M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 2
Northward Along Edom. 1 (A)Then we turned and proceeded into the wilderness on the Red Sea road,(B) as the Lord had told me, and circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time. 2 Finally the Lord said to me, 3 You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north. 4 Command the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful 5 not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.(C) 6 You shall purchase from them with money the food you eat; even the water you drink you shall buy from them with money. 7 Surely, the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned[a] about your journey through this vast wilderness. It is now forty years that the Lord, your God, has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.(D) 8 So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind us the Arabah route, Elath, and Ezion-geber.
Along Moab. Then we turned and passed on toward the wilderness of Moab. 9 (E)And the Lord said to me, Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.(F) 10 (Formerly the Emim lived there, a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim;(G) 11 like the Anakim they are considered Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim.(H) 12 In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites;(I) the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and dwelling in their place, just as Israel has done in the land of its possession which the Lord gave it.) 13 Now get ready to cross the Wadi Zered.
So we crossed the Wadi Zered. 14 (J)Now thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and the crossing of the Wadi Zered; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn they should. 15 Indeed the Lord’s own hand was against them, to rout them from the camp completely.
Along Ammon. 16 (K)When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind. 19 As you come opposite the Ammonites,(L) do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession. 20 (This also is considered a country of the Rephaim; formerly the Rephaim dwelt there. The Ammonites call them Zamzummim,(M) 21 a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim. But these, too, the Lord cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place.(N) 22 He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place down to the present.(O) 23 As for the Avvim, who once lived in villages in the vicinity of Gaza,[b] the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared them away and dwelt in their place.)(P)
Defeat of Sihon. 24 (Q)Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession; engage him in battle.(R) 25 This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into the peoples everywhere under heaven, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.
26 So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace: 27 “Let me pass through your country. I will travel only on the road. I will not turn aside either to the right or to the left. 28 The food I eat you will sell me for money, and the water I drink, you will give me for money. Only let me march through, 29 as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land the Lord, our God, is about to give us.”(S) 30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the Lord, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him into your power, as indeed he has now done.
31 Then the Lord said to me, Now that I have already begun to give over to you Sihon and his land, begin to take possession. 32 So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz; 33 but since the Lord, our God, had given him over to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 (T)At that time we captured all his cities and put every city under the ban,[c] men, women and children; we left no survivor. 35 Our only plunder was the livestock and the spoils of the captured cities. 36 From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the town in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead,(U) no city was too well fortified for us. All of them the Lord, our God, gave over to us. 37 However, just as the Lord, our God, commanded us, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok, nor the cities of the highlands.(V)
Psalm 83[a]
Prayer Against a Hostile Alliance
1 A song; a psalm of Asaph.
I
2 God, do not be silent;
God, do not be deaf or remain unmoved!(A)
3 See how your enemies rage;
your foes proudly raise their heads.
4 They conspire against your people,
plot against those you protect.(B)
5 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let Israel’s name be remembered no more!”
6 They scheme with one mind,
they have entered into a covenant against you:(C)
7 [b]The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,(D)
8 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(E)
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.(F)
9 Assyria, too, in league with them,
backs the descendants of Lot.
Selah
II
10 [c]Deal with them as with Midian;
as with Sisera and Jabin at the wadi Kishon,(G)
11 Those destroyed at Endor,
who became dung for the ground.(H)
12 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
13 Who made a plan together,
“Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God.”
14 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
into chaff flying before the wind.(I)
15 As a fire raging through a forest,
a flame setting mountains ablaze,(J)
16 Pursue them with your tempest;
terrify them with your storm-wind.
17 Cover their faces with shame,
till they seek your name,[d] Lord.
18 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
19 Let them know that your name is Lord,
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.(K)
Psalm 84[e]
Prayer of a Pilgrim to Jerusalem
1 For the leader; “upon the gittith.” A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 How lovely your dwelling,
O Lord of hosts!(L)
3 My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.(M)
My heart and flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 [f]As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
My home is by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God!(N)
5 Blessed are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
Selah
II
6 Blessed the man who finds refuge in you,
in their hearts are pilgrim roads.
7 As they pass through the Baca valley,[g]
they find spring water to drink.
The early rain covers it with blessings.
8 They will go from strength to strength[h]
and see the God of gods on Zion.
III
9 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.
Selah
10 [i]O God, watch over our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed.(O)
IV
11 Better one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
Better the threshold of the house of my God
than a home in the tents of the wicked.
12 For a sun and shield is the Lord God,
bestowing all grace and glory.
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk without reproach.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed the man who trusts in you!
Chapter 30
Oracle on the Futility of an Alliance with Egypt[a]
1 Ah! Rebellious children,
oracle of the Lord,
Who carry out a plan that is not mine,
who make an alliance[b] I did not inspire,
thus adding sin upon sin;(A)
2 They go down to Egypt,
without asking my counsel,[c]
To seek strength in Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.(B)
3 Pharaoh’s protection shall become your shame,
refuge in Egypt’s shadow your disgrace.(C)
4 When his princes are at Zoan
and his messengers reach Hanes,(D)
5 All shall be ashamed
of a people that gain them nothing,
Neither help nor benefit,
but only shame and reproach.(E)
6 Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb.
