M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Dreams Come True
42 Jacob ·learned [L saw] that there was grain in Egypt, so he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here looking at one another? 2 I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us to eat, so that we will live and not die.”
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with them, because he was afraid that ·something terrible [a fatal accident; harm; tragedy] might happen to him. 5 Along with many other people, the sons of Israel [C Jacob’s other name] went to Egypt to buy grain, because ·the people in the land of Canaan were also hungry [L there was famine in the land of Canaan].
6 Now Joseph was ·governor [administrator] over ·Egypt [L the land]. He was the one who sold the grain to people ·who came to buy it [L of the land/earth]. So Joseph’s brothers came to him and bowed facedown on the ground before him. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he ·knew who they were [recognized them], but he ·acted as if he didn’t know them [treated them as strangers/foreigners]. He asked ·unkindly [harshly], “Where do you come from?”
They answered, “We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food.”
8 Joseph ·knew they were [recognized] his brothers, but they did not ·know who he was [recognize him]. 9 And Joseph remembered his dreams ·about his brothers bowing to him [L which he dreamed about them; 37:5–11]. He said to them, “You are spies! You came to ·learn where the nation is weak [L see the nakedness of the land]!”
10 But his brothers said to him, “No, my ·master [lord]. We come as your servants just to buy food. 11 We are all sons of the same father. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 Then Joseph said to them, “No! You have come to ·learn where this nation is weak [L see the nakedness of the land]!”
13 And they said, “·We [L Your servants] are ·ten of twelve [L twelve] brothers, sons of the same father, and we live in the land of Canaan. Our ·youngest [smallest] brother is there with our father right now, and ·our other brother is gone [L one is no more].”
14 But Joseph said to them, “·I can see I was right [L It is as I spoke to you]! You are spies! 15 But ·I will give you a way to prove you are telling the truth [L in this way you will be tested]. As surely as ·the king [L Pharaoh] lives, you will not ·leave [go out from] this place ·until [or unless] your ·youngest [smallest] brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get your brother. The rest of you will stay here in prison. We will ·see if you are telling the truth [L test your words/statements]. If not, as surely as ·the king [L Pharaoh] lives, you are spies.” 17 Then Joseph put them all in ·prison [the guardhouse] for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “[L For] I ·am a God-fearing man [fear God]. Do this and I will let you live: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in ·prison [the guardhouse] while the rest of you go and carry grain ·back to feed your hungry families [L for your families because of the famine]. 20 Then bring your ·youngest [smallest] brother back here to me. If you do this, ·I will know you are telling the truth [L your words will be confirmed], and you will not die.”
The brothers agreed to this. 21 They said to each other, “[L Alas,] We are ·being punished [or guilty] for what we did to our brother. We saw ·his trouble [the distress of his soul], and he ·begged us to save him [pleaded with us], but we ·refused to [L did not] listen. That is why we are in this ·trouble [distress] now.”
22 Then Reuben said to them, “·I told [L Did I not tell…?] you not to ·harm [wrong; sin against] the ·boy [child], but you ·refused to [L did not] listen to me. So now ·we are being punished for what we did to him [L there is a reckoning for his blood].”
23 When Joseph talked to his brothers, he used an ·interpreter [or intermediary], so they did not know that Joseph understood what they were saying. 24 Then Joseph left them and cried. After a short time he went back and spoke to them. He took Simeon and ·tied [bound] him ·up while the other brothers watched [L before their eyes]. 25 Joseph ·told his servants [L gave the command/order] to fill his brothers’ bags with grain and to put ·the money the brothers had paid for the grain [L their silver] back in their bags. ·The servants [L They] were also to give them ·what they would need [provisions] for their trip back home. And ·the servants [L they] did this.
26 So the brothers ·put [lifted] the grain on their donkeys and left. 27 When ·they stopped for the night [at the lodging place], one of the brothers opened his sack to get ·food [fodder] for his donkey. Then he saw his ·money [silver] in the top of the sack. 28 He said to the other brothers, “·The money I paid for the grain [L My money/silver] has been put back. Here it is in [L the mouth of] my sack!”
