M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The birth of Moses
2 At this time, there was an Israelite man who belonged to the family of Levi. He married a woman who was also a descendant of Levi. 2 The woman became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a beautiful boy. So she hid him for three months. 3 Then she could not continue to hide him. So she took a basket that was made from river grass. She painted the basket with tar, to keep the water out of it. Then she put her baby in the basket. She put the basket among the reeds at the edge of the river.[a]
4 The baby's sister stood not very far away. She wanted to see what would happen to the baby.
5 Soon, Pharaoh's daughter came to wash herself in the river. Her servant girls were walking near the edge of the river. Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket among the river grasses. So she sent one of her servant girls to fetch it for her. 6 When she opened the basket, she saw the baby boy. He was crying. She was sorry for him and she said, ‘This is one of the Israelite children.’
7 Then the baby's sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, ‘Do you want me to fetch one of the Israelite mothers? She can take care of this baby and she can feed him for you.’ 8 Pharaoh's daughter said, ‘Yes, please do that.’
So the girl went and she fetched the baby's own mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to the baby's mother, ‘Please take this baby to your house. You can take care of him for me. I will pay you to do this.’ So the woman took the baby home and she took care of him.
10 When the baby was older, his mother took him to Pharaoh's daughter. He now became her son. She gave him the name ‘Moses’. She said, ‘I will call him Moses because I pulled him out of the water.’[b]
Moses runs away to Midian
11 Many years later, Moses grew to become a man. At that time, he went out to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw that they had to do very hard work without any rest. He saw an Egyptian man. He was attacking an Israelite man. The Egyptian was hitting someone from Moses' own country! 12 Moses looked in every direction. He saw that nobody was near. So Moses killed the Egyptian. He buried his body in the sand to hide it.
13 The next day, Moses went out again to visit his people. He saw that two Israelite men were fighting each other. Moses said to the guilty man, ‘Why are you attacking your friend, who is an Israelite like you?’[c]
14 The man answered, ‘You do not have authority over us! You cannot judge us! Do you want to kill me, as you killed that Egyptian man?’ Then Moses was afraid. He said to himself, ‘People must know what I have done!’
15 Pharaoh heard about what had happened. He wanted to kill Moses. So Moses ran away from Pharaoh. He went from Egypt to the country called Midian and he lived there.[d]
One day, Moses sat down by a well which was near where he lived.
16 There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. Those seven young women came to get water out of the well. They used the water to fill the places where the animals drink. Then their father's sheep and goats could drink there. 17 But some shepherds then arrived at the well. They made the girls go away. So Moses stood up and he went to help the young women. He gave water to their animals.[e]
18 Then the girls went back home to Reuel, their father. He asked them, ‘Why have you come home so soon today?’ 19 They answered, ‘An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds. He even took water from the well and he gave it to our animals.’ 20 Reuel said to his daughters, ‘So where is the man? You should not have left him there. Ask him to come here so that he can eat a meal with us.’
21 Moses agreed to stay with Reuel. Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22 Later, Zipporah gave birth to a son for Moses. Moses gave the boy the name ‘Gershom’. He called him that because he said, ‘I am living as a stranger in a foreign country.’[f]
23 After a long time had passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were still slaves of the Egyptians. That made them very sad and they complained loudly. God heard them when they cried for help. 24 He thought about his promise to take care of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants. 25 God saw what was happening to the Israelites. He knew that he must help them.[g]
Jesus asks some men to go with him
5 One day, Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret.[a] A crowd was pushing to get near to him. They were listening to him. He was speaking God's message to them.
2 Jesus saw two fishing boats at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had left the boats there and they were now washing their nets.[b]
3 One of the boats belonged to Simon. Jesus climbed into it. He asked Simon to push it away from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and he started to teach the people.[c]
4 When Jesus had finished teaching, he said to Simon, ‘Now take the boat out into deep water. Then put the nets into the water to catch some fish.’
5 Simon replied, ‘Teacher, we worked all last night and we did not catch anything. But because you say it, I will put the nets into the water again.’ 6 So they went in their boats and they put the nets down into the water. When they did that, they caught many fish. There were so many fish that the nets began to break. 7 So they made signs to the fishermen in the other boat. They told the other fishermen to come and help. So the other men came in their boat. They filled both boats with the fish. There were so many fish that the boats began to go down under the water. 8 When Simon saw all the fish, he went down on his knees in front of Jesus. ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘I am a bad man. So please go away from me.’[d]
9 Simon and his friends were very surprised. They were all surprised because they had caught so many fish. 10 Zebedee's sons, James and John, were fishermen who worked with Simon. They were also surprised. Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. You have been catching fish. From now on you will catch people!’[e]
11 After that, they went and they pulled their boats up on the shore. Then they left everything behind and they went with Jesus.
