M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joseph Is Sold to Potiphar
39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar was an officer to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] and the chief butcher [37:36]. He bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph [C indicating a covenant relationship], and he ·became a successful man [prospered]. He lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.
3 Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord made Joseph ·successful [prosperous] in everything he did. 4 So ·Potiphar was very happy with Joseph [L Joseph found grace/favor in his eyes] and allowed him to ·be his personal servant [attend him]. He put Joseph in charge of the house, trusting him with everything he owned. 5 When Joseph was put in charge of the house and everything Potiphar owned, the Lord blessed the ·people in Potiphar’s [L the Egyptian’s] house because of Joseph. And the Lord blessed everything that belonged to Potiphar, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left Joseph in charge of everything he owned and was not concerned about anything except the food he ate.
Joseph Is Put into Prison
Now Joseph was ·well built [L pleasing in figure/form] and ·handsome [L pleasing in appearance]. 7 After ·some time [L these things] the wife of Joseph’s master ·began to desire [cast her eyes on; L lifted her eyes to] Joseph, and one day she said to him, “·Have sexual relations [L Lie] with me.”
8 But Joseph refused and said to ·her [L his master’s wife], “My master ·trusts me with [L has no concern with me about] everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns. 9 There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God [Ex. 20:14; Prov. 5–7].”
10 The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he ·refused [L did not listen to/obey her] to ·have sexual relations with [L lie beside] her or even spend time with her.
11 One day Joseph went into the house to do his work as usual and was the only man in the house at that time. 12 His master’s wife grabbed his coat and said to him, “Come and ·have sexual relations [L lie] with me.” But Joseph left his coat in her hand and ran ·out of the house [L outside].
13 When she saw that Joseph had left his coat in her hands and had run outside, 14 she called to the ·servants in [L the men of] her house and said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to ·shame [insult; sport with] us. He came in and tried to ·have sexual relations [L lie] with me, but I screamed. 15 ·My scream scared him and [L When he heard me raise my voice and call out] he ran away, but he left his coat with me.” 16 She kept his coat until her ·husband [master] came home, 17 and she told him the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here came in to ·shame [insult; make sport of] me! 18 When he came near me, I ·screamed [L raised my voice]. He ·ran away [fled], but he left his coat.”
19 When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said Joseph had done, he became very angry. 20 So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into the ·prison [L round house] where the king’s prisoners were ·put [L confined]. And Joseph stayed there in the ·prison [L round house].
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him ·kindness [loyalty; love] and ·caused the prison warden to like Joseph [L gave him favor in the eyes of the chief jailer]. 22 The ·prison warden [chief jailer] chose Joseph to take care of all the prisoners, and he was responsible for whatever was done in the prison [39:20]. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with Joseph and made him ·successful [prosper] in everything he did.
9 Then Jesus said to the people, “I tell you the truth, some people standing here will not ·die [L taste death] before they see the kingdom of God ·come [arrive] with power.” [C “Seeing the kingdom of God” may refer to the Transfiguration that follows (9:1–8), Jesus’ resurrection, or the destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70.]
The Transfiguration on the Mountain(A)
2 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John [L and led them] up on a high mountain by themselves. ·While they watched [In their presence; In front of them], Jesus’ appearance was ·changed [transformed; T transfigured]. 3 His clothes became shining white, whiter than any ·person [launderer on earth] could ·make them [bleach them]. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared to them, talking with Jesus. [C God had given the Law through Moses, and Elijah was an important prophet (see 6:1); together they signify that Jesus fulfills the OT.]
5 Peter said to Jesus, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], it is good that we are here. Let us make three ·tents [shelters; shrines; tabernacles; Lev. 23:42]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” [C Perhaps Peter wanted to prolong their stay or to commemorate their visit.] 6 Peter did not know what to say, because he and the others were so frightened.
7 Then a cloud came and ·covered [overshadowed; Ex. 24:15] them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my ·Son, whom I love [dearly loved Son; Ps. 2:7; Gen. 22:2; Mark 1:11]. Listen to him [Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22]!”
8 Suddenly Peter, James, and John looked around, but they saw only Jesus there alone with them.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ·commanded [instructed] them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 So they ·obeyed Jesus [kept this statement/matter to themselves], but they discussed what he meant about rising from the dead.
