M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The fourth heading: Moses’ blessing
33 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God gave the Israelites before he died. 2 He said:
The Lord came from Sinai:
from Seir he shone like the dawn on us,[a]
from Paran Mountain he beamed down.
Thousands of holy ones were with him;[b]
his warriors were next to him, ready.[c]
3 Yes, those who love[d] the nations—
all his holy ones—were at your command;
they followed your footsteps;
they got moving when you said so.
4 Moses gave the Instruction to us—
it’s the prized possession of Jacob’s assembly.
5 A king came to rule in Jeshurun,
when the people’s leaders gathered together,
when Israel’s tribes were one.
6 “I pray that Reuben lives, doesn’t die,
though his numbers are so few.”
7 Moses said this to Judah:
“Lord, listen to Judah’s voice!
Bring him back to his own people,
strengthen his hands;[e]
be his help against every enemy.”
8 Then he told Levi:
“Give your Thummim to Levi,[f]
your Urim to your faithful one—
the one you tested at Massah,
the one you challenged by Meribah’s waters;
9 the one who said of his own mother and father:
‘I don’t consider them as such’;
of their siblings: ‘I don’t recognize them’;
of their own children, ‘I don’t know them’—
but who obeyed your words
and who guarded your covenant!
10 They teach your case laws to Jacob,
your Instruction to Israel.
They hold sweet incense to your nose;
put the entirely burned offering on your altar.
11 I pray that the Lord blesses Levi’s strength,
favors his hard work,
and crushes the insides of his enemies
so that those who hate him can’t fight anymore.”
12 He said to Benjamin:
“The Lord’s dearest one
rests safely on him.
The Lord always shields him;
he rests on God’s chest.”
13 Then he told Joseph:
“I pray that his land is blessed by God:
with heaven’s gifts from above,[g]
with the deep waters stretching out underneath;
14 with the gifts produced by the sun,
with the gifts generated by the moon;[h]
15 with the best fruit from ancient mountains,
with the gifts of eternal hills;
16 with the gifts of the earth and all that fills it,
and the favor of the one who lives on Sinai.[i]
I pray that all these rest on Joseph’s head,
on the crown of that prince among brothers.
17 A firstborn bull[j]—that’s how majestic he is!
A wild ox’s horns—those are his horns!
With them he gores all peoples
completely, to the far ends of the earth!
His horns[k] are Ephraim’s tens of thousands.
His horns are Manasseh’s thousands.”
18 Then he told Zebulun:
“Zebulun: celebrate when you are out and about;
Issachar: celebrate when you are at home in your tents!
19 They call all sorts of people to the mountain,
where they offer right sacrifices.
It’s true: They’re nourished on the sea’s abundance;
they are nourished on buried treasures in the sand.”
20 Then he told Gad:
“May Gad’s broad lands[l] be blessed!
He lives like a lion:
he rips an arm, even a head!
21 He chose the best part for himself
because there, where the commander’s portion was,
the leaders of the people gathered together.[m]
Gad executed the Lord’s justice
and the Lord’s judgments for Israel.”[n]
22 Then he told Dan:
“Dan is a lion cub.
He jumps up from Bashan.”
23 Then he told Naphtali:
“Naphtali—you are full of favor,
overflowing with the Lord’s blessing—
go possess the west and the south!”
24 Finally, he told Asher:
“Asher is the most blessed of sons.
I pray that he’s his brothers’ favorite—
one who dips his foot in fine oil.
25 I pray that your dead bolts are iron and copper,
and that your strength lasts all your days.”[o]
26 Jeshurun! No one compares to God!
He rides through heaven to help you,
rides majestically through the clouds.
27 The most ancient God is a place of safety;[p]
the eternal arms are a support.[q]
He drove out the enemy before you.
He commanded: “Destroy them!”
28 So Israel now lives in safety—
Jacob’s residence[r] is secure—
in a land full of grain and wine,
where the heavens drip dew.
29 Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you?
You are a people saved by the Lord!