The brothers ·were very frightened [L lost heart and trembled]. They said to each other, “What has God done to us?”
The Brothers Return to Jacob
29 The brothers went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him everything that had happened. 30 They said, “The master of that land spoke ·unkindly [harshly] to us. He accused us of spying on his country, 31 but we told him that we were honest men, not spies. 32 We told him that we ·were ten of twelve [L are twelve] brothers—sons of one father. We said that one of our brothers was ·gone [L no more] and that our ·youngest [smallest] brother was with our father in Canaan.
33 “Then the master of the land said to us, ‘Here is a way I can know you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain to feed ·your hungry [L because of the famine for your] families, and go. 34 And bring your ·youngest [smallest] brother to me so I will know you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give you back your brother whom you leave with me, and you can ·move about freely [or trade] in our land.’ ”
35 As the brothers emptied their sacks, each of them ·found his money [saw his bundle of money/silver] in his sack. When they and their father saw it, they were afraid.
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are ·robbing [bereaving] me of all my children. Joseph is ·gone [L no more], Simeon is ·gone [L no more], and now you want to take Benjamin away, too. Everything is against me.”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. ·Trust him to my care [L Put him in my hands], and I will bring him back to you.”
38 But Jacob said, “·I will not allow Benjamin to go [L My son will not go down] with you. His brother is dead, and he ·is the only son left from my wife Rachel [L alone is left]. I am afraid something ·terrible [disastrous; tragic] might happen to him during the trip to Egypt. Then ·I would be sad until the day I die [L you would bring my gray hair down to Sheol in anguish].”
The Story of the Evil Farmers(A)
12 [Then] Jesus began ·to use stories to teach the people [L to speak to them in parables; see 3:23]. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a ·hole [vat; pit] for a winepress and built a tower [C to protect against thieves; see Is. 5:1–7 for the background to this parable]. Then he leased the land to some [C tenant] farmers and left for a trip [C the owner represents God, the farmers are Israel’s religious leaders]. 2 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a ·servant [slave] to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3 But the farmers grabbed ·the servant [L him] and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then the man sent another ·servant [slave]. They ·hit [beat] him on the head and ·showed no respect for [humiliated; dishonored] him. 5 So the man sent another, whom they killed. The man sent many others; the farmers beat some of them and killed others [C the servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel].
6 “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved [C representing Jesus; see 1:11; 9:7]. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the farmers said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the ·owner [lord] of the vineyard do? He will come and ·kill [destroy] those farmers and will give the vineyard to ·other farmers [L others; C referring to the sinners who were responding to Jesus’ call for repentance, and eventually to the Gentiles who would be saved]. 10 ·Surely you have read [L Have you never read…?] this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
became the ·cornerstone [capstone; keystone; L head of the corner; C the meaning is uncertain, but clearly refers to the most important stone in the building; Jesus is the rejected stone].
11 The Lord did this,
and it is ·wonderful [amazing; marvelous] ·to us [for us to see; L in our eyes; Ps. 118:22–23].’”
12 The Jewish leaders knew that the ·story [parable] was about them. So they ·wanted to find a way [were seeking/trying] to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?(B)
13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family; 3:6] to Jesus to ·trap [catch] him in saying something wrong. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; honest; sincere]. You are not ·afraid of [concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances]. And you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. Tell us: Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or not?” [C Saying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]
But knowing ·what these men were really trying to do [L their hypocrisy], Jesus said to them, “Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me? Bring me a ·coin [L denarius; C a Roman coin worth a day’s wages] to look at.” 16 They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.” [C Ironically, the religious leaders carry coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.]
17 Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [T Render] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” They were amazed at what Jesus said.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus(C)
18 Then some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) 19 They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and ·have children [L raise up offspring/seed] for his brother [Deut. 25:5]. 20 Once there were seven brothers. The first brother ·married [L took a wife] and died, leaving no children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. 22 All seven brothers married her and died, and none of the brothers had any children. Finally the woman died too. 23 Since all seven brothers had married her, ·when people rise from the dead [L at the resurrection], whose wife will she be?”
