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 [L plague to bring on Pharaoh and] Egypt. After this, ·the king [L he] will send all of you away from ·Egypt [L this place]. When he does, he will ·force you to leave completely [drive you away]. 2 Tell ·the men and women of Israel [L in the hearing of the people] ·to ask their neighbors [that each man should ask his neighbor and each woman should ask her neighbor] for things made of silver and gold.” 3 The Lord had caused the Egyptians to ·respect [show favor to] the Israelites, and both ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] officers and the Egyptian people considered Moses to be a great man.
4 So Moses said to ·the king [L him], “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—from the firstborn son of ·the king [L Pharaoh], who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl ·grinding grain [L who is behind the handmill]. Also the firstborn farm animals will die. 6 There will be loud outcries everywhere in Egypt, worse than any time before or after this. 7 But not even a dog will ·bark [growl] at the ·Israelites [L the sons/T children of Israel] or their animals.’ Then you will know that the Lord ·treats Israel differently from [makes a distinction between Israel and] Egypt. 8 All your officers will come to me. They will bow facedown to the ground before me and say, ‘Leave and take all your people ·with you [who follow you; L who are on your foot].’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses very angrily left ·the king [L Pharaoh].
9 The Lord had told Moses, “·The king [L Pharaoh] will not listen to ·you and Aaron [L you] so that I may do many ·miracles [wonders] in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these great ·miracles [wonders] in front of ·the king [L Pharaoh]. But the Lord ·made him stubborn [L hardened the heart of Pharaoh], and the king would not let the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] leave his country.
The First Passover
12 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 “This month will be the beginning of months, the first month [C in terms of both the calendar and its importance] of the year for you. 3 Tell the whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for [L each family, a lamb for] ·the people in his house [L each household]. 4 If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, he must share it with his closest neighbor, considering the number of people. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. 5 The lamb must be a one-year-old male that has ·nothing wrong with it [no blemish]. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. 6 Take care of the animals until the fourteenth day of the month. On that day all the ·people of the community [assembly of the congregation] of Israel will ·kill [slaughter] them ·in the evening before dark [at twilight]. 7 The people must take some of the blood and put it on the ·sides and tops of the doorframes [doorposts and lintels] of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 On this night they must roast the lamb over a fire. They must eat it with bitter herbs and ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread]. 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 [L With your loins girded]. You must have your sandals on [L your feet] and 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 [cross; pass] through the land of Egypt and ·kill [L strike] all the firstborn animals and [L firstborn] people in the land of Egypt. I will also ·punish [judge; have victory over] all the gods of Egypt [C the spiritual forces (demons) who spiritually empower 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 [C the verb is related to the Hebrew word for Passover]. ·Nothing terrible will hurt [L No plague will destroy] you when I ·punish [L strike] the land of Egypt.
14 “You are always to remember this day and celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. ·Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on [L You are to observe it throughout your generations as a perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement]. 15 For this feast you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] for seven days. On the first day, you are to remove all the ·yeast [leaven] from your houses. No one should eat ·any yeast [anything leavened] from the first day until the seventh day, or that person will be cut off from Israel. 16 You are to have ·holy meetings [sacred/solemn convocation] on the first and last days of the feast. You must not do any work on these days; the only work you may do is to prepare your meals. 17 You must ·celebrate [L keep; guard] the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your ·divisions of people [hosts; C a military designation] out of Egypt. So all of your descendants must celebrate this day. This is a ·law that will last from now on [L perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement throughout your generations]. 18 In the first month of the year you are to eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day [C to commemorate their rapid departure; 12:39]. 19 For seven days there must not be any ·yeast [leaven] in your houses. Anybody who eats ·yeast [something leavened] during this time, either an ·Israelite [L native citizen in the land] or ·non-Israelite [L alien; sojourner], must be cut off from the ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel. 20 During this feast you must not eat anything ·made with yeast [leavened]. You must eat only ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] wherever you live.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and told them, “·Get the animals [L Go, select/separate lambs] for your families and ·kill [slaughter] the lamb for the Passover.
Healing on the Sabbath
14 On a Sabbath day, when Jesus went to eat at the home of a leading Pharisee, ·the people [L they; C probably religious leaders] were watching Jesus very closely. 2 And [L Look; T Behold] in front of him was a man with ·dropsy [C swelling caused by bodily fluids; also called edema]. 3 Jesus said to the Pharisees and experts on the law, “Is it ·right or wrong [permitted; lawful] to heal on the Sabbath day?” 4 But they ·would not answer his question [L kept silent]. So Jesus ·took [touched; took hold of] the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 Jesus said to ·the Pharisees and teachers of the law [L them], “If your child[a] or ox falls into a ·well [or pit] on the Sabbath day, will you not pull him out ·quickly [immediately; right away; Ex. 21:33–34]?” 6 And they could not answer him.
