M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Israel Agrees

24 Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the leaders of Israel and worship from far away. ² But Moses alone may come near the Lord. The others should not come near and should not come up with him.”

³ Moses came and told the people all the Lord said and all the Laws. All the people answered with one voice, saying, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” ⁴ Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the base of the mountain, with twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve families of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young men of Israel, who gave burnt gifts and killed young bulls as gifts of peace given in worship to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in pots. The other half of the blood he put upon the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of the Agreement and read it for the people to hear. They said, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken. We will obey.” ⁸ So Moses took the blood and put some on the people. He said, “See, the blood of the agreement, which the Lord has made with you in these words.”

⁹ Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the leaders of Israel. ¹⁰ And they saw the God of Israel. The ground under His feet looked like sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ He did not let His hand come against the leaders of Israel. But they saw God, and ate and drank.

Moses on Mount Sinai

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there. I will give you the pieces of stone with the Law which I have written for you to teach the people.” ¹³ Then Moses got up with his helper Joshua, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He said to the leaders, “Wait here until we return to you. See, Aaron and Hur are with you. Let whoever has a problem go to them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up on the mountain, which was covered with a cloud. ¹⁶ The shining-greatness of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai. And the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁷ To the people of Israel, the shining-greatness of the Lord looked like a fire that destroys on the mountain top. ¹⁸ Moses went into the cloud as he went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Nicodemus Asks Jesus about Life

3 There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a proud religious law-keeper and a leader of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Teacher, we know You have come from God to teach us. No one can do these powerful works You do unless God is with Him.”

Jesus Tells of the New Kind of Birth

³ Jesus said to him, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the holy nation of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? How can he get into his mother’s body and be born the second time?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “For sure, I tell you, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit of God, he cannot get into the holy nation of God. ⁶ Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷ “Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wants to and you hear its sound. You do not know where it comes from or where it goes. It is the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit of God.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can this be?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Are you a teacher among the Jews and do not know these things? ¹¹ For sure, I tell you, We are talking about things We know. We tell of what We have seen. Yet you do not take Our words to be true. ¹² I tell you about things of the earth and you do not believe them. How will you believe if I tell you things about heaven?

¹³ “No one has gone up into heaven except the One Who came down from heaven. That One is the Son of Man *Who is in heaven. ¹⁴ As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. ¹⁵ Then whoever puts his trust in Him will have life that lasts forever. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty. He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him. ¹⁸ Whoever puts his trust in His Son is not guilty. Whoever does not put his trust in Him is guilty already. It is because he does not put his trust in the name of the only Son of God.

¹⁹ “The Light has come into the world. And the Light is the test by which men are guilty or not. People love darkness more than the Light because the things they do are sinful. ²⁰ Everyone who sins hates the Light. He stays away from the Light because his sin would be found out. ²¹ The man who does what is right comes to the Light. What he does will be seen because he has done what God wanted him to do.”

Jesus Preaches in Judea

²² After this, Jesus and His followers came into the country of Judea. He stayed with them there and baptized people.

John the Baptist Tells More about Jesus

²³ John was baptizing in the town of Aenon near Salim. There was much water there and people were coming to be baptized. ²⁴ John had not been put in prison yet.

²⁵ Then some of the followers of John and a Jew started to argue about the religious washing of the Jewish worship. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Teacher, the One with you on the other side of the Jordan River is baptizing also. He is the One you told of. Everyone is going to Him.”

²⁷ John said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You heard the words that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him.’ ²⁹ The man who has just been married has the bride. The friend of the man just married stands at his side and listens to him. He has joy when he hears the voice of the man just married. I am full of this joy. ³⁰ He must become more important. I must become less important.

³¹ “He Who comes from above is above all. He who comes from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He tells of what He has seen and heard. But no one believes what He says. ³³ Whoever receives His words proves that God is true. ³⁴ He was sent by God and He speaks God’s Word. God gives Him all of His Spirit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who puts his trust in the Son has life that lasts forever. He who does not put his trust in the Son will not have life, but the anger of God is on him.”

