M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
22 Take a bundle of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. None of you is to go out of the doorway of his house until morning, 23 because the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the doorway, and won’t allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. 24 You are to observe this event as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you, just as he promised, you are to observe this ritual. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’[a] 27 you are to say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelis in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” Then the people bowed down and worshipped. 28 The Israelis did this. Moses and Aaron did just what the Lord had commanded.
The Death of the Firstborn in Egypt
29 And so at midnight the Lord struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 Pharaoh got up during the night, he, all his officials,[b] and all the Egyptians, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, because there was not a house without someone dead in it. 31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and told them: “Get up, go out from among my people, both you and the Israelis! Go, serve[c] the Lord as you have said. 32 Take both your sheep and your cattle, just as you demanded[d] and go! And bless me too!”
33 The Egyptian officials[e] urged the people to send them out of the land quickly, because they were saying, “We’ll all be dead!” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 Meanwhile, the Israelis had done as Moses said;[f] they had asked the Egyptians for objects of silver and objects of gold, and for clothes. 36 The Lord had given the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they requested. As a result, they plundered the Egyptians.
The Exodus Begins
37 About 600,000 Israeli men traveled from Rameses to Succoth on foot, not counting children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with a very large number of livestock, including sheep and cattle. 39 They baked the dough that they brought out of Egypt into thin cakes of unleavened bread. It had not been leavened because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40 Now the time that the Israelis lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, to the very day, all the tribal divisions of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 That was for the Lord a night of vigil[g] to bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night belongs to the Lord, and is to be a vigil for all the Israelis from generation to generation.
Instructions for the Passover
43 The Lord told Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover: No foreigner is to eat it, 44 though any slave[h] purchased with money may eat it after you have circumcised him. 45 But no temporary resident or a hired servant is to eat it. 46 It is to be eaten in one house, and you are not to take any of the meat outside the house, nor are you to break any of its bones. 47 The whole congregation of Israel is to observe it. 48 If an alien who resides with you wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, every male in his household[i] must be circumcised, and then he may come near to observe it. He is to be like a native of the land, but no uncircumcised person is to eat it. 49 A single law exists for the native and the alien who resides among you.”
50 All the Israelis did this. They did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day, the Lord brought the Israelis out of the land of Egypt by their tribal divisions.
The Parable about the Faithful Shepherd(A)
15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners kept coming to listen to Jesus.[a] 2 But the Pharisees and the scribes kept complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them. He leaves the 99 in the wilderness and looks for the one that is lost until he finds it, doesn’t he? 5 When he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 Then he goes home, calls his friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I’ve found my lost sheep!’ 7 In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need to repent.”
The Story of the Diligent Housewife
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten coins and loses one of them.[b] She lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds it, doesn’t she? 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin that I lost!’ 10 In the same way, I tell you that there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
The Story of the Loving Father
11 Then Jesus[c] said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger one told his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So the father[d] divided his property between them. 13 A few days later, the younger son gathered everything he owned and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted it all[e] on wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went out to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 No one would give him anything, even though he would gladly have filled himself with the husks the pigs were eating.
17 “Then he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more food than they can eat, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven[f] and you. 19 I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. Treat me like one of your hired men.”’
20 “So he got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son,[g] threw his arms around him, and kissed him affectionately. 21 Then his son told him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven[h] and you. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore.’[i] 22 But the father told his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let’s eat and celebrate! 24 Because my son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now the father’s[j] older son was in the field. As he was coming back to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called to one of the servants and asked what was happening. 27 The servant[k] told him, ‘Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he got him back safely.’
28 “Then the older son[l] became angry and wouldn’t go into the house.[m] So his father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you. I’ve never disobeyed a command of yours. Yet you’ve never given me so much as a young goat for a festival[n] so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came back, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
31 “His father[o] told him, ‘My child, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found.’”
Job Describes His Current Status in Life
30 “But now they mock me;
men who are far younger than I,
whose fathers I would have hated
to entrust with my own sheep dogs.
2 Furthermore, what could I have gained
from men whose strength is gone?
3 Unproductive due to poverty[a] and hunger,
they could only scratch in parched soil,
devastated and desolated.
