M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Moses speaks about the new stones
10 At that time, the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out two new flat stones that are like the first stones. Then bring them up to me, on the mountain. You must also use some wood to make a big box. 2 I will write on the new stones the same words that I wrote on the first stones. You broke those stones. But you must put the new stones into the wooden box.’
3 So I used acacia wood to make a box. I also cut two new flat stones that were like the first stones. Then I carried the two new stones up the mountain in my hands. 4 The Lord wrote on the stones the same words that he had written before. Those were the ten special commands that he had told you before. He spoke those commands from the middle of the fire on the mountain, when you came together there. Then the Lord gave the stones to me. 5 I came down from the mountain. I put the stones into the box that I had made, as the Lord had told me to do. The stones are still there now.
6 (At that time, the Israelites travelled to Moserah from the wells that belonged to Jaakan's descendants. Aaron died there and they buried him. His son Eleazar became priest instead. 7 Then they travelled to Gudgodah. From there they travelled to Jotbathah, a place where there are many streams of water. 8 At that time, the Lord chose the tribe of Levi to carry the Lord's Covenant Box. He chose them to be his special servants. They had to pray for the Lord to bless his people. They still do these things today. 9 That is why the Levites did not receive any land for themselves, as the other tribes did. The Lord himself would give them everything that they needed, as he had promised.)
10 I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights, as I did the first time. The Lord listened to my prayer. He decided that he would not destroy you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go now! Lead the people on their journey. Then they can go into the land and take it for themselves. It is the land that I promised to their ancestors that I would give to them.’
Love the Lord and serve him
12 So, people of Israel, this is what the Lord your God wants you to do: You should respect him with fear. You should live in a way that pleases him. Love him and serve him in everything that you think and in everything that you do. 13 Obey the Lord's commands and rules that I am giving to you today. If you do these things, you will have a happy life.
14 The whole sky and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God. The earth and everything that is in it also belong to him. 15 But the Lord chose to love your ancestors with a faithful love. You are their descendants. He has chosen you from among all the people of the world. You can see that this is true today!
16 So remember that you belong to the Lord. Live to please him! Do not refuse to obey him. 17 For the Lord your God rules all other gods. He is the Lord over all other lords. He is great and powerful. We should respect him and obey him. He is fair to everyone. He will not accept any bribes! 18 He brings justice to widows and to children who have no family. He loves the foreign people who live among you. He gives them food to eat and clothes to wear. 19 You too must love the foreign people who live among you. Remember that you also lived as foreigners in Egypt at one time.
20 Respect and obey the Lord your God. Serve him faithfully. If you make a promise, only use his name to do that. 21 He is the one that you should praise. He is the God that you worship. He has done great and powerful things to help you, and you saw him do them. 22 When your ancestors went to Egypt, they were only 70 people. Now the Lord your God has caused you to become very many people. You are as many as the stars in the sky![a]
God judges all people
94 Lord, you are the God
who punishes guilty people.
God, show your power
to punish people as they deserve![a]
2 Judge of all people on the earth, do something!
Punish proud people as they deserve!
3 How long will wicked people continue to be happy?
Yes, Lord, how long?
4 Those people who do evil things
speak many proud words.
They boast about how great they are.
5 Lord, see how they hurt your own people.
They are cruel to the people that belong to you.
6 They kill widows
and foreign people who live in our land.
They murder children that have no family.
7 They say, ‘The Lord does not see us.
Israel's God does not see what we are doing.’
8 Think again, all you fools among the people!
Stupid people, become wise!
9 God made our ears!
Can he himself not hear?
He made our eyes!
Does he not see?
10 He teaches the nations what is right.
Will he not punish you,
when you do what is wrong?
He teaches people what they should know.
11 The Lord knows what people think.
He knows that their thoughts are empty.
12 Lord, when you teach people what is right,
you have really blessed them.
You use your Law to teach them.
13 When those people have troubles,
you keep them safe.
Then the wicked people fall into a deep hole
that you have dug to catch them.
14 The Lord will not leave his people alone.
He will not forget to help the people that belong to him.
15 Once again, judges will do what is right and fair,
and good, honest people will agree.
16 Who would fight for me
against the wicked people?[b]
Who would keep me safe
from the people who do evil things?
17 Unless the Lord had helped me,
I would soon have become silent in death.
18 When I think, ‘I am falling down,’
your faithful love keeps me safe, Lord.
19 When I have troubles in my mind,
so that I am afraid,
you help me to be happy again.
20 You will not become a friend of cruel rulers.
They make laws that only hurt people.
21 They join together to work against good people.
They say that people are guilty
who have done nothing wrong.
They say that they must die.
22 But the Lord is a strong place for me.
Yes, my God is a rock
where I can hide and be safe.
