M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God's covenant with his people
4 Israel's people, listen to the rules and laws that I will now teach you. If you obey them, you will live. You will go into the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving to you. The land will belong to you, for you to live in. 2 Do not add anything to these rules. Do not remove anything from them. You must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving to you.
3 You saw for yourselves what the Lord your God did at Baal-Peor. He killed every person among you who worshipped Baal there.[a] 4 But each of you who continued to trust the Lord your God is still alive today.
5 Look! I have taught you rules and laws, as the Lord my God told me to do. Now you must obey them when you go into the land where you will live. 6 Obey them carefully. That will show people of other nations that you are wise. They will hear about all your laws. Then they will say, ‘The people of this great nation are very wise and clever!’
7 No other nation has a god who is near to them like the Lord our God. Even great nations have no god like that. But when we pray to the Lord our God, he listens! 8 And no other great nation has rules and laws that are as fair as ours. That is God's Law that I am giving to you today.
9 But be very careful! Never forget the things that you yourselves have seen. Remember these things for as long as you live. Tell your children and your grandchildren about all the things that God has done.
10 Remember when you stood in front of the Lord your God at Sinai. He said to me, ‘Bring all the people here to me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to respect me and obey me. They will do this for as long as they live and they will teach my commands to their children.’ 11 At that time, you came and you stood at the edge of the mountain. You saw that the fire on the mountain reached up to the sky. But the sky was full of black clouds and it was dark. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire. You heard him as he spoke, but you did not see him. You only heard a voice. 13 He told you about his covenant and the ten commands that he wrote on two flat pieces of stone. He commanded you to obey them. 14 At that time, the Lord commanded me to teach you his rules and his laws. You must obey them in the land that you will now go in to live there.
Idols
15 Remember when the Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb from the middle of the fire. You did not see him in any shape. So be very careful about everything that you do. 16 Do not make any image to be your god. That would be a sin. Do not make an image in any shape as your idol. Do not copy the shape of a man or a woman, 17 or the shape of any animal or bird. 18 Do not copy the shape of anything that moves along the ground, or any fish that swims in the deep water. 19 When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, the moon and the stars. They all shine up in the sky. But do not bend down low to them or worship them. They are there because the Lord your God has made them. He has given them to people everywhere in the world.
20 But you belong to the Lord. He brought you out of Egypt, which was like a hot oven where you had much pain. He rescued you, to be his own special people, as you are today.
21 The Lord your God became angry with me, because of you. He told me very strongly that I would not go across the Jordan River. He said that I would not go into the good land that he is now giving to you. 22 So I will die here. I will not cross the Jordan River. But you will soon cross over. That good land will belong to you as your home. 23 Be careful! Do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make for yourselves any kind of image as your idol. That is the command that he has given to you. 24 That is because the Lord your God wants you to belong to him alone. He is like a fire that destroys all bad things.
25 One day, you will have lived in the land for a long time. You will have children and grandchildren. Remember that you still must not make any kind of image as your idol. That would be a sin. Do not do any evil things that will cause the Lord your God to become angry. 26 I am warning you today, as everyone on earth and everyone in heaven hears what I say. If you do not obey this command, you will soon die. You will not live long in the land that is your home on the other side of the Jordan River. You will die very soon. 27 The Lord will send you out of that land to live among other nations. Only a few of you will continue to be alive. 28 Among those nations, you will worship gods that men have made from wood and stone. Those gods cannot see or hear or eat or smell anything.
29 But even in those places, if you look for the Lord your God, you will find him. If you want to serve him with everything that you think and with everything that you do, you will find him. 30 When trouble happens to you in the future, you will turn back to him. When all these bad things happen to you, you will obey God again. 31 That is because the Lord your God is very kind. So he will not leave you alone. He will never destroy you. He will never forget the covenant that he made with your ancestors. That was a serious promise that he made to them.
