M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
False Prophets
13 Prophets or ·those who tell the future with dreams [L dreamers of dreams] might come to you and ·say they will show [L give] you a sign or a ·miracle [wonder]. 2 The sign or ·miracle [wonder] might even happen, and then they might say, “Let’s serve other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let’s ·worship [L go after] them.” 3 But you must not listen to those prophets or dreamers. The Lord your God is testing you, to ·find out [know] if you love him with ·your whole being [L all your heart/mind and all your soul]. 4 Serve only the Lord your God. ·Respect [Fear] him, keep his commands, and ·obey him [L listen to his voice]. Serve him and ·be loyal [cling] to him. 5 The prophets or dreamers must be killed, because they said you should turn against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and ·saved [ransomed; redeemed] you from the ·land where you were slaves [L house of bondage]. They tried to turn you from ·doing what [L the way] the Lord your God commanded you to ·do [go]. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you.
6 Someone might try to ·lead you to serve other gods [L secretly entice you]—it might be your brother, your son or daughter, the wife you ·love [embrace], or a ·close [intimate] friend. The person might say, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” (These are gods that neither you nor your ·ancestors [fathers] have known, 7 gods of the people who live around you, either nearby or far away, from one end of the ·land [or earth] to the other.) 8 Do not ·give in to [agree with; consent to] such people. Do not listen or ·feel sorry for [L let your eyes look compassionately on] them, and do not ·let them go free [pity them] or ·protect [shield] them. 9 You must ·put them to death [kill them]. ·You must be the first one to start [L Your own hand will be the first on them] to kill them, and then ·everyone else must join in [L the hand of all the people]. 10 You must ·throw stones at them until they die [stone them to death], because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ·where you were slaves [L the house of bondage]. 11 Then everyone in Israel will hear about this and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.
Cities to Destroy
12 The Lord your God is giving you cities in which to live, and you might hear something about one of them. Someone might say 13 that ·evil people [worthless people; scoundrels] have moved in among you. And they might lead the people of that city away from God, saying, “Let’s go and ·worship [L serve] other gods.” (These are gods you have not known.) 14 Then you must ask about it, ·looking into [investigating] the matter and checking carefully whether it is true. If it is proved that a ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] thing has happened among you, 15 you must ·kill [L strike] with a sword everyone who lives in that city. ·Destroy the city completely and kill everyone in it [Devote that city to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], as well as the animals, with a sword. 16 Gather up ·everything those people owned [L all its plunder], and put it in the middle of the city square. Then completely burn the city and ·everything they owned [L all its plunder] as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord your God. That city should never be rebuilt; let it be ·ruined [a ruin heap] forever. 17 Don’t ·keep for yourselves [L grasp in your hand] any of the ·things found in that city [L devoted things; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], so the Lord will not be angry anymore. He will give you ·mercy and feel sorry for you, and he [L …mercy/compassion, and his mercy/compassion] will make your nation grow larger, as he ·promised [swore] to your ·ancestors [fathers]. 18 You will have ·obeyed [L listened to the voice of] the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am ·giving [commanding] to you today, and you will be doing what ·the Lord says is right [L is right/virtuous in the eyes of the Lord].
God’s Special People
14 You are the ·children [sons] of the Lord your God. When someone dies, do not ·cut [lacerate; gash] yourselves or ·shave your heads [L set baldness between your eyes; C to show sadness; mourning customs of the pagan Canaanites]. 2 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 special treasure; Ex. 19:5–6].
3 Do not eat anything ·the Lord hates [L detestable; abominable; cf. Lev. 11]. 4 These are the animals you may eat: oxen, sheep, goats, 5 deer, gazelle, roe deer, wild goats, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof and chews the cud [C considered a normal land animal], 7 but you may not eat camels, rabbits, or rock badgers. These animals chew the cud, but they do not have split hoofs, so they are unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you. 8 Pigs are also unclean for you; they have split hoofs, but they do not chew the cud. Do not eat their meat or touch their dead bodies.
9 There are many things that live in the water. You may eat anything that has fins and scales [C considered a normal aquatic creature], 10 but do not eat anything that does not have fins and scales. It is unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you.
