M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Manna and the Quails
16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim, and on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. 2 There in the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron 3 and said to them, “We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.”
4 (A)The Lord said to Moses, “Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord's presence. He has heard your complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions.” 8 Then Moses said, “It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the Lord.”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.” 10 As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned toward the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord appeared in a cloud. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they want. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am their God.”
13 In the evening a large flock of quails flew in, enough to cover the camp, and in the morning there was dew all around the camp. 14 When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. 15 (B)When the Israelites saw it, they didn't know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”
Moses said to them, “This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 The Lord has commanded that each of you is to gather as much of it as he needs, two quarts for each member of his household.”
17 The Israelites did this, some gathering more, others less. 18 (C)When they measured it, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered less did not have too little. Each had gathered just what he needed. 19 Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it for tomorrow.” 20 But some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning it was full of worms and smelled rotten, and Moses was angry with them. 21 Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed; and when the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses about it, 23 (D)and he said to them, “The Lord has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to him. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.” 24 As Moses had commanded, they kept what was left until the next day; it did not spoil or get worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the Lord, and you will not find any food outside the camp. 26 You must gather food for six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they did not find any. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How much longer will you people refuse to obey my commands? 29 Remember that I, the Lord, have given you a day of rest, and that is why on the sixth day I will always give you enough food for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day and not leave his home.” 30 So the people did no work on the seventh day.
31 (E)The people of Israel called the food manna.[a] It was like a small white seed, and tasted like thin cakes made with honey. 32 Moses said, “The Lord has commanded us to save some manna, to be kept for our descendants, so that they can see the food which he gave us to eat in the desert when he brought us out of Egypt.” 33 (F)Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and place it in the Lord's presence to be kept for our descendants.” 34 As the Lord had commanded Moses, Aaron put it in front of the Covenant Box, so that it could be kept. 35 (G)The Israelites ate manna for the next forty years, until they reached the land of Canaan, where they settled. (36 The standard dry measure then in use equaled twenty quarts.)
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19 Jesus went on into Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a chief tax collector there named Zacchaeus, who was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today.”
6 Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. 7 All the people who saw it started grumbling, “This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!”
8 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. 10 (A)The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The Parable of the Gold Coins(B)
11 While the people were listening to this, Jesus continued and told them a parable. He was now almost at Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God was just about to appear. 12 So he said, “There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king, after which he planned to come back home. 13 Before he left, he called his ten servants and gave them each a gold coin and told them, ‘See what you can earn with this while I am gone.’ 14 Now, his own people hated him, and so they sent messengers after him to say, ‘We don't want this man to be our king.’
15 “The man was made king and came back. At once he ordered his servants to appear before him, in order to find out how much they had earned. 16 The first one came and said, ‘Sir, I have earned ten gold coins with the one you gave me.’ 17 ‘Well done,’ he said; ‘you are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities.’ 18 The second servant came and said, ‘Sir, I have earned five gold coins with the one you gave me.’ 19 To this one he said, ‘You will be in charge of five cities.’ 20 Another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it hidden in a handkerchief. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take what is not yours and reap what you did not plant.’ 22 He said to him, ‘You bad servant! I will use your own words to condemn you! You know that I am a hard man, taking what is not mine and reaping what I have not planted. 23 Well, then, why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then I would have received it back with interest when I returned.’ 24 Then he said to those who were standing there, ‘Take the gold coin away from him and give it to the servant who has ten coins.’ 25 But they said to him, ‘Sir, he already has ten coins!’ 26 (C)‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘that to those who have something, even more will be given; but those who have nothing, even the little that they have will be taken away from them. 27 (D)Now, as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and kill them in my presence!’”
The Triumphant Approach to Jerusalem(E)
28 After Jesus said this, he went on in front of them toward Jerusalem. 29 As he came near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead 30 with these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you; as you go in, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If someone asks you why you are untying it, tell him that the Master[a] needs it.”
32 They went on their way and found everything just as Jesus had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying it?”
