M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joseph works well for his master Pharaoh
47 Joseph went to Pharaoh. He told him, ‘My father and brothers have arrived from Canaan. They have come with their animals and everything that belongs to them. They are now in Goshen.’ 2 Joseph took five of his brothers to go with him to meet Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your job?’ The brothers replied, ‘We are shepherds, sir. We take care of animals, just like our ancestors did.’ 4 They also said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come to stay here for a short time because there is a bad famine in Canaan. Our animals do not have any grass to eat there. Please sir, let us stay in Goshen.’
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have now come to you. 6 The whole land of Egypt is here for them. Your father and your brothers should stay in the best part of the land. They may live in Goshen. Choose the best shepherds from among them to take care of my own animals.’
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob to meet Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Then Pharaoh asked Jacob, ‘How old are you?’ 9 Jacob replied, ‘I have been alive for 130 years. My years have been few, and they have been difficult. I have not lived for as long as my ancestors lived.’[a] 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and he left.
11 So Joseph helped his father and his brothers to make their home in Egypt. He gave them a good place to live in the best region of Egypt. This was in the region that is now called Rameses. Joseph did for his family what Pharaoh had told him to do.[b]
12 Joseph also sent food to his father, his brothers and all his father's people. He gave them enough food for themselves and all their children.
13 But because the famine was bad, no food grew in all of Egypt. As a result, the people of Egypt and Canaan became hungry and weak. 14 Joseph received money from the people when he sold food to them. He took all the money to Pharaoh's palace. 15 Soon the people of Egypt and Canaan did not have any more money. All the Egyptians went to Joseph and they said, ‘Give us food to eat. If not, we will die! We do not have any more money.’
16 Joseph said to the people, ‘If you have no money, bring me your animals. I will give you food if you pay me with your animals instead of money.’ 17 So the people brought their animals to Joseph. They brought horses, sheep, goats, cows and donkeys. Joseph sold food to them in return for their animals. In that way, he sold enough food for them to eat that year.
18 When that year finished, the people came to Joseph again. They said to him, ‘Sir, you know that we do not have any money. Our animals now belong to you. We have nothing left to give to you. We only have our land and our own bodies. 19 Do not let us die here and now! Do not destroy our land! If you give food to us, we will pay you with ourselves and with our land. We will become Pharaoh's slaves. Our land will become Pharaoh's land. Give us grain to eat and seed to plant. Then we will not die. Our fields will not be empty.’
20 Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Because the famine was very bad, all the Egyptians sold their fields to buy food. So all the land now belonged to Pharaoh. 21 Joseph made all the people become slaves, wherever they lived in Egypt. 22 But Joseph did not buy the land which belonged to the priests. Pharaoh himself gave the priests enough food. So the priests did not have to sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, ‘Now I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. So I will give you some seed to plant in your fields. 24 But when the plants are ready to eat, you must give one fifth part to Pharaoh. You may keep the other four parts. You may keep it for seed to plant again and you may eat it. It will be food for you, for your people and for your children.’ 25 The people said, ‘You have saved our lives! Because you have been kind to us, we agree to become Pharaoh's slaves.’
26 So Joseph made a law which everybody in Egypt has to obey. The law says that one fifth of all food that people grow belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land did not become Pharaoh's land. This law still has authority today.[c]
27 The Israelites stayed in Egypt, in the region called Goshen. They had their own land there. They gave birth to many children so that they became very many people.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. His whole life was 147 years. 29 The time came for him to die. So he called his son Joseph to come to him. Jacob said to him, ‘If you agree, make a serious promise to me. Put your hand between my legs to show that I can trust you. Promise that you will be kind to me and that you will do as I ask. When I die, do not bury me here in Egypt.[d] 30 Carry my body out of Egypt. Bury me in the grave of my ancestors.’ Joseph said, ‘I will do as you say.’ 31 Jacob said, ‘Promise me that you will do this.’ Then Joseph made a promise to him. After that, Jacob rested on his bed and he thanked God.
Luke writes the facts about Jesus
1 Many people have written about the things that have happened in our country. 2 Some people were present when these things started to happen. They saw everything that happened and they told us about it. They are the people who wrote down the Good News for us. 3 I have checked the facts about what really happened. So now, I know about all the things that happened from the beginning. I am writing to make the facts clear to you, my important friend Theophilus. 4 People have already taught you about these things. Now you can be sure that they are true.
What happened before John the Baptist was born
5 There was a man whose name was Zechariah. He lived when Herod was king of Judea.[a] Zechariah was a priest and he belonged to a group of priests from the family of Abijah. He had a wife called Elizabeth. She also was from the family of the priest called Aaron.[b]
6 Zechariah and Elizabeth obeyed God's commands and rules. God saw that they were righteous people. They did not do wrong things. 7 But they had no children. Elizabeth could not give birth and they were both getting old.[c]
8 One day, Zechariah's group of priests was working at the temple. He had a special job to do there. 9 The priests chose one of their group to go into the holy place in the temple. This time they chose Zechariah.[d] His job was to burn incense there.