4 “They would pluck off herbs from salt marshes to eat;
and roots of the broom shrub[b] for food.
5 Driven away from human company,
they were shouted at as though they were thieves.
6 They lived in the most dangerous of ravines,
in holes in the ground, and among rocks.
7 They bray like donkeys[c] among the bushes
and huddle together under the desert weeds.
8 Sons of fools and of uncertain reputation,[d]
they have been driven from the land by scourging.”
Job Presents the Actions of the Mockers
9 “Now, I’ve become the object of their mocking melodies;[e]
I’m nothing but a fool’s proverb to them!
10 They abhor me—they keep their distance from me;
but they don’t refrain from spitting at the sight of me.
11 But God[f] has loosened his cord and afflicted me;
so they’ve cast off all restraints in my presence.
12 “A wretched crowd ambushes me to my right;
they trip my feet;
they build up their path of calamity for me.
13 They tear up my pathways;
they profit from my destruction,
and they need no help to do this!
14 They come like those who breach through a wall;
as everything crashes around me they’ll roll on and on!
15 My greatest fears have overcome me;
my honor is assaulted as though by a wind storm;
my prosperity evaporates like a morning cloud.”
Job Accuses God of Mistreating Him
16 “Now, my soul pours itself out;
the time of my affliction has taken control of me.
17 The night racks my bones;
and the pain that gnaws on me will not rest.
18 My clothes are disheveled by his forceful treatment of me;[g]
he restricts my movement like the collar of my cloak.
19 “He tossed me into the mire;
I’ve become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry for help to you,
but you won’t answer me;
I stand still,
but you only look at me.
21 You changed toward me, and now you’re cruel to me;
with your mighty hand you are persecuting me;
22 you carried me off in a wind storm,
making me ride on it
while you toss me about as the storm roars around me.
23 I know that you’re about to kill me,
so I’m about to go to the house that’s appointed for all the living.”
Job Lists His Hopes Despite His Deplorable Condition
24 “Surely he won’t stretch his hand against the needy, will he,
especially if they cry to him in their calamity?
25 Haven’t I wept for the one who is going through hard times?
Haven’t I grieved for the needy?
26 I have hoped for good, but evil came instead;
I have hoped for light, but darkness came.
27 I’m boiling mad inside, and I won’t remain silent;
the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived.
28 “In growing darkness, I walked without sunlight;
I stood in the congregation to cry for help.
29 I’ve become a brother to jackals,
and a friend to ostriches.
30 My skin turns black all over me;
and my bones seem burned from the heat.
31 But my harp is in mourning;
my flute plays only songs for those who are weeping.”
Concerning the Collection for the Saints
16 Now concerning the collection for the saints, you should follow the directions I gave to the churches in Galatia. 2 After the Sabbath ends,[a] each of you should set aside and save something from your surplus in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I arrive. 3 When I arrive, I will send letters along with the men you approve to take your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it is worthwhile for me to go, too, they can go with me.
Plans for Travel
5 I will visit you when I go through Macedonia—for I intend to go through Macedonia— 6 and will probably stay with you for a while[b] or even spend the winter with you.[c] Then you can send me on my way, wherever I decide to go. 7 I do not want to visit with you now just in passing, because I hope to spend a longer time with you if the Lord permits. 8 However, I’ll stay on in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a door has opened wide for me to do effective work, although many people are opposing me.
10 If Timothy comes, see to it that he does not have anything to be afraid of while he is with you, for he is doing the Lord’s work as I am. 11 Therefore, no one should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me, because I am expecting him along with the brothers.
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other[d] brothers, but he was not inclined to do so just now. However, he will visit you[e] when the time is right.
Final Instructions
13 Remain alert. Keep standing firm in your faith. Keep on being courageous and strong. 14 Everything you do should be done lovingly. 15 Now I urge you, brothers—for you know that the members of the family of Stephanas were the first converts[f] in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to serving the saints— 16 to submit yourselves to people like these and to anyone else who shares their labor and hard work. 17 I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus came here, because what was lacking they have supplied through you. 18 They refreshed my spirit—and yours, too. Therefore, appreciate men like that.
Final Greetings
19 The churches in Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca[g] and the church in their house greet you warmly in union with the Lord. 20 All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.[h] 21 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand.
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