M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
32 Listen, heaven, and I will speak.
Earth, hear the words from my mouth.
2 Let my teachings come down like raindrops.
Let my words drip like dew,
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on green plants.
3 I will proclaim the name of Yahweh.
Give our Elohim the greatness he deserves!
4 He is a rock.
What he does is perfect.
All his ways are fair.
He is a faithful El, who does no wrong.
He is honorable and reliable.
5 He recognizes that his people are corrupt.
To their shame they are no longer his children.
They are devious and scheming.
6 Is this how you repay Yahweh,
you foolish and silly people?
Isn’t he your Ab and Owner,
who made you and formed you?
7 Remember a time long ago.
Think about all the past generations.
Ask your fathers to remind you,
and your leaders to tell you.
8 When Elyon gave nations their land,
when he divided the descendants of Adam,
he set up borders for the tribes
corresponding to the number of the sons of Israel.
9 But Yahweh’s people were his property.
Jacob was his own possession.
10 He found his people in a desert land,
in a barren place where animals howl.
He guarded them, took care of them,
and protected them because they were helpless.
11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
hovers over its young,
spreads its wings to catch them,
and carries them on its feathers,
12 so Yahweh alone led his people.
No foreign god was with him.
13 He made them ride on the heights of the earth
and fed them with the produce of the fields.
He gave them honey from rocks
and olive oil from solid rock.
14 They ate cheese from cows
and drank milk from sheep and goats.
He gave them fat from lambs,
rams from the stock of Bashan,
male goats, and the best wheat.
They drank the blood-red wine of grapes.
15 Jeshurun[a] got fat and disrespectful.
(You got fat! You were stuffed! You were gorged!)
They abandoned the Elohim who made them
and treated the rock of their salvation like a fool.
16 They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods
and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not Elohim,
to gods they never heard of.
These were new gods, who came from nearby,
gods your ancestors never worshiped.
18 (You ignored the rock who fathered you
and forgot the El who gave you life.)
19 Yahweh saw this and rejected them,
because his own sons and daughters had made him angry.
20 He said, “I will turn away from them
and find out what will happen to them.
They are devious people,
children who can’t be trusted.
21 They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods
and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
So I will use those who are not my people to make them jealous
and a nation of godless fools to make them angry.
22 My anger has started a fire
that will burn to the depths of hell.
It will consume the earth and its crops
and set the foundations of the mountains on fire.
23 I will bring one disaster after another on them.
I will use up all my arrows on them.
24 They will be starved by famines
and ravaged by pestilence and deadly epidemics.
I will send vicious animals against them
along with poisonous animals that crawl on the ground.
25 Foreign wars will kill off their children,
and even at home there will be horrors.
Young men and young women alike will die
as well as nursing babies and gray-haired men.
26 I said that I would cut them in pieces[b]
and erase everyone’s memory of them.
27 But I didn’t want their enemies to make me angry.
I didn’t want their opponents to misunderstand and say,
‘We won this victory!
It wasn’t Yahweh who did all this!’”
28 My people have lost their good sense.
They are not able to understand.
29 If only they were wise enough to understand this
and realize what will happen to them!
30 How could one person chase a thousand
or two people make ten thousand flee?
Their rock used these people to defeat them
and Yahweh gave them no help.
31 Their rock isn’t like our rock.
Even our enemies will agree with this.
32 Their grapevines come from the vineyards of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous,
and their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is snake venom,
the deadly poison of cobras.
34 Isn’t this what I’ve stored
under lock and key in my storehouses?
35 I will take revenge and be satisfied.
In due time their foot will slip,
because their day of disaster is near.
Their doom is coming quickly.
36 Yahweh will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their strength is gone
and that no one is left, neither slaves nor free people.
37 Then he will ask, “Where are their gods?
Where is the rock they took refuge in?
38 Where are the gods who ate the fat from their sacrifices
and drank the wine from their wine offerings?
Let them come to help you!
Let them be your refuge!”
39 See, I am the only Elohim.
There are no others.
I kill, and I make alive.
I wound, and I heal,
and no one can rescue you from my power.
40 I raise my hand toward heaven and solemnly swear:
As surely as I live forever,
41 I will sharpen my flashing sword
and take justice into my own hands.
Then I will take revenge on my enemies
and pay back those who hate me.
42 My arrows will drip with blood
from those who were killed and taken captive.
My sword will cut off the heads
of the enemy who vowed to fight.
43 Joyfully sing with Yahweh’s people, you nations,
because he will take revenge for the death of his servants.
He will get even with his enemies
and make peace for his people’s land.[c]
Moses Is Allowed to See Canaan
44 Moses came with Hoshea,[d] son of Nun, and recited all the words of this song as the people listened. 45 When Moses had finished reciting all these words to Israel, 46 he said to them, “Pay attention to all these warnings I’ve given you today. Then you will command your children to faithfully obey every word of these teachings. 47 Don’t think these words are idle talk. They are your life! By these words you will be able to live for a long time in the land that you are going to take possession of when you cross the Jordan River.”
48 That same day Yahweh said to Moses, 49 “Go into the Abarim Mountains, to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho. Take a look at the land of Canaan that I’m giving the Israelites as their own property. 50 On this mountain where you’re going, you will die and join your ancestors in death, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. 51 This is because both of you were unfaithful to me at the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the Israelites how holy I am. 52 You may see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I’m giving the Israelites.”
121 I have done what is fair and right.
Do not leave me at the mercy of those who oppress me.
122 Guarantee my well-being.
Do not let arrogant people oppress me.
