M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 Now Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt. He said to his sons, “Why are you looking at one another?” 2 And he said, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us, so we may live and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers. For he said, “I am afraid that something will happen to him.”
Joseph’s Brothers Bow before Him
5 So the sons of Israel joined those who were coming to buy grain for there was no food in Canaan. 6 Joseph was the ruler of the land. He was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed to the ground in front of him. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he knew who they were. But he acted like a stranger and spoke sharp words to them. He said, “Where have you come from?” They answered, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 Joseph knew his brothers but they did not know him. 9 Joseph remembered the dreams he had had about them. He said to them, “You are spies. You have come to find the weak places in our land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man. We do not lie. Your servants are not working against you in secret.”
12 He said to them, “No! You have come to find the weak places in our land!” 13 But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father. And one is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said. You are spies. 15 You will be put to a test. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you to bring your brother, and the rest of you will be kept in prison. Your words will be put to a test to see if you are telling the truth. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, you are spies for sure.”
17 He put them all together in prison for three days. 18 Then Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God. 19 If you are men who do not lie, let one of your brothers stay here in prison for all of you. But you others go and carry grain for your hungry families. 20 Then bring your youngest brother to me, so your words will be proven true. And you will live.” So they did what he said. 21 They said to one another, “For sure we are guilty for what we did to our brother. We saw the suffering of his soul while he begged us. But we would not listen. So this trouble has come to us.”
22 Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy?’ But you would not listen. Now we must pay for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them. For there was a man between them to tell the meaning of each other’s language. 24 Joseph went away from them and cried. Then he returned to speak with them. And he took Simeon from them and put chains on him in front of his brothers.
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan
25 Then Joseph had their bags filled with grain. He had each man’s money returned to his bag, to buy what was needed as they traveled. So this was done for them. 26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain, and left. 27 When one of them opened his bag to give his donkey food at the place where they were staying the night, he saw his money. It was there at the top of his bag. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! It is inside my bag!” Then their hearts became full of fear. They turned to each other, shaking in fear, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The man who is ruler of the land spoke sharp words to us. He thought that we had gone there to find the weak places in the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We do not lie. We are not working against you in secret. 32 We are twelve brothers, the sons of our father. One is no more. And the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man who is ruler of the land said to us, ‘I will know that you are telling the truth by this test. Leave one of your brothers with me. Take grain for your hungry families and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me, so I will know you are not spies, but honest men telling the truth. Then I will return your brother to you. And then you may trade in the land.’”
35 When they took the grain out of their bags, they found that every man’s money was in his bag. And when they and their father saw the money, they were afraid. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have taken my children from me! Joseph is no more. Simeon is no more. And now you would take Benjamin! All this has come upon me!”
37 Then Reuben told his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not return him to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” 38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go with you. For his brother is dead, and only he is left. If something were to happen to him during your traveling, you would bring my white hair down to the grave in sorrow.”
The Picture-Story of the Grape-Field (A)
12 Jesus began to teach them by using picture-stories, saying, “There was a man who planted grapes in a field. He put a fence around it and made a place for making wine. He built a tower to look over the field. Then he let farmers rent it and went into another country.
2 “The time came for gathering the grapes. He sent his servant to the farmers to get some of the grapes. 3 The farmers took him and beat him. They sent him back with nothing. 4 The owner sent another servant. The farmers threw stones at him and hit him on the head and did other bad things to him. 5 Again the owner sent another servant. The farmers killed that one. Many other servants were sent. They beat some and they killed others.
6 “He had a much-loved son to send yet. So last of all he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 The farmers said to themselves, ‘This is the one who will get everything when the owner dies. Let us kill him and we will get everything.’ 8 They took him and killed him. They threw his body outside the field. 9 What will the owner of the field do? He will come and kill the farmers. He will give the field to other farmers.
10 “Have you not read what the Holy Writings say? ‘The Stone that was put aside by the workmen has become the most important Stone in the corner of the building. 11 The Lord has done this. It is great in our eyes.’” (B) 12 The leaders wanted to take Him but they were afraid of the people. They knew He had told the picture-story against them. They left Him and went away.
They Try to Trap Jesus (C)
13 Some of the proud religious law-keepers and Herod’s men were sent to trap Jesus in His talk. 14 They came to Him and said, “Teacher, we know You are true. We know You are not afraid of what men think or say about You. You teach the way of God in truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or not pay?” Jesus knew how they pretended to be someone they were not. He said to them, “Why do you try to trap Me? Bring Me a small piece of money so I may look at it.” 16 They brought Him one. He asked them, “Whose picture is this? Whose name is on it?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Pay to God the things that belong to God.” They were surprised and wondered at Him.
They Ask about Being Raised from the Dead (D)
18 Some people from the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead came to Jesus. They asked Him, 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a Law. It said, ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves his wife behind, but no children, then his brother should marry his wife and raise children for his brother.’ (E) 20 There were seven brothers. The first was married. He died before he had any children. 21 The second married her and died. He had no children. The same happened with the third. 22 All seven had her for a wife. All died without children. Last of all the woman died. 23 When people are raised from the dead, whose wife will she be? All seven had her for a wife.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you do not know the Holy Writings or the power of God? 25 When people are raised from the dead, they do not marry and are not given in marriage. They are like angels in heaven. 26 As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses how God spoke to him in the burning bush? He said, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ (F) 27 He is not the God of the dead, He is the God of the living. So you are very much wrong.”
