M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Death of the Firstborn
11 Now the Lord had told Moses, “I have one more way to punish the king and the people of Egypt. After this, the king will send all of you away from Egypt. When he does, he will force you to leave completely. 2 Tell the men and women of Israel to ask their neighbors for things made of silver and gold.” 3 The Lord had caused the Egyptians to respect the Israelites. The king’s officers and the Egyptian people already considered Moses to be a great man.
4 So Moses said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight tonight I will go through all Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die. The firstborn son of the king, who sits on his throne, will die. Even the firstborn of the slave girl grinding grain will die. Also the firstborn farm animals will die. 6 There will be loud crying everywhere in Egypt. It will be worse than any time before or after this. 7 But not even a dog will bark at the Israelites or their animals.’ Then you will know that the Lord treats Israel differently from Egypt. 8 Then all your officers will come to me. They will bow facedown to the ground before me. They will say, ‘Leave and take all your people with you.’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses very angrily left the king.
9 The Lord had told Moses, “The king will not listen to you and Aaron. This is so that I may do many miracles in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these great miracles in front of the king. But the Lord made him stubborn. And the king would not let the people of Israel leave his country.
Passover
12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 “This month will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Both of you are to tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb. It is for the people in his house. 4 There may not be enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb. Then he must share it with his closest neighbor. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. 5 The lamb must be a one-year-old male. It must have nothing wrong with it. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. 6 Keep the animal with you to take care of it until the fourteenth day of the month. On that day all the people of the community of Israel will kill these animals. They will do this as soon as the sun goes down. 7 The people must take some of the blood. They must put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes. These are the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 On this night they must roast the lamb over a fire. Then they must eat it with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the lamb raw or boiled in water. Roast the whole lamb over a fire—with its head, legs and inner organs. 10 You must not leave any of it until morning. But if any of it is left over until morning, you must burn it with fire.
11 “This is the way you must eat it: You must be fully dressed as if you were going on a trip. You must have your sandals on, and you must have your walking stick in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry. This is the Lord’s Passover.
12 “That night I will go through the land of Egypt. I will kill all the firstborn of animals and people in the land of Egypt. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 But the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Nothing terrible will hurt you when I punish the land of Egypt.
14 “You are always to remember this day. Celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on. 15 For this feast you must eat bread made without yeast for seven days. On the first day of this feast, you are to remove all the yeast from your houses. No one should eat any yeast for the full seven days of the feast. If anyone eats yeast, then that person will be separated from Israel. 16 You are to have holy meetings on the first and last days of the feast. You must not do any work on these days. The only work you may do on these days is to prepare your meals. 17 You must celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Do this because on this very day I brought your divisions of people out of Egypt. So all of your descendants must celebrate this day. This is a law that will last from now on. 18 You are to eat bread made without yeast. Start this on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month of your year. Eat this until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days there must not be any yeast in your houses. Anybody who eats yeast during this time must be separated from the community of Israel. This includes Israelites and non-Israelites. 20 During this feast you must not eat yeast. You must eat bread made without yeast wherever you live.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together. He told them, “Get the animals for your families. Kill the animals for the Passover.
Is It Right to Heal on the Sabbath?
14 On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to the home of a leading Pharisee to eat with him. The people there were all watching Jesus very closely. 2 A man with dropsy[a] was brought before Jesus. 3 Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “Is it right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath day?” 4 But they would not answer his question. So Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “If your son[b] or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not pull him out quickly?” 6 And they could not answer him.
Don’t Make Yourself Important
7 Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So Jesus told this story: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the most important seat. The host may have invited someone more important than you. 9 And if you are sitting in the most important seat, the host will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then you will begin to move down to the last place. And you will be very embarrassed. 10 So when you are invited, go sit in a seat that is not important. Then the host will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place!’ Then all the other guests will respect you. 11 Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But the person who makes himself humble will be made great.”
You Will Be Rewarded
12 Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. At another time they will invite you to eat with them. Then you will have your reward. 13 Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. 14 Then you will be blessed, because they cannot pay you back. They have nothing. But you will be rewarded when the good people rise from death.”
A Story About a Big Banquet
15 One of the men sitting at the table with Jesus heard these things. The man said to Jesus, “The people who will eat a meal in God’s kingdom are blessed.”
16 Jesus said to him, “A man gave a big banquet and invited many people. 17 When it was time to eat, the man sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come! Everything is ready!’
18 “But all the guests said they could not come. Each man made an excuse. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another man said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen; I must go and try them. Please excuse me.’ 20 A third man said, ‘I just got married; I can’t come.’ 21 So the servant returned. He told his master what had happened. Then the master became angry and said, ‘Go at once into the streets and alleys of the town. Bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 Later the servant said to him, ‘Master, I did what you told me to do, but we still have places for more people.’ 23 The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes. Tell the people there to come. I want my house to be full! 24 None of those men that I invited first will ever eat with me!’”
You Must First Plan
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters more than he loves me, then he cannot be my follower. A person must love me more than he loves himself! 27 If anyone is not willing to die on a cross when he follows me, then he cannot be my follower. 28 If you wanted to build a tower, you would first sit down and decide how much it would cost. You must see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don’t do that, you might begin the work, but you would not be able to finish. And if you could not finish it, then all who would see it would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘This man began to build but was not able to finish!’
31 “If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If the king has only 10,000 men, he will plan to see if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men. 32 If he cannot defeat the other king, then he will send some men to speak to the other king and ask for peace. 33 In the same way, you must give up everything you have to follow me. If you don’t, you cannot be my follower!
Don’t Lose Your Influence
34 “Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, then it is worth nothing. You cannot make it salty again. 35 It is no good for the soil or for manure. People throw it away.
“Let those with ears use them and listen!”
