M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back to Pi Hahiroth and to camp between Migdol and the Red Sea. Camp across from Baal Zephon, on the shore of the sea. 3 The king will think, ‘The Israelites are lost, trapped by the desert.’ 4 I will make the king stubborn again so he will chase after them, but I will defeat the king and his army. This will bring honor to me, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” The Israelites did just as they were told.
The King Chases the Israelites
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the Israelites had left, he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites leave. We have lost our slaves!” 6 So the king prepared his war chariot and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of his best chariots, together with all the other chariots of Egypt, each with an officer in it. 8 The Lord made the king of Egypt stubborn, so he chased the Israelites, who were leaving victoriously. 9 The Egyptians—with all the king’s horses, chariot drivers, and army—chased the Israelites. They caught up with them while they were camped by the Red Sea, near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon.
10 When the Israelites saw the king and his army coming after them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? There were plenty of graves for us in Egypt. 12 We told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.’ Now we will die in the desert.”
13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. 14 You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to start moving. 16 Raise your walking stick and hold it over the sea so that the sea will split and the people can cross it on dry land. 17 I will make the Egyptians stubborn so they will chase the Israelites, but I will be honored when I defeat the king and all of his chariot drivers and chariots. 18 When I defeat the king, his chariot drivers, and chariots, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
19 Now the angel of God that usually traveled in front of Israel’s army moved behind them. Also, the pillar of cloud moved from in front of the people and stood behind them. 20 So the cloud came between the Egyptians and the Israelites. This made it dark for the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites. So the cloud kept the two armies apart all night.
21 Then Moses held his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 Then all the king’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers followed them into the sea. 24 When morning came, the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. 25 He kept the wheels of the chariots from turning, making it hard to drive the chariots. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord told Moses, “Hold your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses raised his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its place. The Egyptians tried to run from it, but the Lord swept them away into the sea. 28 The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all the king’s army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31 When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they trusted him and his servant Moses.
Sin and Forgiveness
17 Jesus said to his followers, “Things that cause people to sin will happen, but how terrible for the person who causes them to happen! 2 It would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large stone around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 So be careful!
“If another follower sins, warn him, and if he is sorry and stops sinning, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in one day and says that he is sorry each time, forgive him.”
How Big Is Your Faith?
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”
6 The Lord said, “If your faith were the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Be Good Servants
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant who has been plowing the ground or caring for the sheep. When the servant comes in from working in the field, would you say, ‘Come in and sit down to eat’? 8 No, you would say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Then get yourself ready and serve me. After I finish eating and drinking, you can eat.’ 9 The servant does not get any special thanks for doing what his master commanded. 10 It is the same with you. When you have done everything you are told to do, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done the work we should do.’”
Be Thankful
11 While Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he was going through the area between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he came into a small town, ten men who had a skin disease met him there. They did not come close to Jesus 13 but called to him, “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!”
14 When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”[a]
As the ten men were going, they were healed. 15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. 16 Then he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (And this man was a Samaritan.) 17 Jesus said, “Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Is this Samaritan the only one who came back to thank God?” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go on your way. You were healed because you believed.”
God’s Kingdom Is Within You
20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the kingdom of God come?”
Jesus answered, “God’s kingdom is coming, but not in a way that you will be able to see with your eyes. 21 People will not say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ because God’s kingdom is within[b] you.”
22 Then Jesus said to his followers, “The time will come when you will want very much to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you will not see it. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or, ‘Look, here he is!’ Stay where you are; don’t go away and search.
When Jesus Comes Again
24 “When the Son of Man comes again, he will shine like lightning, which flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by the people of this time. 26 When the Son of Man comes again, it will be as it was when Noah lived. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving their children to be married until the day Noah entered the boat. Then the flood came and killed them all. 28 It will be the same as during the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom,[c] fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and killed them all. 30 This is how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
31 “On that day, a person who is on the roof and whose belongings are in the house should not go inside to get them. A person who is in the field should not go back home. 32 Remember Lot’s wife.[d] 33 Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be sleeping in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken, and the other will be left. [ 36 Two people will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left.]”[e]
37 The followers asked Jesus, “Where will this be, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Elihu Speaks
32 These three men stopped trying to answer Job, because he was so sure he was right. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, from the family of Ram, became very angry with Job, because Job claimed he was right instead of God. 3 Elihu was also angry with Job’s three friends who had no answer to show that Job was wrong, yet continued to blame him. 4 Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the three friends were older than he was. 5 But when Elihu saw that the three men had nothing more to say, he became very angry.
6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said this:
“I am young,
and you are old.
That is why I was afraid
to tell you what I know.
7 I thought, ‘Older people should speak,
and those who have lived many years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding.
9 It is not just older people who are wise;
they are not the only ones who understand what is right.
10 So I say, listen to me.
I too will tell you what I know.
11 I waited while you three spoke,
and listened to your explanations.
While you looked for words to use,
12 I paid close attention to you.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
none of you has answered his arguments.
13 Don’t say, ‘We have found wisdom;
only God will show Job to be wrong, not people.’
14 Job has not spoken his words against me,
so I will not use your arguments to answer Job.
15 “These three friends are defeated and have no more to say;
words have failed them.
16 Now they are standing there with no answers for Job.
Now that they are quiet, must I wait to speak?
17 No, I too will speak
and tell what I know.
18 I am full of words,
and the spirit in me causes me to speak.
19 I am like wine that has been bottled up;
I am ready to burst like a new leather wine bag.
20 I must speak so I will feel relief;
I must open my mouth and answer.
21 I will be fair to everyone
and not flatter anyone.
22 I don’t know how to flatter,
and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away.
2 So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another one to make you sad. 2 If I make you sad, who will make me glad? Only you can make me glad—particularly the person whom I made sad. 3 I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made sad by the people who should make me happy. I felt sure of all of you, that you would share my joy. 4 When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart, and I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you.
Forgive the Sinner
5 Someone there among you has caused sadness, not to me, but to all of you. I mean he caused sadness to all in some way. (I do not want to make it sound worse than it really is.) 6 The punishment that most of you gave him is enough for him. 7 But now you should forgive him and comfort him to keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely. 8 So I beg you to show that you love him. 9 I wrote you to test you and to see if you obey in everything. 10 If you forgive someone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, as if Christ were with me. 11 I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us, because we know very well what Satan’s plans are.
Paul’s Concern in Troas
12 When I came to Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord gave me a good opportunity there. 13 But I had no peace, because I did not find my brother Titus. So I said good-bye to them at Troas and went to Macedonia.
Victory Through Christ
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s victory parade. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. 15 Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. 16 To those who are lost, we are the smell of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the smell of life that brings life. So who is able to do this work? 17 We do not sell the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth before God, as messengers of God.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.