M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Harvest gifts
26 You will soon go into the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. It will belong to you as your home. 2 This is what you must do the first time that the land provides food for you: At harvest time, when you bring in your crops, put some in a basket. Take it to the special place that the Lord your God will choose for people to worship him. 3 Go to the priest who has authority at that time. Say to him, ‘Today, I say to the Lord our God that I am now living in the land that he promised to us. He made that promise to our ancestors.’
4 Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you must say this, so that the Lord your God hears you: ‘My ancestor was an Aramean who moved from place to place. He went to Egypt to live there as a foreigner. At that time, his family was small. But while he lived in Egypt, his family became a great nation of many powerful people. 6 But the Egyptian people were cruel to us. They made us work very hard for them. 7 So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our prayers. He saw that we were in trouble. He saw that we had to do very hard work for cruel people. 8 So the Lord used his great strength and power to bring us out of Egypt. He did powerful miracles which caused the Egyptians to be afraid. 9 Then he brought us to this place. He gave us this land where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. 10 So now I am bringing the first food that has grown in my fields. You, Lord, have given it to me.’
Then you must put the basket down in front of the Lord's altar. Worship him there. 11 In that way, you will enjoy a meal to say ‘thank you’ for all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. Share your meal with the Levites and the foreign people who live among you.
12 Every third year you must keep safe a tenth part of all your crops. In the third year, you must give that tithe to the Levites, the foreigners who live among you, widows and the children who have no family. Then everyone who lives in your towns can eat all the food that they need.[a]
13 Then you can say to the Lord your God, ‘None of the tithe that belongs to you remains in my house. I have done what you commanded me to do. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, widows and the children who have no family. I have not forgotten to obey your commands. 14 I have not eaten any of this special food when I was weeping for someone who had died. I did not touched any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered any of it to give honour to a dead person. I have obeyed you completely. I have done everything that you commanded me to do. 15 Please look down from your home in heaven and bless your people, Israel. Please bless the land that you have given to us. You promised our ancestors that you would do that. It is a land where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone.’
Moses warns the people
16 Today, the Lord your God commands you to obey these laws and these rules. So be careful to obey them with all your mind and with all your strength. 17 Today, you have said clearly that the Lord is your God. You have agreed to live in a way that pleases him. You have agreed that you will obey his rules, his commands and his laws. You will do everything that he has told you to do. 18 Today the Lord has accepted you to be his own special people. He already promised that he would do that. As his people, you must obey all his commands. 19 If you do that, he will make you greater than all the other nations that he has made. Other nations will see that you are great. They will praise you and give you honour. You will be a nation that belongs to the Lord your God as his own special people. He has promised to do this.
Praise the Lord![a]
117 All you nations in the world,
praise the Lord!
People from every place,
praise him!
2 The Lord's faithful love for us is very strong.
He will always do what he has promised.
Praise the Lord!
God is good, so thank him[b]
118 Thank the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love will always be with us.
2 Israel's people must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
3 Aaron's family, the priests, must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
4 Everyone who serves the Lord must now say,
‘His faithful love will always be with us.’
5 I was in trouble,
so I called to the Lord to help me.
The Lord answered me
and he made me free.
6 The Lord is there to help me,
so I will not be afraid.
What can any person do to hurt me?
7 The Lord is with me as my helper.
As for those people who hate me,
I will win against them.
8 It is better to go to the Lord to keep you safe,
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to trust the Lord to keep you safe,
than to trust even in important people.
10 All the nations were ready to attack me,
but I turned them away
by the power of the Lord.
11 Yes, they were all round me, ready to attack,
but I won against them
in the name of the Lord.
12 They were all round me like a cloud of bees!
But they were like a fire in a thorn bush
that burns quickly and has soon gone.
I turned them away
by the power of the Lord.
13 My enemies attacked me
and they tried to knock me down!
But the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord makes me strong
and he takes care of me.
He is the one who keeps me safe.
15 Listen to the happy shouts of God's people in their tents!
They have won against their enemies,
because the Lord has power to do great things.
16 Yes, the Lord has lifted up his strong right hand.
He has the strength to win the battle!
17 I will not die. Instead, I will live.
I will tell everyone what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me very much,
but he has not let me die.
19 Open the gates of the temple!
I will go in there,
and I will thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord's gate.
Righteous people can go in through it.
21 I will thank you, Lord,
because you answered my prayer.
You have rescued me.
22 The builders threw away a certain stone.
But now that stone has become the most important stone
at the corner of the building.
23 The Lord has done this.
And we can see that it is wonderful![c]
24 This is the day that the Lord has done a great thing.
We will be very happy today!
