M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
You Are God’s People
7 The Lord your God will bring you into the land that you are entering and that you will ·have as your own [possess]. As you go in, he will ·force out [clear away/out] these nations: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—seven nations that are stronger than you. 2 The Lord your God will hand these nations over to you, and when you ·defeat [L strike] them, you must ·destroy them completely [devote them to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17]. Do not ·make [L cut] a ·peace treaty [covenant] with them or show them any mercy. 3 Do not marry any of them, or let your daughters marry their sons, or let your sons marry their daughters. 4 If you do, those people will turn your children away from me, to begin serving other gods. Then the Lord will be very angry with you, and he will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you must do to those people: Tear down their altars, smash their holy stone pillars, cut down their ·Asherah idols [L Asherah; 7:5; Judg. 3:7], and burn their idols in the fire. 6 You are holy people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth ·to be his very own [as his treasured/special possession; Ex. 19:5].
7 The Lord did not ·care [have affection] for you and choose you because there were many of you—you are the smallest nation of all. 8 But the Lord chose you because he loved you, and he kept his promise to your ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. So he brought you out of Egypt by his ·great power [L strong hand] and ·freed [ransomed; redeemed] you from the ·land of slavery [L house of bondage], from the ·power [L hand] of the king of Egypt. 9 So know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He will ·keep [guard] his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] of love for a thousand ·lifetimes for people [generations] who love him and obey his commands. 10 But he will pay back those people who hate him. He will destroy them, and he will not be slow to pay back those who hate him. 11 So be careful to obey the commands, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and laws I give you today.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and obey them carefully, the Lord your God will keep his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and show his ·love [loyalty] to you, as he promised your ·ancestors [fathers]. 13 He will love and bless you. He will ·make the number of your people grow; he will bless you with children [L multiply the fruit of your womb]. ·He will bless your fields with good crops and will give you grain, new wine, and oil [L …and the fruit of your land, your grain, new wine, and oil]. ·He will bless your herds with calves and your flocks with lambs [L …the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flocks] in the land he promised your ·ancestors [fathers] he would give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people [Gen. 12:1–3]. ·Every husband and wife will have children, and all your cattle will have calves [L There will be no barrenness or sterility among you or your livestock]. 15 The Lord will take away all disease from you; ·you will not have [L he will not inflict you with] the terrible diseases that were in Egypt, but he will give them to all the people who hate you. 16 You must ·destroy [devour] all the people the Lord your God hands over to you. Do not ·feel sorry for [pity] them, and do not ·worship [serve] their gods, or they will trap you.
17 You might say ·to yourselves [L in your hearts], “Because these nations are stronger than we are, ·we can’t [L how can we…?] ·force them out [dispossess them].” 18 But don’t be afraid of them. Remember what the Lord your God did to all of Egypt and ·its king [L Pharaoh]. 19 ·You [L Your eyes] saw for yourselves the troubles, signs, and miracles he did, how the Lord’s ·great power [L strong hand] and ·strength [L outstretched arm] brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will do the same thing to all the nations you now fear. 20 The Lord your God will also send ·terror [or pestilence; or hornets] among them so that even those who are alive and hiding from you will die. 21 Don’t ·be afraid of [dread] them, because the Lord your God is with you; he is a great God and ·people are afraid of him [awesome]. 22 When the Lord your God ·forces those nations out [clears away/out those nations] of the land, he will do it little by little ahead of you. You won’t be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will grow too many in number [C because of the reduced population]. 23 But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you, ·confusing [panicking] them until they are destroyed. 24 The Lord will ·help you defeat their kings [L give their kings into your hand], and ·the world will forget who they were [L you will destroy their name from under the heavens]. No one will be able to ·stop you [stand against you]; you will destroy them all. 25 Burn up their idols in the fire. Do not ·wish for [covet] the silver and gold they have, and don’t take it for yourselves, or you will be trapped by it. The Lord your God ·hates [despises] it. 26 Do not bring one of those ·hateful [despised] things into your house, or you will be ·completely destroyed [devoted to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17] along with it. ·Hate [Detest] and reject those things; they must be ·completely destroyed [devoted to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17].
Book 4: Psalms 90–106
God Is Eternal, and We Are Not
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our ·home [dwelling place; Deut. 33:27]
·since the beginning [L from all generations].
2 Before the mountains were born
and before you ·created [brought forth] the earth and the world,
you are God [Prov. 8:22–31].
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into ·dust [L what is crushed; Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Eccl. 12:7].
You say, “·Go back into dust [L Return; Turn back], human beings.”
4 ·To you [L In your eyes], a thousand years
is like the passing of a day [2 Pet. 3:8],
or ·like a few hours [L a watch; C the night was divided into four watches of three hours each] in the night.
5 While people sleep, you ·take [put an end to] their lives.
They are like grass that ·grows up [is new] in the morning.
6 In the morning they ·are fresh and new [blossom and are renewed],
but by evening they ·dry up [fade] and ·die [wither].
7 We are ·destroyed [annihilated] by your anger;
we are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have ·put [set] ·the evil we have done [our guilt/iniquity] right in front of you;
·you clearly see our secret sins [L our hidden/secret sins in the light of your face].
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a ·moan [sigh].
