M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Israelites Are Circumcised
5 And it happened, when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites[a] who were by the sea heard that Yahweh dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the Israelites[b] until they crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no courage left in them[c] because of the presence of the Israelites. [d]
2 At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make for yourself knives of flint, and circumcise the Israelites[e] a second time.” 3 So Joshua made knives of flint, and he circumcised the Israelites[f] at the hill of the foreskins.[g] 4 This is the reason why Joshua circumcised all the people: all the males who went out from Egypt, all the warriors, died in the wilderness as they went out from Egypt on the journey.[h] 5 For all the people who left were circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the journey[i] after they left from Egypt were not circumcised. 6 For forty years the Israelites[j] traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh. To them Yahweh swore that they would not see the land that he[k] swore to their ancestors[l] to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And it was their children whom he raised in their place that Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the journey.[m]
The Israelites Celebrate Passover in Canaan
8 And it happened, when all the nation had finished circumcising, they remained where they were in the camp until they recovered. 9 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal[n] to this day. 10 And the Israelites[o] camped at Gilgal, and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, on the plains of Jericho. 11 On the next day after the Passover, on that[p] very day, they ate from the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted corn. 12 And the manna ceased the day after, when they started eating the produce of the land, and there was no longer manna for the Israelites.[q] They ate from the crop of the land of Canaan in that year.
The Commander of Yahweh’s Army Appears Before Joshua
13 And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up,[r] and he saw a man standing opposite him[s] with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, “Are you with us, or with our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “Neither. I have come now as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and he bowed down[t] and said to him, “What is my lord commanding his servant?” 15 The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals[u] from your feet,[v] for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
The Battle of Jericho
6 Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the presence of the Israelites;[w] no one was going out or coming in. 2 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Look, I am giving Jericho into your hand, its king and the soldiers of the army. 3 You will march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once; you will do so for six days. 4 And seven priests will bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you will march around the city seven times, and the priests will blow on the trumpets. 5 And when they blow long on the horn of the ram, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people will shout with a great war cry, and the wall of the city will fall flat,[x] and the people will charge, each one straight ahead.”[y]
Yahweh Dwells in Zion
A song of ascents.[a]
132 O Yahweh, remember with regard to David
all his affliction.[b]
2 How he swore to Yahweh,
he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter into the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the couch of my bed,
4 I will give no sleep to my eyes,
no slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for Yahweh,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Look, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found her in the fields of Jaar.[c]
7 Let us go to his dwelling places;[d]
Let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Yahweh, to your resting place,
you and your mighty ark.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,
and let your faithful sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 Yahweh swore in truth to David;
he will not turn back from it.
“One from the fruit of your body[e]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons will heed my covenant
and my testimonies that I will teach them,
their sons also forever
will sit on your throne.”
13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation.
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless its provisions abundantly;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful will shout exuberantly for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to grow for David;
I will set a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on him his crown will flourish.”[f]
The People of God Dwell in Unity
A song of ascents. Of David.[g]
133 Look, how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers dwell together in unity.
2 It is like the fragrant oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron,
that runs down upon the edges of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon that runs down
upon the mountains of Zion,
because there Yahweh commanded the blessing—
life forever.
Praising Yahweh in the Temple at Night
A song of ascents.[h]
Judgment and Salvation
65 “I let myself be sought by those who did not ask;
I let myself be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am; here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name;
2 I spread out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
those who walk after their thoughts in the way that is not good,
3 the people who provoke[a] me to anger continually to my face,
slaughtering for sacrifices in the garden,
and making smoke offerings on bricks,
4 who sit[b] in graves
and spend the night in secret places,[c]
who eat[d] the flesh of swine
with[e] a fragment[f] of impurity in their vessels,
5 who say,[g] “Keep to yourself![h]
You must not come near me, for I am too holy for you!”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,[i]
a fire burning all day.
6 Look! It is written before me: I will not be silent, but I will repay;
and I will repay in[j] the fold of their garment
7 your iniquities and the iniquities of your ancestors[k] together, says Yahweh,
because they made smoke offerings on the mountains
and they taunted me on the hills,
I will measure their punishment from the beginning into the fold of their garment.”
