M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God shows Moses some strange things
4 Then Moses replied, ‘Perhaps the leaders of Israel will not believe me. Perhaps they will not listen to my message. Perhaps they will say, “The Lord did not really appear to you.” ’
2 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘What is that thing in your hand?’ Moses answered, ‘It is a stick.’
3 The Lord said, ‘Throw it down on the ground.’ So Moses threw it on the ground. Then the stick became a snake! Moses ran away from the snake. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take hold of the snake's tail with your hand.’ So Moses caught the snake with his hand. Then it became a stick in his hand again. 5 God said, ‘Do this in front of them. Then they will believe you. They will believe that I, the Lord God, have appeared to you. I am the God that their ancestors worshipped. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Put your hand inside your robe.’ So Moses did this. When he took his hand out again, the skin had become white, like snow. It was the bad disease called leprosy.
7 Then God said, ‘Put your hand back inside your robe again.’ So Moses did that. And when he took his hand out, it was well again, like the rest of his skin!
8 God said, ‘The leaders may not believe you. They may not think that the miracle with the stick shows anything. But they may believe you when you do the second miracle. 9 But they may still not listen to your message. If they will not even believe those two miracles, do this: Take some water from the River Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water that you take from the river will become blood on the ground.’[a]
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘My Lord, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty. I never could speak well. And even now, when you have spoken to me, I still cannot speak well.’
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Who has made human mouths? Who makes a person that cannot speak? Who makes a person that cannot hear? Who makes a person who can see, or who cannot see? It is I, the Lord God! 12 Now go! I will help you to speak well. I will teach you what you must say.’
13 But Moses said, ‘My Lord, please send some other person. Do not send me!’
14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. He said, ‘Aaron, the Levite, is your brother. I know that he can speak very well. Look! He is coming to meet you now. When he sees you, he will be very happy.
15 So this is what you must do. You must speak to him. You must tell him what to say. I will help both of you to speak. And I will teach both of you what you must do. 16 Aaron will speak to the people on your behalf. He will be like your mouth, to speak your message. And you will be like God to him. You will tell him what to say. 17 Take this stick with you and hold it in your hand. You will use it to do the miracles to show that I have sent you.’
Moses returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife's father. Moses said to him, ‘Please let me return to my family in Egypt. I must see if they are still alive.’ So Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’[b]
19 The Lord had said to Moses while he was still in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt. All the men who tried to kill you are now dead.’ 20 So Moses put his wife and his sons on a donkey and they started on the journey back to Egypt. And Moses carried the stick of God in his hand.
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt you must do the signs. Do all the signs that I gave you the power to do. Do them in front of Pharaoh. But I will make Pharaoh angry and cruel. Because of this, he will not let the people go.
22 Then you must speak to Pharaoh. You must say, “The Lord says, Israel is my first son. 23 I have already said to you, Let my son go so that he can worship me. But if you refuse to let him go, I will kill your first son.” ’
24 On the way to Egypt, there was a place where people could rest on their journey. The Lord met Moses there and he wanted to kill Moses. 25 But Zipporah took a sharp stone and she cut off her son's foreskin with the stone. She touched Moses' feet with the foreskin. She said, ‘You are a husband of blood to me.’ 26 So God did not do anything bad to Moses. Then Zipporah said to Moses, ‘You are a husband of blood, because of this circumcision.’[c]
27 The Lord said to Aaron, ‘Go into the desert to meet Moses.’ So Aaron went. He met Moses at the mountain of God and he kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron all that the Lord had told him to say. He also told Aaron about all the special signs. God had commanded Moses to show these signs to the Israelites and to Pharaoh.
29 Then Moses and Aaron went to Egypt. They brought together all the leaders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron told them all the things that the Lord had said to Moses. Then Moses did the signs in front of the people. 31 And the people believed Aaron and Moses. They had heard that the Lord had come to his people. God had seen their hard life and he was sorry for them. They put their heads down and they worshipped God.
