M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Law Written on Stones
27 Then Moses, along with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying, “Keep all the commands I have ·given [commanded] you today. 2 Soon you will cross the Jordan River to go into the land the Lord your God is giving you. On that day set up some large stones and cover them with plaster. 3 When you cross over, write all the words of these ·teachings [laws; instructions] on them. Then you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8], just as the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], promised. 4 After you have crossed the Jordan River, set up these stones on Mount Ebal [11:29; Josh. 8:30–35], as I command you today, and cover them with plaster. 5 Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God, but don’t use any iron tool to cut the stones [Ex. 20:25]; 6 build the altar of the Lord your God with ·stones from the field [uncut stones; L whole stones]. Offer burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] on it to the Lord your God, 7 and offer ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] there, and eat them and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 Then write clearly all the words of these ·teachings [laws; instructions] on the stones.”
Curses of the Law
9 Then Moses and the Levites who were priests spoke to all Israel and said, “Be ·quiet [silent], Israel. Listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 ·Obey [L Listen to the voice of] the Lord your God, and keep his commands and ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] that I ·give [command] you today.”
11 That day Moses also gave the people this command:
12 When you cross the Jordan River, these tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes must stand on Mount Ebal to announce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali [C these two mountains form a natural amphitheatre].
14 The Levites will say to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
15 “Anyone will be cursed who makes an idol or statue and secretly sets it up, because the Lord ·hates [detests] the ·idols people make [L the work of the hand of an artisan; 5:8–10; Ex. 20:3–5; 34:17; Is. 44:9–20].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
16 “Anyone will be cursed who dishonors his father or mother [5:16; Ex. 20:12; 21:17; Lev. 20:9].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
17 “Anyone will be cursed who moves ·the stone that marks a neighbor’s border [L a neighbor’s boundary marker; 19:14; Job 24:2–4; Prov. 23:10–11; Hos. 5:10].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
18 “Anyone will be cursed who ·sends [misleads] a blind person down the wrong road [Lev. 19:14].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
19 “Anyone will be cursed who is ·unfair [deprives justice] to ·foreigners [resident aliens], orphans, or widows.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
20 “A man will be cursed who ·has sexual relations [L lies] with his father’s wife, because it ·is a dishonor to [L uncovers the skirt of; Lev. 18:7–8; 20:11] his father.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
21 “Anyone will be cursed who ·has sexual relations [L lies] with an animal [Ex. 22:19; Lev. 18:23; 20:15].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
22 “A man will be cursed who ·has sexual relations [L lies] with his sister, whether she is his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter [Lev. 18:9, 11; 20:17].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
23 “A man will be cursed who ·has sexual relations [L lies] with his mother-in-law [Lev. 18:17; 20:14].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
24 “Anyone will be cursed who ·kills [L strikes] a neighbor secretly.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
25 “Anyone will be cursed who takes ·money [a bribe] to ·murder [L strike] an innocent person [Ex. 23:8].”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
26 “Anyone will be cursed who does not ·agree with [confirm] the words of these ·teachings [laws; instructions] and does not obey them.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
Blessings for Obeying
28 You must completely ·obey [listen to the voice of] the Lord your God, and you must carefully follow all his commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today. Then the Lord your God will ·make you greater [set you higher] than any other nation on earth. 2 ·Obey [Listen to the voice of] the Lord your God so that all these blessings will come and ·stay with [overtake] you:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the ·country [field].
4 ·Your children [L The fruit of your womb] will be blessed, as well as ·your crops [L the fruit of your land]; your ·herds [L the fruit of your livestock] will be blessed with calves and your flocks with lambs.
5 Your basket and your ·kitchen [L kneading bowl] will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and when you go out.
7 The Lord will help you defeat the enemies that ·come [L rise against you] to fight you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will run from you in seven directions [C as at Jericho; Josh. 6–7].
8 The Lord your God will bless you with full barns, and he will bless ·everything you do [all your undertakings; L all that is sent out from your hand]. He will bless the land he is giving you.
9 The Lord will make you his holy people, as he ·promised [swore; Ex. 19:6]. But you must obey his commands and ·do what he wants you to do [L you must walk on his way/path]. 10 Then everyone on earth will see that you are ·the Lord’s people [L called by the name of the Lord], and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you rich: ·You will have many children, your animals will have many young, and your land will give good crops [L …in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your land]. It is the land that the Lord ·promised [swore to] your ·ancestors [fathers] he would give to you [Gen. 12:1–3].
12 The Lord will open up his heavenly storehouse so that the skies send rain on your land at the right time, and he will bless everything you do. You will lend to other nations, but you will not need to borrow from them. 13 The Lord will make you like the head and not like the tail; you will be on top and not on bottom. But you must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am ·giving [commanding] you today, being careful to keep them. 14 Do not ·disobey [L turn aside to the right or to the left from] anything I command you today. Do exactly as I command, and do not follow other gods or serve them.
Curses for Disobeying
15 But if you do not ·obey [listen to the voice of] the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands and ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] I am ·giving [commanding] you today, all these curses will come upon you and ·stay [overtake you]:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the ·country [field].