8 Thus says Yahweh: “Just as the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say ‘You must not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for the sake of my servants by[l] not destroying everyone.[m]
9 And I will bring descendant s[n] out from Jacob,
and a people[o] from Judah to take possession of my mountain,
and my chosen ones shall inherit it,
and my servants shall settle there.
10 And Sharon shall become a pasture for[p] flocks,[q]
and the valley of Achor a resting place for[r] herds[s]
for my people who have sought me.
11 But[t] you who forsake[u] Yahweh,
forgetting my holy mountain,[v]
who set a table for Fortune,
and who pour out[w] a jug of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 and I will remit you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
because I called, but[x] you did not answer;
I spoke, but[y] you did not listen,
but[z] you did the evil in my eyes,
and you chose that in which I do not delight.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Look! My servants shall eat but[aa] you, you shall be hungry.
Look! My servants shall drink but[ab] you, you shall be thirsty.
Look! My servants shall rejoice but[ac] you, you shall be ashamed.
14 Look! My servants shall shout for joy,[ad] but[ae] you, you shall cry out for pain[af] and howl for sadness.[ag]
15 And you shall leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse,
and the Lord Yahweh will kill you, and he will give[ah] his servants another name.
16 Whoever blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of trustworthiness,
and the one who swears an oath in the land shall swear by the God of trustworthiness,
because the former troubles are forgotten,
and they are hidden from my eyes.
New Creation
17 For look! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered,
and they shall not come to mind.[ai]
18 But rejoice and shout in exultation forever and ever over what I am about to create!
For look! I am about to create Jerusalem as a source of rejoicing,
and her people as a source of joy.
19 And I will shout in exultation over Jerusalem,
and I will rejoice over my people,
and the sound of weeping shall no longer be heard in it,
or[aj] the sound of a cry for help.
20 There will no longer be a nursing infant who lives only a few[ak] days,
or[al] an old man who does not fill his days,
for the boy will die a hundred years old,[am]
and the one who fails to reach[an] a hundred years[ao] will be considered[ap] accursed.
21 And they shall build houses and inhabit them,
and they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat.
For the days of my people shall be like the days of a tree,
and my chosen ones shall enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor for nothing,
and they shall not give birth to horror,
for they shall be offspring blessed by[aq] Yahweh,
and their descendants with them.
24 And this will happen: before they call, I myself will answer;
while still they are speaking, I myself will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed like one,
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
but[ar] dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall do no evil,
and they shall not destroy on all my holy mountain,”[as] says Yahweh.
The Parable of the Sower
13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and[a] was sitting by the sea.[b] 2 And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. 3 And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, 4 and while he was sowing, some seed[c] fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and[d] devoured it. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. 6 But when[e] the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. 7 And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. 8 But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain,[f] this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. 9 The one who has ears, let him hear!”
The Reason for the Parables
10 And the disciples came up and[g] said to him, “Why[h] do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered and[i] said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, 14 and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,
“You will listen carefully[j] and will never understand,
and you will look closely[k] and will never perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
and with their ears they hear with difficulty,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.”[l]
16 But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,[m] and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it![n]
The Parable of the Sower Interpreted
18 “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When[o] anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it,[p] the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. 20 And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while,[q] and when[r] affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world[s] and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. 23 But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it,[t] who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat
24 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his[u] people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel[v] in the midst of the wheat and went away. 26 So when the wheat[w] sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. 27 So the slaves of the master of the house came and[x] said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and[y] gather them?’ 29 But he said, “No, lest when you[z] gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.”’”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and[aa] sowed in his field. 32 It[ab] is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and[ac] put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
Parables Fulfill Prophecy
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, 35 in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”[ad][ae]
The Parable of the Weeds Interpreted
36 Then he left the crowds and[af] came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” 37 So he answered and[ag] said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned[ah] with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace.[ai] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[aj] The one who has ears, let him hear!
The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in a Field
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and[ak] concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Valuable Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 And when he[al] found one very valuable pearl, he went and[am] sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.
The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish[an] of every kind, 48 which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and[ao] collected the good fish[ap] into containers, but the bad they threw out. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace.[aq] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”
Rejected at Nazareth
53 And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there. 54 And he came to his hometown and[ar] began to teach[as] them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? 55 Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.
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