M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Balaam’s First Message
23 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here. And prepare seven bulls and seven male sheep for me.” 2 Balak did what Balaam asked. Then they offered a male sheep and a bull on each of the altars.
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering. I will go. Maybe the Lord will come to me. I will tell you whatever he shows me.” Then Balaam went to a higher place.
4 God came to Balaam there. Balaam said to him, “I have prepared seven altars. And I have offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.”
5 The Lord told Balaam what he should say. Then the Lord said, “Go back to Balak and give him this message.”
6 So Balaam went back to Balak. Balak and all the leaders of Moab were still standing beside his burnt offering. 7 Then Balaam gave them this message:
“Balak brought me here from Aram.
The king of Moab brought me from the eastern mountains.
Balak said, ‘Come, put a curse on the people of Jacob for me.
Come, wish evil on the people of Israel.’
8 But God has not cursed them.
So I cannot curse them.
The Lord has not wished evil on them.
So I cannot wish evil on them.
9 I see them from the mountains.
I see them from the hills.
I see a people who live alone.
They think they are different from other nations.
10 No one can number the people of Jacob.
No one can count a fourth of Israel.
Let me die like good men.
Let me end up like them!”
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies. But you have only blessed them!”
12 But Balaam answered, “I must say what the Lord tells me to say.”
Balaam’s Second Message
13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place. There you can also see the people. But you can only see part of them, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.” 14 So Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim. This was on top of Mount Pisgah. There Balak built seven altars. And he offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.
15 So Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering. I will meet with God over there.”
16 So the Lord came to Balaam. He told Balaam what to say. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and say such and such.”
17 So Balaam went to Balak. Balak and the leaders of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”
18 Then Balaam gave this message:
“Stand up, Balak, and listen.
Hear me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man. He will not lie.
God is not a human being. He does not change his mind.
What he says he will do, he does.
What he promises, he keeps.
20 He told me to bless them.
So I cannot change the blessing.
21 He has found no wrong in the people of Jacob.
He saw no fault in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them.
They praise their King.
22 God brought them out of Egypt.
They are as strong as a wild ox.
23 No tricks will work on the people of Jacob.
No magic works against Israel.
People now say this about them,
‘Look what God has done!’
24 The people are strong like a lioness.
They get up like a lion.
Lions don’t rest until they have eaten.
They drink their enemies’ blood.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “You haven’t cursed these people. So at least don’t bless them!”
26 Balaam answered Balak, “I told you before. I can only do what the Lord tells me.”
Balaam’s Third Message
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, I will take you to another place. Maybe God will be pleased. He may let you curse them from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor. This mountain looks over the desert.
29 Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here. Then prepare for me seven bulls and seven male sheep.” 30 Balak did what Balaam asked. He offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.
A Prayer Against Enemies
For the director of music. A song of David.
64 God, listen to my complaint.
I am afraid of my enemies.
Protect my life from them.
2 Hide me from those wicked people,
from that gang who does evil.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords.
They shoot bitter words like arrows.
4 They hide and shoot at innocent people.
They shoot suddenly and are not afraid.
5 They encourage each other to do wrong.
They talk about setting traps.
They think no one will see them.
6 They plan wicked things and say,
“We have a perfect plan.”
The mind of man is hard to understand.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows.
They will suddenly be struck down.
8 Their own words will be used against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
9 Then everyone will fear God.
They will tell what God has done.
They will learn from what he has done.
10 Good people will be happy in the Lord.
They will find protection in him.
Let everyone who is honest praise the Lord.
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
For the director of music. A song of David.
65 God, you will be praised in Jerusalem.
We will keep our promises to you.
2 You hear our prayers.
All people will come to you.
3 Our guilt overwhelms us.
But you forgive our sins.
4 Happy are the people you choose.
You have them stay in your courtyards.
We are filled with good things in your house,
your holy Temple.
5 You answer us in amazing ways,
God our Savior.
People everywhere on the earth
and beyond the sea trust you.
6 You made the mountains by your strength.
You have great power.
7 You stopped the roaring seas,
the roaring waves and the uproar of the nations.
8 Even those people at the ends of the earth fear your miracles.
You are praised from where the sun rises to where it sets.
9 You take care of the land and water it.
You make it very fertile.
The rivers of God are full of water.
Grain grows because you make it grow.
10 You cause rain to fall on the plowed fields.
You soak them with water.
You soften the ground with rain.
And then you bless it.
11 You give the year a good harvest.
You load the wagons with many crops.
