M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 23
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and here prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2 So Balak did as Balaam had ordered, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I go over there. Perhaps the Lord will meet me, and then I will tell you whatever he lets me see.” And so he went out on the barren height. 4 Then God met Balaam, and Balak said to him: “I have erected the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 The Lord put an utterance in Balaam’s mouth, and said: Go back to Balak, and speak accordingly. 6 So he went back to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam recited his poem:
From Aram[a] Balak has led me here,
Moab’s king, from the mountains of Qedem:(A)
“Come, curse for me Jacob,
come, denounce Israel.”
8 How can I lay a curse on the one whom God has not cursed?
How denounce the one whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the heights I behold him.
Here is a people that lives apart[b]
and does not reckon itself among the nations.
10 Who has ever counted the dust of Jacob,
who numbered Israel’s dust-cloud?[c]
May I die the death of the just,
may my end be like theirs!
11 “What have you done to me?” cried Balak to Balaam. “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I brought you here; but instead, you have blessed them!” 12 Balaam replied, “Is it not what the Lord puts in my mouth that I take care to repeat?”
The Second Oracle. 13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place[d] from which you can see them; but you will see only some, not all of them, and from there lay a curse on them for me.” 14 So he brought him to a lookout post on the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each of them. 15 Balaam then said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I seek a meeting over there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and, having put an utterance in his mouth, said to him: Return to Balak, and speak accordingly. 17 So he went to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with the princes of Moab. When Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” 18 Balaam recited his poem:
Rise, Balak, and listen;
give ear to my testimony, son of Zippor!
19 God is not a human being who speaks falsely,
nor a mortal, who feels regret.
Is God one to speak and not act,
to decree and not bring it to pass?
20 I was summoned to bless;
I will bless; I cannot revoke it!
21 Misfortune I do not see in Jacob,
nor do I see misery[e] in Israel.
The Lord, their God, is with them;
among them is the war-cry of their King.
22 They have the like of a wild ox’s horns:[f]
God who brought them out of Egypt.(B)
23 No, there is no augury against Jacob,
nor divination against Israel.
Now it is said of Jacob,
of Israel, “Look what God has done!”
24 Here is a people that rises up like a lioness,
and gets up like a lion;
It does not rest till it has devoured its prey
and has drunk the blood of the slain.(C)
25 “Neither lay a curse on them nor bless them,” said Balak to Balaam. 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Everything the Lord tells me I must do’?”
The Third Oracle. 27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me bring you to another place; perhaps God will approve of your laying a curse on them for me from there.” 28 So he took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks Jeshimon. 29 Balaam then said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here; and here prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had ordered, offering a bull and a ram on each altar.
Psalm 64[a]
Treacherous Conspirators Punished by God
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 O God, hear my anguished voice;
from a dreadful foe protect my life.
3 Hide me from the malicious crowd,
the mob of evildoers.
4 They sharpen their tongues like swords,
bend their bows of poison words.(A)
5 They shoot at the innocent from ambush,
they shoot him in a moment and do not fear.
6 They resolve on their wicked plan;
they conspire to set snares;
they say: “Who will see us?”
7 They devise wicked schemes,
conceal the schemes they devise;
the designs of their hearts are hidden.(B)
II
8 God shoots an arrow at them;
in a moment they are struck down.(C)
9 They are brought down by their own tongues;
all who see them flee.(D)
10 Every person fears and proclaims God’s actions,
they ponder his deeds.
11 The righteous rejoices and takes refuge in the Lord;
all the upright give praise.(E)
Psalm 65[b]
Thanksgiving for God’s Blessings
1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.
I
2 To you we owe our hymn of praise,
O God on Zion;
To you our vows[c] must be fulfilled,
3 [d]you who hear our prayers.
To you all flesh must come(F)
4 with its burden of wicked deeds.
We are overcome by our sins;
only you can pardon them.(G)
5 Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring
to dwell in your courts.
May we be filled with the good things of your house,
your holy temple!
II
6 You answer us with awesome deeds[e] of justice,
O God our savior,
The hope of all the ends of the earth
and of those far off across the sea.(H)
7 You are robed in power,
you set up the mountains by your might.
