M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob Settles in Goshen
47 Joseph went in to the king and said, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks and herds and everything they own. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 Joseph chose five of his brothers to introduce to the king.
3 The king said to the brothers, “What work do you do?”
And they said to him, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just as our ancestors were.” 4 They said to the king, “We have come to live in this land, because there is no grass in the land of Canaan for our animals to eat, and the hunger is terrible there. So please allow us to live in the land of Goshen.”
5 Then the king said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and you may choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land; let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my sheep and cattle.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and introduced him to the king, and Jacob blessed the king.
8 Then the king said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob said to him, “My life has been spent wandering from place to place. It has been short and filled with trouble—only one hundred thirty years. My ancestors lived much longer than I.” 10 Then Jacob blessed the king and left.
11 Joseph obeyed the king and gave his father and brothers the best land in Egypt, near the city of Rameses. 12 And Joseph gave his father, his brothers, and everyone who lived with them the food they needed.
Joseph Buys Land for the King
13 The hunger became worse, and since there was no food anywhere in the land, Egypt and Canaan became very poor. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid for the grain they were buying, and he brought that money to the king’s palace. 15 After some time, when the people in Egypt and Canaan had no money left, they went to Joseph and said, “Please give us food. Our money is gone, and if we don’t eat, we will die here in front of you.”
16 Joseph answered, “Since you have no money, give me your farm animals, and I will give you food in return.” 17 So people brought their farm animals to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. And he kept them alive by trading food for their farm animals that year.
18 The next year the people came to Joseph and said, “You know we have no money left, and all our animals belong to you. We have nothing left except our bodies and our land. 19 Surely both we and our land will die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we will be slaves to the king, together with our land. Give us seed to plant so that we will live and not die, and the land will not become a desert.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the hunger was very great. So the land became the king’s, 21 and Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because the king paid them for their work. So they had money to buy food.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for the king, so I will give you seed and you can plant your fields. 24 At harvest time you must give one-fifth to the king. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves to use as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families, and your children.”
25 The people said, “You have saved our lives. If you like, we will become slaves of the king.”
26 So Joseph made a law in Egypt, which continues today: One-fifth of everything from the land belongs to the king. The only land the king did not get was the priests’ land.
“Don’t Bury Me in Egypt”
27 The Israelites continued to live in the land of Goshen in Egypt. There they got possessions and had many children and grew in number.
28 Jacob[a] lived in Egypt seventeen years, so he lived to be one hundred forty-seven years old. 29 When Israel knew he soon would die, he called his son Joseph to him and said to him, “If you love me, put your hand under my leg.[b] Promise me you will not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I die, carry me out of Egypt, and bury me where my ancestors are buried.”
Joseph answered, “I will do as you say.”
31 Then Jacob said, “Promise me.” And Joseph promised him that he would do this. Then Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.
Luke Writes About Jesus’ Life
1 Many have tried to report on the things that happened among us. 2 They have written the same things that we learned from others—the people who saw those things from the beginning and served God by telling people his message. 3 Since I myself have studied everything carefully from the beginning, most excellent[a] Theophilus, it seemed good for me to write it out for you. I arranged it in order, 4 to help you know that what you have been taught is true.
Zechariah and Elizabeth
5 During the time Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to Abijah’s group.[b] Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the family of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth truly did what God said was good. They did everything the Lord commanded and were without fault in keeping his law. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his group was on duty. 9 According to the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 There were a great many people outside praying at the time the incense was offered. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense table. 12 When he saw the angel, Zechariah was startled and frightened. 13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son, and you will name him John. 14 He will bring you joy and gladness, and many people will be happy because of his birth. 15 John will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer, and even from birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before the Lord in spirit and power like Elijah. He will make peace between parents and their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the right way of thinking, to make a people ready for the coming of the Lord.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is old, too.”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. 20 Now, listen! You will not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe what I told you. But they will really happen.”