The Lord is God
32 Find out what happened many years ago. Think about everything that has happened since God created people to live on the earth. Go to anyone in the world and ask them. You will realize that nothing as great as this has ever happened before. People have never heard of anything like this. 33 Only you, the nation of Israel, have heard the voice of God that spoke to you from the middle of the fire. Only you have heard God speak and you still live! 34 No other god has tried to rescue a nation from the power of another nation. The Lord your God did this for you when you were in Egypt. You saw how he used his great authority and strength to punish the Egyptians. He did powerful miracles. He brought war and disease that made them very afraid.
35 The Lord has shown you all these things. So you know that he is the only true God. There is no other God. 36 God spoke to you from heaven so that he could teach you. Here on earth he let you see his great fire. He spoke from that fire and you heard him. 37 He chose you as his special people because he loved your ancestors. You are their descendants so he rescued you out of Egypt. He himself showed you his great power. 38 Now he is chasing out other nations so that you can take their land to live in. They are greater and stronger nations than you are, but he has given their land to you.
39 Remember today that the Lord is God. He rules in heaven above and on the earth below. Think about that! There is no other God. 40 Obey his commands and his rules that I am giving you today. If you do that, everything will be well for you and for your descendants. You will continue to live for a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. It will belong to you for ever.
Safe cities
41 Then Moses chose three special cities on the east side of the Jordan River. 42 If someone killed another person when he did not mean to do it, he could hide there safely. If he had not hated the other person as his enemy, he could run to one of these cities. Then he would be safe. 43 Moses chose these cities: For Reuben's tribe, he chose Bezer, in the high land of the desert. For Gad's tribe, he chose Ramoth, in Gilead. For Manasseh's tribe, he chose Golan, in Bashan.
Moses starts to teach God's Law to the Israelites
44 This is God's Law that Moses explained to the Israelites. 45 These are the rules, the teaching and the commands that Moses taught the Israelites after they had left Egypt. 46 At that time they were in the valley near to Beth-Peor, on the east side of the Jordan River. That was in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. Moses and the Israelites had attacked him after they came out of Egypt. 47 They took power over his land, as well as the land of Og, king of Bashan. These two Amorite kings ruled on the east side of the Jordan River. 48 Their land went from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley, as far as Mount Sirion (that is Mount Hermon). 49 This land included all the Jordan Valley on the east side of the river, as far south as the Salt Sea, near Mount Pisgah.[b]
David's prayer.
A prayer for help
86 Lord, please listen to me,
and answer me!
I am weak and I need help.
2 I am your faithful servant,
so keep my life safe!
Please save me, my God,
for I trust in you.
3 My Lord, be kind to me.
All through the day,
I am calling to you for help.
4 Please make me happy deep inside,
for you are the one that I pray to, my Lord.
5 Yes, my Lord, you are very kind,
and you are ready to forgive people.
When anyone calls to you for help,
you love them with your faithful love.
6 Lord, hear my prayer!
Please listen when I call to you for help.
7 Whenever trouble comes to me,
I will pray to you.
I know that you will answer me.
8 There is no one like you, my Lord,
among all the gods.
Nobody can do the great things that you do.
9 You have made all the nations of the world,
and they will all come to worship you, my Lord.
They will agree that your name is great.
10 For you are great and you do great things.
You alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me how I should live.
Then I will obey your truth.
Teach me to serve you with all that I am,
so that I respect you with fear.
12 My Lord and my God,
I will thank you with all my strength.
I will praise your name for ever!
13 I know that you love me very much
with your faithful love.
You will continue to keep my life safe,
so that I do not go down into the deep hole of death.
14 God, proud people are attacking me.
Cruel men have joined together to kill me.
They do not respect you at all.
15 But you, my Lord, are a kind God
who forgives people.
You do not quickly become angry,
and your faithful love is very great.
We can always trust you
to do what you have promised.
16 Turn to me and be kind to me.
I am your servant, so make me strong.
Please rescue your slave!
17 Help me, so that I know you are pleased with me.
Then my enemies will see it,
and they will be ashamed.