The Great Law (G)
28 Then one of the teachers of the Law heard them arguing. He thought Jesus had spoken well. He asked Him, “Which Law is the greatest of all?” 29 Jesus said to him, “The greatest Law is this, ‘Listen, Jewish people, The Lord our God is one Lord! 30 You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (H) This is the first Law.
31 “The second Law is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ (I) No other Law is greater than these.”
32 Then the teacher of the Law said, “Teacher, You have told the truth. There is one God. There is no other God but Him. 33 A man should love Him with all his heart and with all his understanding. He should love Him with all his soul and with all his strength and love his neighbor as himself. This is more important than to bring animals to be burned on the altar or to give God other gifts on the altar in worship.” 34 Jesus saw he had spoken with understanding. He said to him, “You are not far from the holy nation of God.” After that no one thought they could ask Him anything.
Jesus Asks the Proud Religious Law-Keepers about the Christ (J)
35 Jesus was in the house of God teaching. He asked, “How do the teachers of the Law say that Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself, led by the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right side until I make those who hate You a place to rest Your feet.’ (K) 37 David himself calls Him Lord. Then how can He be his son?” Many people were glad to hear Him.
False Teachers (L)
38 Jesus taught them, saying, “Look out for the teachers of the Law. They like to walk around in long coats. They like to have the respect of men as they stand in the center of town where people gather. 39 They like to have the important seats in the places of worship and the important places at big suppers. 40 They take houses from poor women whose husbands have died. They cover up the bad they do by saying long prayers. They will be punished all the more.”
The Woman Whose Husband Had Died Gave All She Had (M)
41 Jesus sat near the money box in the house of God. He watched the people putting in money. Many of them were rich and gave much money. 42 A poor woman whose husband had died came by and gave two very small pieces of money.
43 Jesus called His followers to Him. He said, “For sure, I tell you, this poor woman whose husband has died has given more money than all the others. 44 They all gave of that which was more than they needed for their own living. She is poor and yet she gave all she had, even what she needed for her own living.”
Bildad Talks
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, 2 “How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a strong wind? 3 Does God make wrong what is fair? Does the All-powerful make wrong what is right? 4 If your children have sinned against Him, He has given them over to the power of their sin. 5 If you will look for God and pray to the All-powerful, 6 if you are pure and right and good, for sure He will help you. Because you are right and good He will put you back where you should be. 7 And even if your beginning was small, your end will be very great.
8 “Ask about those who have lived before. Think about what their fathers learned. 9 For we are only of yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as a shadow. 10 Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak words of wisdom?
11 “Can the tall river grass grow up from dry ground? Can the grass that grows in wet places grow without water? 12 While it is still green and not cut, it becomes dry and dead before any other plant. 13 So are the ways of all who forget God. The hope of the man without God is destroyed. 14 What he trusts in is easy to break, like the home of a spider. 15 The spider trusts in his house, but it falls apart. He holds on to it, but it does not hold. 16 He is full of strength in the sunshine, and his branches spread out over his garden. 17 His roots grow around rocks and they work their way among the stones. 18 If he is taken from his place, then it will turn away from him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ 19 See, this is the joy of His way. And out of the dust others will come. 20 See, God will not turn away from a man who is honest and faithful. And He will not help those who do wrong. 21 He will yet make you laugh and call out with joy. 22 Those who hate you will be dressed with shame. And the tent of the sinful will be no more.”
12 Christian brothers, I ask you from my heart to give your bodies to God because of His loving-kindness to us. Let your bodies be a living and holy gift given to God. He is pleased with this kind of gift. This is the true worship that you should give Him. 2 Do not act like the sinful people of the world. Let God change your life. First of all, let Him give you a new mind. Then you will know what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and pleasing and perfect.
3 God has given me His loving-favor. This helps me write these things to you. I ask each one of you not to think more of himself than he should think. Instead, think in the right way toward yourself by the faith God has given you. 4 Our bodies are made up of many parts. None of these parts have the same use. 5 There are many people who belong to Christ. And yet, we are one body which is Christ’s. We are all different but we depend on each other. 6 We all have different gifts that God has given to us by His loving-favor. We are to use them. If someone has the gift of preaching the Good News, he should preach. He should use the faith God has given him. 7 If someone has the gift of helping others, then he should help. If someone has the gift of teaching, he should teach. 8 If someone has the gift of speaking words of comfort and help, he should speak. If someone has the gift of sharing what he has, he should give from a willing heart. If someone has the gift of leading other people, he should lead them. If someone has the gift of showing kindness to others, he should be happy as he does it.
9 Be sure your love is true love. Hate what is sinful. Hold on to whatever is good. 10 Love each other as Christian brothers. Show respect for each other. 11 Do not be lazy but always work hard. Work for the Lord with a heart full of love for Him. 12 Be happy in your hope. Do not give up when trouble comes. Do not let anything stop you from praying. 13 Share what you have with Christian brothers who are in need. Give meals and a place to stay to those who need it. 14 Pray and give thanks for those who make trouble for you. Yes, pray for them instead of talking against them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. 16 Live in peace with each other. Do not act or think with pride. Be happy to be with poor people. Keep yourself from thinking you are so wise. 17 When someone does something bad to you, do not pay him back with something bad. Try to do what all men know is right and good. 18 As much as you can, live in peace with all men. 19 Christian brothers, never pay back someone for the bad he has done to you. Let the anger of God take care of the other person. The Holy Writings say, “I will pay back to them what they should get, says the Lord.” (A) 20 “If the one who hates you is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him water. If you do that, you will be making him more ashamed of himself.” (B) 21 Do not let sin have power over you. Let good have power over sin!
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