Job Answers the Lord

42 Then Job answered the Lord, and said, ² “I know that You can do all things. Nothing can put a stop to Your plans. ³ ‘Who is this that hides words of wisdom without much learning?’ I have said things that I did not understand, things too great for me, which I did not know. ⁴ ‘Hear now, and I will speak. I will ask you, and you answer Me.’ ⁵ I had heard of You only by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. ⁶ So I hate the things that I have said. And I put dust and ashes on myself to show how sorry I am.”

Job Is Richer Now

⁷ After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger burns against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job. Give a burnt gift for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will hear his prayer and not punish you for being foolish, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, did what the Lord told them. And the Lord heard Job’s prayer.

¹⁰ The Lord returned to Job all the things that he had lost, when he prayed for his friends. The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and ate bread with him in his house. They showed pity and comforted him for all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him one piece of money and a gold ring. ¹² The Lord brought more good to Job in his later years than in his beginning. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 2,000 oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ He had seven sons and three daughters also. ¹⁴ He gave the first the name Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ No women were found in all the land who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them a share among their brothers. ¹⁶ After this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, his grandsons, and even their sons. ¹⁷ Then Job died, an old man having lived many days.

Paul Sees Something True in a Special Dream

12 I have to talk about myself, even if it does no good. But I will keep on telling about some things I saw in a special dream and that which the Lord has shown me. ² I know a man who belongs to Christ. Fourteen years ago he was taken up to the highest heaven. (I do not know if his body was taken up or just his spirit. Only God knows.) ³ I say it again, I know this man was taken up. But I do not know if his body or just his spirit was taken up. Only God knows. ⁴ When he was in the highest heaven, he heard things that cannot be told with words. No man is allowed to tell them. ⁵ I will be proud about this man, but I will not be proud about myself except to say things which show how weak I am. ⁶ Even if I talk about myself, I would not be a fool because it is the truth. But I will say no more because I want no one to think better of me than he does when he sees or hears me.

⁷ The things God showed me were so great. But to keep me from being too full of pride because of seeing these things, I have been given trouble in my body. It was sent from Satan to hurt me. It keeps me from being proud. ⁸ I asked the Lord three times to take it away from me. ⁹ He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. ¹⁰ I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹ I have been making a fool of myself talking like this. But you made me do it. You should be telling what I have done. Even if I am nothing at all, I am not less important than those false missionaries of yours. ¹² When I was with you, I proved to you that I was a true missionary. I did powerful works and there were special things to see. These things were done in the strength and power from God. ¹³ What makes you feel less important than the other churches? Is it because I did not let you give me food and clothing? Forgive me for this wrong!

¹⁴ This is the third time I am ready to come to you. I want nothing from you. I want you, not your money. You are my children. Children should not have to help care for their parents. Parents should help their children. ¹⁵ I am glad to give anything I have, even myself, to help you. When I love you more, it looks as if you love me less.

¹⁶ It is true that I was not a heavy load to you. But some say I set a trap for you. ¹⁷ How could I have done that? Did I get anything from you through the men I sent to you? ¹⁸ I asked Titus and the other Christian brother to visit you. Did Titus get anything from you? Did we not do things that showed we had the same desires and followed the same plan?

¹⁹ It may look to you as if we had been trying to make everything look right for ourselves all this time. God knows and so does Christ that all this is done to help you. ²⁰ I am afraid that when I visit you I will not find you as I would like you to be. And you will not find me as you would like me to be. I am afraid I will find you fighting and jealous and angry and arguing and talking about each other and thinking of yourselves as being too important and making trouble. ²¹ I am afraid when I get there God will take all the pride away from me that I had for you. I will not be happy about many who have lived in sin and done sex sins and have had a desire for such things and have not been sorry for their sins and turned from them.