10 ·Our lifetime is [L The days of our years are] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
But ·the years are full of [L their pride are] ·hard work [toil] and ·pain [trouble; Eccl. 1:2].
They pass quickly, and then we ·are gone [L fly away].
11 Who knows the ·full power [strength] of your anger?
Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.
12 ·Teach us [Make us know] ·how short our lives really are [L to count our days]
so that we ·may be wise [L gain a wise heart].
13 Lord, how long before you ·return [turn]
and show ·kindness [compassion] to your servants?
14 ·Fill [Satisfy] us with your ·love [loyalty] every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our ·lives [L days].
15 We have seen years of ·trouble [harm; hurt].
Now give us as ·much [L many days of] joy as you gave us ·sorrow [affliction].
16 Show your servants ·the wonderful things you do [your miracles];
·show your greatness [your splendor/beauty] to their children.
17 Lord our God, ·treat us well [favor us].
·Give us success in what we do [L Establish the work of our hands for us];
·yes, give us success in what we do [L establish the work of our hands].
God Will Comfort His People
35 The ·desert [wilderness] and dry land will ·become happy [rejoice];
the ·desert [arid plain; or Arabah] will be glad and will ·produce flowers [blossom; bloom].
Like a ·flower [lily; crocus], 2 it will have many blooms.
It will ·show its happiness [joyfully rejoice], as if it were ·shouting [or singing] with joy.
It will be ·beautiful like the forest [L given the glory] of Lebanon,
·as beautiful as Mount Carmel and the Plain of Sharon [L the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; 33:9].
·Everyone [L They] will see the glory of the Lord [C his manifest presence]
and the splendor of our God.
3 Make the weak hands strong
and the weak knees steady.
4 Say to people who are ·frightened [anxious; L hasty of heart],
“Be strong. Don’t be afraid.
Look, your God will come,
·and he will punish your enemies [L …with vengeance].
·He will make them pay for the wrongs they did […with the retribution of God],
but he will save you.”
5 Then the blind ·people [L eyes] will see again,
and the ·deaf [L deaf ears] will hear [Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22].
6 ·Crippled people [Then the lame] will ·jump [leap] like deer,
and ·those who can’t talk now [L the tongue of the mute] will shout with joy.
Water will ·flow [burst forth] in the ·desert [wilderness],
and streams will flow in the ·dry land [arid plain; or Arabah].
7 The ·burning desert [scorched ground; parched earth] will have pools of water,
and the ·dry [parched; thirsty] ground will have springs.
Where ·wild dogs [jackals] once ·lived [lived and laid down],
grass and ·water plants [reeds and rushes/papyrus] will grow.
8 A road will be there;
this highway will be called “The ·Road to Being Holy [L Way/Highway of Holiness].”
·Evil people [The unclean; C ritually] will not be allowed to walk on that road;
only good people [C those who walk in the Way of Holiness] will walk on it.
No fools [C the morally corrupt who disregard God] will go on it.
9 No lions will be there,
nor will ·dangerous animals [ravenous/violent beasts] be on that road.
They will not be found there.
That road will be for the ·people God saves [redeemed];
10 the people the Lord has ·freed [ransomed] will return there.
They will enter ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] with ·joy [or singing; shouting],
and ·their happiness will last forever [L eternal joy will be upon their head; C as a crown].
Their gladness and joy will ·fill them completely [overtake/come upon them],
and sorrow and ·sadness [sighing] will ·go far [flee] away.
5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides and was ·kept closed [L sealed] with seven seals [C a wax stamp that sealed a document shut]. 2 And I saw a ·powerful [mighty] angel ·calling [proclaiming] in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll or look inside it. 4 I cried ·bitterly [L much] because there was no one who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not cry! [L Look; T Behold] The Lion from the tribe of Judah [C a messianic title; Gen. 49:9–10], ·David’s descendant [L the root of David; C a messianic title applied to Christ; Is. 11:10], has ·won the victory [overcome; conquered] so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb [C Jesus] standing ·in the center of the throne and in the middle of the four living creatures and the elders [or between the throne and the living creatures and among the elders]. The Lamb looked as if he had been ·killed [slaughtered; slain]. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God [C either angels or the “sevenfold Spirit”; see 1:4] that were sent into all the world. 7 The Lamb came and ·took [received] the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. 8 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [4:4] ·bowed down [fell] before the Lamb. Each one of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s holy people [Ps. 141:2]. 9 And they all sang a new song [Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 98:1] to the Lamb:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were ·killed [slaughtered; slain],
and with ·the blood of your death [L your blood] you ·bought [ransomed; purchased; redeemed] people for God
from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
10 You made them to be a kingdom ·of priests [or and priests; Ex. 19:6] for our God,
and they will ·rule [reign; C other manuscripts have “they reign” (present tense)] on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne, and the four living creatures, and the elders. There were ·thousands and thousands [L myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands; C a myriad can mean either ten thousand or many thousands; here means “countless”] of angels, 12 saying in a loud voice:
“The Lamb who was ·killed [slaughtered; slain] is worthy
to receive power, wealth, wisdom, and strength,
honor, glory, and ·praise [or blessing]!”
13 Then I heard all creatures in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea saying:
“To the One who sits on the throne
and to the Lamb
be ·praise [or blessing] and honor and glory and power
forever and ever.”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”],” and the elders ·bowed down [fell] and worshiped.
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