M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob [Israel] Sends Ten Sons to Egypt
42 When Jacob found out that grain was for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? 2 I’ve heard there’s grain for sale in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us so that we won’t starve to death.”
3 Ten of Joseph’s brothers went to buy grain in Egypt. 4 Jacob wouldn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with the other brothers, because he was afraid that something would happen to him. 5 Israel’s sons left with the others who were going to buy grain, because there was also famine in Canaan.
Joseph Sends Nine of His Brothers Back to Canaan
6 As governor of the country, Joseph was selling grain to everyone. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he acted as if he didn’t know them and spoke harshly to them. “Where did you come from?” he asked them.
“From Canaan, to buy food,” they answered.
8 Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. 9 Then he remembered the dreams he once had about them. “You’re spies!” he said to them, “And you’ve come to find out where our country is unprotected.”
10 “No, sir!” they answered him. “We’ve come to buy food. 11 We’re all sons of one man. We’re honest men, not spies.”
12 He said to them, “No! You’ve come to find out where our country is unprotected.”
13 They answered him, “We were 12 brothers, sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest brother stayed with our father, and the other one is no longer with us.”
14 “It’s just as I told you,” Joseph said to them. “You’re spies! 15 This is how you’ll be tested: I solemnly swear, as surely as Pharaoh lives, that you won’t leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you must be sent to get your brother while the rest of you stay in prison. We’ll see if you’re telling the truth. If not, I solemnly swear, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 Then he put them in jail for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this, and you will live. I, too, fear Elohim. 19 If you are honest men, you will let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The rest of you will go and take grain back to your starving families. 20 But you must bring me your youngest brother. This will show that you’ve been telling the truth. Then you won’t die.” So they agreed.
21 They said to each other, “We’re surely being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw how troubled he was when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in trouble now.”
22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must pay for this bloodshed.”
23 They didn’t know that Joseph could understand them, because he was speaking through an interpreter. 24 He stepped away from them to cry. When he could speak to them again, he came back. Then he picked Simeon and had him arrested right in front of their eyes.
25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain. He put each man’s money back into his sack and gave them supplies for their trip. After their bags were filled, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.
27 At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey. His money was right inside his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back! It’s right here in my sack!”
They wanted to die. They trembled and turned to each other and asked, “What has Elohim done to us?”
Jacob’s [Israel’s] Sons Report to Him
29 When they came to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The governor of that land spoke harshly to us and treated us like spies. 31 But we said to him, ‘We’re honest men, not spies. 32 We were 12 brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer with us. The youngest brother stayed with our father in Canaan.’
33 “Then the governor of that land said to us, ‘This is how I’ll know that you’re honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me. Take food for your starving families and go. 34 But bring me your youngest brother. Then I’ll know that you’re not spies but honest men. I’ll give your brother back to you, and you’ll be able to move about freely in this country.’”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, each man found his bag of money in his sack. When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You’re going to make me lose all my children! Joseph is no longer with us, Simeon is no longer with us, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything’s against me!”
37 So Reuben said to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I don’t bring him back to you. Let me take care of him, and I’ll bring him back to you.”
38 Jacob replied, “My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he’s the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you’re taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!”
A Story about a Vineyard(A)
12 Then, using this illustration, Yeshua spoke to them. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.
2 “At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. 3 The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing. 4 So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.
6 “He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you never read the Scripture passage:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
11 The Lord has done this,
and it is amazing for us to see’?”
12 They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.
A Question about Taxes(B)
13 The leaders sent some of the Pharisees and some of Herod’s followers to Yeshua. They wanted to trap him into saying the wrong thing. 14 When they came to him, they said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth. You don’t favor individuals because of who they are. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not? Should we pay taxes or not?”
15 Yeshua recognized their hypocrisy, so he asked them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a coin so that I can look at it.”
16 They brought a coin. He said to them, “Whose face and name is this?”
They told him, “The emperor’s.”
17 Yeshua said to them, “Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.”
They were surprised at his reply.
