M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
34 The Lord told Moses, “Prepare two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write upon them the same commands that were on the tablets you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning to come up into Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come with you and no one must be anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds feed close to the mountain.”
4 So Moses took two tablets of stone like the first ones, and was up early and climbed Mount Sinai, as the Lord had told him to, taking the two stone tablets in his hands.
5-6 Then the Lord descended in the form of a pillar of cloud and stood there with him, and passed in front of him and announced the meaning of his name.[a] “I am Jehovah, the merciful and gracious God,” he said, “slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth. 7 I, Jehovah, show this steadfast love to many thousands by forgiving their sins;[b] or else I refuse to clear the guilty, and require that a father’s sins be punished in the sons and grandsons, and even later generations.”
8 Moses fell down before the Lord and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If it is true that I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, then please go with us to the Promised Land; yes, it is an unruly, stubborn people, but pardon our iniquity and our sins, and accept us as your own.”
10 The Lord replied, “All right, this is the contract I am going to make with you. I will do miracles such as have never been done before anywhere in all the earth, and all the people of Israel shall see the power of the Lord—the terrible power I will display through you. 11 Your part of the agreement is to obey all of my commandments; then I will drive out from before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
12 “Be very, very careful never to compromise with the people there in the land where you are going, for if you do, you will soon be following their evil ways. 13 Instead, you must break down their heathen altars, smash the obelisks they worship, and cut down their shameful idols.[c] 14 For you must worship no other gods, but only Jehovah, for he is a God who claims absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion.
15 “No, do not make a peace treaty of any kind with the people living in the land, for they are spiritual prostitutes, committing adultery against me by sacrificing to their gods.[d] If you become friendly with them and one of them invites you to go with him and worship his idol, you are apt to do it. 16 And you would accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for your sons—and then your sons would commit adultery against me by worshiping their wives’ gods. 17 You must have nothing to do with idols.
18 “Be sure to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, just as I instructed you, at the dates appointed each year in March; that was the month you left Egypt.
19 “Every firstborn male[e] is mine—cattle, sheep, and goats. 20 The firstborn colt of a donkey may be redeemed by giving a lamb in its place. If you decide not to redeem it, then its neck must be broken. But your sons must all be redeemed. And no one shall appear before me without a gift.
21 “Even during plowing and harvest times, work only six days, and rest on the seventh.
22 “And you must remember to celebrate these three annual religious festivals: the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of the First Wheat, and the Harvest Festival. 23 On each of these three occasions all the men and boys of Israel shall appear before the Lord. 24 No one will attack and conquer your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God those three times each year. For I will drive out the nations from before you and enlarge your boundaries.
25 “You must not use leavened bread with your sacrifices to me, and none of the meat of the Passover lamb may be kept over until the following morning. 26 And you must bring the best of the first of each year’s crop to the Tabernacle of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these laws[f] that I have given you, for they represent the terms of my covenant with you and with Israel.”
28 Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and in all that time he neither ate nor drank. At that time God[g] wrote out the Covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
29 Moses didn’t realize as he came back down the mountain with the tablets that his face glowed from being in the presence of God. 30 Because of this radiance upon his face, Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near him.
31 But Moses called them over to him, and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation came and talked with him. 32 Afterwards, all the people came to him, and he gave them the commandments the Lord had given him upon the mountain. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face;[h] 34 but whenever he went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil until he came out again; then he would pass on to the people whatever instructions God had given him, 35 and the people would see his face aglow. Afterwards he would put the veil on again until he returned to speak with God.
13 1-3 Jesus knew on the evening of Passover Day that it would be his last night on earth before returning to his Father. During supper the devil had already suggested to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that this was the night to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. And how he loved his disciples! 4 So he got up from the supper table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his loins,[a] 5 poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.
6 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Master, you shouldn’t be washing our feet like this!”
7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”
8 “No,” Peter protested, “you shall never wash my feet!”
“But if I don’t, you can’t be my partner,” Jesus replied.
9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well—not just my feet!”
10 Jesus replied, “One who has bathed all over needs only to have his feet washed to be entirely clean. Now you are clean—but that isn’t true of everyone here.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After washing their feet he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord,’ and you do well to say it, for it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than his master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends him. 17 You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose. The Scripture declares, ‘One who eats supper with me will betray me,’ and this will soon come true. 19 I tell you this now so that when it happens, you will believe on me.
20 “Truly, anyone welcoming my messenger is welcoming me. And to welcome me is to welcome the Father who sent me.”
21 Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit and exclaimed, “Yes, it is true—one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 Since I[b] was sitting next to Jesus at the table, being his closest friend, 24 Simon Peter motioned to me to ask him who it was who would do this terrible deed.
