M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Moses Gets New Tablets
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two more stone tablets like the first two. I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke. 2 Be ready tomorrow morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. 3 No one may come with you. No one should even be seen any place on the mountain. Not even the sheep or cattle may eat grass near that mountain.”
4 So Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. Then early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai. He did this just as the Lord had commanded him. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses. And the Lord called out his name, the Lord.
6 The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy and is kind. The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love and faithfulness. 7 The Lord is kind to thousands of people. The Lord forgives people for wrong and sin and turning against him. But the Lord does not forget to punish guilty people. The Lord will punish not only the guilty people. He will also punish their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren and their great-great-grandchildren.”
8 Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. 9 Moses said, “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people. But forgive our evil and our sin. Take us as your own people.”
10 Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with you. I will do miracles in front of all your people. These things have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see my work. I, the Lord, will do wonderful things for you. 11 Obey the things I command you today, and I will force your enemies to leave your land. I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites ahead of you. 12 Be careful. Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. It will bring you trouble. 13 But destroy their altars. Break their stone pillars. Cut down their Asherah idols. 14 Don’t worship any other god. This is because I, the Lord, the Jealous One, am a jealous God.
15 “Be careful. Don’t make any agreements with the people who live in that land. They will worship their false gods. And they will invite you to join them. Then you will join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters worship false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.
17 “Do not make gods of melted metal.
18 “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib. This is because in that month you came out of Egypt.
19 “Every firstborn cow or sheep that is born to each animal belongs to me. 20 You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb. But if you don’t want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons.
“No one is to come before me without a gift.
21 “You must work for six days. But on the seventh day you must rest. You must do this even during the planting season and harvest season.
22 “Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest. And celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the fall.
23 “Three times each year all your men must come before the Master, the Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will force out nations ahead of you. I will expand the borders of your land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. And at that time no one will try to take your land from you.
25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast. And do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover. It must not be left until the next morning.
26 “Bring the best first crops that you harvest from your ground. Bring those things to the Tent of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words. This is because with these words I have made an agreement with you and Israel.”
28 Moses stayed there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. During that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the agreement—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
The Face of Moses Shines
29 Then Moses came down from Mount Sinai. In his hands he was carrying the two stone tablets of the agreement. But Moses did not know that his face was shining because he had talked with the Lord. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining. So they were afraid to go near him. 31 But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to Moses. Moses talked with them. 32 After that, all the people of Israel came near him. And he gave them all the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. 34 Anytime Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering until he came out. Then Moses would come out and tell the people of Israel the things the Lord had commanded. 35 The Israelites would see that Moses’ face was shining. So he would cover his face again. He did this until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.
Jesus Washes His Followers’ Feet
13 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end.
2 Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal. The devil had already persuaded Judas Iscariot to turn against Jesus. (Judas was the son of Simon.) 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him power over everything. He also knew that he had come from God and was going back to God. 4 So during the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 Jesus came to Simon Peter. But Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand what I am doing now. But you will understand later.”
8 Peter said, “No! You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, then you are not one of my people.”
9 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, after you wash my feet, wash my hands and my head, too!”
10 Jesus said, “After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” 11 Jesus knew who would turn against him. That is why Jesus said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and sat down again. Jesus asked, “Do you understand what I have just done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ And this is right, because that is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 I did this as an example for you. So you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth. A servant is not greater than his master. A messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you will be happy if you do them.
18 “I am not talking about all of you. I know those I have chosen. But what the Scripture said must happen: ‘The man who ate at my table has now turned against me.’[a] 19 I am telling you this now before it happens. Then when it happens you will believe that I am he. 20 I tell you the truth. Whoever accepts anyone I send also accepts me. And whoever accepts me also accepts the One who sent me.”
Jesus Talks About His Death
21 After Jesus said this, he was very troubled. He said openly, “I tell you the truth. One of you will turn against me.”
22 The followers all looked at each other. They did not know whom Jesus was talking about. 23 One of the followers was sitting[b] next to Jesus. This was the follower Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter made signs to him to ask Jesus who it was that he was talking about.
25 That follower leaned closer to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it that will turn against you?”
26 Jesus answered, “I will dip this bread into the dish. The man I give it to is the man who will turn against me.” So Jesus took a piece of bread. He dipped it and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus said to Judas, “The thing that you will do—do it quickly!” 28 None of the men at the table understood why Jesus said this to Judas. 29 He was the one who kept the money box. So some of the followers thought that Jesus was telling Judas to buy what was needed for the feast. Or they thought that Jesus wanted Judas to give something to the poor.