Don’t Make Yourself Important
7 When Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the ·best places [places of honor] to sit [C seats were assigned according to social status], he told this ·story [parable]: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the ·most important seat [place of honor], because someone more ·important [distinguished; honorable] than you may have been invited. 9 The host, who invited both of you, will come to you and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be ·embarrassed [humiliated; disgraced; shamed] and will have to move to the ·last [least; lowest] place. 10 ·So [L But] when you are invited, go ·sit in a seat that is not important [L recline in the last/lowest place; 7:36]. When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a ·more important [better; higher] place.’ Then ·all the other guests will respect you [L you will be honored in the presence of all the guests]. 11 [L For; Because] All who ·make themselves great [exalt themselves] will be made humble, but those who make themselves humble will be ·made great [exalted].”
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, your ·family [near relatives; L brothers; siblings], your other relatives, and your rich neighbors. At another time they will invite you to eat with them, and ·you will be repaid [or that will be your only payment]. 13 Instead, when you give a ·feast [banquet], invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then you will be blessed, because they have nothing and cannot pay you back [C something given was typically repaid with goods, favors, or honor]. ·But [For] you will be repaid ·when the good people rise from the dead [L at the resurrection of the righteous].”
A Story About a Big Banquet(A)
15 One of those ·at the table [L reclining; see 5:29] with Jesus heard these things and said to him, “·Blessed [Happy] are the people who will ·share in the meal [L eat bread] in God’s kingdom [C an allusion to the messianic banquet at the end of time; see 13:29; Is. 25:6–8].”
16 Jesus said to him, “A man gave a ·big [great] banquet and invited many people. 17 When it was time to eat, the man sent his ·servant [slave] to tell the guests [C who had accepted the invitation], ‘Come. Everything is ready.’
18 “But all the guests [one after another; or in a similar manner] began to make excuses [C a great offense in that culture]. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five ·pairs [L yoke] of oxen; I must go and try them. Please excuse me.’ 20 A third person said, ‘I just got married; I can’t come [C while newly married men were exempt from certain duties (Deut. 24:5), that is not a valid excuse for offending the host].’ 21 So the ·servant [slave] returned and told his master what had happened. Then the master [L of the household] became angry and said, ‘Go at once into the ·streets [squares] and ·alleys [lanes] of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 ·Later [L And] the ·servant [slave] said to him, ‘Master, I did what you commanded, but we still have room.’ 23 The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and ·country lanes [hedgerows], and ·urge [compel] the people there to come so my house will be full [C those outside the city may refer to the Gentiles, who will come into the kingdom (see Acts 10—11)]. 24 [L For] I tell you, none of ·those [L those men; C referring to the three who refused] whom I invited first will ·eat with me [L taste my banquet/dinner].’”
The Cost of Being Jesus’ Follower(B)
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me but ·does not hate [or loves more than me; C Jesus is using hyperbole to emphasize his point] his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—or even ·life [life itself; or his own life]—he cannot be my ·follower [disciple]. 27 Whoever ·is not willing to [L does not] carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my ·follower [disciple]. 28 ·If you want [L For which of you who wants…?] to build a tower, you first sit down and ·decide [calculate; figure out] how much it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don’t, you might lay the foundation, but you would not be able to finish. Then all who would see it would ·make fun of [mock; ridicule] you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build but was not able to finish.’
31 “If a king is going to ·fight [meet in battle; wage war against] another king, first ·he will [L will he not…?] sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can ·defeat [L engage/meet in battle] the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers. 32 If he can’t, then while the other king is still far away, he will send ·some people [an embassy; a messenger] to speak to him and ask for [terms of] peace. 33 In the same way, you must give up everything you have to be my ·follower [disciple].
Don’t Lose Your Influence(C)
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its salty taste, ·you cannot make it salty again [L how can it be seasoned?]. 35 It is no good for the soil or for ·manure [the manure pile]; it is thrown away.
“·Let those with ears use them and listen [L The one who has ears to hear, let him hear].”
Job Continues
29 Job continued ·to speak [L his discourse; 27:1]:
2 “How I wish for the months ·that have passed [of old]
and the days when God ·watched over [protected; guarded] me.
3 God’s lamp shined ·on [or over] my head,
and I walked ·through [in] darkness by his light.
4 I wish for the days when I was ·strong [in the prime of my life],
when God’s close friendship ·blessed my house [L was over my tent].
5 ·The Almighty [Shaddai] was still with me,
and my children were all around me.
6 It was as if my ·path [or steps] were covered with ·cream [or butter]
and the rocks poured out olive oil for me [C representing his earlier prosperity; 1:1–5].
7 I would go to the city gate
and sit in the public square [C indicating Job was a city leader/elder].
8 When the young men saw me, they would ·step aside [or hide],
and the old men would stand up in respect.