11 Then they asked Jesus, “Why do the ·teachers of the law [scribes] say that Elijah must come first [Mal. 3:1; 4:5]?”
12 Jesus answered, “·They are right to say that Elijah must come first and [L Elijah is indeed coming, and he will] ·make everything the way it should be [restore/prepare everything]. But why does the Scripture say that the Son of Man will suffer much and ·that people will treat him as if he were nothing [be despised; be treated with contempt; be rejected; Is. 52:13—53:12]? 13 [L But] I tell you that Elijah has already come. And ·people [L they] did to him whatever they wanted to do, just as ·the Scriptures said it would happen [it is written about him].”
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy(B)
14 When Jesus, Peter, James, and John came back to the other ·followers [disciples], they saw a great crowd around them and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] arguing with them. 15 But as soon as the crowd saw Jesus, the people were ·surprised [amazed] and ran to welcome him.
16 Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about?”
17 A man [in the crowd] answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has an evil spirit in him that ·stops him from talking [makes him mute]. 18 When the spirit attacks him, it throws him on the ground. Then my son foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes ·very stiff [rigid]. I asked your ·followers [disciples] to ·force [drive; cast] the evil spirit out, but they couldn’t.”
19 Jesus answered, “You ·people have no faith [unbelieving/faithless generation]. How long must I stay with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So ·the followers [L they] brought him to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it ·made the boy lose control of himself [threw the boy into convulsions], and he fell down and rolled on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening?”
The father answered, “Since ·he was very young [childhood]. 22 The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to ·kill [destroy] him. If you can do anything for him, please have ·pity [compassion] on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help ·me to believe more [me not to doubt; me overcome my unbelief; L my unbelief]!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he ·ordered [rebuked] the ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirit, saying, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you to come out of this boy and never enter him again!”
26 The evil spirit screamed and ·caused the boy to fall on the ground again [convulsed him violently]. Then the spirit came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and many people said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took hold of the boy’s hand and helped him to stand up.
28 When Jesus went into the house, his ·followers [disciples] began asking him privately, “Why couldn’t we ·force [drive; cast] that evil spirit out?”
29 Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can only be forced out by prayer.”[a]
Jesus Again Talks About His Death(C)
30 Then Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] left that place and went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was, 31 because he was teaching his ·followers [disciples]. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be ·handed over [delivered over; betrayed] to ·people [L human hands], and they will kill him [C the “handing over” may be Judas’ betrayal or God’s actions in “giving up” his Son to accomplish salvation; Rom. 4:25]. After three days, he will rise from the dead.” 32 But they did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?(D)
33 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, “What were you ·arguing about [discussing] on the road?” 34 But they did not answer, because their ·argument [discussion] on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called ·the twelve apostles [the Twelve] to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be ·the most important [first] must be last of all and servant of all.”
36 Then Jesus took a small child and had ·him [or her; C the Greek here does not specify gender] stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, 37 “Whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] a child like this in my name [C as a representative or follower of Jesus] accepts me. And whoever ·accepts [welcomes; receives] me accepts [not only me, but] the One who sent me.” [C Children had low social status, so the saying indicates concern for the lowly.]
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us(E)
38 Then John said, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name [C invoking your authority] to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of a person. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”
39 But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him, because anyone who uses my name to do powerful things will not ·easily [quickly] say evil things about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is ·with [for] us. 41 I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a drink of water because you belong to the ·Christ [Messiah] will ·truly get [L certainly not lose] his reward.
42 “If someone causes one of these little children who believes in me to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], it would be better for that person to have a ·large stone [large millstone; L millstone of a donkey] tied around his neck and be ·drowned [L thrown] in the sea. 43 If your hand causes you ·to sin [lose faith; stumble], cut it off. It is better for you ·to lose part of your body and live forever [L to enter life maimed] than to have two hands and go to ·hell [L Gehenna; C a valley outside of Jerusalem where in the OT period children were sacrificed to a pagan god; later used as a burning trash heap; a metaphor for hell], where the fire never goes out. |44 In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.|[b] 45 If your foot causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], cut it off. It is better for you ·to lose part of your body and to live forever [L to enter life crippled] than to have two feet and be thrown into ·hell [Gehenna; v. 43]. |46 In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out.|[c] 47 If your eye causes you to ·sin [lose faith; stumble], take it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into ·hell [Gehenna; v. 43]. 48 In hell the worm does not die; the fire is never put out. 49 Every person will be salted with fire. [C The meaning of this proverb is uncertain; it may mean that the testing of believers purifies (fire) and preserves (salt); or it may refer to believers as God’s covenant people, since salt and fire were part of the OT sacrificial system; see Lev. 2:3; Num. 18:9.]
50 “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its salty taste, you cannot make it salty again. So, ·be full of salt [L have salt in/among yourselves; C salt here may symbolize fellowship within the covenant], and have peace with each other.”