11 You may eat any clean [C in a ritual sense] bird. 12 But do not eat these birds: eagles, vultures, black vultures, 13 red kites, falcons, any kind of kite, 14 any kind of raven, 15 horned owls, screech owls, sea gulls, any kind of hawk, 16 little owls, great owls, white owls, 17 desert owls, ospreys, cormorants, 18 storks, any kind of heron, the hoopoes, or bats [C the exact identification of many of these birds is disputed, but they all eat prey or dead matter and/or live in desolate places].
19 All insects with wings are unclean [C in a ritual sense] for you; do not eat them. 20 Other things with wings are clean, and you may eat them.
21 Do not eat anything you find that is already dead. You may give it to a ·foreigner living in your town [resident alien living within your gates], and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are holy people, who belong to the Lord your God.
Do not cook a baby goat in its mother’s milk [C probably a pagan ritual; Ex. 23:19].
Giving a Tithe
22 Be sure to ·save [set aside/apart] ·one-tenth [T a tithe] of all ·your crops [L the produce/yield of your seed of the field] each year. 23 Eat it in the presence of the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to ·be worshiped [L cause his name to dwell; C Zion; 12:4–7]. Eat the ·tenth [tithe] of your grain, new wine, and oil, and eat the animals born first to your herds and flocks. Do this so that you will learn to ·respect [fear] the Lord your God ·always [L every day]. 24 But if the place the Lord will choose to ·be worshiped [L set his name there] is too far away and he has blessed you so much you cannot carry a ·tenth [T tithe], 25 exchange your ·one-tenth [T tithe] for silver. Then ·take [L grasp in your hand] the silver with you to the place the Lord your God shall choose. 26 ·Use [Spend; L Give] the silver to buy anything you wish—cattle, sheep, wine, ·beer [T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain], or anything you wish. Then you and your ·family [L house] will eat and celebrate there before the Lord your God. 27 Do not ·forget [L abandon; forsake] the Levites in your ·town [L gates], because they have no land of their own among you.
28 At the end of every third year, everyone should bring ·one-tenth [T a tithe] of that year’s crop and store it in your ·towns [L gates]. 29 This is for the Levites so they may eat and be full. (They have no ·land of their own [L allotment or inheritance] among you.) It is also for ·strangers [foreigners; resident aliens], orphans, and widows who live in your ·towns [L gates] so that all of them may eat and be full. Then the Lord your God will bless you and all the work ·you do [L of your hands that you do].
The Lord, the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; Rev. 19:6].
Let the peoples ·shake [tremble; C with fear].
He sits between the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C above the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:17–22; 1 Kin. 8:7].
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] is great;
he is ·supreme [exalted] over all the peoples.
3 Let them ·praise [thank] your name;
it is great, holy and ·to be feared [awesome].
4 The King is ·powerful [strong] and loves justice.
Lord, you ·made [established] things fair;
you have done what is ·fair [righteous] and ·right [just]
for the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
5 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at the footstool of his feet [C the Ark located in the Temple].
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel was among ·his worshipers [L those who called on his name].
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them [Ex. 32:11–13, 30–32; Num. 12:13; 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5, 8–9; 12:16–18; Jer. 15:1].
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud [Ex. 13:21].
They ·kept [observed; guarded] the ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [decrees; testimonies] he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God,
but you ·punished them [are an avenger] for their wrongs [Deut. 32:35; Is. 34:8; Ezek. 24:8; 25:14–17; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19; 1 Thess. 4:6].
9 ·Praise [Exalt] the Lord our God,
and ·worship [bow down] at his holy mountain,
because the Lord our God is holy.
A Call to Praise the Lord
A psalm of thanks.
100 Shout to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with joy;
come before him with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
He made us [Gen. 1–2], and ·we belong to him [or not ourselves];
we are his people, the sheep ·he tends [L of his pasture; 74:1; 79:13; John 10:11–14].
4 Come into his ·city [L gates] with songs of thanksgiving
and into his courtyards with songs of praise.
·Thank [Praise] him and ·praise [bless] his name.