17 Your basket and your ·kitchen [L kneading bowl] will be cursed.
18 ·Your children [L The fruit of your womb] will be cursed, as well as ·your crops [L the fruit of your land]; the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks will be cursed.
19 You will be cursed when you go in and when you go out.
The Word of God
119 ·Happy [Blessed] are those ·who live pure lives [L whose way is blameless],
who follow the Lord’s ·teachings [instructions; law].
2 Happy are those who keep his ·rules [decrees; testimonies],
who ·try to obey [L seek] him with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong;
they follow his ways.
4 Lord, you ·gave [commanded] your ·orders [precepts]
to be obeyed completely.
5 ·I wish I [L O that my ways] were more ·loyal [steadfast; established; set]
in obeying your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
6 Then I would not be ashamed
·when I study [staring/gazing at] your commands.
7 When I learned that your ·laws [judgments] are fair,
I ·praised [thanked] you with an ·honest [upright] heart.
8 I will obey your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements],
so please don’t ever ·leave [abandon; forsake] me.
9 How can a young person ·live a pure life [L keep his way pure]?
By ·obeying [guarding; keeping] your word.
10 With all my heart I ·try to obey [seek] you.
Don’t let me ·break [stray from] your commands.
11 I have ·taken your words to heart [treasured/stored your words in my heart]
so I would not sin against you.
12 Lord, you ·should be praised [are blessed].
Teach me your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
13 My lips will ·tell about [recount]
all the ·laws you have spoken [L judgments of your mouth].
14 I enjoy ·living by your rules [the way of your decrees/testimonies]
as people enjoy great riches.
15 I ·think about [meditate on] your ·orders [precepts]
and ·study [look at] your ways.
16 I enjoy ·obeying your demands [your statutes/ordinances/requirements],
and I will not forget your word.
17 ·Do good [Grant this] to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can ·obey [keep; guard] your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the ·miracles [wonders] in your ·teachings [instructions; law].
19 I am a ·stranger [sojourner; alien resident] ·on earth [or in the land].
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 ·I wear myself out [My soul pines away] with ·desire [longing]
for your ·laws [judgments] all the time.
21 You ·scold [rebuke; reprimand] ·proud [arrogant] people;
those who ·ignore [wander from] your commands are cursed.
22 ·Don’t let me be insulted and hated [L Take away insult and contempt]
because I keep your ·rules [decrees; testimonies].
23 Even if princes sit around and speak against me,
I, your servant, will ·think [meditate] about your ·demands [statutes; ordinances; requirements].
24 Your ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] give me pleasure;
they ·give me good advice [L are my advisors/counselors].
People Will Return to Jerusalem
54 The Lord says, “Sing, ·Jerusalem [L barren one; Gal. 4:27].
·You are like a woman who [L …who] never gave birth to children.
Start singing and shout for joy.
You never ·felt the pain of giving birth [were in labor],
·but you will have more children [L for more are the children of the desolate one]
than the woman who has a husband.
2 Make your tent bigger;
stretch ·it [L your tent curtains] out and make it wider.
Do not hold back.
Make the ·ropes [cords] longer
and its stakes stronger,
3 because you will spread out to the right and to the left.
Your ·children [descendants; offspring; seed] will take ·over [possession of] other nations,
and they will ·again live in [resettle] cities that once were ·destroyed [ruined; desolate].
4 “Don’t be afraid, because you will not be ashamed.
Don’t be ·embarrassed [discouraged], because you will not be disgraced.
You will forget the shame ·you felt earlier [L of your youth];
you will not remember the ·shame [disgrace; reproach] ·you felt when you lost your husband [of your widowhood; or of your abandonment].
5 ·The God who made you is like [L For your Maker is] your husband.
His name is the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
The Holy One of Israel [1:4] is ·the one who saves you [your redeemer].
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 You were like a woman ·whose husband left her [deserted; abandoned],
·and you were very sad [L grieved/distressed in spirit].
You were like a wife who married young
and then ·her husband left her [was rejected].
But the Lord ·called you to be his [or will call you back],”
says your God.
7 God says, “I left you for a ·short time [moment],
but with great ·kindness [mercy; compassion] I will bring you back again.
8 I ·became very angry [had a surge/burst of anger]
and hid from you for a ·time [moment],
but I will show you ·mercy [compassion] with ·kindness [lovingkindness; loyalty; covenant love] forever,”
says the Lord ·who saves you [your redeemer].
9 The Lord says, “This day is like the ·time [days] of Noah to me [Gen. 6–9].
I ·promised [swore] then that ·I [L the waters of Noah] would never ·flood [cover] the world again [Gen. 9:11].
In the same way, I ·promise [swore] I will not be angry with you
or ·punish [rebuke] you again.
10 The mountains may ·disappear [move; be shaken],
and the hills may ·come to an end [be removed; disappear],
but my ·love [lovingkindness; loyalty; covenant love] will never ·disappear [be moved/shaken];
my ·promise [covenant; treaty] of peace will not ·come to an end [be removed; disappear],”
says the Lord who ·shows mercy to [has compassion for] you.
