M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
32 Moses: Listen, O sky, so I may speak!
Pay attention, O earth, to what I say!
2 Let my teaching fall on you like raindrops;
let what I say collect like the dew,
Like rain sprinkling the grass,
like showers on the green plants.
3 I will proclaim the name of the Eternal;
I will utter greatness to our God.
4 He’s the Rock, and His work is perfect; everything He does is right.
He’s the God who can be trusted, who never does wrong
because He’s righteous and upright.
5 But a perverse and crooked generation has broken its word to Him.
They are not counted as His children—not with such deficiencies.
6 Is this how you repay the Eternal,
you foolish, unwise people?
Isn’t He your Father who produced you,
who made you and established you?
7 Remember the days long ago;
consider the years of past generations.
Ask your father, and he’ll explain it to you;
ask the elders, and they’ll tell you:
8 When God, the Most High in heaven gave all the nations their inherited territory,
when He divided the descendants of Adam into nations,
When He established the boundaries of the peoples,
as the number of the sons of God,
9 Because the Eternal’s territory is His people;
and Jacob is the territory of God’s inheritance.
10 The Eternal found Jacob out in the wilderness,
out in an empty, windswept desert wasteland.
He put His arms around him and took care of him;
He protected him as the apple of His eye.
11 Just as an eagle stirs up its nest, encouraging its young to fly,
and then hovers over them in case they need help,
And spreads its wings and catches them if they fall,
and carries them up high on its wings;
12 So the Eternal guided Jacob through the wilderness
without the help of any foreign god.
13 He set him on the heights of the land
and fed him from the produce of the fields.
He even fed him honey from the rocks
and oil from flinty stones,
14 Butter from his cows and milk from his flocks,
fattened young lambs, rams raised in Bashan, and goats,
the finest fatty kernels of wheat, and wine from the lifeblood of grapes.
15 But Jeshurun—my upright ones of Israel—got fat and kicked back—
yes, you were fat and bloated and stuffed.
He abandoned the God who made him
and disdained the Rock of his salvation.
16 They made Him jealous by worshiping foreign gods;
they infuriated Him with their disgusting idols.
17 They offered sacrifices to demons that are not God;
they worshiped gods they hadn’t known,
New ones that had just appeared,
gods their ancestors had never been acquainted with.
18 You ignored the Rock who bore you
and forgot the God who gave birth to you.
Earlier Moses has described the Eternal One as Israel’s “Father” (verse 6). Now he uses the image of a mother going into labor and giving birth to describe the Eternal One’s tender affection and sacrificial love for the nation.
19 Moses: The Eternal saw this and rejected them
because His sons and daughters had made Him so angry.
20 Eternal One: I won’t look at them when they pray;
I’ll just watch and see what happens to them
Because they’re a perverse generation,
children who are unfaithful.
21 They’ve made Me jealous by worshiping something that isn’t God,
and they’ve angered Me with their idols!
So I’ll make them jealous by favoring those who aren’t a people;
I’ll infuriate them with a godless nation.[a]
22 My anger will start a fire that will burn down to the land of the dead.
It will consume the land and all its crops
and set the mountains ablaze, right down to their foundations.
23 I’ll pile disasters on them
and use all My arrows against them.
24 They’ll be emaciated by famine
and consumed by fevers and destroyed by bitter pestilence.
I’ll attack them with the fangs of wild animals
and the venom of snakes that crawl in the dust.
25 While the sword is killing their children outside,
they’ll be huddling in terror inside their homes.
Everyone will be destroyed: young men and women,
infants and old people with gray hair.
26 I thought I would smash them in pieces
until no one remembered they ever existed,
27 But I was afraid of how their enemies would gloat,
how their opponents would get the wrong impression and say,
“We conquered them by our own power;
the Eternal didn’t do all of this!”
28 Moses: They’re a nation with no sense—
they have no understanding.
29 If only they were wise and understood this
and realized what was going to happen to them!
30 How could one of their enemies pursue a thousand of them,
and two of their enemies make ten thousand of them run away,
Unless their Rock had abandoned them,
unless the Eternal had handed them over?
