M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is
45 Then Joseph could not hide his feelings in front of all who stood by him. He cried, “Send all the people away from me.” So no one was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was. 2 He cried so loud that the Egyptians heard it, and those of Pharaoh’s house heard of it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were afraid in front of him.
4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me.” So they came near. He said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But do not be troubled or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to save your life. 6 For the land has been without food these two years. And there are five more years without plowing or gathering. 7 God sent me before you to make sure that your people will keep living on the earth. Now many of you will be saved. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and ruler of all his house, and of all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go to my father. Say to him, ‘Your son Joseph says to you, “God has made me ruler of all Egypt. Come to me, and do not wait. 10 You will live in the land of Goshen, you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and cattle, and all you have. And you will be near me. 11 There I will take care of you, so that you and your family will not be in need. For there are still five years coming without food. By then you would have nothing.”’
12 “Now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my greatness in Egypt, and of all you have seen. You must hurry and bring my father here.” 14 Then he put his arms around his brother Benjamin and cried. And Benjamin cried on his neck. 15 Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried over them. After that his brothers talked with him.
16 When the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers this: ‘Load your animals and go to the land of Canaan. 18 Take your father and your families and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt. And you will live on the fat of the land.’ 19 Also say to them, ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives. Bring your father and come. 20 Do not worry about the things that belong to you. For the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
21 The sons of Israel did as he said. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had told him. And he gave them what they would need as they traveled. 22 He gave new clothes to each of them. But to Benjamin he gave 300 pieces of silver and five times as many clothes. 23 To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and things his father would need as he traveled. 24 Then he sent his brothers away. As they left he said to them, “Do not be mad at each other on the way.”
25 So they went out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive! He is ruler of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob’s heart almost stopped, because he did not believe them. 27 So they told him all the things that Joseph had said to them. And when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the life of Jacob’s spirit returned. 28 Israel said, “It is enough. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Jesus Before Pilate (A)
15 Early in the morning the head religious leaders of the Jews and other leaders and the teachers of the Law and all the court gathered together to talk about Jesus. Then they tied up Jesus and led Him away. They handed Him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He said to Pilate, “What you say is true.”
3 The religious leaders spoke many things against Him. Jesus did not say a word. 4 Pilate asked Him again, “Have You nothing to say? Listen to the things they are saying against You!” 5 Jesus did not say a word. Pilate was much surprised and wondered about it.
Jesus or Barabbas Is to Go Free (B)
6 Each year at the special supper Pilate would let one person who was in prison go free. It would be the one the people asked for. 7 The name of one of those in prison was Barabbas. He, together with others, had killed people while working against the leaders of the country. 8 All the people went to Pilate and asked him to do as he had done before. 9 Pilate said, “Do you want me to let the King of the Jews go free?” 10 He knew the religious leaders had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous. 11 The religious leaders talked the people into thinking that Pilate should let Barabbas go free. 12 Pilate said to them again, “What do you want me to do with the Man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 They spoke with loud voices again, “Nail Him to a cross.” 14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why? What bad thing has He done?” They spoke with loud voices all the more, “Nail Him to a cross!”
The Crown of Thorns (C)
15 Pilate wanted to please the people. He gave Barabbas to them and had Jesus beaten. Then he handed Him over to be nailed to a cross. 16 The soldiers led Jesus away to a large room in the court. They called all the soldiers together. 17 The soldiers put a purple coat on Him. They put a crown of thorns on His head, 18 and said to Him, “Hello, King of the Jews!” 19 They hit Him on the head with a stick and spit on Him. They got down on their knees and worshiped Him. 20 After they had made fun of Him, they took the purple coat off of Him and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to be nailed to a cross.
21 They came to a man called Simon who was coming from the country of Cyrene. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made Simon carry the cross of Jesus.
Jesus on the Cross (D)
22 They led Jesus to a place called Golgotha. This name means the place of the skull. 23 They gave Him wine with something in it to take away the pain, but He would not drink it. 24 When they had nailed Jesus to the cross, they divided His clothes by drawing names to see what each man should take. 25 It was about nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Him to the cross. 26 Over Jesus’ head they put in writing what they had against Him, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
The Two Robbers (E)
27 They nailed two robbers on crosses beside Jesus. One was on His right side and the other was on His left side. 28 *It happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen, “They thought of Him as One Who broke the Law.” (F)
29 Those who walked by shook their heads and laughed at Jesus. They said, “You were the One Who could destroy the house of God and build it again in three days. 30 Save Yourself and come down from the cross.” 31 The head religious leaders and the teachers of the Law made fun of Him also. They said to each other, “He saved others but He cannot save Himself. 32 Let Christ, the King of the Jews, come down from the cross. We want to see it and then we will believe.” Those who were on the crosses beside Jesus spoke bad things to Him.
The Death of Jesus (G)
33 From noon until three o’clock it was dark over all the land. 34 At three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You left Me alone?”
35 When some of those who stood by heard that, they said, “Listen! He is calling for Elijah.” 36 One of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with sour wine. He put it on a stick and gave it to Him to drink. He said, “Let Him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come and take Him down.”
The Powerful Works at the Time of His Death (H)
37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry. He gave up His spirit and died. 38 The curtain in the house of God was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 The captain of the soldiers was looking at Jesus when He cried out. He saw Him die and said, “For sure, this Man was the Son of God.”