23 He will punish those wicked leaders.
He will destroy them,
because they do evil things.
The Lord our God will completely destroy them.
Hezekiah becomes ill
38 At that time, Hezekiah became very ill. He nearly died. Then Amoz's son, Isaiah the prophet, went to Hezekiah. He said to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You will soon die. You will not get better. So you must tell your family what to do after your death.” ’
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall and he prayed to the Lord. 3 He prayed, ‘Lord, please remember that I have served you well. I have always obeyed you. You could trust me to do the things that you told me to do.’ Hezekiah wept very much.
4 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, 5 ‘Go and say this to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord says, the God that your ancestor David worshipped. I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. So I will let you live for 15 more years. 6 I will rescue you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. I will keep Jerusalem safe.” ’
7 Isaiah said, ‘The Lord will do what he has promised to do for you. This is how you will know that it will really happen. 8 You can see the sun's shadow when it falls on the stairs that King Ahaz built. The Lord will cause the shadow to go back ten steps on these stairs.’ Then the shadow did go back ten steps!
Hezekiah's song
9 When Hezekiah became better from his disease, he wrote this song:
10 I thought that I might die in the middle of my life.
I thought that I would go into the deep hole of death,
before I had lived all the years of my life.
11 I thought, ‘I will not see the Lord again,
while I live in this world.
I will no longer see the people who live in the world.
I will no longer live among them.’
12 My home here has gone,
as easily as they pull down a shepherd's tent.
God has cut off my life,
like a piece of cloth that they have just made.
They cut it off and they roll it up.
As quickly as day becomes night,
God brings my life to an end.
13 I waited until morning would come.
It seemed like God was breaking all my bones,
like a lion does.
As quickly as day becomes night,
God brings my life to an end.
14 I cry like a swallow.
I make a sad noise like a dove.
My eyes are weak as I look up to heaven for help.
Lord God, save me from my trouble!
15 I do not know what I can say.
The Lord has told me what must happen.
He has done what he decided to do.
I will live quietly for the rest of my life,
because I am very sad and upset.
16 Lord God, your promises give life to people.
May they give life to my spirit.
Please make me well again and let me live.
17 Yes, it was good for me to have this trouble.
You rescued me from the deep hole of death.
You removed my sins,
and you put them behind your back.
18 Dead people in their graves cannot praise you.
They cannot sing to thank you.
People who go down into the deep hole of death
cannot trust you to help them.
19 It is those people who are alive that can thank you.
And I am doing it today.
Fathers tell their children that they can trust you.
20 The Lord will now save me from death.
We will sing to thank the Lord in his temple.
We will sing with happy music every day of our lives.
21 Now Isaiah had said this: ‘Take some figs to make a medicine and put it on Hezekiah's boil. Then he will get better.’ 22 Hezekiah had asked, ‘What will show me that I will be able to go up to the Lord's temple?’[a]
The Lamb opens the last seal
8 The Lamb opened the seventh seal. Then it became completely quiet in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in front of God. Someone gave them seven trumpets.
3 Then another angel came. He stood at the altar where people offered gifts to God. He had a gold bowl to put incense in. He received a lot of incense and he burned it as a gift to God. It made a nice smell and it mixed with the prayers of God's people. The angel offered the incense and the prayers on the gold altar that was in front of God's throne.[a] 4 When he did that, the smoke from the incense went up in front of God. The prayers of God's people also went up to God. 5 Then the angel took the gold bowl and he filled it with fire from the altar. Then he threw it all down onto the earth. There were loud noises and the sound of thunder. There was bright lightning, like a very bad storm. The earth shook with an earthquake.
The first four trumpets
6 Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to make a noise with their trumpets. 7 The first angel made a sound with his trumpet. Strong rain with stones of ice fell on the earth. The rain was mixed with fire and blood and it poured down. It burned a third of the earth. It destroyed a third of the trees and all the green grass.
8 Then the second angel made a sound with his trumpet. I saw something like a very big mountain that was burning with fire. This mountain fell down into the sea. A third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the animals that lived in the sea died. It also destroyed a third of the ships on the sea.
10 Then the third angel made a sound with his trumpet. I saw a very big star, which was burning with a bright light. It fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and the springs of water. 11 The name of the star means ‘It tastes bad’. A third of the water on the earth became bad. Many people died because they drank that bad water.
12 Then the fourth angel made a sound with his trumpet. A third of the sun became dark. A third of the moon and a third of the stars also became dark. There was no light for a third of the day and there was no light for a third of the night.[b]
13 Then I looked up. I saw an eagle that was flying high in the sky above me. I heard it say with a loud voice, ‘Great trouble! Great trouble! Yes, great trouble is coming to the people who live on the earth! Very bad things will happen when the other three angels make a sound with their trumpets!’
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