M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jacob’s Burial
50 When Jacob died, Joseph hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2 He commanded the doctors who served him to prepare his father’s body. So the doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. 3 It took the doctors 40 days to prepare his body. This was the usual time it took. And the Egyptians had a time of sorrow for Jacob. It lasted 70 days.
4 When this time of sorrow had ended, Joseph spoke to the king’s officers. He said, “If you think well of me, please tell this to the king: 5 ‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him. I promised I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan. This is a burial place that he cut out for himself. So please let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.’”
6 The king answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king’s officers, the elders of his court and all the elders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8 Everyone who lived with Joseph and his brothers went with him. And everyone who lived with his father also went. They left only their children, their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. 9 Men in chariots and on horses also went with Joseph. It was a very large group.
10 They went to the threshing floor of Atad, east of the Jordan River. There they cried loudly and bitterly for Jacob, also called Israel. Joseph’s time of sorrow continued for seven days. 11 The people that lived in Canaan saw the sadness at the threshing floor of Atad. They said, “Those Egyptians are showing great sorrow!” So now that place is named Sorrow of the Egyptians.
12 So Jacob’s sons did what their father commanded. 13 They carried his body to the land of Canaan. They buried it in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre. Abraham had bought this cave and field from Ephron the Hittite. He bought the cave to use as a burial place. 14 After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt. His brothers and everyone who had gone with him to bury his father also returned.
The Brothers Fear Joseph
15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph is still angry with us? We did many wrong things to him. What if he plans to pay us back?” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph. It said, “Your father gave this command before he died. 17 He said to us, ‘You have done wrong. You have sinned and done evil to Joseph. Tell Joseph to forgive you, his brothers.’ So now, Joseph, we beg you to forgive our wrong. We are the servants of the God of your father.” When Joseph received the message, he cried.
18 And his brothers went to him and bowed low before him. They said, “We are your slaves.”
19 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Can I do what only God can do? 20 You meant to hurt me. But God turned your evil into good. It was to save the lives of many people. And it is being done. 21 So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” So Joseph comforted his brothers and spoke kind words to them.
22 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with all his father’s family. He died when he was 110 years old. 23 During Joseph’s life Ephraim had children and grandchildren. And Joseph’s son Manasseh had a son named Makir. Joseph accepted Makir’s children as his own.
The Death of Joseph
24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will take care of you. He will lead you out of this land. He will lead you to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph had the sons of Israel make a promise. He said, “Promise me that you will carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”
26 Joseph died when he was 110 years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial. Then they put him in a coffin in Egypt.
The Preaching of John
3 It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar: Pontius Pilate was the ruler of Judea. Herod was the ruler of Galilee. Philip, Herod’s brother, was the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis. And Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time, a command from God came to John son of Zechariah. John was living in the desert. 3 He went all over the area around the Jordan River and preached to the people. He preached a baptism of changed hearts and lives for the forgiveness of their sins. 4 As it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet:
“This is a voice of a man
who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.
5 Every valley should be filled in.
Every mountain and hill should be made flat.
Roads with turns should be made straight,
and rough roads should be made smooth.
6 And all people will know about the salvation of God!’” Isaiah 40:3-5
7 Crowds of people came to be baptized by John. He said to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s anger that is coming? 8 You must do the things that will show that you really have changed your hearts. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these rocks here. 9 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”[a]
10 The people asked John, “What should we do?”
11 John answered, “If you have two shirts, share with the person who does not have one. If you have food, share that too.”
12 Even tax collectors came to John to be baptized. They said to John, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 John said to them, “Don’t take more taxes from people than you have been ordered to take.”
14 The soldiers asked John, “What about us? What should we do?”
John said to them, “Don’t force people to give you money. Don’t lie about them. Be satisfied with the pay you get.”
15 All the people were hoping for the Christ to come, and they wondered about John. They thought, “Maybe he is the Christ.”
16 John answered everyone, “I baptize you with water, but there is one coming later who can do more than I can. I am not good enough to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He will come ready to clean the grain. He will separate the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn. Then he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.”[b] 18 And John continued to preach the Good News, saying many other things to encourage the people.
