M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
50 Then Joseph threw himself upon his father, and cried over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph told his servants the doctors to make his father ready to be buried. So the doctors made Israel ready. 3 Forty days were needed for this. For this is how much time it took for making the body ready to be buried. And the Egyptians cried for him seventy days.
4 When the days of sorrow for him were past, Joseph said to those of Pharaoh’s house, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father had me make a promise to him. He said, “See, I am about to die. Bury me in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” So let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 Pharaoh answered, “Go and bury your father as he made you promise.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. With him went all the servants of Pharaoh, the leaders of his house and all the important men of the land of Egypt, 8 and all those of the house of Joseph, and his brothers, and those of his father’s house. They left only their little ones and their flocks and cattle in the land of Goshen. 9 Wagons and men on horses went with him also. It was a very large group of people.
10 They came to the grain-floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan. There they cried with much sorrow. Joseph cried in sorrow for his father for seven days. 11 When those who lived in the land, the Canaanites, saw the people crying in sorrow at the grain-floor of Atad, they said, “This is a great sorrow for the Egyptians.” So the place was given the name Abel-mizraim. It is on the other side of the Jordan.
12 Jacob’s sons did as he had told them. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan. They buried him in the grave of the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, which Abraham had bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.
Joseph Tells His Brothers Not to Be Afraid
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be now that Joseph will hate us, and pay us in return for all the wrong that we did to him!” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, our father told us, 17 ‘You say to Joseph, “Forgive the wrong-doing of your brothers and their sin. For they did a bad thing to you.”’ Now we beg you, forgive the wrong-doing of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph cried when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers came and fell down in front of him and said, “See, we are your servants.”
19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You planned to do a bad thing to me. But God planned it for good, to make it happen that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not be afraid. I will take care of you and your little ones.” He gave them comfort and words of kindness.
The Death of Joseph
22 Joseph and his father’s family stayed in Egypt. And Joseph lived 110 years. 23 He lived long enough to see Ephraim’s grandchildren. And the sons of Manasseh’s son Machir were held on Joseph’s knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will take care of you. He will bring you from this land to the land that He promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel promise. He said, “God will take care of you. And you will carry my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died after living 110 years. They made his body ready, and he was put in a grave in Egypt.
John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for Jesus (A)
3 Tiberius Caesar had been ruler for fifteen years. Pontius Pilate was ruler of the country of Judea. Herod was the ruler of the country of Galilee. His brother Philip was the ruler of the countries of Ituraea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of the country of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the head religious leaders.
The Word of God came to John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias. John was in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan River. He preached that people should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and had turned from them, and they would be forgiven. 4 The early preacher Isaiah wrote these words: “His voice calls out in the desert. ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him! 5 Every valley will be filled and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the rough places will be made smooth. 6 And all men will see God saving people from the punishment of their sins.’” (B)
7 John said to the people who came to be baptized by him, “You family of snakes! Who told you how to keep from the anger of God that is coming? 8 Do something to let me see that you have turned from your sins. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you, God can make children for Abraham out of these stones. 9 Even now the ax is on the root of the trees. Every tree that does not give good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 The people asked him, “Then what should we do?” 11 He answered them, “If you have two coats, give one to him who has none. If you have food, you must share some.” 12 Tax-gatherers came to be baptized also. They asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 He said to them, “Do not take more money from people than you should.” 14 Also soldiers asked him, “What are we to do?” He answered them, “Take no money from anyone by using your own strength. Do not lie about anyone. Be happy with the pay you get.”
15 The people were looking for something to happen. They were thinking in their hearts about John the Baptist. They wondered if he might be the Christ. 16 But John said to all of them, “I baptize you with water. There is One coming Who is greater than I. I am not good enough to get down and help Him take off His shoes. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He comes ready to clean the grain. He will gather the grain and clean it all. He will put the clean grain into a building. But He will burn that which is no good with a fire that cannot be put out.”
John the Baptist Is Put in Prison (C)
18 John spoke much more as he preached the Good News to the people. 19 He had also spoken sharp words to Herod the ruler because of Herodias. She was his brother Philip’s wife. And John spoke to Herod about all the wrongs he had done. 20 To all these, Herod added another sin by putting John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus (D)
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized also. As He prayed, the heaven opened. 22 The Holy Spirit came down on Him in a body like a dove. A voice came from heaven and said, “You are My much-loved Son. I am very happy with You.”
The Family of Jesus through Mary (E)
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His work. People thought Jesus was the son of Joseph, the son of Heli. 24 Heli was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Melchi. Melchi was the son of Jannai. Jannai was the son of Joseph. 25 Joseph was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Amos. Amos was the son of Nahum. Nahum was the son of Esli. Esli was the son of Naggai. 26 Naggai was the son of Maath. Maath was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Semein. Semein was the son of Josech. Josech was the son of Juda. 27 Juda was the son of Johanan. Johanan was the son of Rhesa. Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Salathiel. Salathiel was the son of Neri. 28 Neri was the son of Melchi. Melchi was the son of Addi. Addi was the son of Cosam. Cosam was the son of Elmadam. Elmadam was the son of Er. 29 Er was the son of Joshua. Joshua was the son of Eliezer. Eliezer was the son of Jorim. Jorim was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. 30 Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the son of Judah. Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Janam. Janam was the son of Eliakim. 31 Eliakim was the son of Melea. Melea was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of Mattatha. Mattatha was the son of Nathan. Nathan was the son of David. 32 David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obed. Obed was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the son of Salmon. Salmon was the son of Nahshon. 33 Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Ram. Ram was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah. 34 Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor. 35 Nahor was the son of Serug. Serug was the son of Ragau. Ragau was the son of Peleg. Peleg was the son of Eber. Eber was the son of Shelah. 36 Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech. 37 Lamech was the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was the son of Jared. Jared was the son of Mahalaleel. Mahaleel was the son of Cainan. 38 Cainan was the son of Enos. Enos was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.
