thinks all his ways are pure,
but the Lord weighs motives.
3 Entrust your efforts to the Lord,
and your plans will succeed.
4 The Lord has made everything for his own purpose,
even wicked people for the day of trouble.
5 Everyone with a conceited heart is disgusting to the Lord.
Certainly, ⌞such a person⌟ will not go unpunished.
6 By mercy and faithfulness, peace is made with the Lord.
By the fear of the Lord, evil is avoided.
7 When a person’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better a few ⌞possessions⌟ gained honestly
than many gained through injustice.
9 A person may plan his own journey,
but the Lord directs his steps.
10 When a divine revelation is on a king’s lips,
he cannot voice a wrong judgment.
11 Honest balances and scales belong to the Lord.
He made the entire set of weights.
12 Wrongdoing is disgusting to kings
because a throne is established through righteousness.
13 Kings are happy with honest words,
and whoever speaks what is right is loved.
14 A king’s anger announces death,
but a wise man makes peace with him.
15 When the king is cheerful, there is life,
and his favor is like a cloud bringing spring rain.
16 How much better it is to gain wisdom than gold,
and the gaining of understanding should be chosen over silver.
17 The highway of decent people turns away from evil.
Whoever watches his way preserves his own life.
18 Pride precedes a disaster,
and an arrogant attitude precedes a fall.
19 Better to be humble with lowly people
than to share stolen goods with arrogant people.
20 Whoever gives attention to the Lord’s word prospers,
and blessed is the person who trusts the Lord.
21 The person who is truly wise is called understanding,
and speaking sweetly helps others learn.
22 Understanding is a fountain of life to the one who has it,
but stubborn fools punish themselves with their stupidity.
23 A wise person’s heart controls his speech,
and what he says helps others learn.
24 Pleasant words are ⌞like⌟ honey from a honeycomb—
sweet to the spirit and healthy for the body.
Words of Advice to a Wise Son
25 There is a way that seems right to a person,
but eventually it ends in death.
26 A laborer’s appetite works to his advantage,
because his hunger drives him on.
27 A worthless person plots trouble,
and his speech is like a burning fire.
28 A devious person spreads quarrels.
A gossip separates the closest of friends.
29 A violent person misleads his neighbor
and leads him on a path that is not good.
30 Whoever winks his eye is plotting something devious.
Whoever bites his lips has finished his evil work.
31 Silver hair is a beautiful crown found in a righteous life.
32 Better to get angry slowly than to be a hero.
Better to be even-tempered than to capture a city.
33 The dice are thrown,
but the Lord determines every outcome.
Run Straight toward the Goal
3 Now then, brothers and sisters, be joyful in the Lord. It’s no trouble for me to write the same things to you, and it’s for your safety. 2 Beware of dogs! Beware of those who do evil things. Beware of those who insist on circumcision. 3 We are the ⌞true⌟ circumcised people ⌞of God⌟ because we serve God’s Spirit and take pride in Christ Jesus. We don’t place any confidence in physical things, 4 although I could have confidence in my physical qualifications. If anyone else thinks that he can trust in something physical, I can claim even more. 5 I was circumcised on the eighth day. I’m a descendant of Israel. I’m from the tribe of Benjamin. I’m a pure-blooded Hebrew. When it comes to following Jewish laws, I was a Pharisee. 6 When it comes to being enthusiastic, I was a persecutor of the church. When it comes to winning God’s approval by obeying Jewish laws, I was perfect.
7 These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. 8 It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ 9 and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith 10 that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, 11 with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead.
12 It’s not that I’ve already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and 14 I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.
15 Whoever has a mature faith should think this way. And if you think differently, God will show you how to think. 16 However, we should be guided by what we have learned so far.
Imitate Me
17 Brothers and sisters, imitate me, and pay attention to those who live by the example we have given you. 18 I have often told you, and now tell you with tears in my eyes, that many live as the enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 In the end they will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their god, and they take pride in the shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things. 20 We, however, are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven as our Savior. 21 Through his power to bring everything under his authority, he will change our humble bodies and make them like his glorified body.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.