M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Gold Calf
32 When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “We don’t know what has happened to this Moses, who led us out of Egypt. Make gods who will lead us.”
2 Aaron said to them, “Have your wives, sons, and daughters take off the gold earrings they are wearing, and bring them to me.”
3 So all the people took off their gold earrings and handed them to Aaron. 4 After he had worked on the gold with a tool,[a] he made it into a statue of a calf.
Then they said, “Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival in Yahweh’s honor.”
6 Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Afterward, they sat down to a feast, which turned into an orgy.
7 Yahweh said to Moses, “Go back down there. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined everything. 8 They’ve already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They’ve made a statue of a calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They’ve said, ‘Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’”
9 Yahweh added, “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with. 10 Now leave me alone. I’m so angry with them I am going to destroy them. Then I’ll make you into a great nation.”
11 But Moses pleaded with Yahweh his Elohim. “Yahweh,” he said, “why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand? 12 Don’t let the Egyptians say, ‘He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s why he brought them out of our land.’ Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.’”
14 So Yahweh reconsidered his threat to destroy his people.
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain carrying the two tablets with God’s words. They were written on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of Elohim, and the writing was Elohim’s writing inscribed on the tablets.
17 Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It’s the sound of war in the camp!”
18 Moses replied,
“It’s not the sound of winners shouting.
It’s not the sound of losers crying.
It’s the sound of a wild celebration[b] that I hear.”
19 When he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. In a burst of anger Moses threw down the tablets and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf they had made, burned it, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
21 Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you encouraged them to commit such a serious sin?”
22 “Don’t be angry, sir,” Aaron answered. “You know that these people are evil. 23 They said to me, ‘We don’t know what’s happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. Make gods for us. They will lead us.’ 24 So I told them to take off any gold they were wearing. They gave it to me. I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
25 Aaron had let the people get out of control, and they became an object of ridicule to their enemies. When Moses saw this, 26 he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “If you’re on Yahweh’s side, come over here to me!” Then all the Levites gathered around him.
27 He said to them, “This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says: Each of you put on your sword. Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, and kill your relatives, friends, and neighbors.”
28 The Levites did what Moses told them, and that day about 3,000 people died.
29 Moses said, “Today you are ordained as Yahweh’s priests. God gave you a blessing today because each of you fought with your own sons and brothers.”[c]
Moses Begs the Lord to Spare the People
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a serious sin. Now I will go up the mountain to Yahweh. Maybe I will be able to make a payment for your sin and make peace with the Lord for your sin.”
31 So Moses went back to Yahweh and said, “These people have committed such a serious sin! They made gods out of gold for themselves. 32 But will you forgive their sin? If not, please wipe me out of the book you have written.”
33 Yahweh answered Moses, “I will wipe out of my book whoever sins against me. 34 Now, go! Lead the people to the place I told you about. My Messenger will go ahead of you. But when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 So Yahweh killed people because they had Aaron make the calf.
Jesus Brings Lazarus Back to Life
11 Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived, was sick. 2 (Mary was the woman who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was the one who was sick.)
3 So the sisters sent a messenger to tell Yeshua, “Lord, your close friend is sick.”
4 When Yeshua heard the message, he said, “His sickness won’t result in death. Instead, this sickness will bring glory to God so that the Son of God will receive glory through it.”
5 Yeshua loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 Yet, when Yeshua heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.
7 Then, after the two days, Yeshua said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, not long ago the Jews wanted to stone you to death. Do you really want to go back there?”
9 Yeshua answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day don’t stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 However, those who walk at night stumble because they have no light in themselves.”
11 After Yeshua said this, he told his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, and I’m going to Bethany to wake him.”
12 His disciples said to him, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he’ll get well.”
13 Yeshua meant that Lazarus was dead, but the disciples thought Yeshua meant that Lazarus was only sleeping. 14 Then Yeshua told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 but I’m glad that I wasn’t there so that you can grow in faith. Let’s go to Lazarus.”
16 Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, “Let’s go so that we, too, can die with Yeshua.”
17 When Yeshua arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. 18 (Bethany was near Jerusalem, not quite two miles away.) 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Yeshua was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha told Yeshua, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”
23 Yeshua told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.”
24 Martha answered Yeshua, “I know that he’ll come back to life on the last day, when everyone will come back to life.”
25 Yeshua said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”
27 Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”
28 After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”
29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Yeshua. 30 (Yeshua had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) 31 The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. 32 When Mary arrived where Yeshua was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Yeshua saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.
34 So Yeshua asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”
They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Yeshua cried. 36 The Jews said, “See how much Yeshua loved him.” 37 But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”
38 Deeply moved again, Yeshua went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. 39 Yeshua said, “Take the stone away.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Yeshua, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”
40 Yeshua said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” 41 So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.
Yeshua looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” 43 After Yeshua had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Yeshua told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”
The Jewish Council Plans to Kill Jesus
45 Many Jews who had visited Mary and had seen what Yeshua had done believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Yeshua had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What are we doing? This man is performing a lot of miracles. 48 If we let him continue what he’s doing, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will take away our position and our nation.”