31 It’s not because their rock is anything like our Rock—
even our enemies admit this!
32 No, it’s because their vine is grafted from the vines of Sodom,
from the terraces of Gomorrah:
It grows poisonous grapes in bitter clusters
33 and makes wine that’s snake venom and deadly cobra poison.
34 Eternal One: Haven’t I been saving this judgment,
sealing it away in My storehouse?
35 Revenge is Mine. I will settle all scores![b]
Soon they’ll stumble because the day of disaster is almost here,
And their doom is coming quickly!
36 Moses: The Eternal will judge His people[c]
and have mercy on His servants
When He sees they have no strength left
and they’re all gone, both slave and free.
37 Then He’ll say about Israel, “Now where are their gods,
the rocks where they took shelter,
38 The gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine they offered?
Let them get up and help you, Israel!
Let them protect you!”
39 Eternal One: Now do you see that I am the One,
and there is no other God besides Me?
I have power over life and death;
I wound, and I heal;
no one can resist My power!
40 I’m lifting up My hand toward the sky to take an oath,
and I swear, “As I live forever,
41 When I sharpen My flashing sword
and use it to bring about justice,
I’ll give My enemies what they deserve
and pay back those who hate Me!
42 I’ll get My arrows drunk with blood,
the blood of the dead and the prisoners,
And My sword will feast on flesh,
on the heads with their uncut hair of the enemy leaders!”
43 Moses: You nations, celebrate with His covenant people[d]
because He’s going to avenge the blood of His servants.
He’ll give His enemies what they deserve
and atone for His land and His people.
44 This was the song that Moses presented, together with Joshua[e] (Nun’s son), while all the people were listening. 45 After Moses had said all of these words, everything recorded in this book, to everyone in Israel, 46 he spoke to them.
Moses: Every word I’ve said to you today will be a witness against you, so set it in your heart, remember it well, and teach it to your children, so they’ll be careful to obey every word of this law. 47 You can’t afford to ignore even one word; your very life depends on it! It’s how you’ll be able to live a long time in the land on the other side of the Jordan that will be your territory.
48 The Eternal spoke to Moses on that same day.
God gives Moses a peek at the blessing he missed because of his disobedience.
Eternal One: 49 Climb to the top of Mount Nebo, one of the Abarim mountains here in the land of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I’m giving to the people of Israel as their property. 50 Just as Aaron died when he climbed Mount Hor and joined his ancestors in death, you’ll die on top of the mountain you climb and join your ancestors in death. 51 This is because you and Aaron disobeyed Me in front of all the Israelites at Meribah-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, when you struck the rock instead of commanding it to give water. You did not honor Me, your holy God, as if you could ignore My instructions if you wanted to, in front of all the Israelites![f] 52 So you can look at this land from a distance, but you can’t go into it, this land I’m giving to the Israelites.
Ayin
121 I have lived with fairness and integrity;
do not leave me at the mercy of my tormenters.
122 Provide security and protection for Your servant’s welfare;
do not let the proud oppress me.
123 My eyes are strained as I look for Your salvation
and for Your righteous promise to be fulfilled.
124 Treat Your servant in a manner that shows Your unfailing love,
and help me to learn Your decrees.
125 I am Your servant; impart to me understanding
so that I may fully grasp the depths of Your statutes.
126 It is time for the Eternal to step in and do something
because some have broken Your law.
127 Indeed, I love Your commands
more than gold, even more than the highest quality gold.
128 It’s true that I regard all Your guidance to be correct and good;
I despise every deceptive path.
Pe
129 Your decrees inspire wonder;
because of that, my soul desires to keep them.
130 When Your words are unveiled, light shines forth;
they bring understanding to the simple.
131 My desire for Your commands
left me waiting, open-mouthed and panting.
132 Acknowledge me and show me Your grace
as is Your habit toward all those who love Your name.
133 Guide my steps in the ways of Your word,
and do not let any sin control me.
134 Rescue me from the torment of my human oppressors
so that I may live according Your decrees.
135 Let Your face shine upon Your servant,
and help me to learn what You require.
136 My eyes shed rivers of tears
whenever people fail to keep Your teaching.
