M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Altar on Mount Ebal
27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying: Keep all the commandments which I am commanding you today. 2 On the day when you cross over the Jordan into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you must set up for yourself great stones, and cover them with plaster. 3 Then you must write all the words of this law on them, when you cross over, so that you may enter into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore, when you cross over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, which I am commanding you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall cover them with plaster. 5 There you must build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them. 6 You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones, and you must offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 You must offer peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 You must write all the words of this law very clearly on the stones.
9 Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying: Be silent and listen, O Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Therefore, you must obey the voice of the Lord your God and do His commandments and His statutes, which I am commanding you today.
11 Moses commanded the people the same day, saying:
12 These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people when you cross over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these must stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 The Levites will answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice:
15 “Cursed is the man who makes any graven or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and puts it in a secret place.” And all the people shall answer and say, “Amen.”
16 “Cursed is he who disrespects his father or his mother.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
17 “Cursed is he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
18 “Cursed is he who misleads the blind man on the road.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
19 “Cursed is he who perverts justice for the foreigner, orphan, and widow.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
20 “Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, for he dishonors his father.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
21 “Cursed is he who lies with any kind of beast.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
22 “Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
23 “Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
24 “Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor secretly.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
25 “Cursed is he who receives pay to slay an innocent person.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
26 “Cursed is he who does not confirm all the words of this law by doing them.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
Blessings for Obedience
28 Now it will be, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, then the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings will come on you and overtake you if you listen to the voice of the Lord your God.
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.
4 Your offspring will be blessed, and the produce of your ground, and the offspring of your livestock, the increase of your herd and the flocks of your sheep.
5 Your basket and your kneading bowl will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you set your hand to do, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He swore to you, if you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 All people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you overflow in prosperity, in the offspring of your body, in the offspring of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
12 The Lord will open up to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you will only be above and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, to observe and to do them. 14 Also, you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I am commanding you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Warnings Against Disobedience
15 But it will happen, if you will not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, by being careful to do all His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.
17 Your basket and your kneading bowl will be cursed.
18 Your offspring will be cursed along with the fruit of your land, the produce of your herd, and the flocks of your sheep.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
Psalm 119
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
and who seek Him with all their heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
to keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were established
to keep Your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be ashamed,
when I have my focus on all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with an upright heart,
when I have learned Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
do not completely abandon me.
ב Beth
9 How shall a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek You;
do not allow me to wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the decrees of Your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
and keep my eyes on Your ways.
16 I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal kindly with Your servant, that I may live
and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things from Your law.
19 I am a sojourner in the land;
do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed all the time
with a longing for Your decrees.
21 You have rebuked the proud, those cursed,
who depart from Your commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt,
for I have kept Your testimonies.
23 Even if princes sit and conspire against me,
Your servant will meditate on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight
and my counselors.
The Covenant of Peace
54 Sing, O barren,
you who did not bear a child.
Break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who did not travail with child.
For more are the children of the desolate
than the children of the married wife,
says the Lord.
2 Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations;
spare not,
lengthen your cords,
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall spread out to the right hand and to the left,
and your descendants shall inherit the nations
and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Do not fear, for you shall not be ashamed nor be humiliated;
for you shall not be put to shame,
for you shall forget the shame of your youth
and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of Hosts is His name;
and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He shall be called the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord has called you
as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
and a wife of youth
when you were refused, says your God.
7 For a small moment I have forsaken you,
but with great mercies I will gather you.
8 In a little wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness
I will have mercy on you,
says the Lord your Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah to Me;
for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no longer cover the earth,
so I have sworn that I would not be wrathful with you
nor rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may be removed,
and the hills may shake,
but My kindness shall not depart from you,
nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,
says the Lord who has mercy on you.
11 O afflicted one, tossed with tempest and not comforted,
I will lay your stones with fair colors
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your windows of agates,
and your gates of crystal,
and all your borders of precious stones.
13 All your sons shall be taught of the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your sons.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression,
for you shall not fear,
and from terror,
for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assail you fiercely, but not from Me.
Whoever assails you shall fall for your sake.
16 See, I have created the smith
that blows the coals in the fire
and who brings forth an instrument for his work;
and I have created the destroyer in order to cause ruin.
17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their vindication is from Me,
says the Lord.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who was born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where Christ should be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are no longer least among the princes of Judah;
for out of you shall come a Governor,
who will shepherd My people Israel.’[a]”
7 Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, carefully inquired of them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring me word again, so that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed. And the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great excitement. 11 And when they came into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary, His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But being warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now when they departed, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word. For Herod will seek the young Child to kill Him.”
14 When he rose, he took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod, to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called My Son.”[b]
The Killing of the Infants
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was utterly furious and sent forth and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and the surrounding region, from two years old and under, based on the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet:
18 “In Ramah a voice was heard,
grieving and weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be comforted,
because they are no more.”[c]
The Return From Egypt
19 But when Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
21 And he rose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Nevertheless, being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.