5 The Lord is good. His ·love [loyalty] is forever,
and his ·loyalty [faithfulness] ·goes on and on [L for all generations].
A Promise to Rule Well
A psalm of David.
101 I will sing of your ·love [loyalty] and ·fairness [justice; judgment];
Lord, I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to you.
2 I will ·be careful to live [lead; or study] ·an innocent life [the way that is blameless].
When will ·you [or it; C the “way that is blameless”] come to me?
I will ·live [go; walk] ·an innocent life [L in the blamelessness of my heart] in my house.
3 I will not ·look at [L set before my eyes] anything ·wicked [vile].
I hate those who ·turn against you [are crooked/transgressors];
they will not ·be found near [cling to] me.
4 Let those who ·want to do wrong [L have a perverse heart] stay away from me;
I ·will have nothing to do with [L do not know] evil.
5 If anyone secretly ·says things against [slanders] his neighbor,
I will ·stop [destroy; silence] him.
I will not allow people
to ·be proud [L have broad hearts] and ·look down on others [L haughty eyes; 131:1].
6 ·I will look for trustworthy people [L My eyes are on the faithful of the land]
so ·I can live with them [L they may dwell with me].
Only those who ·live innocent lives [L walk in the way of blamelessness]
will ·be my servants [L serve me].
7 No one who ·is dishonest [deceives] will live in my house;
no ·liars [L one who speaks falsehoods] will ·stay around me [L be established before my eyes].
8 Every morning I will ·destroy [silence] all the wicked in the land.
I will ·rid [cut off] the Lord’s city [C Jerusalem; 46:4] of people who do evil.
The Lord Will Help Israel
41 The Lord says, “·Faraway countries [or Coastlands; or Islands], listen to me.
Let the nations ·become strong [renew their strength].
·Come to me [Approach] and speak;
·we will [or let us] meet together ·to decide who is right [for judgment/or debate].
2 “Who ·caused the one to come [stirs up one] from the east [C the Persian king Cyrus the Great; 44:28—45:6; 46:11; 48:14–16]?
Who ·gives him victories everywhere he goes [or calls him in righteousness to his service/L foot]?
He [C the Lord] gives nations over to him
and ·defeats [subdues] kings.
He uses his sword, and kings become like dust.
He uses his bow, and they are blown away like ·chaff [straw].
3 He chases them and ·is never hurt [L passes by in peace],
·going places he has never been before [L by a path his feet have not gone].
4 Who caused this to happen?
·Who has controlled history [L …calling generations] since the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one. ·I was here at the beginning,
and I will be here when all things are finished [or…the First and the Last; or…with them at the first and the last; L first and with them at the last].”
5 All you ·faraway places [or islands; or coastlands], look and be afraid;
all you ·places far away on [ends of] the earth, shake with fear.
Come close and ·listen to [approach] me.
6 ·The workers help each other [A man helps his companion/neighbor]
and say to ·each other [his brother], “Be strong!”
7 The ·craftsman [engraver; metal worker] encourages the goldsmith,
and the workman who smooths the metal with a hammer encourages the one who ·shapes the metal [strikes the anvil].
He says, “This ·metal work [welding; soldering] is ·good [sound; well crafted].”
He nails the statue to a base so it can’t fall over [C the nations find false hope and baseless courage in their idols; vv. 28–29].
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8 ·The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants [L “You Israel, my servant].
·People of Jacob, I chose you [L Jacob, whom I have chosen; 44:1].
You are ·from the family [descendants; offspring; seed] of my friend Abraham [Gen. 12:1–3].
9 I took you from ·places far away on [L the ends of] the earth
and called you from ·a faraway country [its farthest parts].
I said, ‘You are my ·servants [L servant].’
I have chosen you and have not ·turned against [rejected; thrown away] you.
10 So don’t ·worry [fear], because I am with you.
Don’t be ·afraid [dismayed], because I am your God.
I will ·make you strong [strengthen you] and will help you;
I will ·support [uphold] you with my ·right hand that saves you [or righteous right hand; C a symbol of power to save and protect; Ex. 15:6; Ps. 63:8].
11 “[L Look; T Behold] All those people who ·are angry with [seethe/rage against] you
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who ·are [strive] against you
will ·disappear [become nothing] and ·be lost [perish].