The Dead Come Back to Life(C)
18 Some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Yeshua. They asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’ 20 There were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children. 21 The second married her and died without having children. So did the third. 22 None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died. 23 When the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? 25 When the dead come back to life, they don’t marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven. 26 Haven’t you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It’s in the passage about the bush, where God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ 27 He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. You’re badly mistaken!”
Love God and Your Neighbor(D)
28 One of the experts in Moses’ Teachings went to Yeshua during the argument with the Sadducees. He saw how well Yeshua answered them, so he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of them all?”
29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The expert in Moses’ Teachings said to Yeshua, “Teacher, that was well said! You’ve told the truth that there is only one God and no other besides him! 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Yeshua heard how wisely the man answered, he told the man, “You’re not too far from the kingdom of God.”
After that, no one dared to ask him another question.
How Can David’s Son Be David’s Lord?(E)
35 While Yeshua was teaching in the temple courtyard, he asked, “How can the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that the Messiah is David’s son? 36 David, guided by the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Take the highest position in heaven
until I put your enemies under your control.” ’
37 David calls him Lord. So how can he be his son?”
Jesus Disapproves of the Example Set by the Experts in Moses’ Teachings(F)
The large crowd enjoyed listening to him. 38 As he taught, he said, “Watch out for the experts in Moses’ Teachings! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the front seats in synagogues and the places of honor at dinners. 40 They rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make themselves look good. The experts in Moses’ Teachings will receive the most severe punishment.”
A Widow’s Contribution(G)
41 As Yeshua sat facing the temple offering box, he watched how much money people put into it. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 A poor widow dropped in two small coins, worth less than a cent.
43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: This poor widow has given more than all the others. 44 All of them have given what they could spare. But she, in her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.”
Bildad Speaks: You Are Unjustly Accusing God of Doing Evil, Job
8 Then Bildad from Shuah replied to Job,
2 “How long will you say these things?
How long will your words be so windy?
3 Does El distort justice,
or does Shadday distort righteousness?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.
5 If you search for El
and plead for mercy from Shadday,
6 if you are moral and ethical,
then he will rise up on your behalf
and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.[a]
7 Then what you had in the past will seem small
compared with the great prosperity you’ll have in the future.
Learn from Past Generations
8 “Ask the people of past generations.
Find out what their ancestors had learned.
9 We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.
10 Won’t their words teach you?
Won’t they share their thoughts with you?
God Does Not Punish the Innocent Person
11 “Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp?
Can rushes grow tall without water?
12 Even if they were fresh and not cut,
they would wither quicker than grass.
13 The same thing happens to all who forget El.
The hope of the godless dies.
14 His confidence is easily shattered.
His trust is a spider’s web.
15 If one leans on his house, it collapses.
If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The shoots spread over his garden.
17 Its roots weave through a pile of stones.
They cling to a stone house.
18 But when it is uprooted from its place,
the ground denies it and says, ‘I never saw you!’
19 That is its joy in this life,
and others sprout from the same ground to take its place.
20 “Certainly, El does not reject a person of integrity
or give a helping hand to wicked people.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with happy shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
Dedicate Your Lives to God
12 Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. 2 Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.
3 Because of the kindness[a] that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers. 4 Our bodies have many parts, but these parts don’t all do the same thing. 5 In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other. 6 God in his kindness gave each of us different gifts. If your gift is speaking what God has revealed, make sure what you say agrees with the Christian faith. 7 If your gift is serving, then devote yourself to serving. If it is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. 8 If it is encouraging others, devote yourself to giving encouragement. If it is sharing, be generous. If it is leadership, lead enthusiastically. If it is helping people in need, help them cheerfully.
9 Love sincerely. Hate evil. Hold on to what is good. 10 Be devoted to each other like a loving family. Excel in showing respect for each other. 11 Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. 12 Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. 13 Share what you have with God’s people who are in need. Be hospitable.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, and don’t curse them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be arrogant, but be friendly to humble people. Don’t think that you are smarter than you really are.
17 Don’t pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you. Focus your thoughts on those things that are considered noble. 18 As much as it is possible, live in peace with everyone. 19 Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, “I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord.” 20 But,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
If you do this, you will make him feel guilty and ashamed.”
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.