30 Judas accepted the bread Jesus gave him and immediately went out. It was night.
31 When Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man receives his glory. And God receives glory through him. 32 If God receives glory through him,[c] then God will give glory to the Son through himself. And God will give him glory quickly.”
33 Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me. And what I told the Jews, I tell you now: Where I am going you cannot come.
34 “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”
Peter Will Say He Doesn’t Know Jesus
36 Simon Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow now. But you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I am ready to die for you!”
38 Jesus answered, “Will you really die for me? I tell you the truth. Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
The Proverbs of Solomon
10 These are the wise words of Solomon:
A wise son makes his father happy.
But a foolish son makes his mother sad.
2 Riches gotten by doing wrong have no value.
But right living will save you from death.
3 The Lord does not let people who live right go hungry.
But he does not let evil people get what they hunger for.
4 A lazy person will end up poor.
But a hard worker will become rich.
5 A son who gathers crops when they are ready is wise.
But the son who sleeps through the harvest is a disgrace.
6 People who do what is right will have rich blessings.
But the wicked will be overwhelmed by violence.
7 Good people will be remembered as a blessing.
But evil people will soon be forgotten.
8 A wise person does what he is told.
But a talkative fool will be ruined.
9 The honest person will live safely.
But the one who is dishonest will be caught.
10 A wink may get you into trouble.
And foolish talk will lead to your ruin.
11 Like a fountain of water, the words of a good person give life.
But the words of the wicked contain nothing but violence.
12 Hatred stirs up trouble.
But love forgives all wrongs.
13 You can expect wise people to speak with understanding.
But people without wisdom can expect to be punished.
14 Wise people don’t tell everything they know.
But a foolish person talks too much and is ruined.
15 Having lots of money protects the rich.
But having no money destroys the poor.
16 Good people are rewarded with life.
But evil people are paid back with punishment.
17 The person who accepts correction is on the way to life.
But the person who ignores correction will be ruined.
18 Whoever hides his hate is a liar.
Whoever tells lies is a fool.
19 If you talk a lot, you are sure to sin.
If you are wise, you will keep quiet.
20 The words of a good person are like pure silver.
But an evil person’s thoughts are worth little.
21 A good person’s words will help many others.
But a foolish person dies because he doesn’t have wisdom.
22 The Lord’s blessing brings wealth.
And with it comes no sorrow.
23 A foolish person enjoys doing wrong.
But a person with understanding enjoys doing what is wise.
24 An evil person will get what he fears most.
But a good person will receive what he wants most.
25 A storm will blow the evil person away.
But a good person will always be safe.
26 A lazy person brings trouble to the one he works for.
He bothers others like vinegar on the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
27 Whoever respects the Lord will have a long life.
But an evil person will have his life cut short.
28 A good person can look forward to happiness.
But an evil person can expect nothing.
29 The Lord will protect good people.
But he will ruin those who do evil.
30 Good people will always be safe.
But evil people will not remain in the land.
31 A good person says wise things.
But a liar’s tongue will be stopped.
32 Good people say the right thing.
But the wicked tell lies.
Paul’s Work for the Non-Jews
3 So I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am a prisoner for you who are not Jews. 2 Surely you know that God gave me this work to tell you about his grace. 3 God let me know his secret plan. He showed it to me. I have already written a little about this. 4 And if you read what I wrote, then you can see that I truly understand the secret truth about the Christ. 5 People who lived in other times were not told that secret truth. But now, through the Spirit, God has shown that secret truth to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 This is that secret truth: that the non-Jews will receive what God has for his people, just as the Jews will. The non-Jews are together with the Jews as part of the same body. And they share together in the promise that God made in Christ Jesus. The non-Jews have all of this because of the Good News.
7 By God’s special gift of grace, I became a servant to tell that Good News. God gave me that grace through his power. 8 I am the least important of all God’s people. But God gave me this gift—to tell the non-Jewish people the Good News about the riches of Christ. Those riches are too great to understand fully. 9 And God gave me the work of telling all people about the plan for God’s secret truth. That secret truth has been hidden in God since the beginning of time. God is the One who created everything. 10 His purpose was that through the church all the rulers and powers in the heavenly world will now know God’s wisdom, which has so many forms. 11 This agrees with the purpose God had since the beginning of time. And God carried out his plan through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this through faith in Christ. 13 So I ask you not to become discouraged because of the sufferings I am having for you. My sufferings bring honor to you.
The Love of Christ
14 So I bow in prayer before the Father. 15 Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him. 16 I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong in spirit. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love. I pray that you can understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than any person can ever know. But I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.
20 With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. 21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.