He’s the shield that helps you,
your majestic sword!
Your enemies will come crawling on their knees to you,
but you will stomp on their backs![s]
Moses’ death
34 Then Moses hiked up from the Moabite plains to Mount Nebo, the peak of the Pisgah slope, which faces Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land: the Gilead region as far as Dan’s territory; 2 all the parts belonging to Naphtali along with the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, as well as the entirety of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea; 3 also the arid southern plain, and the plain—including the Jericho Valley, Palm City—as far as Zoar.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses: “This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I promised: ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have shown it to you with your own eyes; however, you will not cross over into it.”
5 Then Moses, the Lord’s servant, died—right there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s command. 6 The Lord buried him in a valley in Moabite country across from Beth-peor. Even now, no one knows where Moses’ grave is.
7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight wasn’t impaired, and his vigor hadn’t diminished a bit.
8 Back down in the Moabite plains, the Israelites mourned Moses’ death for thirty days. At that point, the time for weeping and for mourning Moses was over.
9 Joshua, Nun’s son, was filled with wisdom because Moses had placed his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to Joshua, and they did exactly what the Lord commanded Moses.
10 No prophet like Moses has yet emerged in Israel; Moses knew the Lord face-to-face! 11 That’s not even to mention all those signs and wonders that the Lord sent Moses to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to his entire land— 12 as well as all the extraordinary power that Moses displayed before Israel’s own eyes!
ק qof
145 I cry out with all my heart:
“Lord, answer me so I can guard your statutes!”
146 I cry out to you, “Save me
so I can keep your laws!”
147 I meet the predawn light and cry for help.
I wait for your promise.
148 My eyes encounter each hour of the night
as I think about your word.
149 Listen to my voice, according to your faithful love.
Lord, make me live again, according to your justice.
150 The people who love to plot wicked schemes are nearby,
but they are so far from your Instruction!
151 But you, Lord, are nearby too,
and all your commandments are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your laws
that you had established them forever.
ר resh
153 Look at my suffering and deliver me
because I haven’t forgotten your Instruction.
154 Argue my case and redeem me.
Make me live again by your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked
because they haven’t pursued your statutes.
156 You have so much compassion, Lord—
make me live again, according to your rules.
157 My oppressors and enemies are many,
but I haven’t turned away from your laws.
158 I look on the faithless, and I am disgusted
because they haven’t kept your word.
159 Look at how much I love your precepts.
Make me live again, Lord, according to your faithful love!
160 The first thing to know about your word is that it is true
and that all your righteous rules last forever.
שׂ sin and שׁ shin
161 Rulers oppress me without cause,
but my heart honors what you’ve said.
162 I’m overjoyed at your word,
like someone who finds great treasure.
163 I hate, I absolutely despise, what is false,
but I’m in love with your Instruction.
164 I praise you seven times a day
for your righteous rules.
165 The people who love your Instruction enjoy peace—and lots of it.
There’s no stumbling for them!
166 Lord, I wait for your saving help.
I do what you’ve commanded.
167 I keep your laws;
I love them so much!
168 I keep your precepts and your laws
because all my ways are seen by you.
ת tav
169 Let my cry reach you, Lord;
help me understand according to what you’ve said.
170 Let my request for grace come before you;
deliver me according to your promise!
171 Let my lips overflow with praise
because you’ve taught me your statutes.
172 Let my tongue declare your word,
because all your commandments are righteous.
173 Let your power help me
because I have chosen your precepts.
174 Lord, I long for your saving help!
Your Instruction is my joy!
175 Let me live again so I can praise you!
Let your rules help me!
176 I’ve wandered off like a sheep, lost.
Find your servant
because I haven’t forgotten
your commandments!
Jerusalem’s coming radiance
60 Arise! Shine! Your light has come;
the Lord’s glory has shone upon you.
2 Though darkness covers the earth
and gloom the nations,
the Lord will shine upon you;
God’s glory will appear over you.
3 Nations will come to your light
and kings to your dawning radiance.