The Women at the Cross (I)
40 Women were looking on from far away. Among them was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. 41 These cared for Him when He was in the country of Galilee. There were many other women there who had followed Him to Jerusalem.
The Grave of Jesus (J)
42 It was the day to get ready for the Day of Rest and it was now evening. 43 Joseph, who was from the city of Arimathea, was an important man in the court. He was looking for the holy nation of God. Without being afraid, he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised and wondered if Jesus was dead so soon. He called the captain of the soldiers and asked if Jesus was already dead.
45 After the captain said that Jesus was dead, Pilate let Joseph take the body. 46 Joseph took the body of Jesus down from the cross. He put the linen cloth he had bought around the body. Then he laid the body in a grave which had been cut out in the side of a rock. He pushed a stone over to cover the door of the grave. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.
Zophar Talks
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered, 2 “Should many words go without an answer? Should a man full of talk be said to be without blame? 3 Should your words of pride make men quiet? Should you make fun of truth and no one speak sharp words to you? 4 For you say, ‘What I believe is pure. I am without fault in Your eyes.’ 5 If only God would speak, and open His lips against you. 6 He would show you the secrets of wisdom because there are two sides. Then you would know that God is punishing you less than you should get.
7 “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out how far the All-powerful can go? 8 They are higher than the heavens. What can you do? They are deeper than the place of the dead. What can you know? 9 They are longer than the earth and wider than the sea. 10 If He passes by, puts a man in prison, or calls him to trial, who can stop Him? 11 For He knows men who are no good. When He sees wrong-doing, will He not look into it? 12 A fool cannot become wise anymore than a wild donkey can give birth to a man.
13 “If you set your heart right, and put out your hands to Him, 14 and if you put away the sin that is in your hand, do not let wrong-doing be in your tents. 15 Then you will be able to lift up your face without sin. You would be strong and not afraid. 16 For you would forget your trouble, remembering it as waters that have passed by. 17 Your life would be brighter than noon. Darkness would be like the morning. 18 Then you would trust, because there is hope. You would look around and rest and be safe. 19 You would lie down and no one would make you afraid. Many would ask for your favor. 20 But the eyes of the sinful will waste away. There will be no way for them to get away. And their hope is to breathe their last.”
15 We who have strong faith should help those who are weak. We should not live to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should live to please his neighbor. This will help him grow in faith. 3 Even Christ did not please Himself. The Holy Writings say, “The sharp words spoken against you fell on Me.” (A) 4 Everything that was written in the Holy Writings long ago was written to teach us. By not giving up, God’s Word gives us strength and hope. 5 Now the God Who helps you not to give up and gives you strength will help you think so you can please each other as Christ Jesus did. 6 Then all of you together can thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Receive each other as Christ received you. This will honor God. 8 Christ came to help the Jews. This proved that God had told the truth to their early fathers. This proved that God would do what He promised. 9 This was done so the people who are not Jews can thank God for His loving-kindness. The Holy Writings say, “This is why I will give thanks to you among the people who are not Jews. I will sing to Your name.” (B) 10 It says also, “You who are not Jews, be happy with His people, the Jews.” (C) 11 And, “Honor and give thanks to the Lord, you who are not Jews. Let everyone honor Him.” (D) 12 And Isaiah says, “There will be One from the family of Jesse Who will be a leader over the people who are not Jews. Their hope will be in Him.” (E) 13 Our hope comes from God. May He fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 I am sure you are wise in all things and full of much good. You are able to help and teach each other. 15 I have written to you with strong words about some things. I have written so you would remember. God helped me write like this. 16 I am able to write these things because God made me a missionary to the people who are not Jews. I work as a servant of Jesus Christ. I preach the Good News of God so the people who are not Jews may be as a gift to God. The Holy Spirit will set them apart so God will be pleased with them. 17 I have reason to be proud of my work for God. It is because I belong to Christ Jesus. 18 I can only speak of what Christ has done through me. I have helped the people who are not Jews to obey Him. I have done it by words and by living with them. 19 God showed them His power through me. The Holy Spirit did powerful works through me in front of them. From Jerusalem to the country of Illyricum I have preached the Good News of Christ. 20 It is my desire to preach the Good News where it has never been preached. I want to preach only where Christ is not known. 21 The Holy Writings say, “Those who have never known about Him will see. And those who have never heard about Him will understand.” (F)
22 This is why I have been kept many times from coming to you. 23 But now I am finished with my work here. I have been wanting to come and visit you for many years. 24 I hope I can now. I am making plans to go to the country of Spain. On my way there I will stop and visit you. After I have had the joy of visiting you for awhile, you can help me on my way again. 25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to hand the Christians the gift of money. 26 The churches in the countries of Macedonia and Greece have decided to give money to help some of the poor Christians in Jerusalem. 27 They wanted to do it. They should help them in this way because they owe much to the Christians in Jerusalem. The Jews shared the Good News with the people who are not Jews. For this reason, they should share what they can with the Jews. 28 I will hand this gift of money to them. Then I will stop to see you on my way to the country of Spain. 29 I know that when I come to you, Christ will give me much good to share with you.
30 I ask you from my heart, Christian brothers, to pray much for me. I ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 31 Pray that God will keep me safe from the people in the country of Judea who are not Christians. Pray also that the work I am to do for the Christians in Jerusalem will help them. 32 Then I will be coming to you if God wants me to come. I will be full of joy, and together we can have some rest. 33 May our God Who gives us peace, be with you all. Let it be so.
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