19 But John spoke against Herod, the governor, because of his sin with Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother. John also criticized Herod for the many other evil things Herod did. 20 So Herod did another evil thing: He put John in prison.
Jesus Is Baptized by John
21 When all the people were being baptized by John, Jesus also was baptized. While Jesus was praying, heaven opened and 22 the Holy Spirit came down on him. The Spirit was in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”
The Family History of Jesus
23 When Jesus began to teach, he was about 30 years old. People thought that Jesus was Joseph’s son.
Joseph was the son[c] of Heli.
24 Heli was the son of Matthat.
Matthat was the son of Levi.
Levi was the son of Melki.
Melki was the son of Jannai.
Jannai was the son of Joseph.
25 Joseph was the son of Mattathias.
Mattathias was the son of Amos.
Amos was the son of Nahum.
Nahum was the son of Esli.
Esli was the son of Naggai.
26 Naggai was the son of Maath.
Maath was the son of Mattathias.
Mattathias was the son of Semein.
Semein was the son of Josech.
Josech was the son of Joda.
27 Joda was the son of Joanan.
Joanan was the son of Rhesa.
Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the grandson of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the son of Neri.
28 Neri was the son of Melchi.
Melchi was the son of Addi.
Addi was the son of Cosam.
Cosam was the son of Elmadam.
Elmadam was the son of Er.
29 Er was the son of Joshua.
Joshua was the son of Eliezer.
Eliezer was the son of Jorim.
Jorim was the son of Matthat.
Matthat was the son of Levi.
30 Levi was the son of Simeon.
Simeon was the son of Judah.
Judah was the son of Joseph.
Joseph was the son of Jonam.
Jonam was the son of Eliakim.
31 Eliakim was the son of Melea.
Melea was the son of Menna.
Menna was the son of Mattatha.
Mattatha was the son of Nathan.
Nathan was the son of David.
32 David was the son of Jesse.
Jesse was the son of Obed.
Obed was the son of Boaz.
Boaz was the son of Salmon.[d]
Salmon was the son of Nahshon.
33 Nahshon was the son of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the son of Admin.
Admin was the son of Arni.
Arni was the son of Hezron.
Hezron was the son of Perez.
Perez was the son of Judah.
34 Judah was the son of Jacob.
Jacob was the son of Isaac.
Isaac was the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the son of Terah.
Terah was the son of Nahor.
35 Nahor was the son of Serug.
Serug was the son of Reu.
Reu was the son of Peleg.
Peleg was the son of Eber.
Eber was the son of Shelah.
36 Shelah was the son of Cainan.
Cainan was the son of Arphaxad.
Arphaxad was the son of Shem.
Shem was the son of Noah.
Noah was the son of Lamech.
37 Lamech was the son of Methuselah.
Methuselah was the son of Enoch.
Enoch was the son of Jared.
Jared was the son of Mahalalel.
Mahalalel was the son of Kenan.
38 Kenan was the son of Enosh.
Enosh was the son of Seth.
Seth was the son of Adam.
Adam was the son of God.
Job Answers Eliphaz
16 Then Job answered:
2 “I have heard many things like these.
You are all painful comforters!
3 Will your long, useless speeches never end?
What makes you keep on arguing?
4 I also could speak as you do
if you were in my place.
I could make great speeches against you.
And I could shake my head at you.
5 But, instead, my words would encourage you.
I would speak words of comfort to bring you relief.
6 “But if I speak, my pain does not become less.
And if I don’t speak, it still does not go away.
7 God, you have surely taken away my strength.
You have destroyed my whole family.
8 You have made me thin and weak.
And people feel that this shows I have done wrong.
9 God attacks me and tears me with anger.
He grinds his teeth at me.
My enemy stares at me with his angry eyes.
10 People open their mouths to make fun of me.
They hit my cheeks to insult me.
They join together against me.
11 God has turned me over to evil men.
He has thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
12 Everything was fine with me.
But then God broke me into pieces.
He held me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target.
13 God’s archers surround me.
He stabs my kidneys and has no mercy.