5 “Call if you want to, Job, ·but no one [L is there anyone who…?] will answer you.
·You can’t [L Can you…?] turn to any of the holy ones [C angels].
2 ·Anger [Irritation] kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the ·stupid [or naïve; simpleminded; C these emotions can lead to death; Prov. 14:30; 27:4].
3 I have seen a fool ·succeed [L taking root],
but I cursed his ·home [household; pasturage] ·immediately [suddenly].
4 His children are far from safety
and are crushed in court with no ·defense [or rescuer].
5 The hungry eat his harvest,
even taking what grew among the thorns,
and thirsty people ·want [L pant after] his wealth.
6 ·Hard times do [Misery does] not come up from the ·ground [dust],
and trouble does not ·grow [sprout] from the earth [C they come from anger and jealousy].
7 People ·produce [L are born for] trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would ·call on [L seek] God
and ·bring my problem [L commit my thoughts/cause] before him [C argues that Job needs to repent].
9 God does wonders that cannot be understood;
he does so many ·miracles [marvelous acts] they cannot be counted.
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water on the fields.
11 He makes the ·humble [lowly] person important [Ps. 113]
and lifts ·the sad [mourners] to places of safety.
12 He ruins the ·plans [pretensions; strategies] of those who ·trick others [are crafty]
so ·they [L their hands] have no success.
13 He catches the ·wise [crafty; clever] in their own ·clever traps [craftiness]
and ·sweeps away [ends; finishes off] the ·plans [advice; schemes] of those who ·try to trick others [are wily].
14 Darkness ·covers them up [or encounters them] in the daytime;
even at noon they ·feel [grope] around in the dark.
15 God saves the needy from their lies
and from the harm done by powerful people.
16 So the poor have hope,
while those who are ·unfair [unjust] ·are silenced [L shut their mouth].
17 “The one whom God ·corrects [reproves] is ·happy [blessed],
so do not ·hate being corrected by [L reject/despise the instruction of] the Almighty [Prov. 3:11–12].
18 God ·hurts [wounds], but he also bandages up;
he ·injures [strikes], but his hands also heal.
19 He will ·save [rescue] you from six ·troubles [dangers];
even seven ·troubles [or evils] will not ·harm [L touch] you [C “six…seven” is a poetic way of saying “all troubles”].
20 God will ·buy you back [redeem/ransom you] from death in times of ·hunger [famine],
and in ·battle [war] he will save you from the sword.
21 You will be ·protected [hidden] from the ·tongue that strikes like a whip [lash of the tongue],
and you will not be afraid when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger [Ps. 112:7],
and you will not fear the wild animals,
23 because you will have an ·agreement [treaty; alliance; covenant] with the stones in the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you [C describes a peaceful relationship with all nature].
24 You will know that your tent is safe,
because you will ·check [visit] ·the things you own [your pasturage/home] and find nothing missing.
25 You will know that you will have many ·children [descendants],
and your ·descendants [offspring] will be like the grass on the earth.
26 You will come to the grave ·with all your strength [or at a ripe old age],
like bundles of grain gathered at the right time.
27 “We have ·checked [examined] this, and it is true,
so hear it and ·decide what it means to you [know it yourself].”
God and the Jewish People
9 I am telling you the truth ·as a follower of Christ [or with Christ as my witness; L in Christ]; I do not lie. My conscience is ·ruled by [or guided by] the Holy Spirit, and it ·tells [testifies to] me I am not lying. 2 I have great sorrow and ·always feel much sadness [unceasing/constant anguish]. 3 [L For] I would even wish that I were cursed and cut off from ·Christ [or the Messiah] ·if that would help [for the sake of] my Jewish brothers and sisters, my ·people [countrymen; L relatives according to the flesh]. 4 They are the people of Israel, God’s ·chosen [L adopted] children. They ·have seen [or have] the glory of God, and they have the ·agreements that God made between himself and his people [L covenants]. God gave them the law of Moses and the ·right way of worship [or temple worship] and his promises. 5 ·They are the descendants of our great ancestors [L They have the fathers/patriarchs], and ·they are the earthly family into which Christ was born [or from their descendants the Messiah came], ·who is God over all. Praise him forever [or May God, who is over all, be praised forever]! Amen.
