M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. 2 He said, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back. Have them camp near Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the Red Sea. They must camp by the sea, right across from Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land. They don’t know which way to go. The desert is all around them.’ 4 I will make Pharaoh stubborn. He will chase them. But I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh and his whole army. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites camped by the Red Sea.
5 The king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped. Then Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve let the people of Israel go! We’ve lost our slaves and all the work they used to do for us!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready. He took his army with him. 7 He took 600 of the best chariots in Egypt. He also took along all the other chariots. Officers were in charge of all of them. 8 The Lord made Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, stubborn. So he chased the Israelites as they were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians went after the Israelites. All Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen and troops chased them. They caught up with the Israelites as they camped by the sea. The Israelites were near Pi Hahiroth, across from Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked back. There were the Egyptians marching after them! The Israelites were terrified. They cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us to the desert to die? Weren’t there any graves in Egypt? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 We told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”
13 Moses answered the people. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you today. Do you see those Egyptians? You will never see them again. 14 The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.”
15 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people of Israel to move on. 16 Hold out your walking stick. Reach out your hand over the Red Sea to divide the water. Then the people can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will make the Egyptians stubborn. They will go in after the Israelites. I will gain glory for myself because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his army, chariots and horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. I will gain glory because of what will happen to Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
19 The angel of God had been traveling in front of Israel’s army. Now he moved back and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved away from in front of them. Now it stood behind them. 20 It came between the armies of Egypt and Israel. All through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other. Neither army went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses reached out his hand over the Red Sea. All that night the Lord pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. He turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided. 22 The people of Israel went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left.
23 The Egyptians chased them. All Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 Near the end of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud. He saw the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots. That made the chariots hard to drive. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for Israel against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Reach out your hand over the sea. The waters will flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 So Moses reached out his hand over the sea. At sunrise the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians tried to run away from the sea. But the Lord swept them into it. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen. It covered the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the people of Israel into the sea. Not one of the Egyptians was left.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of Egypt. The Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 The Israelites saw the amazing power the Lord showed against the Egyptians. So the Israelites had great respect for the Lord and put their trust in him. They also put their trust in his servant Moses.
Sin, Faith and Duty
17 Jesus spoke to his disciples. “Things that make people sin are sure to come,” he said. “But how terrible it will be for anyone who causes those things to come! 2 Suppose people lead one of these little ones to sin. It would be better for those people to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck. 3 So watch what you do.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, tell them they are wrong. Then if they turn away from their sins, forgive them. 4 Suppose they sin against you seven times in one day. And suppose they come back to you each time and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ You must forgive them.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”
6 He replied, “Suppose you have faith as small as a mustard seed. Then you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up. Be planted in the sea.’ And it will obey you.
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. And suppose the servant came in from the field. Will you say to him, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 No. Instead, you will say, ‘Prepare my supper. Get yourself ready. Wait on me while I eat and drink. Then after that you can eat and drink.’ 9 Will you thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 It’s the same with you. Suppose you have done everything you were told to do. Then you should say, ‘We are not worthy to serve you. We have only done our duty.’ ”
Jesus Heals Ten Men Who Have a Skin Disease
11 Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. He traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men met him. They had a skin disease. They were standing close by. 13 And they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”
14 Jesus saw them and said, “Go. Show yourselves to the priests.” While they were on the way, they were healed.
15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back. He praised God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Weren’t all ten healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Didn’t anyone else return and give praise to God except this outsider?” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
The Coming of God’s Kingdom
20 Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom would come. He replied, “The coming of God’s kingdom is not something you can see. 21 People will not say, ‘Here it is.’ Or, ‘There it is.’ That’s because God’s kingdom is among you.”
22 Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. “The time is coming,” he said, “when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man. But you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ Or, ‘Here he is!’ Don’t go running off after them. 24 When the Son of Man comes, he will be like the lightning. It flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer many things. He will not be accepted by the people of today.
26 “Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 27 People were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking. They were buying and selling. They were planting and building. 29 But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven. And all the people were destroyed.