4 Lift up your eyes and look all around:
they are all gathered; they have come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters on caregivers’ hips.
5 Then you will see and be radiant;
your heart will tremble and open wide,
because the sea’s abundance will be turned over to you;
the nations’ wealth will come to you.
6 Countless camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
They will all come from Sheba,
carrying gold and incense,
proclaiming the Lord’s praises.
7 All Kedar’s sheep will be gathered for you;
rams from Nebaioth will be your offerings;
they will be accepted on my altar,
and I will glorify my splendid house.
8 Who are these who fly like a cloud,
like doves to their shelters?
9 I’m the hope of the coastlands.
Ships from Tarshish are in the lead
to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them
for the name of the Lord your God
and for the holy one of Israel, who has glorified you.
10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
Though in my rage I struck you down,
in my favor I have consoled you.
11 Your gates will be open continually;
day and night they won’t close,
to bring to you the wealth of nations,
and their kings led in procession.
12 The nation and the dynasty
that won’t serve you will perish;
such nations will be devastated.
13 Lebanon’s glory will come upon you,
cypress, elm, and pine,
to glorify the site of my sanctuary,
and I will honor my royal footstool.
14 The children of your tormenters will come bending low to you;
all who despised you will bow down at your feet.
They will call you The Lord’s City,
Zion, of the holy one of Israel.
15 Instead of being abandoned,
hated, and forbidden,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy for all generations.
16 You will suck the milk of nations,
and nurse at royal breasts.
You will know that I am the Lord, your savior
and your redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold;
instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze;
and instead of stones, iron.
I will make peace your governor
and righteousness your taskmaster.
18 Violence will no longer resound throughout your land,
nor devastation or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light by day,
nor will the moon shine for illumination by night.[a]
The Lord will be your everlasting light;
your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will no longer set;
your moon will no longer wane.
The Lord will be an everlasting light for you,
and your days of mourning will be ended.
21 Your people will all be righteous;
they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot that I planted,
the work of my hands, to glorify myself.
22 The least will become a thousand,
and the smallest a powerful people.
I am the Lord; at the right moment, I will hurry it along.
A man with a skin disease
8 Now when Jesus had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with a skin disease came, kneeled before him, and said, “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to. Become clean.” Instantly his skin disease was cleansed. 4 Jesus said to him, “Don’t say anything to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded. This will be a testimony to them.”
Healing of the centurion’s servant
5 When Jesus went to Capernaum, a centurion approached, 6 pleading with him, “Lord, my servant is flat on his back at home, paralyzed, and his suffering is awful.”
7 Jesus responded, “I’ll come and heal him.”
8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 I’m a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and the servant does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was impressed and said to the people following him, “I say to you with all seriousness that even in Israel I haven’t found faith like this. 11 I say to you that there are many who will come from east and west and sit down to eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” 13 Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it will be done for you just as you have believed.” And his servant was healed that very moment.
Healing of many people
14 Jesus went home with Peter and saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served them. 16 That evening people brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. He threw the spirits out with just a word. He healed everyone who was sick. 17 This happened so that what Isaiah the prophet said would be fulfilled: He is the one who took our illnesses and carried away our diseases.[a]
Discussions about following
18 Now when Jesus saw the crowd, he ordered his disciples to go over to the other side of the lake. 19 A legal expert came and said to him, “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One[b] has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Calming a storm
23 When Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. 24 A huge storm arose on the lake so that waves were sloshing over the boat. But Jesus was asleep. 25 They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, rescue us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you people of weak faith?” Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the lake, and there was a great calm.
27 The people were amazed and said, “What kind of person is this? Even the winds and the lake obey him!”
Jesus frees demon-possessed men
28 When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed came from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that nobody could travel on that road. 29 They cried out, “What are you going to do with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time of judgment?” 30 Far off in the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons pleaded with him, “If you throw us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32 Then he said to the demons, “Go away,” and they came out and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned. 33 Those who tended the pigs ran into the city and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole city came out and met Jesus. When they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible