M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel’s Last Days
48 Now it came about after these things that [a]Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons (A)Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When [b]it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel [c]collected his strength and sat [d]up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “[e](B)God Almighty appeared to me at (C)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your [f]descendants after you for (D)an everlasting possession.’ 5 Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; (E)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as (F)Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But your offspring that [g]have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the [h]names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 Now as for me, when I came from (G)Paddan, (H)Rachel died, [i]to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 When Israel (I)saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “(J)They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that (K)I may bless them.” 10 Now (L)the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then [j]Joseph brought them close to him, and he (M)kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never [k]expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your [l]children as well.” 12 Then Joseph [m]took them from his knees, and (N)bowed with his face to the ground. 13 Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, [n]crossing his hands, [o]although (O)Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 He blessed Joseph, and said,
“(P)The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
(Q)The God who has been my shepherd [p]all my life to this day,
16 (R)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
(S)Bless the lads;
And may my name [q]live on in them,
And the [r]names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And (T)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father (U)laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and (V)his [s]descendants shall become a [t]multitude of nations.” 20 (W)He blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (X)God will be with you, and (Y)bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 I give you one [u]portion more than your brothers, (Z)which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now [a]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to (A)the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was (B)filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And [b]how has it happened to me, that the mother of (C)my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And (D)blessed is she who [c]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [d]by the Lord.”
The Magnificat
46 And Mary said:
“(E)My soul [e](F)exalts the Lord,
47 And (G)my spirit has rejoiced in (H)God my Savior.
48 “For (I)He has had regard for the humble state of His [f]bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me (J)blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 “(K)And His mercy is [g]upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 “(L)He has done [h]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [i]thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (M)exalted those who were humble.
53 “(N)He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant,
[j]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (O)As He spoke to our fathers,
(P)To Abraham and his [k]descendants forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
John Is Born
57 Now the time [l]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had [m](Q)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (R)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, [n]after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but (S)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they (T)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(U)His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 (V)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all (W)the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For (X)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
Zacharias’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zacharias (Y)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and (Z)prophesied, saying:
68 “(AA)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (AB)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (AC)horn of salvation for us
In the house of David (AD)His servant—
70 (AE)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (AF)from of old—
71 [o](AG)Salvation (AH)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (AI)To show mercy toward our fathers,
(AJ)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (AK)The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 (AL)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (AM)prophet of (AN)the Most High;
For you will go on (AO)before the Lord to (AP)prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
[p]By (AQ)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (AR)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (AS)To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (AT)way of peace.”
80 (AU)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
14 “(A)Man, who is born of woman,
Is [a]short-lived and (B)full of turmoil.
2 “(C)Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like (D)a shadow and does not remain.
3 “You also (E)open Your eyes on him
And (F)bring [b]him into judgment with Yourself.
4 “(G)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 “Since his days are determined,
The (H)number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have [c]set so that he cannot pass.
6 “(I)Turn Your gaze from him that he may [d]rest,
Until he [e]fulfills his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not [f]fail.
8 “Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 “But (J)man dies and lies prostrate.
Man (K)expires, and where is he?
11 “As (L)water [g]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So (M)man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
[h]He will not awake nor be aroused out of [i]his sleep.
13 “Oh that You would hide me in [j]Sheol,
That You would conceal me (N)until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 “If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my change comes.
15 “You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for (O)the work of Your hands.
16 “For now You (P)number my steps,
You do not (Q)observe my sin.
17 “My transgression is (R)sealed up in a bag,
And You [k]wrap up my iniquity.
18 “But the falling mountain [l]crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You (S)destroy man’s hope.
20 “You forever overpower him and he (T)departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 “His sons achieve honor, but (U)he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
22 “But his [m]body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 And when I came to you, brethren, I (A)did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you (B)the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in (D)weakness and in (E)fear and in much trembling, 4 and my [b]message and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not [c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on (H)the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are (I)mature; a wisdom, however, not of (J)this age nor of the rulers of (K)this age, who are (L)passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom (P)which none of the rulers of (Q)this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified (R)the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written,
“(S)Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 [d](T)For to us God revealed them (U)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the (V)depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the (W)spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (X)have received, not the spirit of (Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, (Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [e]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But [f]a (AA)natural man (AB)does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (AC)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually [g]appraised. 15 But he who is (AD)spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For (AE)who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But (AF)we have the mind of Christ.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.