24 Jesus answered, “·You are mistaken [L Are you not mistaken/in error…?] because you don’t know what the Scriptures say, and don’t you know about the power of God. 25 [L For] When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 ·Surely you have read [L Have you not read…?] what God said about people rising from the dead. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush [Ex. 3:1–12], it says that God told Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [Ex. 3:6; C God is still the God of the patriarchs, so they must have a continued existence after death].’ 27 God is the God of the living, not the dead. You Sadducees are ·wrong [greatly deceived; badly mistaken]!”
The Most Important Command(D)
28 One of the ·teachers of the law [scribes] came and heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘·Listen, people of Israel [T Hear, O Israel]! The Lord our God is ·the only Lord [one Lord]. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength’ [Deut. 6:4–5; C these are the opening words of the Shema, the prayer said by pious Jews twice a day]. 31 The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ [Lev. 19:18]. There are no commands ·more important [greater] than these.”
32 The man answered, “·That was a good answer [Well said!], Teacher. You were right when you said God is ·the only Lord [one] and there is no other God besides him. 33 One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the ·animals [burnt offerings] and sacrifices we offer to God [1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8].”
34 When Jesus saw that the man answered him ·wisely [thoughtfully; with insight], Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one ·was brave enough [dared] to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Question About David’s Son(E)
35 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple [courts; complex], he asked, “Why do the ·teachers of the law [scribes] say that the ·Christ [Messiah] is the ·son [descendant] of David [C see 2 Sam. 7:12]? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; C the place of greatest honor beside the king],
until I put your enemies ·under your control [L beneath your feet; C meaning defeated or made subject to your authority; Ps. 110:1].”’
37 David himself calls ·the Christ [the Messiah; L him] ‘Lord,’ so how can ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he] be his son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.
38 Jesus continued teaching and said, “Beware of the ·teachers of the law [scribes]. They like to walk around ·wearing fancy clothes [in long robes], and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. 39 They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at ·feasts [banquets]. 40 But they ·cheat widows and steal their houses [L devour widows’ homes] and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers [in public]. They will receive a greater ·punishment [judgment; condemnation].”
True Giving(F)
41 Jesus sat near the Temple ·money box [offering chest; or treasury] and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in ·two small copper coins [L two lepta], ·which were only worth a few cents [L which is a quadrans; C a Roman coin worth 1/64 of a denarius, or about 10 minutes of work for a day laborer].
43 Calling his ·followers [disciples] to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They gave ·only what they did not need [out of their surplus/abundance]. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had—everything she had to live on.”
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you [L continue to] say such things?
Your words are ·no more than [L a strong] wind [C he accuses Job of passion without substance].
3 God does not ·twist [pervert] justice;
·the Almighty [Shaddai] does not ·make wrong [twist; pervert] ·what is right [righteousness].
4 [L If] Your children sinned against God,
and he ·punished them for their sins [L sent them into the power of their transgression].
5 ·But [L If] you ·should ask God for help [L look for God]
and ·pray [plead] to ·the Almighty [Shaddai] for ·mercy [grace].
6 If you are ·good [pure] and ·honest [virtuous; 1:1, 8; 2:3],
he will ·stand up [L immediately rouse himself] for you
and ·bring you back [restore you] ·where you belong [to your right/righteous pasture/place/home].
7 ·Where you began will seem unimportant [L Though your start was small],
·because your future will be so successful [L your end will be exalted].
8 “Ask ·old people [L the previous generation];
·find out [reflect on] what their ancestors learned,
9 because we were only born yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a shadow.
10 Those people will teach you and tell you
and speak about what they know.
11 ·Papyrus plants cannot [L Do papyrus plants…?] grow where there is no swamp,
·and reeds cannot [L or reeds…?] grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up quicker than grass [Ps. 37:2; 102:4, 11; 129:6].
13 That is ·what will happen to [L the path of] those who forget God;
the hope of the ·wicked [godless] will ·be gone [perish].
14 ·What they hope in is easily broken [L Their confidence is gossamer thread];
what they trust is like a spider’s web [C without substance].