11 “·You poor city [L Afflicted one]. Storms have ·hurt [battered; tossed] you,
and you have not been comforted.
But I will rebuild you with ·turquoise stones [gems],
and I will build your foundations with ·sapphires [or lapis lazuli].
12 I will use ·rubies [or agate; or jasper] to build your ·walls [towers; battlements; pinnacles]
and ·shining jewels [or beryl; or garnet; or crystal] for the gates
and precious jewels for all your outer walls.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and they will have much ·peace [prosperity; wholeness; C Hebrew: shalom].
14 I will ·build [establish] you ·using fairness [in righteousness].
·You will be safe from those who would hurt you [L Tyranny/oppression will be far from you],
·so you will have nothing to fear [terror will be far away].
Nothing will come to make you afraid.
15 ·I will not send anyone to attack you [L If anyone attacks, it is not from me],
and you will defeat those who do attack you.
16 “See, I made the blacksmith.
He fans the fire to make it hotter,
and he ·makes the kind of tool he wants [forges a weapon for his purpose].
In the same way I have made the destroyer to destroy.
17 So no weapon ·that is used [forged] against you will ·defeat you [succeed].
You will ·show that those who speak against you are wrong [refute every accusation against you; L refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment].
These are the ·good things [heritage] my servants receive.
Their ·victory [vindication; righteousness] comes from me,” says the Lord.
Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus
2 ·When [After] Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king, some ·wise men [astrologers; magi; C a class of wise men and priests who practiced astrology] from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the ·baby who was born to be the king [or newborn king] of the Jews? We saw his star ·in the east [or when it rose] and have come to ·worship him [pay him homage].”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was ·troubled [very disturbed; frightened], as were all the people in Jerusalem. 4 Herod ·called a meeting of [assembled] all the ·leading [T chief] priests and ·teachers of the law [scribes] and ·asked [inquired of] them where the ·Christ [Messiah] would be born. 5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. ·The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures [L For so it has been written by the prophet]:
6 ‘·But [or And] you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are ·not just an insignificant village in [L by no means least among the rulers/ruling cities of] Judah [Mic. 5:2].
[L For; Because] A ruler will come from you
who will ·be like a shepherd for [L shepherd] my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod ·had a secret meeting with [privately summoned] the ·wise men [astrologers; magi; v. 1] and ·learned [inquired] from them the exact time ·they first saw the star [the star appeared]. 8 He sent the ·wise men [astrologers; magi] to Bethlehem, saying, “·Look [Go and search] carefully for the child. When you find him, ·come tell [report to] me so I can [L go and] ·worship [pay homage to] him too.”
9 After the ·wise men [astrologers; magi] ·heard [listened to; had their interview with] the king, they ·left [went on their way; set out]. [L And look] The star that they had seen ·in the east [or when it rose] went ·before [ahead of] them until it ·stopped [stood] above the place where the child was. 10 When the ·wise men [astologers; magi] saw the star, they ·were filled with joy [were overjoyed; L rejoiced with exceedingly great joy]. 11 They ·came to [entered] the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they ·bowed down [knelt; L fell] and ·worshiped [paid homage to] him. They opened their ·gifts [treasure chests; treasures] and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 ·But God warned the wise men [L Being warned; C the passive verb implies God as subject] in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13 After they left, an angel of the Lord ·came [appeared] to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and ·escape [flee] to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is ·starting [intending; going] to ·look [search] for the child so he can kill him.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15 And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to ·bring about [fulfill] what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son out of Egypt [Hos. 11:1; C Jesus fulfills the role of Israel by leading a spiritual Exodus].”
Herod Kills the Baby Boys
16 When Herod saw that the ·wise men [astologers; magi] had ·tricked [outwitted; outsmarted] him, he was furious. So he ·gave an order [or sent soldiers] to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was ·in keeping with [based on] the time he learned from the ·wise men [astologers; magi]. 17 ·So [Then] what ·God had said [L was spoken; C the passive verb implies God as subject] through the prophet Jeremiah ·came true [was fulfilled]:
18 “A ·voice [cry; sound] was heard in Ramah [C the sending point from which the Jews went into exile to Babylon; Jer. 40:1]
·of painful crying [weeping] and ·deep sadness [great mourning/lamentation]:
Rachel ·crying [weeping] for her children.
She refused to be comforted,
because ·her children are dead [L they are no more; Jer. 31:15].”
Joseph and Mary Return
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord ·spoke [appeared] to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were ·trying to kill [L seeking the life of] the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph [L got up,] took the child and his mother and ·went [returned] to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus [C reigned from 4 bc to ad 6] was now ·king [reigning] in Judea ·since his father Herod had died [L in place of his father Herod]. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he ·went [withdrew] to the ·area [region; district] of Galilee, 23 to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what ·God had said [was spoken; C the passive verb implies God as subject] through the prophets ·came true [was fulfilled]: “He will be called a Nazarene [C a person from the town of Nazareth; perhaps a reference to Is. 11:1, where the Hebrew word translated “branch” sounds like “Nazarene”].”
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