A man with a bad disease of his skin
12 One day, Jesus was in a certain town. A man with a bad disease of the skin was there.[f]
When the man saw Jesus, he threw himself down on the ground in front of him. He said, ‘Sir, you can make me well again if you want to do that. Please do it.’
13 Jesus put out his hand towards the man and he touched him. He said, ‘I do want to help you. Be clean again!’ Immediately, the disease left the man. 14 ‘Do not tell anyone about this,’ Jesus said to him. ‘Instead, go and show yourself to the priest. Take a gift to him for God. Moses taught the people what gift to take to God when they are clean again after this kind of disease. This will show everyone that you are now well again.’
15 After this, more and more people started to hear the news about Jesus. Crowds were coming to hear him teach. Sick people also wanted him to make them well. 16 But Jesus would often go away from the crowd to pray in quiet places.
Jesus helps a man who cannot walk
17 One day, while Jesus was teaching in someone's house, many people were sitting there. Some of them were Pharisees.[g] Other people were teachers of God's Law. They had come from many villages in Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was there with Jesus to make sick people well.
18 Then some men arrived. They were carrying a man on a mat. The man could not walk or move his legs. They tried to get into the house because they wanted to bring the man to Jesus. 19 But the house was full of people and they could not get in. So they carried the man onto the flat roof of the house. Then they made a hole in the roof. After that, they put the mat down through the hole. The man was still lying on it. He came down in the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20 Jesus saw them. He knew that they believed in him. So he said to the sick man, ‘My friend, I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of God's Law were there. They heard what Jesus said. So they began to think among themselves, ‘Who is this man? He is speaking as if he is God. Only God can forgive people for the wrong things that they have done.’ 22 Jesus knew what these men were thinking. He told them, ‘You should not be thinking these things. 23 I said to this man, “I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up and walk.” Which one is easier for me to say? 24 But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority here on earth.[h] I can forgive people for the wrong things that they have done.’
Then he said to the man who could not walk, ‘I am saying to you, “Stand up. Pick up your mat and go home!” ’
25 Immediately, the man stood up in front of them all. He picked up the mat that he had been lying on. He went home. He was praising God as he went. 26 What had happened surprised everyone. They said, ‘God is great and powerful! We have seen very strange and special things happen today.’
Jesus asks Levi to come with him
27 After this happened, Jesus went away from that house. He saw a man that took taxes from people. He was working in his office. His name was Levi. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ 28 So Levi got up and he went with Jesus. He left everything behind.
29 Soon after this, Levi made a large meal for Jesus at his house. Many people also came and they were eating with them there. Some of them took taxes from people, as Levi did. 30 Some Pharisees and teachers of God's Law saw them there. So they said to Jesus' disciples, ‘You eat and drink with these bad people and with men who take taxes from people. That is not right.’
31 Jesus answered them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. 32 Some people think that they always obey God. I have not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help. I want them to change how they live.’
33 Then the Jewish leaders said to Jesus: ‘The disciples of John the Baptist often choose to fast for a time. Then they can pray to God a lot. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. But your disciples never do that. They continue to eat and drink every day.’[i]
34 Jesus answered them, ‘When a man marries a wife, you cannot stop his friends from eating. They will continue to eat while he is with them. 35 But there will be a time when people take that man away from his friends. Then they will decide to fast.’[j]
36 Jesus told them this story: ‘Nobody tears a piece of cloth from a new coat to mend an old coat. If he does that, he will have torn the new coat. Also, the piece of cloth from the new coat will not look the same as the old coat.[k]
37 And nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.[l] If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will also spoil. 38 Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins.
39 Also, nobody wants to drink new wine after he has drunk old wine. He will say, “The old wine is much better.” ’[m]
Job replies to Bildad[a]
19 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Please stop speaking to me like that!
Your words continue to make me suffer.
3 You have insulted me many, many times.
You should be ashamed to attack me like that.
4 I might have done things that are wrong.
But even if that might be true,
those wrong things have not hurt you.
5 You think that you are better people than I am.
Because I have all these troubles,
you say that I must be guilty.
6 But you should realize that God has caused all my troubles.
He is the one who has caught me in his trap.
7 If I shout, “Help me, I am in trouble!”
nobody answers me.
I shout to get help,
but nobody comes to give me justice.
8 God has stopped me
so that I cannot move forward.
He has made my path dark
so that I cannot see the way to go.
9 He has taken away my honour
so that nobody respects me.
