M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Prophecies of Balaam
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2 Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.
4 Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then the Lord (A)put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6 So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7 He took up his [a]discourse and said,
“From (B)Aram Balak has brought me,
Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,
‘(C)Come curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’
8 “(D)How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 “As I see him from the top of the rocks,
And I look at him from the hills;
(E)Behold, a people who dwells apart,
And will not be reckoned among the nations.
10 “(F)Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
(G)Let [b]me die the death of the upright,
(H)And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? (I)I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!” 12 He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak (J)what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the Lord over there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam and (K)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 Then he took up his [c]discourse and said,
“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19 “(L)God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
(M)Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 “Behold, I have received a command to bless;
(N)When He has blessed, then (O)I cannot revoke it.
21 “(P)He has not observed [d]misfortune in Jacob;
(Q)Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
(R)The Lord his God is with him,
(S)And the shout of a king is among them.
22 “(T)God brings them out of Egypt,
He is for them like the (U)horns of the wild ox.
23 “(V)For there is no omen against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel;
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what God has done!
24 “(W)Behold, a people rises like a lioness,
And as a lion it lifts itself;
It will not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘[e](X)Whatever the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be [f]agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the [g]wasteland. 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30 Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of (D)those who do iniquity,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They [c]hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)laying snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a man are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake the head.
9 Then all men [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous man will be (R)glad in the Lord and will (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the (T)vow will be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]men come.
3 [s](V)Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 How (X)blessed is the one whom You (Y)choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and of the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being (AF)girded with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)tumult of the peoples.
8 They who dwell in the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for thus You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your [aa](AO)bounty,
And Your [ab]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Prophecies about Babylon
13 The [a](A)oracle concerning (B)Babylon which (C)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 (D)Lift up a standard on the [b](E)bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,
(F)Wave the hand that they may (G)enter the doors of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have even called My (H)mighty warriors,
My proudly exulting ones,
To execute My anger.
4 A (I)sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
5 They are coming from a far country,
From the [c](J)farthest horizons,
The Lord and His instruments of (K)indignation,
To (L)destroy the whole land.
Judgment on the Day of the Lord
6 Wail, for the (M)day of the Lord is near!
It will come as (N)destruction from [d]the Almighty.
7 Therefore (O)all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s (P)heart will melt.
8 They will be (Q)terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will (R)writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, (S)the day of the Lord is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the (T)stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The (U)sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus I will (V)punish the world for its evil
And the (W)wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the (X)arrogance of the proud
And abase the (Y)haughtiness of the [e](Z)ruthless.
12 I will make mortal man [f](AA)scarcer than pure gold
And mankind than the (AB)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the (AC)heavens tremble,
And (AD)the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of the Lord of hosts
In (AE)the day of His burning anger.
14 And it will be that like a hunted gazelle,
Or like (AF)sheep with none to gather them,
They will each turn to his own people,
And each one flee to his own land.
15 Anyone who is found will be (AG)thrust through,
And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their (AH)little ones also will be dashed to pieces
Before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.
Babylon Will Fall to the Medes
17 Behold, I am going to (AI)stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not value silver or (AJ)take pleasure in gold.
18 And their bows will [g]mow down the (AK)young men,
They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb,
Nor will their (AL)eye pity [h]children.
19 And (AM)Babylon, the (AN)beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God (AO)overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will (AP)never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the (AQ)Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
21 But (AR)desert creatures will lie down there,
And their houses will be full of [i]owls;
Ostriches also will live there, and [j]shaggy goats will frolic there.
22 [k]Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers
And jackals in their luxurious (AS)palaces.
Her fateful time also [l]will soon come
And her days will not be prolonged.
A Living Hope, and a Sure Salvation
1 (A)Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as (B)aliens, (C)scattered throughout (D)Pontus, (E)Galatia, (F)Cappadocia, (G)Asia, and (H)Bithynia, (I)who are chosen 2 according to the (J)foreknowledge of God the Father, (K)by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, [a]to (L)obey Jesus Christ and be (M)sprinkled with His blood: (N)May grace and peace [b]be yours in the fullest measure.
3 (O)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who (P)according to His great mercy (Q)has caused us to be born again to (R)a living hope through the (S)resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an (T)inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and (U)will not fade away, (V)reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are (W)protected by the power of God (X)through faith for (Y)a salvation ready (Z)to be revealed in the last time. 6 (AA)In this you greatly rejoice, even though now (AB)for a little while, (AC)if necessary, you have been distressed by (AD)various [c]trials, 7 so that the [d](AE)proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which [e]is perishable, (AF)even though tested by fire, (AG)may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at (AH)the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and (AI)though you have not seen Him, you (AJ)love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and [f]full of glory, 9 obtaining as (AK)the outcome of your faith the salvation of [g]your souls.
10 (AL)As to this salvation, the prophets who (AM)prophesied of the (AN)grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 [h]seeking to know what person or time (AO)the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He (AP)predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories [i]to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who (AQ)preached the gospel to you by (AR)the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which (AS)angels long to [j]look.
13 Therefore, [k](AT)prepare your minds for action, [l](AU)keep sober in spirit, fix your (AV)hope completely on the (AW)grace [m]to be brought to you at (AX)the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As [n](AY)obedient children, do not [o](AZ)be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your (BA)ignorance, 15 but [p](BB)like the Holy One who called you, [q](BC)be holy yourselves also (BD)in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “(BE)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 If you (BF)address as Father the One who (BG)impartially (BH)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves (BI)in fear during the time of your (BJ)stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not [r](BK)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your (BL)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious (BM)blood, as of a (BN)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was (BO)foreknown before (BP)the foundation of the world, but has (BQ)appeared [s]in these last times (BR)for the sake of you 21 who through Him are (BS)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and (BT)gave Him glory, so that your faith and (BU)hope are in God.
22 Since you have (BV)in obedience to the truth (BW)purified your souls for a [t](BX)sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from [u]the heart, 23 for you have been (BY)born again (BZ)not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring (CA)word of God. 24 For,
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