Job Continues
29 Job continued to speak:
2 “How I wish for the months that have passed.
I wish for the days when God watched over me.
3 I wish for the days when God’s lamp shined on my head.
And I wish for the time I walked through darkness by his light.
4 I wish for the days when I was at my strongest,
when God’s close friendship blessed my house.
5 That was when my children were all around me.
And God All-Powerful was still with me.
6 Life was so good. It was as if my path were covered with cream.
It was as if even the rocks poured out streams of olive oil for me.
7 I would go to the city gate
and sit in the public square.
8 When the young men saw me, they would step out of my way.
And the old men would stand up in respect for me.
9 The leading men stopped speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the important men were quiet.
It was as if each man’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
11 Anyone who heard me said good things about me.
And those who saw me praised me.
12 This was because I saved the poor who cried for help.
And I saved the orphan who had no one to help him.
13 The dying person blessed me.
And I made the widow’s heart sing.
14 I put on right living as if it were clothing.
I wore fairness as if it were my robe and my turban.
15 I tried to be eyes for the blind.
And I tried to be feet for those who were crippled.
16 I was like a father to needy people.
And I took the side of strangers when they were in trouble.
17 I broke the fangs of evil people.
And I snatched from their teeth the people they wanted to hurt.
18 “I thought, ‘I will live for as many days as there are grains of sand.
And I will die in my own house.
19 I will be like a tree whose roots reach down to the water.
The dew will lie on the branches all night.
20 New honors will come to me continually.
I will always have great strength.’
21 “People listened to me carefully.
They waited quietly for my advice.
22 After I finished speaking, they spoke no more.
My words fell very gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as they would for rain.
They drank in my words as if they were spring rain.
24 I smiled at them when they doubted.
And my approval was important to them.
25 I chose the right way for them and was their leader.
I lived like a king among his army.
I was like a person who gives comfort to sad people.
The Good News About Christ
15 Now, brothers, I want you to remember the Good News I brought to you. You received this Good News, and you continue strong in it. 2 And you are saved by this Good News. But you must continue believing what I told you. If you do not, then you believed for nothing.
3 I passed on to you what I received. And this was the most important: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; 4 that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day as the Scriptures say; 5 and that he showed himself to Peter and then to the twelve apostles. 6 After that, Jesus showed himself to more than 500 of the believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today. But some have died. 7 Then Jesus showed himself to James and later to all the apostles. 8 Last of all he showed himself to me—as to a person not born at the normal time. 9 All the other apostles are greater than I am. This is because I persecuted the church of God. And this is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle. 10 But God’s grace has made me what I am. And his grace to me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.) 11 So then it is not important if I preached to you or if the other apostles preached to you. We all preach the same thing, and this is what you believed.
We Will Be Raised from Death
12 It is preached that Christ was raised from death. So why do some of you say that people will not be raised from death? 13 If no one will ever be raised from death, then Christ was not raised from death. 14 And if Christ was not raised, then our preaching is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing. 15 And also, we will be guilty of lying about God. Because we have preached about him by saying that he raised Christ from death. And if people are not raised from death, then God never raised Christ from death. 16 If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. 18 And also, those in Christ who have already died are lost. 19 If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world.
20 But Christ has truly been raised from death—the first one and proof that those who are asleep in death will also be raised. 21 Death comes to everyone because of what one man did. But the rising from death also happens because of one man. 22 In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. 23 But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life. 24 Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers. And he will give the kingdom to God the Father. 25 Christ must rule until God puts all enemies under Christ’s control. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 27 The Scripture says, “God put all things under his control.”[a] When it says that “all things” are put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself. God is the one putting everything under Christ’s control. 28 After everything has been put under Christ, then the Son himself will be put under God. God is the One who put all things under Christ. And Christ will be put under God, so that God will be the complete ruler over everything.
29 If the dead are never raised, then what will people do who are baptized for those who have died? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
30 And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I die every day. That is true, brothers, just as it is true that I brag about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild animals in Ephesus only for human reasons, I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, then, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.”[b]
33 Do not be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” 34 Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning. I say this to shame you—some of you do not know God.
What Kind of Body Will We Have?
35 But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” 36 Those are stupid questions. When you plant something, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. 37 And when you plant it, what you plant does not have the same “body” that it will have later. What you plant is only a seed, maybe wheat or something else. 38 But God gives it a body that he has planned for it. And God gives each kind of seed its own body. 39 All things made of flesh are not the same kinds of flesh: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind, birds have another, and fish have another. 40 Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind. The beauty of the earthly bodies is another kind. 41 The sun has one kind of beauty. The moon has another beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty.
42 It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay. But that body is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. 43 When the body is “planted,” it is without honor. But it is raised in glory. When the body is “planted,” it is weak. But when it is raised, it has power. 44 The body that is “planted” is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body.
There is a physical body. And there is also a spiritual body. 45 It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man became a living person.”[c] But the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46 The spiritual man did not come first. It was the physical man who came first; then came the spiritual. 47 The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. 48 People belong to the earth. They are like the first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. 49 We were made like the man of earth. So we will[d] also be made like the man of heaven.
50 I tell you this, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. A thing that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. 51 But listen, I tell you this secret: We will not all die, but we will all be changed. 52 It will only take a second. We will be changed as quickly as an eye blinks. This will happen when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound and those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we will all be changed. 53 This body that will ruin must clothe itself with something that will never ruin. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die. 54 So this body that ruins will clothe itself with that which never ruins. And this body that dies will clothe itself with that which never dies. When this happens, then this Scripture will be made true:
“Death is destroyed forever in victory.” Isaiah 25:8
55 “Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your power to hurt?” Hosea 13:14
56 Death’s power to hurt is sin. The power of sin is the law. 57 But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So my dear brothers, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.