He spills my blood on the ground.
14 Again and again God attacks me.
He runs at me like a soldier.
15 “I have sewed rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness.
I have buried my face in the dust.
16 My face is red from crying.
I have dark circles around my eyes.
17 And yet my hands have never done anything cruel.
And my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, please do not cover up my blood.
Don’t let my cry ever stop being heard!
19 Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven.
The one who is on my side is high above.
20 The one who speaks for me is my friend.
While he does this, my eyes pour out tears to God.
21 He begs God on behalf of a man
as a man begs for his friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey from which I cannot return.
17 My spirit is broken.
The days of my life are almost gone.
The grave is waiting for me.
2 Those who laugh at me surround me.
I watch them insult me.
3 “God, make me a promise.
No one else will make a promise for me.
4 You have closed the minds of my friends so they do not understand.
So you will not let them win over me.
5 A man might speak against his friends for money.
But if he does, the eyes of his children go blind.
6 “God has caused people to use my name as a curse word.
People spit in my face.
7 My sight has grown weak because of my sadness.
My body is so thin it’s like a shadow.
8 Honest people are upset about this.
Innocent people are upset with people who do wrong.
9 But people who do right will continue to do right.
And those whose hands are not dirty with sin will grow stronger.
10 “But, all of you, come and try again!
I do not find a wise man among you!
11 My days are gone, and my plans have been destroyed.
The desires of my heart are also destroyed.
12 These men think night is day.
When it is dark, they say, ‘Light is near.’
13 It might be that the only home I hope for is where the dead are.
I might spread out my bed in darkness.
14 I might say to the grave, ‘You are my father.’
And I might say to the worm, ‘You are my mother’ or ‘You are my sister.’
15 If these things are true, I have no hope.
No one can see any hope for me.
16 Hope will go down to the gates of death.
We will go down together into the dust.”
Apostles of Christ
4 This is what people should think about us: We are servants of Christ. We are the ones God has trusted with his secret truths. 2 A person who is trusted with something must show that he is worthy of that trust. 3 I do not care if I am judged by you or if I am judged by any human court. I do not even judge myself. 4 I know of no wrong that I have done. But this does not make me innocent. The Lord is the One who judges me. 5 So do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light things that are now hidden in darkness. He will make known the secret purposes of people’s hearts. Then God will give everyone the praise he should get.
6 Brothers, I have used Apollos and myself as examples. I did this so that you could learn from us the meaning of the words, “Follow only what is written in the Scriptures.” Then you will not be proud of one man and hate another. 7 Who says that you are better than others? Everything you have was given to you. And if this is so, why do you brag as if you got these things by your own power?
8 You think you have everything you need. You think you are rich. You think you have become kings without us. I wish you really were kings! Then we could be kings together with you. 9 But it seems to me that God has given me and the other apostles the last place. We are like men sentenced to die. We are like a show for the whole world to see—angels and people. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake. But you think you are very wise in Christ. We are weak, but you think you are strong. You receive honor, but we are hated. 11 Even now we still do not have enough to eat or drink or enough clothes. We are often beaten. We have no homes. 12 We work hard with our own hands for our food. People curse us, but we bless them. They hurt us, and we accept it. 13 They say evil things against us, but we say only kind things to them. Even today, we are treated as though we are the garbage of the world—the dirt of the earth.
14 I am not trying to make you feel ashamed. I am writing this to give you a warning as if you were my own dear children. 15 For though you may have 10,000 teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Through the Good News I became your father in Christ Jesus. 16 So I beg you, please be like me. 17 That is why I am sending Timothy to you. He is my son in the Lord. I love Timothy, and he is faithful. He will help you remember the way I live in Christ Jesus. This way of life is what I teach in all the churches everywhere.
18 Some of you have become proud, thinking that I will not come to you again. 19 But I will come very soon if the Lord wants me to. Then I will see what those who are proud can do, not what they say. 20 I want to see this because the kingdom of God is not talk but power. 21 Which do you want: that I come to you with punishment, or that I come with love and gentleness?
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.