25 Lord, please save us now!
Lord, please help us to do well!
26 May the Lord bless the man who comes with his authority![d]
We praise you from here,
in the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is our God.
He has caused his light to shine on us.
Make a happy festival!
Take branches in your hands,
and go to offer a sacrifice on the altar.
28 You are my God,
and I will thank you.
You are my God,
and I will say how great you are.
29 Thank the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love will always be with us.
53 Will anyone believe
the news that we have to tell people?[a]
Will anyone understand
how the Lord has used his great power?
2 God's servant grew up in front of him,
like a young, green plant,
with its roots in dry ground.
He was not handsome.
He did not seem like a great king.
We did not see him as a special person.
There was nothing to see
that would make us want to be with him.
3 People did not respect him.
They refused to accept him.
He was a man who received much pain.
He knew what it felt like to be weak and ill.
People did not even want to look at him.
They did not respect him.
We decided that he was worth nothing.
4 But he took away all our weakness!
He carried our pain for us.
We thought that he was receiving punishment for his own sins.
We thought that God was causing him to suffer.
5 But it was our sins that caused his wounds.
The bad things that we had done crushed him.
The punishment that he received
has brought peace to us.
The wounds that he received
have made us well.
6 We have all turned away,
like sheep that take the wrong path.
Each of us has turned to follow our own way.
But the Lord has taken all our sins
and put the punishment on him.
7 People were cruel to him,
and he received much pain.
But he did not say anything to complain.
He was like a lamb that people were leading away to kill.
He was like a sheep when they are cutting off its wool,
but it makes no noise.
In the same way, he did not say anything.
8 They spoke lies to accuse him in court.
Then they led him away to kill him.
And nobody at that time said that it was wrong.
His life in this world quickly came to an end.
And it was the sins of our own people that caused him to die.
9 They decided to bury him with wicked people.
But his body was put in a rich man's grave.
He had not done anything to hurt anyone.
He had not told lies to deceive people.
10 But it was the Lord who chose to hurt his servant.
He caused his servant to receive much pain.
His servant died to remove people's guilt.
As a result, God will bless him with many descendants,
and he will have a long life.
What the Lord wants will happen,
because of what his servant does.
11 When God's servant sees the result of his pain,
he will understand what he has done.
And he will be happy.
The Lord says,
‘My righteous servant will cause many people to be “not guilty”,
because he will take the punishment for all their sins.
12 So I will put him in a place of honour,
as a great person deserves.
He will share the good things that powerful men receive
when they have won a battle.
He deserves this, because he agreed to die as a sacrifice.
People thought that he himself was a sinner
when he took away the sins of many people.
He prayed that God would forgive sinners.’
The ancestors of Jesus Christ
1 This is a list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. Jesus was from the family of King David. David was from the family of Abraham.[a]
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Tamar was their mother.
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz. Rahab was his mother.
Boaz was the father of Obed. Ruth was his mother.
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was Solomon's father. Solomon's mother was the wife of Uriah.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers.
This was at the time when the Israelites' enemies took them away to Babylon.
12 Here is a list of Jesus' ancestors who lived after that time:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph.
Joseph married Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is the one who is called Christ, the Messiah.[b]
17 So then, there were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were another 14 generations from David to the time they took the Israelite people away to Babylon. Then there were 14 generations from that time until Jesus, the Messiah, was born.[c]
Jesus is born
18 This is how Jesus Christ was born. His mother's name was Mary. She had promised to marry a man called Joseph. Then she discovered that she was pregnant. This happened before they started to live together. It was the Holy Spirit that caused this to happen to her. 19 Joseph was a good man. He wanted to do what was right. He did not want her to become ashamed in front of people. So he decided to stop their marriage secretly.[d] 20 He thought about what he should do. Then an angel came from the Lord God to see him. The angel came to Joseph while he was dreaming. The angel said, ‘Joseph, you who are from the family of King David, take Mary home as your wife. Do not be afraid to do that. The baby that is growing inside her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 Mary's baby will be a boy. He will save his people from their sins.[e] Because of that, you must give him the name “Jesus”.’
22 The Lord God had given a message about this to one of his prophets long ago. Now that message would become true. 23 The prophet had said, ‘A young woman who has never had sex will have a baby boy. People will call her son Immanuel.’ This name means ‘God is with us’.
24 Then Joseph woke up from his sleep. He did what God's angel had said to him. He married Mary and he took her to his home. 25 Joseph did not have sex with Mary until after the baby boy was born. He said that the boy's name should be Jesus.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.