They will know that you, Lord,
have helped me and comforted me.
This psalm is a song that the sons of Korah wrote.
God's holy city[a]
87 The Lord built his city on the holy mountain.
2 The Lord loves Zion city,
more than any other place where Jacob's family lives.[b]
3 People say great things about you!
You are God's own city!
Selah.
4 I will speak about the nations that serve God.
Rahab and Babylon are now among them,
also Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia.[c]
They say about themselves,
‘This man was born in Zion.’
5 They say this about Zion:
‘Each one of these people was born there.’
It is the Most High God who makes that city strong.
6 The Lord will write a list of all their names.
For the people from different nations,
he will say, ‘This person was born in Zion.’
Selah.
7 The singers and the musicians will say,
‘All our blessings come from you, Zion.’
An honest king
32 Look! A king is coming who will rule in a right and fair way.
Honest leaders will rule under his authority.
2 Each leader will be like a safe place to hide
from strong winds and storms.
He will be like streams of water in a desert.
And he will be like the shadow of a great rock in a hot, dry land.
3 At that time, everyone who has eyes will be able to see clearly.
Everyone who has ears will be able to listen well.
4 People who do things too quickly will stop and think first.
Those who cannot speak well will be able to talk clearly.
5 Nobody will praise a stupid person.
Nobody will respect people who cheat others.
6 Stupid people say silly things.
They think of evil things that they can do.
They live in a way that does not respect God.
The things that they teach about the Lord are false.
They keep food away from hungry people.
They give no drink to thirsty people.
7 Cruel people do evil things to deceive others.
They think of ways that they can cheat their friends.
They tell lies to give trouble to poor people.
So poor people do not receive the justice that they deserve.
8 But good people think of ways that they can be kind to others.
They do the good things that they have decided to do.
A message about Jerusalem's women[a]
9 You women, listen carefully to what I say to you!
You think that you have no problems.
You feel very safe.
But listen to me!
10 Now, you think that you are safe,
but in one year's time, you will shake with fear.
There will be no grapes at harvest time.
You will pick no fruit from your trees.
11 You think that you have no problems,
but you should be afraid.
Yes, shake with fear!
Take off all your beautiful clothes.
Tie rough cloth round your legs instead.
12 Weep and hit your breasts,
because your good fields have no crops,
and your vines have no grapes.
13 Weep because of what has happened to my people's land.
Only thorn bushes and weeds grow there.
Weep because there are no longer any happy homes.
There are no more parties in the city.
14 Nobody will remain in the king's great palace.
The city that is now full of people will be empty.
The city's hill and its strong buildings
will become heaps of stones for ever.
Wild donkeys will play in those places,
and sheep will find grass to eat.
15 It will be like that until God pours a new spirit on us from heaven.
Then, deserts will become fields of fruit trees.
And fields of fruit trees will seem like forests.
16 Everywhere, people will be honest and fair,
in the deserts as well as in the fields.
17 People will do things that are right,
so there will be peace.
People will always be safe.
18 My people will live safely and quietly in their homes.
They will not be afraid of trouble.
19 A storm of hail may destroy the forest.
The buildings in the city may all fall down too.
20 But still the Lord will bless you.
You will plant your seeds beside streams of water.
You will send your cows and donkeys into the fields,
and they will have plenty of grass to eat.
Jesus' message to the believers at Ephesus
2 ‘Now write this to the angel of the church at Ephesus:[a]
“This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven stars. He holds them carefully in his right hand. He walks among the seven gold lampstands.
2 I know everything that you do. You have worked much for me. You have continued to work patiently. I know that you do not accept bad people as your friends. Some of these bad people say that they are apostles of Jesus. You have thought carefully about what they teach people. And you have discovered that it is not true. 3 You have been patient and strong in times of trouble. You have continued to serve me because you believe in me. You have not stopped when you become tired.
