M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim
48 Now it happened after these things that [a]Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons (A)Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 Then [b]it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” so Israel strengthened himself and sat [c]up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “[d](B)God Almighty appeared to me at (C)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply, and I will make you an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you for (D)an everlasting possession.’ 5 So now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; (E)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as (F)Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But your kin that [e]have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the [f]names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 Now as for me, when I came from (G)Paddan, (H)Rachel died, [g]to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 Then Israel (I)saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “(J)They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that (K)I may bless them.” 10 Now (L)the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then [h]Joseph brought them close to him, and he (M)kissed them and embraced them. 11 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I never [i]expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed as well.” 12 Then Joseph [j]took them from his knees and (N)bowed with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, [k]crossing his hands, [l]although (O)Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“(P)May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
(Q)The God who has been my shepherd [m]throughout my life to this day,
16 (R)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
(S)Bless these boys;
And may my name [n]live on in them,
And the [o]names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And (T)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 But Joseph saw that his father (U)set his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and it was displeasing in his sight; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and (V)his seed shall become the fullness of nations.” 20 (W)And he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (X)God will be with you and (Y)will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And I give you one [p]portion more than your brothers, (Z)which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now [a]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to (A)the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was (B)filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And [b]how has it happened to me, that the mother of (C)my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And (D)blessed is she who believed [c]that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [d]by the [e]Lord.”
Mary Magnifies the Lord
46 And Mary said:
“(E)My soul (F)magnifies the [f]Lord,
47 And (G)my spirit has rejoiced in (H)God my Savior.
48 For (I)He has looked upon the humble state of His slave,
For behold, from this time on, all generations will count me (J)blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 (K)And His mercy is [g]upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 (L)He has done a mighty deed with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [h]thoughts of their heart.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (M)exalted those who were humble.
53 (N)He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 He has given help to Israel His servant,
[i]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (O)As He spoke to our fathers,
(P)To Abraham and his seed forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
John the Baptist Is Born
57 Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to [j]give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had (Q)magnified His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (R)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after the name of his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No, but (S)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 And they (T)were making signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(U)His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 (V)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all those living around them, and all these matters were being talked about in all (W)the hill country of Judea. 66 And all who heard these things put them in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For (X)the hand of the [k]Lord was indeed with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah (Y)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (Z)prophesied, saying:
68 “(AA)Blessed be the [l]Lord God of Israel,
For He visited and accomplished (AB)redemption for His people,
69 And raised up a (AC)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (AD)His servant—
70 (AE)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (AF)from of old—
71 [m](AG)Salvation (AH)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (AI)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(AJ)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (AK)The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 (AL)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the (AM)prophet of (AN)the Most High,
For you will go on (AO)before the [n]Lord to (AP)make ready His ways,
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[o]By (AQ)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (AR)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (AS)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To direct our feet into the (AT)way of peace.”
80 (AU)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the desolate regions until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
If a Man Dies, Will He Live Again?
14 “(A)Man, who is born of woman,
Is [a]short-lived and (B)full of turmoil.
2 (C)Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like (D)a shadow and does not stand.
3 You also (E)open Your eyes on him
And (F)bring [b]me into judgment with Yourself.
4 (G)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 Since his days are determined,
The (H)number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have [c]set so that he cannot pass.
6 (I)Turn Your gaze from him that he may cease from toil,
Until he accepts his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will change back sprouting again,
And its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 But (J)man dies and lies prostrate.
Man (K)breathes his last, and where is he?
11 As (L)water [d]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So (M)man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
[e]He will not awake nor be aroused out of [f]his sleep.
13 “Oh that You would conceal me in Sheol,
That You would hide me (N)until Your anger returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my labor I will wait
Until my change comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for (O)the work of Your hands.
16 For now You (P)number my steps,
You do not (Q)keep watch over my sin.
17 My transgression is (R)sealed up in a bag,
And You [g]cover up my iniquity.
18 “But the falling mountain [h]crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones;
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You (S)make man’s hope perish.
20 You forever overpower him and he (T)goes away;
You alter his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons achieve honor, but (U)he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 And when I came to you, brothers, I (A)did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom, proclaiming to you (B)the [a]witness of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 And I was with you in (D)weakness and in (E)fear and in much trembling, 4 and my word and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in (H)the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are (I)mature, a wisdom, however, not of (J)this age nor of the rulers of (K)this age, who are (L)being abolished. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory, 8 (P)which none of the rulers of (Q)this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified (R)the Lord of glory. 9 But just as it is written,
“(S)Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 [b](T)But to us God revealed them (U)through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, even the (V)depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the depths of a man except the (W)spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the depths of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (X)have received, not the spirit of (Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the depths graciously given to us by God, 13 of which depths we also speak, (Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [c]combining spiritual depths with spiritual words.
14 But [d]a (AA)natural man (AB)does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are (AC)foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because (AD)they are spiritually examined. 15 But he who is (AE)spiritual examines all things, yet he himself is examined by no one. 16 For (AF)who has known the mind of the [e]Lord, that he will direct Him? But (AG)we have the mind of Christ.
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