12 You will look for your enemies,
but you will not find them.
Those who ·fought [wage war] against you
will ·vanish completely [be as nothing].
13 [L For; Because] I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand,
and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I will help you.’
14 Do not be afraid ·even though you are weak as a worm [L you worm, Jacob],
you ·few people of Israel who are left [or people of Israel; or maggot, Israel].
I myself will help you,” says the Lord.
“·The one who saves you [Your redeemer/protector] is the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
15 Look, I ·have made [or will make] you like a new threshing ·board [sledge]
with many sharp teeth.
So you will ·walk on [thresh the] mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like ·chaff [straw].
16 You will ·throw them into the air [winnow them], and the wind will carry them away;
a ·windstorm [gale; tempest] will scatter them.
Then you will ·be happy [rejoice] in the Lord;
you will ·be proud of [boast in] the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
17 “The poor and needy people look for water,
but ·they can’t find any [there is none].
Their tongues are ·dry [parched] with thirst.
But I, the Lord, will answer ·their prayers [L them];
I, the God of Israel, will not ·leave them to die [L abandon/forsake them].
18 I will ·make rivers flow [L open rivers] on the ·dry hills [barren heights]
and springs flow through the valleys.
I will change the ·desert [wilderness] into ·a lake [pools] of water
and the ·dry [arid; parched] land into ·fountains [springs] of water.
19 I will ·make trees grow [plant; put] in the ·desert [wilderness]—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 [L …so that] People will see these things and ·understand [know];
they will ·think carefully about these things [consider] and ·learn [comprehend]
that the Lord’s ·power [L hand] did this,
that the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·made these things [created it].”
The Lord Challenges False Gods
21 The Lord says, “Present your case.”
The King of Jacob says, “·Tell me [Produce; Bring forth] your ·arguments [evidence; L strong words].
22 ·Bring in your idols [L Let them come forward] to tell us
what is going to happen.
Have them tell us ·what happened in the beginning [the former things].
Then we will ·think about [consider] these things,
and we will know ·how they will turn out [their outcome; how they were fulfilled].
Or tell us ·what will happen in the future [things to come].
23 Tell us what is coming next
so we will ·believe [know] that you are gods.
Do something, whether it is good or bad,
and make us ·afraid [or dismayed and afraid].
24 [L Look; T Behold] ·You gods [L You] are less than nothing;
you can’t do anything.
Those who ·worship [L choose] you ·should be hated [are detestable/an abomination].
25 “I have ·brought [stirred up] someone to come out of the north [C Cyrus, king of Persia; 41:2; 44:28—45:6; 46:11; 48:14–16].
·I have called him by name from the east [or…one from the east/rising sun who calls on my name].
He ·walks on kings [tramples on rulers] as if they were ·mud [mortar],
just as a potter ·walks [treads] on the clay.
26 Who ·told us about [declared; decreed] this ·before it happened [L from the beginning]?
Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’?
·None of you [L Indeed no one] told us anything;
·none of you [L indeed no one] told us before it happened;
·no one [L indeed no one] heard you tell about it.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell ·Jerusalem [L Zion] ·that the people were coming home [or “Look, help is coming!”; L “Look, here they are!”].
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28 I ·look at the idols [L look], but there is ·not one that can answer [L no one/man].
None of them can give ·advice [counsel];
none of them can answer my questions.
29 Look, all these idols are ·false [a deception/delusion; or foolish; worthless].
They cannot do anything;
their images are ·worth nothing [wind and confusion/chaos; or empty wind].
The Two Witnesses
11 I was given a ·measuring stick [C a reed or cane used for measuring] like a ·rod [staff; walking stick], and I was told, ·Go [Get up] and measure the temple of God and the altar, ·and count [or including] the people worshiping there [C probably to show God’s control and protection of his people; Ezek. 40:3, 5]. 2 But do not measure the ·yard [courtyard] outside the temple. Leave it ·alone [out], because it has been given to ·those who are not God’s people [the Gentiles; the nations]. And they will trample on the holy city [C Jerusalem] for forty-two months [C a period of oppression—either literal or symbolic—equal to three and a half years; see Dan. 7:25; 12:7, 11–12]. 3 And I will ·give power to [or appoint; L give to] my two witnesses to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days [C 42 months reckoned as 30 days each], ·and they will be dressed in rough cloth to show their sadness [L dressed in sackcloth; C mourning clothes].”
