M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 11
Tenth Plague: The Death of the Firstborn. 1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: One more plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, when he finally lets you go, he will drive you away. 2 (A)Instruct the people that every man is to ask his neighbor, and every woman her neighbor, for silver and gold articles and for clothing. 3 The Lord indeed made the Egyptians well-disposed toward the people; Moses himself was very highly regarded by Pharaoh’s servants and the people in the land of Egypt.
4 Moses then said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go forth through Egypt.(B) 5 (C)Every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave-girl who is at the handmill,[a] as well as all the firstborn of the animals. 6 Then there will be loud wailing throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been, nor will ever be again. 7 But among all the Israelites, among human beings and animals alike, not even a dog will growl, so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these servants of yours will then come down to me and bow down before me, saying: Leave, you and all your followers!(D) Then I will depart.” With that he left Pharaoh’s presence in hot anger.
9 The Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh will not listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 10 Thus, although Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go from his land.
Chapter 12
The Passover Ritual Prescribed.[b] 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 [c]This month will stand at the head of your calendar; you will reckon it the first month of the year.(E) 3 Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every family must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a lamb, it along with its nearest neighbor will procure one, and apportion the lamb’s cost[d] in proportion to the number of persons, according to what each household consumes. 5 Your lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You will keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole community of Israel assembled, it will be slaughtered during the evening twilight. 7 They will take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They will consume its meat that same night, eating it roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or even boiled in water, but roasted, with its head and shanks and inner organs. 10 You must not keep any of it beyond the morning; whatever is left over in the morning must be burned up.
11 This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you will eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn in the land, human being and beast alike, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the Lord!(F) 13 But for you the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thereby, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.(G)
14 This day will be a day of remembrance for you, which your future generations will celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord; you will celebrate it as a statute forever. 15 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. From the very first day you will have your houses clear of all leaven. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh will be cut off[e] from Israel. 16 On the first day you will hold a sacred assembly, and likewise on the seventh. On these days no sort of work shall be done, except to prepare the food that everyone needs. 17 Keep, then, the custom of the unleavened bread,(H) since it was on this very day that I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a statute forever. 18 From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of this month you will eat unleavened bread. 19 For seven days no leaven may be found in your houses; for anyone, a resident alien or a native, who eats leavened food will be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; wherever you dwell you may eat only unleavened bread.
Promulgation of the Passover. 21 Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and procure lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover victims.
Chapter 14
Healing of the Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath.[a] 1 (A)On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.(B) 2 In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.[b] 3 Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”(C) 4 But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. 5 Then he said to them, “Who among you, if your son or ox[c] falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?”(D) 6 But they were unable to answer his question.(E)
Conduct of Invited Guests and Hosts.[d] 7 (F)He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. 8 (G)“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, 9 and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. 10 Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”(H) 12 Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.(I) 13 Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 14 blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”(J)
The Parable of the Great Feast.[e] 15 One of his fellow guests on hearing this said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.” 16 (K)He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. 17 When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ 18 But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ 23 The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. 24 For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
Sayings on Discipleship.[f] 25 Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, 26 (L)“If any one comes to me without hating his father[g] and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.(M) 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.(N) 28 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 31 Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.(O)
The Simile of Salt.[h] 34 “Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored?(P) 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”(Q)
VI. Job’s Final Summary of His Cause
Chapter 29
1 [a]Job took up his theme again and said:
2 Oh, that I were as in the months past,
as in the days when God watched over me:(A)
3 While he kept his lamp shining above my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in my flourishing days,
when God sheltered my tent;
5 When the Almighty was still with me,
and my children were round about me;
6 When my footsteps were bathed in cream,
and the rock flowed with streams of oil.[b]
7 Whenever I went out to the gate of the city
and took my seat in the square,
8 The young men saw me and withdrew,
and the elders rose up and stood;
9 Officials refrained from speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands;(B)
10 The voice of the princes was silenced,
and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
11 The ear that heard blessed me;
the eye that saw acclaimed me.
12 For I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
the orphans, and the unassisted;
13 The blessing of those in extremity came upon me,
and the heart of the widow I made joyful.
14 I wore my righteousness like a garment;
justice was my robe and my turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind,
and feet to the lame was I.
16 I was a father to the poor;
the complaint of the stranger I pursued,
17 And I broke the jaws of the wicked man;
from his teeth I forced the prey.
18 I said: “In my own nest I shall grow old;
I shall multiply years like the phoenix.[c]
19 My root is spread out to the waters;
the dew rests by night on my branches.
20 My glory is fresh within me,
and my bow is renewed in my hand!”
21 For me they listened and waited;
they were silent for my counsel.
22 Once I spoke, they said no more,
but received my pronouncement drop by drop.
23 They waited for me as for the rain;
they drank in my words like the spring rains.
24 When I smiled on them they could not believe it;
they would not let the light of my face be dimmed.
25 I decided their course and sat at their head,
I lived like a king among the troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
V. The Resurrection
A. The Resurrection of Christ
Chapter 15[a]
The Gospel Teaching.[b] 1 Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. 2 Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 [c]For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;(A) 4 that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures;(B) 5 that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.(C) 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.(D) 9 For I am the least[d] of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.(E) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. 11 Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
B. The Resurrection of the Dead
Results of Denial.[e] 12 But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised.(F) 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. 15 Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.(G) 16 For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, 17 and if Christ has not been raised,[f] your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.
Christ the Firstfruits.[g] 20 (H)But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits[h] of those who have fallen asleep. 21 [i]For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,(I) 23 but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;(J) 24 then comes the end,[j] when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power.(K) 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.(L) 26 [k]The last enemy(M) to be destroyed is death, 27 [l]for “he subjected everything under his feet.”(N) But when it says that everything has been subjected, it is clear that it excludes the one who subjected everything to him. 28 When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will [also] be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.(O)
Practical Arguments.[m] 29 Otherwise, what will people accomplish by having themselves baptized for the dead?[n] If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they having themselves baptized for them?
30 [o]Moreover, why are we endangering ourselves all the time?(P) 31 Every day I face death; I swear it by the pride in you [brothers] that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Q) 32 If at Ephesus I fought with beasts, so to speak, what benefit was it to me? If the dead are not raised:
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”(R)
33 Do not be led astray:
“Bad company corrupts good morals.”
34 Become sober as you ought and stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of God; I say this to your shame.(S)
C. The Manner of the Resurrection[p]
35 [q]But someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?”
The Resurrection Body. 36 [r]You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.(T) 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind; 38 (U)but God gives it a body as he chooses, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 [s]Not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for human beings, another kind of flesh for animals, another kind of flesh for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the brightness of the heavenly is one kind and that of the earthly another. 41 The brightness of the sun is one kind, the brightness of the moon another, and the brightness of the stars another. For star differs from star in brightness.
42 [t]So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. 43 It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.(V) 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.
45 So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam,[u] became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.(W) 46 But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. 48 As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image[v] of the heavenly one.(X)
The Resurrection Event. 50 [w]This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption[x] inherit incorruption.(Y) 51 [y]Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,(Z) 52 in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.(AA) 53 For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.(AB) 54 [z]And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:(AC)
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”(AD)
56 The sting of death is sin,[aa] and the power of sin is the law.(AE) 57 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.(AF)
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.