M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
3 “You must not have any other gods except me.
4 “You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 5 You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 6 But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly; the Lord will punish anyone who misuses his name.
8 “Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. 9 Work and get everything done during six days each week, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities. 11 The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything—the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is going to give you.
13 “You must not murder anyone.
14 “You must not be guilty of adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not tell lies about your neighbor.
17 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20 Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.”
21 The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was. 22 Then the Lord told Moses to say these things to the Israelites: “You yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven. 23 You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition to me.
24 “Make an altar of dirt for me, and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Worship me in every place that I choose, and I will come and bless you. 25 If you use stones to make an altar for me, don’t use stones that you have shaped with tools. When you use any tools on them, you make them unsuitable for use in worship. 26 And you must not go up to my altar on steps, or people will be able to see under your clothes.”
Pilate Questions Jesus
23 Then the whole group stood up and led Jesus to Pilate.[a] 2 They began to accuse Jesus, saying, “We caught this man telling things that mislead our people. He says that we should not pay taxes to Caesar, and he calls himself the Christ, a king.”
3 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Those are your words.”
4 Pilate said to the leading priests and the people, “I find nothing against this man.”
5 They were insisting, saying, “But Jesus makes trouble with the people, teaching all around Judea. He began in Galilee, and now he is here.”
Pilate Sends Jesus to Herod
6 Pilate heard this and asked if Jesus was from Galilee. 7 Since Jesus was under Herod’s authority, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, because he had heard about Jesus and had wanted to meet him for a long time. He was hoping to see Jesus work a miracle. 9 Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus said nothing. 10 The leading priests and teachers of the law were standing there, strongly accusing Jesus. 11 After Herod and his soldiers had made fun of Jesus, they dressed him in a kingly robe and sent him back to Pilate. 12 In the past, Pilate and Herod had always been enemies, but on that day they became friends.
Jesus Must Die
13 Pilate called the people together with the leading priests and the rulers. 14 He said to them, “You brought this man to me, saying he makes trouble among the people. But I have questioned him before you all, and I have not found him guilty of what you say. 15 Also, Herod found nothing wrong with him; he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing for which he should die. 16 So, after I punish him, I will let him go free.” [17 Every year at the Passover Feast, Pilate had to release one prisoner to the people.][b]
18 But the people shouted together, “Take this man away! Let Barabbas go free!” 19 (Barabbas was a man who was in prison for his part in a riot in the city and for murder.)
20 Pilate wanted to let Jesus go free and told this to the crowd. 21 But they shouted again, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 A third time Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I can find no reason to kill him. So I will have him punished and set him free.”
23 But they continued to shout, demanding that Jesus be crucified. Their yelling became so loud that 24 Pilate decided to give them what they wanted. 25 He set free the man who was in jail for rioting and murder, and he handed Jesus over to them to do with him as they wished.
Jesus Is Crucified
26 As they led Jesus away, Simon, a man from Cyrene, was coming in from the fields. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross and to walk behind him.
27 A large crowd of people was following Jesus, including some women who were sad and crying for him. 28 But Jesus turned and said to them, “Women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. 29 The time is coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the women who cannot have children and who have no babies to nurse.’ 30 Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ And they will say to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 If they act like this now when life is good, what will happen when bad times come?”[c]
32 There were also two criminals led out with Jesus to be put to death. 33 When they came to a place called the Skull, the soldiers crucified Jesus and the criminals—one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.”[d]
The soldiers threw lots to decide who would get his clothes. 35 The people stood there watching. And the leaders made fun of Jesus, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is God’s Chosen One, the Christ.”
36 The soldiers also made fun of him, coming to Jesus and offering him some vinegar. 37 They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 At the top of the cross these words were written: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals on a cross began to shout insults at Jesus: “Aren’t you the Christ? Then save yourself and us.”
40 But the other criminal stopped him and said, “You should fear God! You are getting the same punishment he is. 41 We are punished justly, getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”[e]
Jesus Dies
44 It was about noon, and the whole land became dark until three o’clock in the afternoon, 45 because the sun did not shine. The curtain in the Temple[f] was torn in two. 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, I give you my life.” After Jesus said this, he died.
47 When the army officer there saw what happened, he praised God, saying, “Surely this was a good man!”
48 When all the people who had gathered there to watch saw what happened, they returned home, beating their chests because they were so sad. 49 But those who were close friends of Jesus, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched.