49 One of them, Caiaphas, who was chief priest that year, told them, “You people don’t know anything. 50 You haven’t even considered this: It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
51 Caiaphas didn’t say this on his own. As chief priest that year, he prophesied that Yeshua would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He prophesied that Yeshua wouldn’t die merely for this nation, but that Yeshua would die to bring God’s scattered children together and make them one.
53 From that day on, the Jewish council planned to kill Yeshua. 54 So Yeshua no longer walked openly among the Jews. Instead, he left Bethany and went to the countryside near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 The Jewish Passover was near. Many people came from the countryside to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. 56 As they stood in the temple courtyard, they looked for Yeshua and asked each other, “Do you think that he’ll avoid coming to the festival?” 57 (The chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that whoever knew where Yeshua was should tell them so that they could arrest him.)
Wisdom’s Announcement
8 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise its voice?
2 Wisdom takes its stand on high ground,
by the wayside where the roads meet,
3 near the gates to the city.
At the entrance wisdom sings its song,
4 “I am calling to all of you,
and my appeal is to all people.
5 You gullible people, learn how to be sensible.
You fools, get a heart that has understanding.[a]
6 Listen! I am speaking about noble things,
and my lips will say what is right.
7 My mouth expresses the truth,
and wickedness is disgusting to my lips.
8 Everything I say is fair,
and there is nothing twisted or crooked in it.
9 All of it is clear to a person who has understanding
and right to those who have acquired knowledge.
10 Take my discipline, not silver,
and my knowledge rather than fine gold,
11 because wisdom is better than jewels.
Nothing you desire can equal it.
Wisdom’s Authority
12 “I, Wisdom, live with insight,
and I acquire knowledge and foresight.
13 To fear Yahweh is to hate evil.
I hate pride, arrogance, evil behavior, and twisted speech.
14 Advice and priceless wisdom are mine.
I, Understanding, have strength.
15 Through me kings reign,
and rulers decree fair laws.
16 Through me princes rule,
so do nobles and all fair judges.
17 I love those who love me.
Those eagerly looking for me will find me.
18 I have riches and honor,
lasting wealth and righteousness.
19 What I produce is better than gold, pure gold.
What I yield is better than fine silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness, on the paths of justice,
21 to give an inheritance to those who love me
and to fill their treasuries.
Wisdom as Creator
22 “Yahweh already possessed me long ago,
when his way began,
before any of his works.
23 I was appointed from everlasting
from the first,
before the earth began.
24 I was born
before there were oceans,
before there were springs filled with water.
25 I was born
before the mountains were settled in their places
and before the hills,
26 when he had not yet made land or fields
or the first dust of the world.
27 “When he set up the heavens, I was there.
When he traced the horizon on the surface of the ocean,
28 when he established the skies above,
when he determined the currents in the ocean,
29 when he set a limit for the sea
so the waters would not overstep his command,
when he traced the foundations of the earth,
30 I was beside him as a master craftsman.[b]
I made him happy day after day,
I rejoiced in front of him all the time,
31 found joy in his inhabited world,
and delighted in the human race.
Wisdom as Lifegiver
32 “Now, sons, listen to me.
Blessed are those who follow my ways.
33 Listen to discipline, and become wise.
Do not leave my ways.
34 Blessed is the person who listens to me,
watches at my door day after day,
and waits by my doorposts.
35 Whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from Yahweh.
36 Whoever sins against me harms himself.
All those who hate me love death.”
Greeting
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Yeshua by God’s will.
To God’s holy and faithful people who are united with Christ in the city of Ephesus.[a]
2 Good will[b] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua Christ are yours!
God Chose Us Through Christ
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. 4 Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. 5 Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Yeshua Christ. He freely chose to do this 6 so that the kindness[c] he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.
7 Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. 8 He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight 9 when he revealed the mystery of his plan to us. He had decided to do this through Christ. 10 He planned to bring all of history to its goal in Christ. Then Christ would be the head of everything in heaven and on earth. 11 God also decided ahead of time to choose us through Christ according to his plan, which makes everything work the way he intends. 12 He planned all of this so that we who had already focused our hope on Christ would praise him and give him glory.
13 You heard and believed the message of truth, the Good News that he has saved you. In him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit whom he promised. 14 This Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive our inheritance. We have this guarantee until we are set free to belong to him. God receives praise and glory for this.
Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians
15 I, too, have heard about your faith in the Lord Yeshua and your love for all of God’s people. For this reason 16 I never stop thanking God for you. I always remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the glorious Father, the God of our Lord Yeshua Christ, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Christ better. 18 Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit. 19 You will also know the unlimited greatness of his power as it works with might and strength for us, the believers. 20 He worked with that same power in Christ when he brought him back to life and gave him the highest position in heaven. 21 He is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, lords, and all other names that can be named, not only in this present world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put everything under the control of Christ. He has made Christ the head of everything for the good of the church. 23 The church is Christ’s body and completes him as he fills everything in every way.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.