4 These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth [C reminiscent of Zerubbabel and Joshua whom God used to build the second temple in spite of opposition; Zech. 4:2–6]. 5 And if anyone ·tries [wants] to ·hurt [harm; damage] them, fire comes from their mouths and ·kills [consumes; devours] their enemies [Jer. 5:14]. And if anyone ·tries [wants] to ·hurt [harm; damage] them in whatever way, in that same way that person ·will [or must] die. 6 These witnesses have the ·power [authority] to ·stop the sky [close the heavens] from raining during the time they are prophesying [1 Kin. 17:1]. And they have ·power [authority] to make the waters become blood [8:8; 16:3–4; Ex. 7:17–21], and they have ·power [authority] to send every kind of ·trouble [plague] to the earth as many times as they want.
7 When the two witnesses have finished ·telling their message [giving their witness/testimony], the beast [C probably the Antichrist; 13:1; 17:8; Dan. 7] that comes up from the ·bottomless pit [Abyss; 9:1] will fight a war against them. He will ·defeat [conquer] them and kill them. 8 The ·bodies [corpses] of the two witnesses will lie in the ·street [public square; C to be left unburied as a sign of disdain] of the great city where the Lord was ·killed [L crucified; C Jerusalem, perhaps here symbolic of the world’s opposition to God]. ·This city is named Sodom and Egypt, which has a spiritual meaning [L …which is figuratively/symbolically/spiritually called Sodom and Egypt; C Jerusalem is symbolically named after places judged by God for wickedness (Sodom) and for oppressing God’s people (Egypt); Gen. 19; Ex. 7—12]. 9 Those from every race of people, tribe, language, and nation will look at the bodies of the two witnesses for three and one-half days, and they will ·refuse to bury them [L not let them be placed in a tomb]. 10 People who live on the earth will rejoice and ·be happy [celebrate] because these two are dead. They will send each other gifts, because these two prophets brought much ·suffering [torment] to those who live on the earth.
11 But after [L the] three and one-half days, ·God put the breath of life into the two prophets again [L a breath/spirit of life from God entered them; Gen. 2:7]. They stood on their feet, and everyone who saw them became very afraid. 12 Then the two prophets heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here!” And they went up into heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.
13 In the same hour there was a ·great [violent] earthquake, and a tenth of the city ·was destroyed [collapsed; L fell]. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and those who did not die were very afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven [Ezek. 38:19–20; Zech. 14:4].
14 The second ·trouble [L woe] is finished. ·Pay attention [Look; T Behold]: The third ·trouble [L woe] is coming ·soon [quickly; 8:13].
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven, saying:
“·The power to rule the world now belongs to [or The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of] our Lord and his Christ [C Greek for Messiah or Anointed One],
and he will ·rule [reign] forever and ever [2 Sam. 7:16; Dan. 7:14, 18; Luke 1:32–33].”
16 Then the twenty-four elders [4:4], who sit on their thrones before God, ·bowed down [fell] on their faces and worshiped God. 17 They said:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God ·Almighty [All-powerful],
[the One] who is and [the One] who was [C in contrast with 1:4, 8; 4:8, this lacks the future reference, “who is coming,” because here God has commenced his future reign],
because you have ·used [or taken; or received] your great power
and have begun to rule!
18 The ·people of the world [nations; Gentiles] were angry [Ps. 2:1],
but your ·anger [wrath] has come.
The time has come to judge the dead [Dan. 12:2],
and to reward your servants the prophets
and your ·holy people [T saints],
·all who respect you [L those who fear your name], small and great.
The time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth!”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. The ·Ark that holds the agreement God gave to his people [L Ark of his Covenant] could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, ·noises, thunder [rumbling thunder], an earthquake, and a great hailstorm [C typical accompaniments to the arrival of God; 4:5].
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