34 “The Master needs it,” they answered, 35 and they took the colt to Jesus. Then they threw their cloaks over the animal and helped Jesus get on. 36 As he rode on, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near Jerusalem, at the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives, the large crowd of his disciples began to thank God and praise him in loud voices for all the great things that they had seen: 38 (F)“God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God!”
39 Then some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “command your disciples to be quiet!”
40 Jesus answered, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting.”
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41 He came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you only knew today what is needed for peace! But now you cannot see it! 43 The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades, blockade you, and close in on you from every side. 44 They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls; not a single stone will they leave in its place, because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you!”
Jesus Goes to the Temple(G)
45 Then Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out the merchants, 46 (H)saying to them, “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!”
47 (I)Every day Jesus taught in the Temple. The chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the leaders of the people wanted to kill him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people kept listening to him, not wanting to miss a single word.
34 1-2 You men are so wise, so clever;
listen now to what I am saying.
3 You know good food when you taste it,
but not wise words when you hear them.
4 It is up to us to decide the case.
5 Job claims that he is innocent,
that God refuses to give him justice.
6 He asks, “How could I lie and say I am wrong?
I am fatally wounded, but I am sinless.”
7 Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job?
He never shows respect for God.
8 He likes the company of evil people
and goes around with sinners.
9 He says that it never does any good
to try to follow God's will.
10 Listen to me, you men who understand!
Will Almighty God do what is wrong?
11 (A)He rewards people for what they do
and treats them as they deserve.
12 Almighty God does not do evil;
he is never unjust to anyone.
13 Did God get his power from someone else?
Did someone put him in charge of the world?
14 If God took back the breath of life,
15 then everyone living would die
and turn into dust again.
16 Now listen to me, if you are wise.
17 Are you condemning the righteous God?
Do you think that he hates justice?
18 God condemns kings and rulers
when they are worthless or wicked.
19 He does not take the side of rulers
nor favor the rich over the poor,
for he created everyone.
20 We may suddenly die at night.
God strikes us down and we perish;
he kills the mighty with no effort at all.
21 He watches every step we take.
22 There is no darkness dark enough
to hide a sinner from God.
23 God does not need to set a time[a]
for us to go and be judged by him.
24 He does not need an investigation
to remove leaders and replace them with others.
25 Because he knows what they do;
he overthrows them and crushes them by night.
26 He punishes sinners where all can see it,
27 because they have stopped following him
and ignored all his commands.
28 They forced the poor to cry out to God,
and he heard their calls for help.
29 If God decided to do nothing at all,
no one could criticize him.
If he hid his face, we would be helpless.
30 There would be nothing that nations could do
to keep godless oppressors from ruling them.
31 Job, have you confessed your sins to God
and promised not to sin again?
32 Have you asked God to show you your faults,
and have you agreed to stop doing evil?
33 Since you object to what God does,
can you expect him to do what you want?
The decision is yours, not mine;
tell us now what you think.
34 Any sensible person will surely agree;
and the wise who hear me will say
35 that Job is speaking from ignorance
and that nothing he says makes sense.
36 Think through everything that Job says;
you will see that he talks like an evil man.
37 To his sins he adds rebellion;
in front of us all he mocks God.
Spiritual Treasure in Clay Pots
4 God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we do not become discouraged. 2 We put aside all secret and shameful deeds; we do not act with deceit, nor do we falsify the word of God. In the full light of truth we live in God's sight and try to commend ourselves to everyone's good conscience. 3 For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only from those who are being lost. 4 They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 5 For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 (A)The God who said, “Out of darkness the light shall shine!” is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.
7 Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us. 8 We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; 9 there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. 10 At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies. 11 Throughout our lives we are always in danger of death for Jesus' sake, in order that his life may be seen in this mortal body of ours. 12 This means that death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 (B)The scripture says, “I spoke because I believed.” In the same spirit of faith we also speak because we believe. 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus to life, will also raise us up with Jesus and take us, together with you, into his presence. 15 All this is for your sake; and as God's grace reaches more and more people, they will offer to the glory of God more prayers of thanksgiving.
Living by Faith
16 For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day. 17 And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble. 18 For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.
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.