4 But I have something to say against you. You loved me very much when you first believed in me. You do not love me as much now. 5 Think carefully about this! You do not now live in the way you did at the beginning. So you must change the way you live. Do again the good things that you did at the beginning. If you do not change the way you live, I will come to punish you. I will take away your lampstand from its place. 6 But this is something that you do well: you hate the bad things that the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they do.[b]
7 God's Spirit is now speaking to people in the churches. You should recognize that the Spirit is speaking. Everyone who knows that should listen to what he says. I will let everyone who wins against Satan eat my fruit. This fruit is from the tree that makes us alive. And this tree grows in God's garden.” ’[c]
Jesus' message to the believers at Smyrna
8 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Smyrna:
“This is the message to you from the one who is the first and the last. He was dead, but he became alive again.
9 I know that bad people are making you suffer. I also know that you are poor. But really, you are rich. Some people say that they are Jews, but they tell lies about you. So they cannot be my true people. Instead, they belong to a group of Satan's people. 10 I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe in me. As a result, you will suffer for ten days.[d] But continue to trust me, even if you die. Then you will win against the Devil. I will give you a gift, as they give a crown to the winner of a race.[e] You will have life with me for ever.
11 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! The second death will not hurt anyone who wins against Satan.” ’[f]
Jesus' message to the believers at Pergamum
12 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Pergamum:
“This is the message to you from the one who has the sharp sword with two edges.
13 I know where you live. It is the place where Satan sits as king.[g] But you still continue to trust me. You remember Antipas who spoke a clear message about me. Because of that, some people in your city killed him. You saw what happened to him, but you continued to believe in me. You still serve me, even there where Satan lives.[h]
14 But I have a few things to say against you. Some people among you agree with what Balaam taught long ago. He taught Balak to do a bad thing against God's people.[i] Balak caused the Israelite people to do wrong things. As a result, they ate food that people had given to idols. They also had sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. 15 Also, some people among you do the bad things that the Nicolaitans teach. 16 So you must stop doing these bad things. If you do not change how you live, I will quickly come to punish you. I will fight against those bad people with my sharp sword that comes out of my mouth.
17 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully! To everyone who wins against Satan I will give some of my special food called manna. I will also give each of them a white stone.[j] I will write a new name on that stone. Nobody will know that name except the person who receives it.” ’
Jesus' message to the believers at Thyatira
18 ‘Write this to the angel of the church at Thyatira:
“This is the message to you from the Son of God. He has eyes that burn brightly like flames of fire. His feet shine like bright metal.
19 I know everything that you do. I know that you have great love. I know that you believe in me. I know that you continue to serve me well. You are patient and strong. You do these good things now more than you did at the beginning.
20 But I have something to say against you. You let that woman Jezebel teach you. She says that she is a prophet from God. But she leads my servants into bad ways. She teaches them to have sex with many people.[k] And she teaches them to eat food that people have given to idols. 21 I have given her time to stop doing these bad things. But she refuses to change how she lives. She does not stop having sex with other men. 22 Listen to this! I will cause her to suffer on her bed, so that she cannot get up. Those who join her in her sins will also suffer very much, unless they change the way they live. 23 I will send a terrible illness to kill those who obey her. Then all the people in the churches will know that I look deep inside them. I know what you really want. I know what you really think. I will give each of you what is right for you, as a result of what you have done.
24 But I say this to you other people in Thyatira. You have not agreed with what Jezebel taught. You have not learned what they call ‘Satan's deep secrets’. So I say this to you: I will not tell you to obey any other difficult rules. 25 But continue to obey my message that you have already received. Believe in me until I come.
26 Continue to obey me until the end and win the fight against Satan. If anyone does that, I will give him authority to rule over the nations of the world. 27 That person will rule the nations with strong authority. He will destroy them, like someone who breaks clay pots into many pieces.[l] 28 He will have the same authority that I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.[m] 29 God's Spirit is speaking to you in the churches. You should understand what the Spirit is saying to you. You have ears, so listen carefully!” ’
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