12 The desert is covered with grass.
The hills are covered with happiness.
13 The pastures are full of sheep.
The valleys are covered with grain.
Everything shouts and sings for joy.
13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this message about Babylon:
God’s Message to Babylon
2 Raise a flag on the bare mountain.
Call out to the men.
Raise your hand to signal them.
Tell them to enter through the gates for important people.
3 I myself have commanded those people
whom I have separated as mine.
I have called those warriors to carry out my anger.
They rejoice and are glad to do my will.
4 Listen to the loud noise in the mountains.
It sounds like many people.
Listen to the noise among the kingdoms.
Nations are gathering together.
The Lord of heaven’s armies is calling
his army together for battle.
5 This army is coming from a faraway land.
It is coming from the edge of the horizon.
In anger the Lord is using this army like a weapon.
And it will destroy the whole country.
6 Cry, because the Lord’s day of judging is near.
God All-Powerful is sending destruction.
7 People will be weak with fear.
Their courage will melt away.
8 Everyone will be afraid.
Pain and hurt will grab them.
They will hurt like a woman giving birth to a baby.
They will look at each other in fear.
Their faces will become red like fire.
9 Look, the Lord’s day of judging is coming.
It will be a terrible day. God will be very angry,
and he will destroy the country.
God will destroy the sinners who live in the land.
10 The stars will not show their light.
The skies will be dark.
The sun will grow dark as it rises.
And the moon will not give its light.
11 The Lord says, “I will punish the world for its evil.
I will punish wicked people for their sins.
I will cause the proud people to lose their pride.
I will destroy the pride of those who are cruel to others.
12 People will be harder to find than pure gold.
There will be fewer people than there is fine gold in Ophir.
13 I will make the sky shake.
And the earth will be moved from its place.
The Lord of heaven’s armies will be very angry.
His anger will burn at that time.
14 “Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted deer.
They will run like sheep who have no shepherd.
Everyone will turn back to his own people.
Each will run back to his own land.
15 Anyone who is captured will be killed.
Everyone who is caught will be killed with a sword.
16 Their little children will be beaten to death as their parents watch.
Everything in their houses will be stolen.
And their wives will be raped.
17 Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon.
They do not care about silver.
They do not delight in gold.
18 Their soldiers will shoot the young men with arrows.
The soldiers will show no mercy on the children.
They will not feel sorry for the little boys.
19 Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms.
The Babylonians are very proud of it.
But God will destroy it
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 No one will ever live there.
No one will settle there again.
No Arab will put his tent there.
No shepherd will bring his sheep there.
21 Only animals from the desert will live there.
The houses of Babylon will be full of wild dogs.
Owls will live there.
Wild goats will leap about in the houses.
22 Wolves will howl within the strong walls.
Wild dogs will bark in the beautiful buildings.
The end of Babylon is near.
Its time is almost over.”
Encouragement for Suffering Christians
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes. You are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God the Father planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people. Making you holy is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours more and more.
A Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death. 4 Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty. 5 God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time. 6 This makes you very happy. But now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. 7 These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold can be destroyed. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes again. 8 You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a joy that cannot be explained. And that joy is full of glory. 9 Your faith has a goal, to save your souls. And you are receiving that goal—your salvation.
10 The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the sufferings that would happen to Christ and about the glory that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them. They tried to learn when those things would happen and what the world would be like at that time. 12 It was shown to them that their service was not for themselves. It was for you. They were serving you when they told about the truths you have now heard. The men who preached the Good News to you told you those things. They did it with the help of the Holy Spirit that was sent from heaven. These are truths that even the angels want very much to know about.
A Call to Holy Living
13 So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes again. 14 In the past you did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. But now you are children of God who obey. So do not live as you lived in the past. 15 But be holy in all that you do, just as God is holy. God is the One who called you. 16 It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”[a]
17 You pray to God and call him Father. And this Father judges each man’s work equally. So while you are here on earth, you should live with respect for God. 18 You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way. You got that way of living from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, but not with something that ruins like gold or silver. 19 You were bought with the precious blood of the death of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. 20 Christ was chosen before the world was made. But he was shown to the world in these last times for you. 21 You believe in God through Christ. God raised Christ from death and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.
22 Now you have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers. So love each other deeply with all your heart. 23 You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever. 24 The Scripture says,
“All people are like the grass.
And all their strength is like the flowers of the field.
The grass dies and the flowers fall.
25 But the word of the Lord will live forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8
And this is the word that was preached to you.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.