25 So I turned and[c] asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 He told me, “It is the one I honor by giving the bread dipped in the sauce.”[d]
And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.
27 As soon as Judas had eaten it, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry—do it now.”
28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 Judas left at once, going out into the night.
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “My time has come; the glory of God will soon surround me—and God shall receive great praise because of all that happens to me. 32 And God shall give me his own glory, and this so very soon. 33 Dear, dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me—just as I told the Jewish leaders.
34 “And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. 35 Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter said, “Master, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now; but you will follow me later.”
37 “But why can’t I come now?” he asked, “for I am ready to die for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? No—three times before the cock crows tomorrow morning, you will deny that you even know me!
10 Happy is the man with a level-headed son; sad the mother of a rebel.
2 Ill-gotten gain brings no lasting happiness; right living does.
3 The Lord will not let a good man starve to death, nor will he let the wicked man’s riches continue forever.
4 Lazy men are soon poor; hard workers get rich.
5 A wise youth makes hay while the sun shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.
6 The good man is covered with blessings from head to foot, but an evil man inwardly curses his luck.[a]
7 We all have happy memories of good men gone to their reward, but the names of wicked men stink after them.
8 The wise man is glad to be instructed, but a self-sufficient fool falls flat on his face.
9 A good man has firm footing, but a crook will slip and fall.
10 Winking at sin leads to sorrow; bold reproof leads to peace.
11 There is living truth in what a good man says, but the mouth of the evil man is filled with curses.
12 Hatred stirs old quarrels, but love overlooks insults.
13 Men with common sense are admired[b] as counselors; those without it are beaten as servants.
14 A wise man holds his tongue. Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble.
15 The rich man’s wealth is his only strength. The poor man’s poverty is his only[c] curse.
16 The good man’s earnings advance the cause of righteousness. The evil man squanders his on sin.
17 Anyone willing to be corrected is on the pathway to life. Anyone refusing has lost his chance.
18 To hide hatred is to be a liar; to slander is to be a fool.
19 Don’t talk so much. You keep putting your foot in your mouth. Be sensible and turn off the flow!
20 When a good man speaks, he is worth listening to, but the words of fools are a dime a dozen.
21 A godly man gives good advice, but a rebel is destroyed by lack of common sense.
22 The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth. All our work adds nothing to it![d]
23 A fool’s fun is being bad; a wise man’s fun is being wise!
24 The wicked man’s fears will all come true and so will the good man’s hopes.
25 Disaster strikes like a cyclone and the wicked are whirled away. But the good man has a strong anchor.
26 A lazy fellow is a pain to his employers—like smoke in their eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge.
27 Reverence for God adds hours to each day;[e] so how can the wicked expect a long, good life?
28 The hope of good men is eternal happiness; the hopes of evil men are all in vain.
29 God protects the upright but destroys the wicked.
30 The good shall never lose God’s blessings, but the wicked shall lose everything.
31 The good man gives wise advice, but the liar’s counsel is shunned.
32 The upright speak what is helpful; the wicked speak rebellion.
3 I, Paul, the servant of Christ, am here in jail because of you—for preaching that you Gentiles are a part of God’s house. 2-3 No doubt you already know that God has given me this special work of showing God’s favor to you Gentiles, as I briefly mentioned before in one of my letters. God himself showed me this secret plan of his, that the Gentiles, too, are included in his kindness. 4 I say this to explain to you how I know about these things. 5 In olden times God did not share this plan with his people, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his apostles and prophets.
6 And this is the secret: that the Gentiles will have their full share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s sons; both are invited to belong to his Church, and all of God’s promises of mighty blessings through Christ apply to them both when they accept the Good News about Christ and what he has done for them. 7 God has given me the wonderful privilege of telling everyone about this plan of his; and he has given me his power and special ability to do it well.
8 Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the most useless Christian there is, yet I was the one chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles the Glad News of the endless treasures available to them in Christ; 9 and to explain to everyone that God is the Savior of the Gentiles too, just as he who made all things had secretly planned from the very beginning.
10 And his reason? To show to all the rulers in heaven how perfectly wise he is when all of his family—Jews and Gentiles alike—are seen to be joined together in his Church 11 in just the way he had always planned it through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Now we can come fearlessly right into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome when we come with Christ and trust in him.
13 So please don’t lose heart at what they are doing to me here. It is for you I am suffering, and you should feel honored and encouraged.
14-15 When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God—some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth— 16 that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; 18-19 and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.
20 Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. 21 May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the Church through Jesus Christ.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.