15 They lean on ·the spider’s web [L its house], but it ·breaks [L does not stand].
They grab it, but it does not hold up.
16 They are like well-watered plants in the sunshine
that spread their roots all through the garden.
17 They wrap their roots around a pile of rocks
and look for a place among the stones.
18 But if a plant is torn from its place,
then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Now ·joy has gone away [or it (the plant) dissolves on the way];
other plants grow up from the same dirt.
20 “Surely God does not reject the innocent
or ·give strength to [or grasp the hand of] those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 ·Your enemies [L Those who hate you] will be covered with shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
Give Your Lives to God
12 ·So [Therefore] brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I ·beg [urge; appeal to] you to offer your ·lives [selves; L bodies] as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be ·only for God [holy] and pleasing to him, which is the ·spiritual [or authentic; true; or appropriate; fitting; or rational; reasonable] way for you to worship. 2 Do not be ·shaped by [conformed to; pressed into a mold by] this ·world [age]; instead be ·changed within [transformed] by ·a new way of thinking [or changing the way you think; L the renewing of your mind]. Then you will be able to ·decide [discern; test and approve] what ·God wants for you [is God’s will]; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. 3 Because God has given me ·a special gift [his grace], I have something to say to everyone among you. Do not think you are better than you are. [Instead] You must ·decide what you really are [think sensibly; think with sober discernment] ·by [based on; in accordance with] the amount of faith God has given you. 4 [L For just as] Each one of us has ·a [L one] body with many parts, and these parts all have different ·uses [functions]. 5 In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body, and each part belongs to all the other ·parts [L members]. 6 We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift ·in agreement with the faith [or in proportion to their faith]. 7 Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. 8 Whoever has the gift of ·encouraging [exhorting] others should ·encourage [exhort]. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give ·freely [generously]. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should ·try hard when he leads [lead diligently/enthusiastically]. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with ·joy [cheerfulness].
9 Your love must be ·real [sincere; unhypocritical]. ·Hate [Abhor; Despise] what is evil, and ·hold on [cling] to what is good. 10 ·Love [Be devoted to] each other ·like brothers and sisters [with family/brotherly affection]. ·Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves [or Outdo one another in showing honor; or Be eager to show honor to one another]. 11 Do not be ·lazy but work hard [L lacking in zeal], serving the Lord with ·all your heart [L a fervent/eager/enthusiastic spirit]. 12 ·Be joyful because you have hope [L Rejoice in hope]. ·Be patient [Endure] ·when trouble comes [L in suffering/tribulation], and pray ·at all times [faithfully; with persistence/perseverance]. 13 Share with ·God’s people [T the saints] who need help. ·Bring strangers in need into your homes [Pursue/Be eager to show hospitality].
14 ·Wish good for [Bless] those who ·harm [persecute] you; ·wish them well [bless] and do not curse them. 15 ·Be happy [Rejoice] with those who ·are happy [rejoice], and ·be sad [weep] with those who ·are sad [weep]. 16 Live in ·peace [harmony] with each other. Do not be ·proud [arrogant; haughty], but ·make friends with those who seem unimportant [associate with the humble/those of low social status; or be willing to do lowly tasks]. Do not think how ·smart [wise; superior] you are.
17 ·If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him [L Repay no one evil for evil]. ·Try to do [or Consider carefully] what ·everyone thinks is right [others view as good/honorable; L is good/noble before all people]. 18 ·Do your best to [L If possible, from your part,] live in peace with everyone. 19 My friends, do not ·try to punish others when they wrong you [take revenge; avenge yourselves], but ·wait for God to punish them with his anger [L leave room for (God’s) wrath]. [L For] It is written: “·I will punish those who do wrong [L Vengeance is mine]; I will repay them [Deut. 32:35],” says the Lord. 20 But you should do this:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him a drink.
Doing this will be like ·pouring [heaping] burning coals on his head [Prov. 25:21–22].”
21 Do not let evil ·defeat [conquer; overcome] you, but ·defeat [conquer; overcome] evil by doing good.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.