123 My eyes are strained from looking for you to save me
and from looking for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
124 Treat me with kindness,
and teach me your laws.
125 I am your servant.
Help me understand
so that I may come to know your written instructions.
126 It is time for you to act, O Yahweh.[a]
Even though people have abolished your teachings,
127 I love your commandments more than gold, more than pure gold.
128 I follow the straight paths of your guiding principles.
I hate every pathway that leads to lying.
129 Your written instructions are miraculous.
That is why I obey them.
130 Your word is a doorway that lets in light,
and it helps gullible people understand.
131 I open my mouth and pant
because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn toward me, and have pity on me
as you have pledged to do for those who love your name.
133 Make my steps secure through your promise,
and do not let any sin control me.
134 Save me from human oppression
so that I may obey your guiding principles.
135 Smile on me,
and teach me your laws.
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes
because others do not follow your teachings.
137 You are righteous, O Yahweh,
and your regulations are fair.
138 You have issued your written instructions.
They are fair and completely dependable.
139 My devotion for your words consumes me,
because my enemies have forgotten your words.
140 Your promise has been thoroughly tested,
and I love it.
141 I am unimportant and despised,
yet I never forget your guiding principles.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your teachings are reliable.
143 Trouble and hardship have found me,
but your commandments still make me happy.
144 Your written instructions are always right.
Help me understand them so that I will live.
The Lord Will Turn His People from Wrongdoing
59 Yahweh is not too weak to save
or his ear too deaf to hear.
2 But your wrongs have separated you from your Elohim,
and your sins have made him hide his face
so that he doesn’t hear you.
3 Your hands are stained with blood,
and your fingers are stained with sin.
You speak lies,
and you mutter wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice,
and no one pleads his case truthfully.
People trust pointless arguments and speak lies.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch viper eggs
and weave spiderwebs.
Those who eat their eggs will die.
When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.
6 Their webs can’t be used for clothes,
nor can they cover themselves with their works.
Their works are evil.
Their hands have committed acts of violence.
7 Their feet run to do evil.
They hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their plans are evil.
Ruin and destruction are on their highways.
8 They don’t know the way of peace.
There’s no justice on their highways.
They’ve made their paths crooked.
Whoever walks on them will never know peace.
9 That is why justice is far from us,
and righteousness doesn’t reach us.
We hope for light, but we walk in darkness.
We hope for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope like blind men along a wall.
We grope like people without eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
We are like dead people among healthy people.
11 We all growl like bears.
We coo like doves.
We hope for justice, but there is none.
We hope for salvation, but it’s far from us.
12 You are aware of our many rebellious acts.
Our sins testify against us.
Our rebellious acts are with us.
We know our wrongdoings.
13 We have rebelled and denied Yahweh.
We have turned away from our Elohim.
We have spoken about oppression and revolt.
We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away.
Truth has fallen in the street,
and honesty can’t come in.
15 Truth is missing.
Those who turn away from evil make themselves victims.
Yahweh sees it, and he’s angry
because there’s no justice.
16 He sees that there’s no one to help.
He’s astounded that there’s no one to intercede.
So with his own power he wins a victory.
His righteousness supports him.
17 He puts on righteousness like a coat of armor
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He wears clothes of vengeance.
He wraps himself with fury as a coat.
18 He will pay them back according to their deeds.
He will pay back his opponents with wrath and punish his enemies.
He will pay back the people who live on the coastlands.
19 The people of the west will fear the name of Yahweh.
Those in the east will fear his glory.
He will come like a rushing stream.
The wind of Yahweh pushes him.
20 “Then a Go’el will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from rebellion,” declares Yahweh.
21 “This is my promise[a] to them,” says Yahweh. “My Ruach, who is on you, and my words that I put in your mouth will not leave you. They will be with your children and your grandchildren permanently,” says Yahweh.
The Sermon on a Mountain Continues: Stop Judging(A)
7 “Stop judging so that you will not be judged. 2 Otherwise, you will be judged by the same standard you use to judge others. The standards you use for others will be applied to you. 3 So why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? 4 How can you say to another believer, ‘Let me take the piece of sawdust out of your eye,’ when you have a beam in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye. Then you will see clearly to remove the piece of sawdust from another believer’s eye.
Don’t Throw Pearls to Pigs
6 “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls to pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them and then tear you to pieces.
The Power of Prayer(B)
7 “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find, and for the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “If your child asks you for bread, would any of you give him a stone? 10 Or if your child asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? 11 Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?
The Golden Rule(C)
12 “Always do for other people everything you want them to do for you. That is the meaning of Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets.
The Narrow Gate
13 “Enter through the narrow gate because the gate and road that lead to destruction are wide. Many enter through the wide gate. 14 But the narrow gate and the road that lead to life are full of trouble. Only a few people find the narrow gate.
False Prophets(D)
15 “Beware of false prophets. They come to you disguised as sheep, but in their hearts they are vicious wolves. 16 You will know them by what they produce.
“People don’t pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles, do they? 17 In the same way every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire. 20 So you will know them by what they produce.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ 23 Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’
Build on the Rock(E)
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears what I say and obeys it will be like a wise person who built a house on rock. 25 Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not collapse, because its foundation was on rock.
26 “Everyone who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it will be like a foolish person who built a house on sand. 27 Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and struck that house. It collapsed, and the result was a total disaster.”
28 When Yeshua finished this speech, the crowds were amazed at his teachings. 29 Unlike their experts in Moses’ Teachings, he taught them with authority.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.