9 The ·leading men [princes] ·stopped speaking [L grew silent]
and covered their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the ·important men [nobles] ·were quiet [grew silent],
as if their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 ·Anyone [L Any ear] who heard me ·spoke well of [L blessed] me,
and ·those who [L the eye that] saw me ·praised [L bore testimony to] me,
12 because I ·saved [rescued] the poor who ·called out [L cried for help]
and the orphan who had no one to help.
13 The ·dying [L perishing] person blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart ·sing [L shout for joy].
14 I ·put on right living as if it were clothing [L clothed myself with righteousness and it clothed me];
I wore ·fairness [justice] like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
16 I was like a father to needy people,
and I ·took the side of [examined the cause of] ·strangers who were in trouble [L strangers; those I did not know].
17 I broke the ·fangs [or jaw] of evil people
and snatched the ·captives [L prey; C the wicked are predators] from their teeth.
18 “I thought, ‘I will ·live for as many days as there are grains of [L multiply my days like] sand,
and I will die in my ·own house [L nest].
19 My roots ·will reach down [opened] to the water.
The dew ·will lie [lodged] on the branches all night.
20 ·New honors will come to me continually [My honor/or liver/heart was new],
and ·I will always have great strength [L my bow was renewed within my hand].’
21 “People listened to me carefully
and waited ·quietly [silently] for my advice.
22 After I finished speaking, they spoke no more.
My words ·fell [L dripped] very gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as they would for rain
and ·drank in my words like [L opened their mouth for] spring rain.
24 I smiled at them when they ·doubted [L had no confidence],
and ·my approval was important to them [L they did not frown at the light of my countenance].
25 I chose the way for them and ·was their leader [L sat as their chief].
I lived like a king among his army,
like a person who comforts ·sad [mourning] people.
The Good News About Christ
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to ·remember [or be clear about] the ·Good News [Gospel] I brought to you. You received this ·Good News [Gospel] ·and continue strong in it [or and have based your faith on it; L in which you stand]. 2 And you are being saved by it if you ·continue believing [L hold firm to] ·what I told you [L the Gospel message I proclaimed to you], unless you believed ·for nothing [in vain; or superficially; or in something of no value].
3 [L For] I passed on to you what I received, which is ·of greatest importance [or the first thing I told you]: that Christ died for our sins, ·as the Scriptures say [L according to the Scripture; Is. 53:5–6]; 4 that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day ·as the Scriptures say [L according to the Scripture; Ps. 16:8–11]; 5 and that he was seen by ·Peter [L Cephas; C Peter’s name in Aramaic; see 1:12] and then by ·the twelve apostles [L the Twelve; Luke 24:33–36]. 6 After that, Jesus was seen by more than five hundred of the ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] at the same time. Most of them ·are still living today [L remain until now], but some have ·died [L fallen asleep; C a euphemism for death]. 7 Then he was seen by ·James [Jesus’ brother; Mark 6:3; Acts 15:13; Gal. 1:19] and later by all the apostles [Acts 1:6–11]. 8 Last of all he was seen by me [Acts 9]—as by a person ·not born at the normal time [prematurely/abnormally born; C Christ’s appearance to Paul was unique, occurring after Jesus’ ascension]. 9 For I am the least of the apostles. I am not even ·good enough [worthy] to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But God’s grace has made me what I am, and his grace to me was not ·wasted [in vain; without effect]. [L On the contrary; Indeed] I worked harder than all ·the other apostles [of them]. (But it was not I really; it was God’s grace that was with me.) 11 So whether I preached to you or ·the other apostles [L they] preached to you, ·we all preach the same thing [this is what we preach; C the message of Christ’s death and resurrection; vv. 3–8], and this is what you believed.
We Will Be Raised from the Dead
12 Now ·since we preached that Christ was [L if Christ is preached as] raised from the dead, why do some of you say that people will not be raised from the dead [C some Corinthians denied the resurrection of the body]? 13 If ·no one is ever raised [L there is no resurrection] from the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is ·worth nothing [futile; useless; empty], and your faith is ·worth nothing [futile; useless; empty]. 15 And also, we are ·guilty of lying [L found to be false witnesses] about God, because we testified ·of him [L against God] that he raised Christ from the dead. But if people are not raised from the dead, then God never raised Christ. 16 If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith ·has nothing to it [is futile/useless/empty]; you are still ·guilty of [or a slave to; L in] your sins. 18 ·And [Consequently; Therefore] those in Christ who have ·already died [L fallen asleep; v. 6] ·are lost [have perished]. 19 If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than ·anyone else in the world [L all people].