Tsadhe
137 You are good and just, O Eternal One,
and Your rulings are right.
138 You have set out Your decrees in justice,
and they can be trusted.
139 I am overwhelmed by my passion
because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
140 Your promise is tested and true;
that’s why Your servant loves it.
141 I may be insignificant to some and hated by others,
but at least I do not forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness will last forever,
and Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commandments bring me great joy.
144 Your decrees are right and true forever;
grant me understanding so that I may live.
59 The Eternal One’s reach is not so short that He cannot save you.
His ear is not so deaf that He cannot hear you.
Reactions vary to the awful events that sweep over Judah in the wake of the Babylonian invasion. Some people think that the God of Israel is defeated. This is exactly what the Babylonians hope the people will think and say; it makes the job of the tyrants and their deputies that much easier. So when the prophet announces that Israel’s God can and will rescue His displaced people, many reason that God may want to rescue them but cannot, for He is no match for the might of Babylon. Others are apparently wondering if God simply couldn’t hear their cries for help in the first place. Is Babylon too powerful? Are the exiles too far from home to be heard? The prophet knows the fears that reside in anxious hearts; but more than that, he knows the truth.
2 Your persistent wrongdoing has come between you and your God;
since you constantly reject and push God away,
He had to turn aside and ignore your cries.
3 For your hands are covered with blood;
your fingers are sticky with all manner of crimes;
Your lips drip vicious lies;
your tongue mutters all manner of wickedness.
4 Everyone misuses the judicial system,
clogging it with twisted accusations and misleading testimony.
With empty charges and baseless lies
they conceive trouble and give birth to injustice.
5 They concoct and create the most poisonous things;
it’s as if they hatch vipers’ eggs or weave spiders’ webs.
Eat their eggs and die; crush one and a viper is hatched—
yet more poison, hurt, and distrust.
6 There is nothing of value in their creations—
the webs they weave are not fit to clothe or cover anyone.
The products they make are nothing but trouble;
violence comes naturally to them.
7 Their feet race to do evil;
they rush to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are bent toward injustice;
destruction and trouble line the roads of their lives.
8 They never travel the path of peace;[a]
no justice is found where they have been.
They set a course down crooked roads;
no one who follows their lead has a chance of knowing peace.
9 People: That’s why we can’t make things right;
good and true can’t gain any ground on us.
We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t
even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around.
10 We are left to stumble along, grabbing at whatever seems solid,
like the blind finding their way down a strange and threatening street.
In broad daylight—when we should have sight—we stumble and fall as in the dark.
We are already like the dead among those brimming with health.
11 We growl like bears and moan like doves.
We hope that maybe, just maybe, it will all turn out right;
But it doesn’t. We look for liberation, but it’s too far away.
12 For our wrongdoing runs too deep before You.
Our sins stack up against us—sure evidence of our guilt.
For our offenses are always with us; they are insidious and lasting, as You know.
Our guilt says it all. We know it, too.
13 We took You for nothing, and did just the opposite of Your commands.
We broke our promises to You, ignored and rejected You.
We hatched up schemes to oppress others and rebel, to twist the truth for our gain
while presenting it as honest-to-God fact.
14 When justice calls, we turn it away.
Righteousness knows to keep its distance,
For truth stumbles in the public square,
and honesty is not allowed to enter.
15 There is no truth-telling anymore,
and anyone who tries to do right finds he is the next target.
It’s true. The Eternal One saw it all
and was understandably perturbed at the absence of justice.
16 God looked long and hard, but there wasn’t a single person
who tried to put a stop to the injustice and lies.
So God took action. His own strong arm reached out and brought salvation.
His own righteousness—good and pure—sustained Him.
17 But God’s equipment was that of no ordinary warrior:
He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate,
And put on the helmet of salvation.
Wrapped in vengeance for clothing and passion as a cloak, God prepared for war.
18 Finally, God determined they must get what they’ve earned:
fury to those who oppose Him, vengeance against those who are against Him.
To the ends of the known world, God will go to render justice.
19 This is how people from east to west will come to respect the name
and honor the glory of the Eternal.