A Roman officer believes that Jesus can help him
7 After Jesus had finished speaking to the people, he went to Capernaum.[a] 2 A Roman officer there had a servant that he liked very much. The servant was very ill and he was dying.
3 The officer heard about Jesus, so he sent some important Jews to speak to him. ‘Please go to Jesus,’ he said to them. ‘I would like him to make my servant well. Ask him if he would come to do that.’ 4 The Jewish leaders went to Jesus. They asked him, ‘Please would you do something to help this Roman officer. 5 He loves the Jewish people. He himself built a meeting place for us.’
6 So Jesus went with them. When he was not very far away from the house, the officer sent some friends to talk to him. He told them to say to Jesus, ‘Sir, I do not want to be a trouble to you. I am not good enough for you to come into my house. 7 That is why I did not come to talk to you myself. Instead, just say that my servant will get better. I know that he will then be well again. 8 In my work, someone has authority over me. I also have authority over other soldiers. I say to one soldier, “Go!” and he goes. I say to another one, “Come!” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this!” and he does it.’
9 When Jesus heard this message from the officer, he was very surprised. He turned towards the crowd that was following him. He said to them, ‘I tell you, I have not found anyone like this man in all of Israel. Nobody else believes in me as well as he does.’
10 The friends of the officer then returned to his house. When they arrived there, they saw that the servant was well again.
Jesus makes a dead man alive again
11 The next day, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large group of other people went with him. 12 When he had almost reached the gate of the town, lots of people were coming out. They were carrying a dead man on a wooden board. They were taking him to bury him. His mother had no other sons and her husband was also dead. A large crowd of people from the town was going with her.
13 When the Lord Jesus saw her, he felt very sorry for her. He said to her, ‘Do not cry.’ 14 He went to the board and he touched it. The people who were carrying the dead man stopped. Jesus said, ‘Young man, I am telling you, get up!’ 15 Immediately, the dead man sat up and he began to talk. Jesus then gave him back to his mother.
16 Everyone there was very afraid. They praised God and said, ‘A great prophet of God has appeared among us. God has come to save his people!’
17 This news about Jesus went everywhere in Judea. The people in the places that were near there also heard about it.
Jesus talks about John the Baptist
18 Then some disciples of John the Baptist went to visit him in prison. They told him about all the things that Jesus was doing. So John chose two of them to go to the Lord Jesus for him. 19 He said to them, ‘I want you to ask Jesus, “Are you the special person that God is sending to us? If not, should we still look for someone else?” ’
20 So the two men came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you. He wants us to ask you, “Are you the special person that God has promised to send to us? If not, should we still look for someone else?” ’
21 At that time, Jesus was making many people well. They had many different illnesses. Some had bad spirits in them. Jesus also caused many blind people to see again. 22 Then he said to the two men that John had sent, ‘Go back to John. Tell him what you have seen. Tell him what you have heard. Blind people can now see again. People that could not walk can now walk again. People who had a bad disease of the skin are now well again. Deaf people can now hear again. People who had died now live again. Poor people are hearing God's good news. 23 If anyone believes in me and does not turn away, he will be really happy.’[b]
24 The two disciples of John then left. Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. He said to them, ‘You went out to the wilderness. What did you go there to see? Was it a tall piece of grass which the wind was blowing this way and that? No, you did not go to see that. 25 Did you go to see a man who was wearing expensive clothes? No! People like that do not live in the wilderness. They have many beautiful things and they live in great houses. 26 So what did you go to see? Did you go to see a prophet sent by God? Yes! But I tell you, John was even more important than a prophet. 27 This is what they wrote about him a long time ago in the Bible, when God said:
“Listen! I will send someone to go in front of you.
He will speak my message.