30 “It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is shown to the world. 31 Suppose someone is on the housetop on that day. And suppose what they own is inside the house. They should not go down to get what they own. No one in the field should go back for anything either. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed. One person will be taken and the other left. 35-36 Two women will be grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other left.”
37 “Where, Lord?” his disciples asked.
He replied, “The vultures will gather where there is a dead body.”
The Speech of Elihu
32 So the three men stopped answering Job, because he thought he was right. 2 But Elihu the Buzite was very angry with Job. That’s because Job said he himself was right instead of God. Elihu was the son of Barakel. He was from the family of Ram. 3 Elihu was also very angry with Job’s three friends. They hadn’t found any way to prove that Job was wrong. But they still said he was guilty. 4 Elihu had waited before he spoke to Job. That’s because the others were older than he was. 5 But he saw that the three men didn’t have anything more to say. So he was very angry.
6 Elihu the Buzite, the son of Barakel, said,
“I’m young, and you are old.
So I was afraid to tell you what I know.
7 I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak first.
Those who have lived for many years
should teach people how to be wise.’
8 But the spirit in people gives them understanding.
The breath of the Mighty One gives them wisdom.
9 Older people aren’t the only ones who are wise.
They aren’t the only ones who understand what is right.
10 “So I’m saying you should listen to me.
I’ll tell you what I know.
11 I waited while you men spoke.
I listened to your reasoning.
While you were searching for words,
12 I paid careful attention to you.
But not one of you has proved that Job is wrong.
None of you has answered his arguments.
13 Don’t claim, ‘We have enough wisdom to answer Job.’
Let God, not a mere man, prove that he’s wrong.
14 Job hasn’t directed his words against me.
I won’t answer him with your arguments.
15 “Job, these men are afraid.
They don’t have anything else to say.
They’ve run out of words.
16 Do I have to keep on waiting, now that they are silent?
They are just standing there with nothing to say.
17 I too have something to say.
I too will tell what I know.
18 I’m full of words.
My spirit inside me forces me to speak.
19 Inside I’m like wine that is bottled up.
I’m like new wineskins ready to burst.
20 I must speak so I can feel better.
I must open my mouth and reply.
21 I’ll treat everyone the same.
I won’t praise anyone without meaning it.
22 If I weren’t honest when I praised people,
my Maker would soon take me from this life.
2 1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 If I make you sad, who is going to make me glad? Only you, the people I made sad. 3 What I wrote to you I wrote for a special reason. When I came, I didn’t want to be troubled by those who should make me glad. I was sure that all of you would share my joy. 4 I was very troubled when I wrote to you. My heart was sad. My eyes were full of tears. I didn’t want to make you sad. I wanted to let you know that I love you very deeply.
Forgive Those Who Make You Sad
5 Suppose someone has made us sad. In some ways, he hasn’t made me sad so much as he has made all of you sad. But I don’t want to put this too strongly. 6 He has been punished because most of you decided he should be. This punishment is enough. 7 Now you should forgive him and comfort him. Then he won’t be sad more than he can stand. 8 So I’m asking you to tell him again that you still love him. 9 I wrote to you for another special reason. I wanted to see if you could stand the test. I wanted to see if you could obey everything asked of you. 10 Anyone you forgive I also forgive. Was there anything to forgive? If so, I have forgiven it for your benefit, knowing that Christ is watching. 11 We don’t want Satan to outsmart us. We know how he does his evil work.
Serving Under the New Covenant
12 I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ. There I found that the Lord had opened a door of opportunity for me. 13 But I still had no peace of mind. I couldn’t find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to the believers at Troas and went on to Macedonia.
14 Give thanks to God! He always leads us as if we were prisoners in Christ’s victory parade. Through us, God spreads the knowledge of Christ everywhere like perfume. 15 God considers us to be the pleasing smell that Christ is spreading. He is spreading it among people who are being saved and people who are dying. 16 To those who are dying, we are the smell of death. To those who are being saved, we are the perfume of life. Who is able to do this work? 17 Unlike many people, we aren’t selling God’s word to make money. In fact, it is just the opposite. Because of Christ we speak honestly before God. We speak like people God has sent.
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