For He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal’s winds.
20 Eternal One: The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again,
to rescue those of Jacob’s holy line who turn their backs on wrongdoing.
This is what the Eternal One declares.
Eternal One: 21 This is My covenant promise to them:[b] My Spirit, which rests on and moves in you, and My words, which I have placed within you, will continue to be spoken among you and move you to action. And not only you, but so it will be for your children and their children too. And so on through the generations for all time.
7 Jesus: If you judge other people, then you will find that you, too, are being judged. 2 Indeed, you will be judged by the very standards to which you hold other people.
So when someone is tempted to criticize his neighbor because her house isn’t clean enough, she seems ill-tempered, or she is a bit flighty—he should remember those same standards and judgments will come back to him. No one should criticize his neighbor for being short-tempered one morning, when he is snippish and snappish and waspish all the time.
Jesus: 3 Why is it that you see the dust in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but you can’t see what is in your own eye? 4 Don’t ignore the wooden plank in your eye, while you criticize the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eyelashes. 5 That type of criticism and judgment is a sham! Remove the plank from your own eye, and then perhaps you will be able to see clearly how to help your brother flush out his sawdust.
6 Don’t give precious things to dogs. Don’t cast your pearls before swine. If you do, the pigs will trample the pearls with their little pigs’ feet, and then they will turn back and attack you.
Now Jesus returns to prayer, an important and sometimes difficult topic. Here He gives the very essence of prayer.
7 Just ask and it will be given to you; seek after it and you will find. Continue to knock and the door will be opened for you. 8 All who ask receive. Those who seek, find what they seek. And he who knocks, will have the door opened.
9 Think of it this way: if your son asked you for bread, would you give him a stone? Of course not—you would give him a loaf of bread. 10 If your son asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? No, to be sure, you would give him a fish—the best fish you could find. 11 So if you, who are sinful, know how to give your children good gifts, how much more so does your Father in heaven, who is perfect, know how to give great gifts to His children!
12 This is what our Scriptures come to teach: in everything, in every circumstance, do to others as you would have them do to you.
13 There are two paths before you; you may take only one path. One doorway is narrow. And one door is wide. Go through the narrow door. For the wide door leads to a wide path, and the wide path is broad; the wide, broad path is easy, and the wide, broad, easy path has many, many people on it; but the wide, broad, easy, crowded path leads to death. 14 Now then that narrow door leads to a narrow road that in turn leads to life. It is hard to find that road. Not many people manage it.
15 Along the way, watch out for false prophets. They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath that quaint and innocent wool, they are hungry wolves. 16 But you will recognize them by their fruits. You don’t find sweet, delicious grapes growing on thorny bushes, do you? You don’t find delectable figs growing in the midst of prickly thistles. 17 People and their lives are like trees. Good trees bear beautiful, tasty fruit, but bad trees bear ugly, bitter fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear ugly, bitter fruit; nor can a bad tree bear fruit that is beautiful and tasty. 19 And what happens to the rotten trees? They are cut down. They are used for firewood. 20 When a prophet comes to you and preaches this or that, look for his fruits: sweet or sour? rotten or ripe?
21 Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Simply calling Me “Lord” will not be enough. Only those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven will join Me in heaven. 22 At the end of time, on that day of judgment, many will say to Me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? Did we not drive demons out of the possessed in Your name? Did we not perform miracles in Your name?” 23 But I will say to them, “I never knew you. And now, you must get away from Me, you evildoers!”
24 Those people who are listening to Me, those people who hear what I say and live according to My teachings—you are like a wise man who built his house on a rock, on a firm foundation. 25 When storms hit, rain pounded down and waters rose, levies broke and winds beat all the walls of that house. But the house did not fall because it was built upon rock. 26 Those of you who are listening and do not hear—you are like a fool who builds a house on sand. 27 When a storm comes to his house, what will happen? The rain will fall, the waters will rise, the wind will blow, and his house will collapse with a great crash.
28 With that Jesus finished His teaching, and the crowds were amazed by all He had said. 29 But Jesus taught in His own name, on His own authority, not like the scribes.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.