He will prepare a way for you.” ’[c]
28 Jesus also said to the people, ‘I tell you, John is greater than any person who has ever lived up to now. But now anyone who belongs in the kingdom of God is greater than John, even the least important of them.’[d]
29 Many people heard what Jesus said. Even the men who took taxes from people agreed with his message. They had gone to John to baptize them. They all said, ‘What God says about us is right.’ 30 But the Pharisees and the men that studied God's Law had not asked John to baptize them. They did not believe the message that God was giving to them.
31 Jesus continued to teach. He said, ‘I will talk to you about the people that are alive today. I will tell you what they are like. 32 They are like children who are sitting in the market place. They are playing games. They shout to other children,
“We made happy music on a flute for you,
but you did not dance.
Then we sang a sad song but you did not cry.”
33 You are like those children. When John the Baptist came to you, he did not eat ordinary food. He never drank wine. So you say that John has a bad spirit in him. 34 Then I, the Son of Man, came. I eat meals with other people and I drink wine. So you say about me, “Look at this man! He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of bad people and men who take taxes from people.” 35 But God is wise and good. Wise people understand and they show that God is right.’[e]
A woman pours expensive oil on Jesus
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat a meal with him. So Jesus went to the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat. 37 In that town was a woman who had done many wrong things. She heard that Jesus was eating a meal at the house of the Pharisee. So she took a small stone jar with oil in it, and she went there. The oil had a very nice smell. 38 She went into the house and she stood behind Jesus. She was crying and she made his feet wet with her tears. Then she made his feet dry again with her hair and she kissed them. She then poured the oil out of the jar onto his feet. 39 When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, ‘This man cannot be a prophet from God. If he were, he would know all about this woman. He would know that she is a very bad person. He would not let her touch him.’
40 Jesus said to him, ‘Simon, I want to tell you something.’ Simon replied, ‘Yes, Teacher, tell me.’ So Jesus told him a story about two men:
41 ‘Someone had lent two men some money. He had lent one of them 500 silver coins. He had lent the other one 50 coins.[f] 42 Neither of the men had enough money to pay him back. Then the man that had lent them the money forgave them. “You do not need to pay back my money,” he said to them both.’
Jesus then asked Simon, ‘Which of these two men will love that man most?’ 43 Simon replied, ‘I think that it is the man that needed to pay back the most money.’
‘You are right,’ Jesus said. 44 Then he turned towards the woman. ‘You see this woman,’ he said to Simon. ‘When I came into your house, you did not give me water for my feet.[g] But she has washed my feet with her tears and she has made them dry with her hair. 45 You did not say “Hello” to me with a kiss. But this woman began to kiss my feet when she came in. And she has not stopped. 46 You did not put oil on my head. But she has brought oil with a nice smell and put it on my feet. 47 So I tell you, this woman has done many bad things. But I have forgiven her. She loves me a lot, because I have forgiven her for many bad things. If I only forgive someone a little, that person only loves me a little.’
48 Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Woman, I forgive you for all the bad things that you have done.’
49 The other people at the meal talked among themselves. They said, ‘Who is this man? Can he really forgive the bad things that people have done?’
50 Jesus said to the woman, ‘You have believed in me, so God has saved you. You may go now, and be happy.’
Job replies to Zophar
21 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Listen carefully to the things that I am saying.
You can only help me if you do that.
3 Be patient with me so that I can speak.
After you have heard what I say,
you may choose to laugh at me.
4 It is not people that I want to argue with.[a]
So I have good reason to be upset.
5 When you look at me, you should be upset.
You should cover your mouth with your hand.
6 I think about what has happened to me.
It makes me very afraid.
My body shakes with fear.
7 Why do wicked people continue to live for a long time?
The older they become, the more power they have.
8 They see their own children grow and become strong.
Their children also have strong families.
9 They are safe in their homes
and they are not afraid.
God does not punish them.
10 Their cows give birth safely to many calves.
11 Their children run and play.
They jump like young lambs.
12 They enjoy the music of tambourines and harps.
They sing with joy to the sound of flutes.