10 While Zechariah was burning incense in the special room, many men were outside in the yard.[e] They were praying to God.
11 The incense was burning on a special altar, when one of God's angels appeared to Zechariah. The angel was standing at the right hand side of the altar.[f]
12 When Zechariah saw the angel, he was very surprised and very afraid. 13 The angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid. God has heard what you prayed. He will give you what you asked for. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy. You will give him the name “John”. 14-15 He will be very important to the Lord God. So he will make you very happy. Many other people will also be very happy because he has been born. He must never drink anything with alcohol in it. From the time that he is born, the Holy Spirit will live inside him.
16 He will teach many people in Israel.[g] Then they will turn their lives back to the Lord their God and they will obey God again. 17 John will prepare the people for the Lord to come to them. The Holy Spirit will lead John as he led Elijah.[h] John will do powerful things as Elijah did. He will help fathers to love their children. He will teach people who do not obey God. Then they will know what things are right. And they will do them. Then they will be ready when the Lord comes.’
18 Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure about this? You know that I am an old man. My wife is also old.’
19 The angel answered, ‘I am called Gabriel. My place is to stand in front of God. I am always ready to work for God. He has sent me to speak to you. He told me that I should tell you this good news. 20 Now listen to me. Because you did not believe my message, you will not be able to speak. You will not speak again until the time that your son is born. My message will really become true at the right time.’
21 While this was happening, the people outside were waiting for Zechariah. They were thinking, ‘Why has Zechariah stayed for such a long time in the special room? Why has he not come out yet?’ 22 When he did come out, he tried to talk to them. But he could not speak. So they knew that God had showed him something special in the room. He was moving his head and his hands about, to tell them what had happened. But still he could not speak.
23 When Zechariah had finished his work in the temple, he returned home. 24 Soon, a baby was growing inside his wife Elizabeth. She stayed in her house for five months. 25 ‘The Lord has now given me a baby,’ she said. ‘He has been kind to me. Because of this, other people cannot say bad things about me now.’
What happened before Jesus was born
26 When Elizabeth's baby had grown inside her for nearly six months, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth. Nazareth is a town in Galilee. 27 Gabriel went there to visit a young woman. Her name was Mary. She had never had sex with anyone. She had promised to marry a man called Joseph. He belonged to the family of King David.[i]
28 Gabriel went to Mary and said, ‘Hello, Mary. The Lord God loves you very much. He is very near to you.’
29 Mary had a lot of problems in her mind about Gabriel's message. She did not understand what he meant. 30 Then Gabriel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary. God has been kind to you. 31 Listen! A baby boy will grow inside you. When he is born, you will call him Jesus. 32 He will be great. People will call him the Son of the powerful God who is over all. The Lord God will make him king. He will rule as his ancestor King David ruled.[j] 33 He will rule over the family of Jacob for all time.[k] He will be king for all time, without end.’
34 Mary asked, ‘How can this happen? I have never had sex with anyone.’ 35 Gabriel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of God who is over all will cover you like a shadow. So your child will be special to God. He will be completely good. He will be called God's Son. 36 Another thing! Your cousin, Elizabeth, is very old. People said that she could not have a baby. Listen! She also will have a son. The baby has grown inside her now for nearly six months. 37 There is nothing that God cannot do.’
38 Mary answered, ‘I am the servant of the Lord. I have heard what you have said. I want it to happen to me just like that.’ Then the angel left her.
Job continues to speak
13 I have seen all these things with my own eyes.
I have heard everything that you have said.
I have understood it.
2 I know as much as you do.
You are no better than I am.
3 But I want to speak to the Almighty God.
I need to show him that I am right.
4 What you say about me is only lies.
You would be useless as doctors.
5 It would be better if you said nothing.
That would be a wise thing for you to do.
6 Listen now to what I have to say.
Listen carefully to the words that I speak.
7 You think that you can tell lies to speak on behalf of God!
Your lies are not helping God.
8 You are trying to win the argument for God.
But you are not being honest when you do that.
9 If God asks you questions,
would he find that you speak the truth?
Or would you try to deceive him,
as you deceive other people?
10 When you speak on God's behalf,
you may think that your lies are a secret.
But God will still punish you.
11 His great power will frighten you.
You will be very afraid of him.
12 Your wise teaching is worth no more than ashes.
Your arguments are weak and useless.
13 So be quiet now and let me speak.
Then we will see what happens to me.
14 I am ready for my life to be in danger.
I must take that risk.
15 Even if God kills me, I will still trust him.
I will tell him why I am not guilty.
16 I am brave enough to stand in front of God.
No wicked person would be able to do that.
So it shows that I am not guilty.
17 Listen carefully to my words.
Hear what I have to say.
18 I know what I want to say.
I am ready to explain why I am not guilty.
19 Nobody can show that I have done wrong things.
If anyone can do that, I will be quiet.
I will be ready to die.