Job Talks
16 Then Job answered, 2 “I have heard many such things. All of you bring trouble instead of comfort. 3 Is there no end to your words that are full of wind? What is your problem that you keep on talking? 4 I also could speak like you, if I were in your place. I could put words together against you, and shake my head at you. 5 I could give you strength with my mouth. I could speak words of comfort and make your pain less.
6 “If I speak, my pain is not made less. And if I keep quiet, it does not leave me. 7 But now God has taken away my strength. He has taken away all my family. 8 He has made me dry up, and this speaks against me. The wasting away of my body rises up against me. It speaks against me to my face. 9 His anger has torn me and hated me. He has ground His teeth at me. The one against me looks hard at me. 10 Men have looked at me with their mouths open. They have hit me on the face with anger. They have gathered together against me. 11 God gives me over to bad men. He throws me into the hands of the sinful. 12 I was living in comfort, but He has taken that away. He has taken hold of me by the neck and shaken me to pieces. He has set me up for something to shoot at. 13 His arrows are all around me. He cuts my kidneys open without pity. He pours the bitter insides on the ground. 14 He hurts me again and again. He runs at me like a man of war. 15 I have sewed cloth made from hair over my skin, and have laid my hope in the dust. 16 My face is red from crying, and darkness is over my eyes. 17 But my hands have done nothing bad, and my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood. Let my cry have no place to rest. 19 See, even now there is One Who sees me from heaven. The One Who speaks for me is on high. 20 My friends make fun of me. My eyes pour out tears to God. 21 If only a man could give reasons to God, as a man does for his neighbor! 22 In a few years I will go the way that I cannot return.
Job Keeps On Talking
17 “My spirit is broken. My days are gone. The grave is ready for me. 2 For sure those with me make fun of me. My eyes see how they laugh at me.
3 “Promise that You will hear me. Who is there that will trust me? 4 For You have kept their heart from understanding, so You will not honor them. 5 If one speaks against friends to get money, the eyes of his children also will become weak.
6 “But He has made me an object of shame to the people. Men spit on me. 7 My eyes have become weak with sorrow. All the parts of my body are like a shadow. 8 Men who are right and good will be surprised and afraid at this. He who is without guilt will be moved to go against the sinful. 9 But the one who is right with God will hold to his way. And he who has clean hands will become stronger and stronger. 10 But all of you try again, and I will not find a wise man among you. 11 My days are past. My plans are torn apart, even the wishes of my heart. 12 They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ when there is darkness. 13 If I look for the place of the dead as my home, I make my bed in the darkness. 14 If I say to the grave, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother and my sister,’ 15 then where is my hope? Who sees hope for me? 16 Will it go down with me to the place of the dead? Will we go down together into the dust?”
Servants of Christ
4 Think of us as servants who are owned by Christ. It is our job to share the secrets of God. 2 A servant must be faithful to his owner. This is expected of him. 3 It is not the most important thing to me what you or any other people think of me. Even what I think of myself does not mean much. 4 As for me, my heart tells me I am not guilty of anything. But that does not prove I am free from guilt. It is the Lord Who looks into my life and says what is wrong. 5 Do not be quick to say who is right or wrong. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring into the light the things that are hidden in men’s hearts. He will show why men have done these things. Every man will receive from God the thanks he should have.
6 Christian brothers, I have used Apollos and myself to show you what I am talking about. This is to help you so you will not think more of men than what God’s Word will allow. Never think more of one of God’s servants than another. 7 Who made you better than your brother? Or what do you have that has not been given to you? If God has given you everything, why do you have pride? Why do you act as if He did not give it to you? 8 You are full. You are rich. You live like kings and we do not. I wish you were kings and we could be leaders with you. 9 I think that God has made a show of us missionaries. We are the last and the least among men. We are like men waiting to be put to death. The whole world, men and angels alike, are watching us. 10 We are thought of as fools because of Christ. But you are thought of as wise Christians! We are weak. You are strong. People respect you. They have no respect for us. 11 To this hour we are hungry and thirsty, and our clothes are worn out. People hurt us. We have no homes.
12 We work with our hands to make a living. We speak kind words to those who speak against us. When people hurt us, we say nothing. 13 When people say bad things about us, we answer with kind words. People think of us as dirt that is worth nothing and as the worst thing on earth to this day.
Follow Paul’s Way of Life
14 I do not write these things to shame you. I am doing this to help you know what you should do. You are my much-loved children. 15 You may have 10,000 Christian teachers. But remember, I am the only father you have. You became Christians when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I ask you with all my heart to follow the way I live. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. He is my much-loved child and a faithful Christian. He will tell you how I act as a Christian. This is the kind of life I teach in the churches wherever I go.
18 Some of you are full of pride. You think that I am not coming to visit you. 19 If the Lord wants me to, I will come soon. I will find out when I come if these proud people have God’s power, or if they just use a lot of big words. 20 The holy nation of God is not made up of words. It is made up of power. 21 What do you want? Do you want me to come with a stick to whip you? Or do you want me to come with love and a gentle spirit?
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