13 Wicked people have plenty of money through their whole lives.
Even when they die, they do not suffer.
14 They say to God, “Leave us alone!
We do not want to know about your ways.
15 We do not need to serve the Almighty God.
If we pray to him,
there is nothing he can do to help us.”
16 They think that they have made themselves rich.
But it is not true.
So I do not listen to the things that wicked people say.
17 It seems that wicked people enjoy a long life.
They do not often have many troubles.
When God is angry with them,
he does not cause them to suffer.
18 He does not blow them away,
like the wind blows dry grass.
They do not disappear like chaff that a storm blows away.
19 You may say, “God will punish a wicked person's children
with the punishment that he deserves.”
But I say that God should punish the wicked person himself.
Then he will realize that he is wicked.
20 Wicked people should receive their own punishment.
They should see that Almighty God is angry with them.
21 After wicked people have died,
it does not matter to them if their family suffers.
22 No one can teach God what he should do.
He himself judges the most powerful rulers.[b]
23 One person has good health all his life.
Even when he is ready to die,
he still lives a safe and happy life.
24 He eats good food and his body is strong.
25 But another person is sad all his life, until he dies.
No good things ever happen to him.
26 But they all die one day
and their bodies lie under the ground.
Worms cover their bodies, whoever they are.
27 I know what you are thinking.
You want to show that I am guilty.
28 You say, “You see that the rich person no longer has a house.
Wicked people no longer have homes to live in.”
29 But you should ask people who travel to different places.
You should listen to the things that they say.
30 They would tell you that wicked people do not always suffer.
When trouble comes,
they continue to be safe.
When God is angry with people,
wicked people escape punishment.
31 No one speaks against them
to say that they are guilty.
No one punishes them
for the bad things that they have done.
32 When a wicked person dies,
people bury him with honour.
Guards watch over his grave.
33 A big crowd of people come to his funeral.
They make a heap of earth over his body,
in the valley where he rests happily.
34 So your useless words do not comfort me.
Your answers are all lies!’
About food that people offer to idols
8 You asked me a question about food that people have offered to idols. You say, ‘We all know about these things.’ We know that is true. But when you know about something, that can make you proud. Love is better. Love helps people to become strong. 2 Some people may think that they know everything. People like that do not know as much as they ought to know. 3 But if somebody loves God, he is God's friend. God knows that person.
4 So think about food that people have offered to idols. You ask, ‘Should Christians eat that food?’ We know that no idol is really alive. We also know that there is only one God. 5 It is true that people call many things their gods. Those are things both in heaven and on earth. Those people have many gods and many lords. 6 But for us there is only one God, who is the Father. All things come from him. We live to serve him. For us, there is only one Lord, who is Jesus Christ. All things are there because of him. And we ourselves live because of him.
7 But not everyone understands properly about idols. Before they believed in Christ, some people worshipped idols for many years. So if they eat food that people have offered to an idol, they become afraid. They think that the food belongs to a real god. Their thoughts are weak. They think that they are doing something wrong. 8 But the food that we eat will not help us to please God. If we do not eat certain food, that will not make us worse. If we do eat that food, it will not make us better.
9 You are free to eat any kind of food. You understand that. But other Christians do not understand so well. So you must be careful. Do not cause them to do something that they think is wrong. 10 You may be eating food in a place where people worship idols. Then another Christian sees you there. You know that the idols are not real gods. But the other Christian may have weak thoughts about this. So, because he sees you, he may think that he can eat that food too. 11 Because you understand properly, you are hurting someone who does not understand so well. In that way, the life of your Christian friend has become completely spoiled. Remember that Christ died to save that friend. 12 If you do that kind of bad thing to hurt your Christian friends, you are hurting Christ himself. You are causing them to do something which they think is wrong. 13 I do not want to hurt any of my Christian friends. So, if the food that I eat causes them to do something wrong, I will never eat meat again.
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