Joseph Takes Jesus’ Body
50 There was a good and religious man named Joseph who was a member of the council. 51 But he had not agreed to the other leaders’ plans and actions against Jesus. He was from the town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God to come. 52 Joseph went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. 53 He took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in cloth, and put it in a tomb that was cut out of a wall of rock. This tomb had never been used before. 54 This was late on Preparation Day, and when the sun went down, the Sabbath day would begin.
55 The women who had come from Galilee with Jesus followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how Jesus’ body was laid. 56 Then the women left to prepare spices and perfumes.
On the Sabbath day they rested, as the law of Moses commanded.
The Lord Questions Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that makes my purpose unclear
by saying things that are not true?
3 Be strong like a man!
I will ask you questions,
and you must answer me.
4 Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know!
Who stretched a ruler across it?
6 What were the earth’s foundations set on,
or who put its cornerstone in place
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted with joy?
8 “Who shut the doors to keep the sea in
when it broke through and was born,
9 when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea
and wrapped it in dark clouds,
10 when I put limits on the sea
and put its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said to the sea, ‘You may come this far, but no farther;
this is where your proud waves must stop’?
12 “Have you ever ordered the morning to begin,
or shown the dawn where its place was
13 in order to take hold of the earth by its edges
and shake evil people out of it?
14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal;
the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
15 Light is not given to evil people;
their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.
16 “Have you ever gone to where the sea begins
or walked in the valleys under the sea?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
18 Do you understand how wide the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all these things.
19 “What is the path to light’s home,
and where does darkness live?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the way to their homes?
21 Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened!
Have you lived that many years?
22 “Have you ever gone into the storehouse of the snow
or seen the storehouses for hail,
23 which I save for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 Where is the place from which light comes?
Where is the place from which the east winds blow over the earth?
25 Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains
and sets a path for the thunderstorm?
26 Who waters the land where no one lives,
the desert that has no one in it?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land
so the grass begins to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who is father to the drops of dew?
29 Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the sky
30 when the water becomes hard as stone,
and even the surface of the ocean is frozen?
31 “Can you tie up the stars of the Pleiades
or loosen the ropes of the stars in Orion?
32 Can you bring out the stars on time
or lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the sky
and understand their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you shout an order to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way?
Do they come to you and say, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who put wisdom inside the mind
or understanding in the heart?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can pour water from the jars of the sky
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clumps of dirt stick together?
39 “Do you hunt food for the female lion
to satisfy the hunger of the young lions
40 while they lie in their dens
or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
41 Who gives food to the birds
when their young cry out to God
and wander about without food?
Christian Giving
8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace God gave the churches in Macedonia. 2 They have been tested by great troubles, and they are very poor. But they gave much because of their great joy. 3 I can tell you that they gave as much as they were able and even more than they could afford. No one told them to do it. 4 But they begged and pleaded with us to let them share in this service for God’s people. 5 And they gave in a way we did not expect: They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us. This is what God wants. 6 So we asked Titus to help you finish this special work of grace since he is the one who started it. 7 You are rich in everything—in faith, in speaking, in knowledge, in truly wanting to help, and in the love you learned from us.[a] In the same way, be strong also in the grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to give. But I want to see if your love is true by comparing you with others that really want to help. 9 You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know that Christ was rich, but for you he became poor so that by his becoming poor you might become rich.
10 This is what I think you should do: Last year you were the first to want to give, and you were the first who gave. 11 So now finish the work you started. Then your “doing” will be equal to your “wanting to do.” Give from what you have. 12 If you want to give, your gift will be accepted. It will be judged by what you have, not by what you do not have. 13 We do not want you to have troubles while other people are at ease, but we want everything to be equal. 14 At this time you have plenty. What you have can help others who are in need. Then later, when they have plenty, they can help you when you are in need, and all will be equal. 15 As it is written in the Scriptures, “The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little.”[b]
Titus and His Companions Help
16 I thank God because he gave Titus the same love for you that I have. 17 Titus accepted what we asked him to do. He wanted very much to go to you, and this was his own idea. 18 We are sending with him the brother who is praised by all the churches because of his service in preaching the Good News. 19 Also, this brother was chosen by the churches to go with us when we deliver this gift of money. We are doing this service to bring glory to the Lord and to show that we really want to help.
20 We are being careful so that no one will criticize us for the way we are handling this large gift. 21 We are trying hard to do what the Lord accepts as right and also what people think is right.
22 Also, we are sending with them our brother, who is always ready to help. He has proved this to us in many ways, and he wants to help even more now, because he has much faith in you.
23 Now about Titus—he is my partner who is working with me to help you. And about the other brothers—they are sent from the churches, and they bring glory to Christ. 24 So show these men the proof of your love and the reason we are proud of you. Then all the churches can see it.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.