M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Song of Moses
15 (A)Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord, because he has won a glorious victory;
he has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.
2 (B)The Lord is my strong defender;
he is the one who has saved me.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will sing about his greatness.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 “He threw Egypt's army and its chariots into the sea;
the best of its officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep sea covered them;
they sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, Lord, is awesome in power;
it breaks the enemy in pieces.
7 In majestic triumph you overthrow your foes;
your anger blazes out and burns them up like straw.
8 You blew on the sea and the water piled up high;
it stood up straight like a wall;
the deepest part of the sea became solid.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue them and catch them;
I will divide their wealth and take all I want;
I will draw my sword and take all they have.’
10 But one breath from you, Lord, and the Egyptians were drowned;
they sank like lead in the terrible water.
11 “Lord, who among the gods is like you?
Who is like you, wonderful in holiness?
Who can work miracles and mighty acts like yours?
12 You stretched out your right hand,
and the earth swallowed our enemies.
13 Faithful to your promise, you led the people you had rescued;
by your strength you guided them to your sacred land.
14 The nations have heard, and they tremble with fear;
the Philistines are seized with terror.
15 The leaders of Edom are terrified;
Moab's mighty men are trembling;
the people of Canaan lose their courage.
16 Terror and dread fall upon them.
They see your strength, O Lord,
and stand helpless with fear
until your people have marched past—
the people you set free from slavery.
17 You bring them in and plant them on your mountain,
the place that you, Lord, have chosen for your home,
the Temple that you yourself have built.
18 You, Lord, will be king forever and ever.”
The Song of Miriam
19 The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. But when the Egyptian chariots with their horses and drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought the water back, and it covered them.
20 The prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took her tambourine, and all the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam sang for them:
“Sing to the Lord, because he has won a glorious victory;
he has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.”
Bitter Water
22 Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they walked through the desert, but found no water. 23 Then they came to a place called Marah, but the water there was so bitter that they could not drink it. That is why it was named Marah.[a] 24 The people complained to Moses and asked, “What are we going to drink?” 25 (C)Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood, which he threw into the water; and the water became fit to drink.
There the Lord gave them laws to live by, and there he also tested them. 26 He said, “If you will obey me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord, the one who heals you.”
27 Next they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees; there they camped by the water.
The Parable of the Widow and the Judge
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. 2 “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. 3 And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, ‘Help me against my opponent!’ 4 For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, ‘Even though I don't fear God or respect people, 5 yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!’”
6 And the Lord continued, “Listen to what that corrupt judge said. 7 (A)Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? 8 I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. 10 “Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed,[a] ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12 I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.’ 13 (B)But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’ 14 (C)I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children(D)
15 Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, 16 but Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
The Rich Man(E)
18 A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. 20 (F)You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother.’”
21 The man replied, “Ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” 23 But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 Jesus saw that he was sad and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”
26 The people who heard him asked, “Who, then, can be saved?”
27 Jesus answered, “What is humanly impossible is possible for God.”
28 Then Peter said, “Look! We have left our homes to follow you.”
29 “Yes,” Jesus said to them, “and I assure you that anyone who leaves home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God 30 will receive much more in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”
Jesus Speaks a Third Time about His Death(G)
31 Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, insult him, and spit on him. 33 They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”
34 But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar(H)
35 As Jesus was coming near Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road, begging. 36 When he heard the crowd passing by, he asked, “What is this?”
37 “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.
38 He cried out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”
39 The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!”
40 So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Sir,” he answered, “I want to see again.”
42 Jesus said to him, “Then see! Your faith has made you well.”
43 At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God.
33 And now, Job, listen carefully
to all that I have to say.
2 I am ready to say what's on my mind.
3 All my words are sincere,
and I am speaking the truth.
4 God's spirit made me and gave me life.
5 Answer me if you can. Prepare your arguments.
6 You and I are the same in God's sight,
both of us were formed from clay.
7 So you have no reason to fear me;
I will not overpower you.
8 Now this is what I heard you say:
9 “I am not guilty; I have done nothing wrong.
I am innocent and free from sin.
10 But God finds excuses for attacking me
and treats me like an enemy.
11 (A)He binds chains on my feet;
he watches every move I make.”
12 But I tell you, Job, you are wrong.
God is greater than any human being.
13 Why do you accuse God
of never answering our complaints?
14 Although God speaks again and again,
no one pays attention to what he says.
15 (B)At night when people are asleep,
God speaks in dreams and visions.
16 He makes them listen to what he says,
and they are frightened at his warnings.
17 God speaks to make them stop their sinning
and to save them from becoming proud.
18 He will not let them be destroyed;
he saves them from death itself.
19 God corrects us by sending sickness
and filling our bodies with pain.
20 Those who are sick lose their appetites,
and even the finest food looks revolting.
21 Their bodies waste away to nothing;
you can see all their bones;
22 they are about to go to the world of the dead.
23 Perhaps an angel may come to their aid—
one of God's thousands of angels,
who remind us of our duty.
24 In mercy the angel will say, “Release them!
They are not to go down to the world of the dead.
Here is the ransom to set them free.”
25 Their bodies will grow young and strong again;
26 when they pray, God will answer;
they will worship God with joy;
God will set things right for them again.
27 Each one will say in public, “I have sinned.
I have not done right, but God spared me.
28 He kept me from going to the world of the dead,
and I am still alive.”
29 God does all this again and again;
30 each one saves a person's life,
and gives him the joy of living.
31 Now, Job, listen to what I am saying;
be quiet and let me speak.
32 But if you have something to say, let me hear it;
I would gladly admit you are in the right.
33 But if not, be quiet and listen to me,
and I will teach you how to be wise.
Servants of the New Covenant
3 Does this sound as if we were again boasting about ourselves? Could it be that, like some other people, we need letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are the letter we have, written on our hearts for everyone to know and read. 3 (A)It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is written, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on stone tablets but on human hearts.
4 We say this because we have confidence in God through Christ. 5 There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God; 6 (B)it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
7 (C)The Law was carved in letters on stone tablets, and God's glory appeared when it was given. Even though the brightness on Moses' face was fading, it was so strong that the people of Israel could not keep their eyes fixed on him. If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory, 8 how much greater is the glory that belongs to the activity of the Spirit! 9 The system which brings condemnation was glorious; how much more glorious is the activity which brings salvation! 10 We may say that because of the far brighter glory now the glory that was so bright in the past is gone. 11 For if there was glory in that which lasted for a while, how much more glory is there in that which lasts forever!
12 Because we have this hope, we are very bold. 13 (D)We are not like Moses, who had to put a veil over his face so that the people of Israel would not see the brightness fade and disappear. 14 Their minds, indeed, were closed; and to this very day their minds are covered with the same veil as they read the books of the old covenant. The veil is removed only when a person is joined to Christ. 15 Even today, whenever they read the Law of Moses, the veil still covers their minds. 16 (E)But it can be removed, as the scripture says about Moses: “His veil was removed when he turned to the Lord.”[a] 17 Now, “the Lord” in this passage is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. 18 All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.