20 But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the ·first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised [L firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep; C unlike others who had been raised to mortal life, Christ was the first to be raised to everlasting life]. 21 Death has come ·because of what one man did [through a man/human being], but the rising from death also comes ·because of one man [through a man/human being]. 22 In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again [Rom. 5:12–21]. 23 But ·everyone [each] will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was ·first to be raised [L the firstfruits]. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, 24 and then the end will come. At that time Christ will ·destroy [abolish] all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. 25 [L For] Christ must ·rule [reign] until he puts all enemies under his ·control [L feet; Ps. 110:1]. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 27 ·The Scripture says that God put [L For he has subjected] all things under his ·control [L feet; Ps. 8:6]. When it says “all things” are ·under [subjected to] him, it is clear this does not include the One [C God the father] who put everything under his control. 28 After everything has been ·put under [subjected to] the Son, then he will ·put himself under [be subjected to] ·God [L the One…], who had put all things under him. ·Then [or …so that] God will be ·the complete ruler over everything [or supreme in every place and in every way; L all in all].
29 If the dead are never raised, what will people do who are being baptized for the dead [C it is unclear what this practice was or whether Paul approves or disapproves]? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized for them?
30 And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I ·die [face death] every day. ·That is true, brothers and sisters, just as it is true that I brag about you [L (I swear) by my boasting in you, brothers (and sisters), which I have] in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild animals in Ephesus [C probably a metaphor for human opponents, though possibly beasts in the arena (Acts 19; 2 Cor. 1:8–11; 2 Tim. 4:16–18)] ·only with human hopes [or from a human point of view; L according to man], I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die [Is. 22:13; 56:12].”
33 Do not be ·fooled [deceived; misled]: “Bad ·friends [company] will ruin good ·habits [or character; morals; C a quote from the Greek poet Menander (c. 342–291 bc)].” 34 ·Come back to your right way of thinking [Come to your senses; or Sober up as you should] and stop sinning. Some of you ·do not know [or are ignorant about] God—I say this to shame you.
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 Foolish person! When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can ·live and grow [come to life]. 37 And when you sow it, it does not have the same “body” it will have later. [L But; On the contrary] What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else. 38 But God gives it a body that he ·has planned [wants; has chosen] for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body. 39 All things made of flesh are not the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have another. 40 Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the ·beauty [splendor; glory] of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the ·beauty [splendor; glory] of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of ·beauty [splendor; glory], the moon has another ·beauty [splendor; glory], and the stars have another. And each star is different in its ·beauty [splendor; glory].
42 It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. ·The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay [L It is sown/buried in corruption], but it is raised ·to a life that cannot be destroyed [imperishable; L in incorruption]. 43 ·When the body is “planted,” it is without honor [L It is sown/buried in dishonor], but it is raised in glory. ·When the body is “planted,” it is weak [L It is sown/buried in weakness], but ·when it is raised, it is powerful [L it is raised in power]. 44 ·The body that is “planted” is a physical body [L It is sown/buried a natural/physical/soulish body]. ·When it is raised, it is [L It is raised] a spiritual body.
There is a ·physical [natural; soulish] body, and there is also a spiritual body. 45 [L So also] It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man, Adam, became a living ·person [soul; Gen. 2:7].” But the last Adam [C Christ] became a spirit that gives life. 46 [L But] The spiritual did not come first, but the ·physical [natural; soulish] and then the spiritual. 47 The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. 48 People who ·belong to the earth [or are of dust] are like the first man of ·earth [dust]. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. 49 Just as we ·were made like [L have borne the image of] the man of earth, so we will[a] also ·be made like [bear the image of] the man of heaven.
50 I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot ·have a part in [inherit] the kingdom of God. ·Something that will ruin cannot […nor can the perishable/corruptible] ·have a part in something that never ruins [inherit the imperishable/incorruptible]. 51 But look! I tell you ·this secret [a mystery; 2:1]: We will not all ·sleep in death [L sleep; C a euphemism for death], but we will all be changed. 52 It will ·take only a second [happen in a flash]—as quickly as an eye ·blinks [or twinkles]—when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised ·to live forever [imperishable; incorruptible], and we will be changed [1 Thess. 4:13–17]. 53 [L For] This body that ·can be destroyed [is perishable/corruptible] must clothe itself with ·something that can never be destroyed [the imperishable/incorruptible]. And this ·body that dies [L mortal] must clothe itself with ·something that can never die [immortality]. 54 So when this body that ·can be destroyed [is perishable/corruptible] will clothe itself with that which ·can never be destroyed [is imperishable/incorruptible], and this ·body that dies [L mortal] will clothe itself with ·that which can never die [immortality], then this Scripture will ·be made true [come to pass]:
“Death is ·destroyed forever [L swallowed up] in victory [Is. 25:8].”
55 “[L O] Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your ·pain [L sting; Hos. 13:14]?”
56 Death’s ·power to hurt [L sting] is sin, and 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 [beloved] brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always ·give yourselves fully to [excel in] the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is ·never wasted [not useless/in vain].
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