20 God, please do two things that will help me.
If you do those things,
I will no longer hide from you.
21 Please stop punishing me.
And stop causing me to be so afraid of you.
22 Tell me to come and stand in front of you.
Then I will answer you.
Or allow me to speak first.
Then you will reply to me.
23 Tell me how many wrong things I have done.
Show me what my sins are.
24 Why do you hide yourself from me?
Why do you think that I am your enemy?
25 I am as weak as a leaf that the wind can blow away.
But you still want to frighten me.
I am as useless as chaff,
but you still attack me.
26 You write down things to accuse me.
You punish me for the sins I did when I was young.
27 You tie my feet with chains.
You watch me carefully wherever I go.
You put marks on my feet.
28 So my life is slowly disappearing.
It is like a coat that moths are eating.
Paul says ‘Hello’
1 This letter is from me, Paul. God chose me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. That is what he wanted. Our Christian friend Sosthenes is with me here as I write to you.
2 I am sending this letter to you, the people of God's church in Corinth. God has made you clean because you belong to Christ Jesus. He has chosen you to be his special people. So you join together with all people everywhere who worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is their Lord, as he is our Lord.
3 I pray that God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your minds.
Paul thanks God
4 I always thank God because of you. I thank him because he has been very kind to you. He has helped you like that because you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 As a result, God has given you all the things that you need. You are able to speak everything that he wants you to speak. You are able to understand everything that he wants you to know. 6 In that way, God has shown you that the message we told you about Christ is true. 7 As a result, God has given you every spiritual gift that you need. God has blessed you with those gifts as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to return. 8 God will also keep you safe and strong until the end. Then, on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns, you will not be guilty of anything wrong. 9 God always does what he has promised to do. He has chosen you to be friends with his Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord.
Christians must not quarrel
10 My Christian friends, I tell you this with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Please agree with each other. Do not become separate groups. Be united and think about things in the same way.’
11 Some people from Chloe's house have told me news about you. My friends, they say that you are quarrelling among yourselves. 12 It happens like this: One of you says, ‘I belong to Paul's group.’ Another person says, ‘I belong to Apollos's group.’ Another person says, ‘I belong to Peter's group.’ And another person says, ‘I belong to Christ's group.’
13 You should not speak like that! It seems that you are breaking Christ into several parts. I, Paul, did not die on a cross to save you. When they baptized you, it was not on my behalf. 14 I thank God that I myself did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. 15 So none of you can say, ‘I belong to Paul's group because he baptized me.’ 16 (Now I remember that I also baptized Stephanas and his family. I cannot remember that I baptized anyone else.) 17 Christ did not send me to baptize people. But he did send me to tell God's good news to people. When I speak his message, I do not use clever words. It is Christ's death on the cross that has power to save people. I do not want to spoil that power with clever words.
Christ's death on the cross
18 Some people think that the message about Christ's death on the cross is silly. Those people are destroying themselves. But it is different for us, the people that God is saving. The message about the cross shows us God's power to save us.
19 It says in the Bible:
‘I, God, will destroy all the clever thoughts of wise people.
I will show that their clever ideas are useless.’[a]
20 So the wise people in this world are not really important. The clever teachers of God's Law are not really important. People who know how to argue well are not really important. God has shown that the wise ideas that belong to this world have no value.
21 God himself is wise. He has decided that people cannot know him just because they are wise in their own way. Instead, God uses the message about Jesus to save people. That message may seem to be silly to some people. But when we tell it to people, God saves them if they believe it.
22 Jewish people want to see God do a miracle. Then they will listen. Gentile people want to listen to a message that has clever ideas. 23 But as for us, we tell people about how Christ died on a cross. That is a message that Jewish people refuse to accept as true. Gentile people think that it is a silly message. 24 But it is different for us whom God has called to come to him. Some of us are Jews, and some of us are Gentiles. For us, Christ shows God's great power. He shows how wise God is. 25 Christ's death on a cross may seem a silly thing for God to do. But really it shows that God is very wise. He is wiser than people with their clever ideas. Christ's death on a cross may seem to show that God is weak. But really he is stronger than any human power.
26 Christian friends, remember the time when God called you to come to him. Think about what you were like. Not many of you were clever or powerful in the way that people think is good. Not many of you belonged to important families. 27 Instead, God chose to use things that people think are silly. He did this so that clever people would be ashamed. Yes, God chose to use things that people think are weak. He did this so that powerful people would be ashamed. 28 God chose to use things that people think are useless. People who belong to this world do not like those things. They think that they have no value. God did this so that the things that seem important would become unimportant.
29 Because of all this, nobody can be proud of themselves in front of God. 30 It is because of God's work that you now belong to Christ Jesus. As a result of Christ's death on the cross, we share in God's wise plan. Because we belong to Christ, God makes us right with himself. He makes us his own special people. He makes us free from the power of sin.
31 Remember what is written in the Bible:
‘If you want to be proud about something,
be proud of what the Lord has done.’[b]
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.