Through the distressed and troubled land[d]
of the lioness and roaring lion,
of the viper and flying saraph,
They carry their riches on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels
To a people good for nothing,
7 to Egypt whose help is futile and vain.
Therefore I call her
“Rahab[e] Sit-still.”
8 [f]Now come, write it on a tablet they can keep,
inscribe it on a scroll;
That in time to come it may be
an eternal witness.(F)
9 For this is a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
Children who refuse
to listen to the instruction of the Lord;(G)
10 Who say to the seers, “Do not see”;
to the prophets,[g] “Do not prophesy truth for us;
speak smooth things to us, see visions that deceive!(H)
11 Turn aside from the way! Get out of the path!
Let us hear no more
of the Holy One of Israel!”(I)
12 Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word,
And put your trust in oppression and deceit,
and depend on them,(J)
13 This iniquity of yours shall be
like a descending rift
Bulging out in a high wall
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant,(K)
14 Crashing like a potter’s jar
smashed beyond rescue,
And among its fragments cannot be found
a sherd to scoop fire from the hearth
or dip water from the cistern.(L)
15 For thus said the Lord God,
the Holy One of Israel:
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,
in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.
But this you did not will.(M)
16 “No,” you said,
“Upon horses we will flee.”
Very well, you shall flee!
“Upon swift steeds we will ride.”
Very well, swift shall be your pursuers!(N)
17 A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one—
if five threaten, you shall flee.
You will then be left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a flag on a hill.(O)
Zion’s Future Deliverance
18 Truly, the Lord is waiting to be gracious to you,
truly, he shall rise to show you mercy;
For the Lord is a God of justice:
happy are all who wait for him!(P)
19 Yes, people of Zion, dwelling in Jerusalem,
you shall no longer weep;
He will be most gracious to you when you cry out;
as soon as he hears he will answer you.(Q)
20 The Lord will give you bread in adversity
and water in affliction.
No longer will your Teacher[h] hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,(R)
21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or the left.
22 You shall defile your silver-plated idols
and your gold-covered images;
You shall throw them away like filthy rags,
you shall say, “Get out!”(S)
23 He will give rain for the seed
you sow in the ground,
And the bread that the soil produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your cattle will graze
in broad meadows;(T)
24 The oxen and the donkeys that till the ground
will eat silage tossed to them
with shovel and pitchfork.
25 Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
when the towers fall,
26 The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun,
and the light of the sun will be seven times greater,
like the light of seven days,
On the day the Lord binds up the wounds of his people
and heals the bruises left by his blows.(U)
Divine Judgment on Assyria[i]
27 See, the name of the Lord is coming from afar,
burning with anger, heavy with threat,
His lips filled with fury,
tongue like a consuming fire,(V)
28 Breath like an overflowing torrent
that reaches up to the neck!
He will winnow the nations with a destructive winnowing
and bridle the jaws of the peoples to send them astray.(W)
29 For you, there will be singing
as on a night when a feast is observed,
And joy of heart
as when one marches along with a flute
Going to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Rock of Israel.
30 The Lord will make his glorious voice heard,
and reveal his arm coming down
In raging fury and flame of consuming fire,
in tempest, and rainstorm, and hail.(X)
31 For at the voice of the Lord, Assyria will be shattered,
as he strikes with the rod;
32 And every sweep of the rod of his punishment,
which the Lord will bring down on him,
Will be accompanied by timbrels and lyres,
while he wages war against him.(Y)
33 For his tophet[j] has long been ready,
truly it is prepared for the king;
His firepit made both deep and wide,
with fire and firewood in abundance,
And the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur,
setting it afire.(Z)
Address and Greeting. 1 [a]Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ:(A) 2 may mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.(B)
Occasion for Writing. 3 Beloved, although I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation,[b] I now feel a need to write to encourage you to contend for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones.(C) 4 For there have been some intruders, who long ago were designated for this condemnation, godless persons, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.(D)
The False Teachers. 5 (E)I wish to remind you, although you know all things, that [the] Lord who once saved a people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe.[c] 6 (F)The angels too, who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains, in gloom, for the judgment of the great day.[d] 7 Likewise, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual promiscuity and practiced unnatural vice,[e] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.(G)
8 Similarly, these dreamers[f] nevertheless also defile the flesh, scorn lordship, and revile glorious beings. 9 Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment[g] upon him but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”(H) 10 But these people revile what they do not understand and are destroyed by what they know by nature like irrational animals.(I) 11 Woe to them!(J) They followed the way of Cain, abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.[h] 12 These are blemishes on your love feasts,[i] as they carouse fearlessly and look after themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead and uprooted.(K) 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameless deeds, wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.
14 [j]Enoch, of the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied also about them when he said,(L) “Behold, the Lord has come with his countless holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict everyone for all the godless deeds that they committed and for all the harsh words godless sinners have uttered against him.” 16 These people are complainers, disgruntled ones who live by their desires; their mouths utter bombast as they fawn over people to gain advantage.(M)
Exhortations. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,(N) 18 for they told you,(O) “In [the] last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires.”[k] 19 These are the ones who cause divisions; they live on the natural plane, devoid of the Spirit.(P) 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the holy Spirit.(Q) 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.(R) 22 On those who waver, have mercy;[l] 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; on others have mercy with fear,[m] abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.
Doxology.[n] 24 To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of his glory,(S) 25 to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.(T)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.