8 You still the roaring of the seas,(I)
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.(J)
9 Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels;
the places of morning and evening you make resound with joy.
10 [f]You visit the earth and water it,
make it abundantly fertile.(K)
God’s stream[g] is filled with water;
you supply their grain.
Thus do you prepare it:
11 you drench its plowed furrows,
and level its ridges.
With showers you keep it soft,
blessing its young sprouts.
12 You adorn the year with your bounty;
your paths[h] drip with fruitful rain.
13 The meadows of the wilderness also drip;
the hills are robed with joy.
14 The pastures are clothed with flocks,
the valleys blanketed with grain;
they cheer and sing for joy.(L)
C. Oracles Against the Foreign Nations[a]
Chapter 13
Babylon.[b] 1 An oracle[c] concerning Babylon; a vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz.
2 Upon the bare mountains set up a signal;
cry out to them,[d]
Beckon for them to enter
the gates of the nobles.(A)
3 I have commanded my consecrated ones,[e]
I have summoned my warriors,
eager and bold to carry out my anger.(B)
4 Listen! the rumble on the mountains:
that of an immense throng!
Listen! the noise of kingdoms, nations assembled!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
an army for battle.(C)
5 They come from a far-off country,
and from the end of the heavens,
The Lord and the instruments of his wrath,
to destroy all the land.
6 Howl, for the day of the Lord[f] is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it comes.(D)
7 Therefore all hands fall helpless,(E)
every human heart melts,
8 and they are terrified,
Pangs and sorrows take hold of them,
like a woman in labor they writhe;
They look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.(F)
9 Indeed, the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and burning anger;
To lay waste the land
and destroy the sinners within it!(G)
10 The stars of the heavens and their constellations
will send forth no light;
The sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not give its light.(H)
11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their guilt.
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
the insolence of tyrants I will humble.(I)
12 I will make mortals more rare than pure gold,
human beings, than the gold of Ophir.[g](J)
13 For this I will make the heavens tremble
and the earth shall be shaken from its place,
At the wrath of the Lord of hosts
on the day of his burning anger.(K)
14 Like a hunted gazelle,
or a flock that no one gathers,
They shall turn each to their own people
and flee each to their own land.(L)
15 Everyone who is taken shall be run through;
and everyone who is caught shall fall by the sword.
16 Their infants shall be dashed to pieces in their sight;
their houses shall be plundered
and their wives ravished.(M)
17 I am stirring up against them the Medes,
who think nothing of silver
and take no delight in gold.(N)
18 With their bows they shall shatter the young men,
And the fruit of the womb they shall not spare,
nor shall their eye take pity on children.
19 And Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,
the glory and pride of the Chaldeans,
Shall become like Sodom and Gomorrah,
overthrown by God.(O)
20 It shall never be inhabited,
nor dwelt in, from age to age;
Arabians shall not pitch their tents there,
nor shepherds rest their flocks there.(P)
21 But desert demons shall rest there
and owls shall fill the houses;
There ostriches shall dwell,
and satyrs[h] shall dance.(Q)
22 Wild dogs shall dwell in its castles,
and jackals in its luxurious palaces.
Its time is near at hand
and its days shall not be prolonged.(R)
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting.[a] 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen sojourners of the dispersion[b] in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,(A) 2 in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be yours in abundance.(B)
II. The Gift and Call of God in Baptism
Blessing. 3 [c]Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,(C) 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you(D) 5 who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time. 6 [d]In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials,(E) 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.(F) 8 Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,(G) 9 as you attain the goal of [your] faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 [e]Concerning this salvation, prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and investigated it, 11 investigating the time and circumstances that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them.(H) 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you with regard to the things that have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you [through] the holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels longed to look.
Obedience. 13 [f]Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,[g] live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance[h] 15 but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,(I) 16 for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.”(J)
Reverence. 17 Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,(K) 18 realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold(L) 19 but with the precious blood of Christ(M) as of a spotless unblemished lamb.[i] 20 He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, 21 who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Mutual Love.[j] 22 Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a [pure] heart.(N) 23 You have been born anew,(O) not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God,[k] 24 for:
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;(P)
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
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.