10 Everywhere that I go, God is there to attack me.
He is ready to destroy me.
He has taken away my hope,
as if he has dug a tree out of the ground.
11 He is very angry against me.
He attacks me as if I am his enemy.
12 His whole army is coming to attack me!
They build a road so that they can reach me.
They are all around me.
13 God has caused my brothers to stay away from me.
My friends do not want to meet me.
14 My relatives have left me.
My best friends have forgotten me.
15 Visitors who stayed in my house
now think that I am a stranger.
Even my servants think that I am a foreigner.
16 I tell my servant to come to me
but he does not come.
I ask him to help me,
but he does nothing.
17 My wife moves away from the smell of my breath.
My brothers stay away from me.
18 Even young children insult me.
When I stand up, they laugh at me.
19 My best friends hate me.
People that I love have turned against me.
20 My body is now only skin and bones.
I still breathe but I am only just alive.
21 Please be kind to me, my friends.
God has caused me to suffer,
so please be kind to me.
22 Do not punish me as God is punishing me.
You have already caused me to suffer enough.
23 Someone should write down the words that I speak.
My words should be written on a scroll.
24 If someone uses an iron tool to write them on a rock,
that would be good.
Then they would never disappear.
25 As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives.[b]
I know that, in the end, he will stand on the earth.
26 Illness may completely destroy my skin.
But after that happens,
I know that in this body I will see God.
27 I will see him for myself,
with my own eyes.
It makes me feel weak inside as I think about it!
28 My friends, you should not think of ways to make me suffer even more.
You say that I have caused my own trouble.
29 Instead, you yourselves should be afraid of punishment!
When God is angry with someone,
he punishes that person.
Then you will know that he is the one who judges people.’
Quarrels between Christians
6 Perhaps one of you has a quarrel with another Christian. Who should decide which of you is right? You should never ask people who do not know God to decide. No! Instead, you should go to God's people. They should decide. 2 It is God's people who will judge all the people in the world one day. You surely know that. Since that is true, you should be able to decide about small quarrels between yourselves. 3 You know that we will judge the angels one day. So we must be able to decide about ordinary things here on earth.
4 If you want to decide an ordinary matter like that, what do you do? Sometimes you go to a judge who does not believe in God. You should never do that! The church does not respect people like that. 5 I say this so that you will feel ashamed. There is surely a wise person in your group who could decide quarrels between yourselves. 6 But instead, some believers among you accuse other believers in front of judges. And those judges are not believers!
7 When you accuse each other like that, it shows that you have already failed. It would be better to accept it when other people hurt you. Even if people rob you, it would be better to accept it. 8 Instead, you yourselves hurt other people, and you even rob them. And those other people are believers like you!
9 People who do wrong things like that will never belong to God's kingdom. You surely know that. Do not think that people like this will receive God's good things: People who have sex in wrong ways. People who worship idols. People who have sex with anyone that they are not married to. Men who have sex with other men. 10 People who rob other people. People who want many things for themselves. Drunks. People who insult other people. People who deceive other people to take things from them. None of these people will receive the good things of God's kingdom.
11 At one time, some of you were people like that. But God has now made you clean and pure, so that you belong to him. You have become right with God. Our God has done this with the power of his Spirit because you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Use your bodies in a good way
12 Some of you believers may say, ‘I am free to do anything that I want to do.’ That may be true, but not everything will help you. I could say, ‘I am free to do the things that I want to do.’ Yes, but I will not let anything rule over me.
13 Some of you may say, ‘God made food to feed our bodies. That is why people have stomachs. But one day God will destroy both stomachs and food.’ Yes, but the Lord gave our bodies to us. Our bodies belong to the Lord. So you should not use your bodies to have sex in a wrong way.[a] 14 God raised the Lord Jesus after he died. And God will use his power to make us alive again too.[b]
15 You know that your bodies are parts of Christ's own body. So you must never take your body and make it join with a prostitute's body. That is like you have done it with part of Christ's body. Never let that happen! 16 Anyone who makes his own body join to a prostitute becomes one body with that prostitute. You should know that. It says in the Bible:
‘The man and the woman become as one body.’[c]
17 But everyone who is united to the Lord has the same spirit as him. 18 So never have sex in a wrong way! You may say, ‘If a person does a bad thing, it is not his body that does it.’ But if you have sex in a wrong way, you are doing a bad thing to your own body. 19 Remember this: Your body is the home of God's Holy Spirit. God gave his Holy Spirit to you and he lives in you. You do not belong to yourselves any longer. 20 God bought you for himself. He paid the price for you. So use your body to show how great God is.[d]
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