21 Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah and were surprised that he was staying so long in the Temple. 22 When Zechariah came outside, he could not speak to them, and they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple. He could only make signs to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service at the Temple was finished, he went home.
24 Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and did not go out of her house for five months. Elizabeth said, 25 “Look what the Lord has done for me! My people were ashamed[c] of me, but now the Lord has taken away that shame.”
An Angel Appears to Mary
26 During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. 28 The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”
29 But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. 31 Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. 33 He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 36 Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. 37 God can do anything!”
38 Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.
13 “Now my eyes have seen all this;
my ears have heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know.
You are not better than I am.
3 But I want to speak to the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.
4 But you smear me with lies.
You are worthless doctors, all of you!
5 I wish you would just stop talking;
then you would really be wise!
6 Listen to my argument,
and hear the pleading of my lips.
7 You should not speak evil in the name of God;
you cannot speak God’s truth by telling lies.
8 You should not unfairly choose his side against mine;
you should not argue the case for God.
9 You will not do well if he examines you;
you cannot fool God as you might fool humans.
10 God would surely scold you
if you unfairly took one person’s side.
11 His bright glory would scare you,
and you would be very much afraid of him.
12 Your wise sayings are worth no more than ashes,
and your arguments are as weak as clay.
13 “Be quiet and let me speak.
Let things happen to me as they will.
14 Why should I put myself in danger
and take my life in my own hands?
15 Even if God kills me, I have hope in him;
I will still defend my ways to his face.
16 This is my salvation.
The wicked cannot come before him.
17 Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears hear what I say.
18 See, I have prepared my case,
and I know I will be proved right.
19 No one can accuse me of doing wrong.
If someone can, I will be quiet and die.
20 “God, please just give me these two things,
and then I will not hide from you:
21 Take your punishment away from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.
22 Then call me, and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you answer.
23 How many evil things and sins have I done?
Show me my wrong and my sin.
24 Don’t hide your face from me;
don’t think of me as your enemy.
25 Don’t punish a leaf that is blown by the wind;
don’t chase after straw.
26 You write down cruel things against me
and make me suffer for my boyhood sins.
27 You put my feet in chains
and keep close watch wherever I go.
You even mark the soles of my feet.
28 “Everyone wears out like something rotten,
like clothing eaten by moths.
1 From Paul. God called me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus because that is what God wanted. Also from Sosthenes, our brother in Christ.
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to you who have been made holy in Christ Jesus. You were called to be God’s holy people with all people everywhere who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace God has given you in Christ Jesus. 5 I thank God because in Christ you have been made rich in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. 6 Just as our witness about Christ has been guaranteed to you, 7 so you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. 8 Jesus will keep you strong until the end so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Problems in the Church
10 I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with each other and not be split into groups. I beg that you be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and the same purpose. 11 My brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s family have told me quite plainly that there are quarrels among you. 12 This is what I mean: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”; another says, “I follow Peter”; and another says, “I follow Christ.” 13 Christ has been divided up into different groups! Did Paul die on the cross for you? No! Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No! 14 I thank God I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius 15 so that now no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 (I also baptized the family of Stephanas, but I do not remember that I baptized anyone else.) 17 Christ did not send me to baptize people but to preach the Good News. And he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of human wisdom so that the cross[a] of Christ would not lose its power.
Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 It is written in the Scriptures:
“I will cause the wise to lose their wisdom;
I will make the wise unable to understand.” Isaiah 29:14
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the skilled talker of this world? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. 21 In the wisdom of God the world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe. 22 The Jews ask for miracles, and the Greeks want wisdom. 23 But we preach a crucified Christ. This causes the Jews to stumble and is foolishness to non-Jews. 24 But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called—Jews and Greeks. 25 Even the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 God did this so that no one can brag in his presence. 30 Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin. 31 So, as the Scripture says, “If people want to brag, they should brag only about the Lord.”[b]
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.