6 It is not that ·God failed to keep his promise to them [L God’s word failed]. ·But only some of the people of Israel are truly God’s people [L Because not all those (descended) from Israel are Israel], 7 ·and only some of Abraham’s descendants are true children of Abraham [L nor are all of Abraham’s seed/descendants (true) children]. But God said to Abraham: “·The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac [or Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name; Gen. 21:12].” 8 This means that ·not all of Abraham’s descendants [L it is not the children of the flesh who] are God’s true children. [L But; Rather] ·Abraham’s true children [L Those counted as Abraham’s descendants/seed] are ·those who become God’s children because of the promise God made to Abraham [L the children of the promise]. 9 God’s promise to Abraham was this: “·At the right time [At the appointed time; or About this time next year] I will return, and Sarah will have a son [Gen. 18:10, 14].” 10 And that is not all. Rebekah’s sons ·had the same father, [or were conceived at the same time by] our ·father [ancestor; forefather] Isaac.
14 So what should we say about this? Is God ·unfair [unjust]? ·In no way [Absolutely not!; May it never be!; 7:13]. 15 [L For] God said to Moses, “I will show ·kindness [mercy] to anyone to whom I want to show ·kindness [mercy], and I will show ·compassion [pity] to anyone to whom I want to show ·compassion [pity; Ex. 33:19].” 16 So God’s choice does not depend on ·what people want [human desire; or human will] or ·try to do [effort; exertion], but on God’s ·mercy [kindness]. 17 The Scripture says to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]: “I ·made you king [L raised you up] for this reason: to show my power in you so that my name will be ·talked about [proclaimed] in all the earth [Ex. 9:16].” 18 So God shows mercy where he wants to show mercy, and he ·makes stubborn [hardens] the people he wants to ·make stubborn [harden].
19 So one of you will ask me: “Then why does God ·blame us for our sins [L blame; find fault]? Who can ·fight [resist; oppose] his will?” 20 ·You are only human, and human beings have no right to question God [L Who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God?]. ·An object [or A thing molded] should not ask the ·person who made it [molder], “Why did you make me like this? [Is. 29:16; 45:9]” 21 ·The potter can make anything he wants to make [L Doesn’t the potter have authority over the clay?]. He can use the same ·clay [L lump] to make one ·thing [vessel; pot] for ·special [honorable] use and another thing for ·daily [common; dishonorable] use.
22 ·It is the same way with God. He [L What if he…?] wanted to show his ·anger [wrath] and to let people see his power. But he ·patiently stayed with [endured with great patience] those ·people he was angry with [L vessels/objects of wrath]—people who were ·made ready [prepared] to be destroyed. 23 He waited with patience so that he could make known ·his rich glory [the riches of his glory] to the ·people who receive his [L vessels/objects of] mercy. He has prepared these people ·to have his glory [to experience his glory; L for glory], 24 and we are those people whom God called. He called us not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles. 25 As ·the Scripture [or God] says in Hosea:
“I will ·say, ‘You are my people’ [call them ‘my people’]
to those who were not my people.
And I will ·show my love [call her ‘beloved’]
to ·those people [her] I did not love [Hos. 2:1, 23; C in Hosea, a reference to apostate Israel; here applied to the Gentiles].”
26 “And in the same place where they were called,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called
‘children of the living God [Hos. 1:10].’”
27 And Isaiah cries out about Israel:
“[L Though] The ·people [L children; sons] of Israel are numbered
like the grains of sand ·by [or of] the sea.
But only ·a few of them [the remnant] will be saved,
28 because the Lord will quickly and completely ·punish the people [carry out/execute his sentence; settle his account] on the earth [Is. 10:22–23].”
29 It is as Isaiah said:
“If the Lord ·All-Powerful [of Hosts; of Heaven’s Armies]
had not ·allowed a few of our descendants to live [left us offspring/seed],
We would have become like Sodom
and would resemble Gomorrah [Is. 1:9; C OT cities destroyed by God because of their wickedness; Gen. 19].”
30 ·So what does all this mean [L What, then, shall we say]? Those who are Gentiles ·were not trying to make themselves right with God [L did not pursue righteousness], but they ·were made right with God [obtained righteousness] ·because of their faith [L —that is, a righteousness that is by faith]. 31 The people of Israel tried to ·follow [pursue] a law ·to make themselves right with God [L of righteousness]. But they did not ·succeed [reach/attain it], 32 [L Why?] because they tried to make themselves right by ·the things they did [works] instead of ·trusting in God to make them right [L by faith]. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble. 33 As it is written in the Scripture:
“[L Look; T Behold] I will put in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C a poetic term for Jerusalem and symbolizing the nation Israel] a stone that causes people to stumble,
a rock that makes them fall [Is. 8:14].
Anyone who ·trusts [believes; has faith] in him will never be ·disappointed [put to shame; disgraced; Is. 28:16].”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.