M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Moses Tells Israel to Obey
4 Now, Israel, listen to the laws and commands I will teach you. Obey them so you will live. Then you will go over and take the land. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving it to you. 2 Don’t add to these commands. And don’t leave anything out. But obey the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
3 You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed everyone among you who followed Baal in Peor. 4 But you continued to follow the Lord your God. So you are still alive today.
5 Look, I have taught you the laws and rules the Lord my God commanded me. Now you can obey the laws in the land you are entering. It is the land you will own. 6 Obey these laws carefully. This will show the other nations that you have wisdom and understanding. They will hear about these laws. And they will say, “This great nation of Israel is wise and understanding.” 7 No other nation is as great as we are. Their gods do not come near them. But the Lord our God comes near when we pray to him. 8 And no other nation has such good teachings and commands. I am giving them to you today.
9 But be careful! Watch out. Don’t forget the things that you have seen. Don’t forget them as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai. He said to me, “Bring the people together to listen to what I say. Then they will respect me as long as they live in the land. And they will teach these things to their children.” 11 Then you came and stood at the bottom of the mountain. It blazed with fire that reached to the sky. Black clouds made it very dark. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of words. But you did not see him. There was only a voice. 13 The Lord told you about his agreement. It was the Ten Commandments. And he told you to obey them. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 Then the Lord commanded me to teach you the laws and rules. You must obey them in the land you will own when you cross the Jordan River.
Laws About Idols
15 The Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Sinai. But you did not see him. So watch yourselves carefully! 16 Don’t sin by making idols of any kind. Don’t make statues of men or women. 17 Don’t make statues of animals on earth or birds that fly in the air. 18 Don’t make statues of anything that crawls on the ground. Don’t make statues of fish in the water below. 19 When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, moon and stars. You can see everything in the sky. But don’t bow down and worship them. The Lord your God has made these things for all people everywhere. 20 Egypt tested you like a furnace for melting iron. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. And he made you his very own people, as you are now.
21 The Lord was angry with me because of you. He made a strong promise that I would not cross the Jordan River. I could not go into the good land the Lord your God is giving you to own. 22 I will die here in this land. I will not cross the Jordan. But you will soon go across and take that good land. 23 Be careful. Don’t forget the agreement of the Lord your God that he made with you. Don’t make any idols for yourselves. The Lord your God has commanded you not to do that. 24 The Lord your God is a jealous God. He is like a fire that burns things up.
25 You will live in the land a long time. You will have children and grandchildren. Even after that, don’t do evil things. Don’t make any kind of idol. Don’t do what the Lord says is evil. That will make him angry. 26 I will ask heaven and earth to speak against you that day. Then you will quickly be removed from this land. You are crossing the Jordan River to take the land. But you will not live there long after that. You will be completely destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the other nations. Only a few of you will be left alive. And those few will be in other nations where the Lord will send you. 28 There you will worship gods made by men. They will be made of wood and stone. They cannot see, hear, eat or smell. 29 But even there you can look for the Lord your God. And you will find him if you look. But you must look for him with your whole being. 30 It will be hard when all these things happen to you. But after that you will come back to the Lord your God. You will obey him. 31 The Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you. He will not forget the agreement he made with your ancestors. He made that agreement sure with his strong promise.
The Lord Is Great
32 Nothing like this has ever happened before! Look at the past, long before you were even born. Go all the way back to when God made man on the earth. Look from one end of heaven to the other. Nothing like this has ever been heard of! 33 No other people have ever heard God speak from a fire and still lived. But you have. 34 No other god has ever taken for himself one nation out of another. But the Lord your God did this for you in Egypt. He did it right before your own eyes. He did it with tests, signs, miracles, war and great sights. He did it by his great power and strength.
35 He showed you things so you would know that the Lord is God. There is no other God besides him. 36 He spoke to you from heaven to teach you. He showed you his great fire on earth. And you heard him speak from the fire. 37 The Lord loved your ancestors. That is why he chose you, their descendants. He brought you out of Egypt himself by his great strength. 38 He forced nations out of their land ahead of you. And these nations were bigger and stronger than you were. But the Lord brought you into their land and gave it to you to own. And this land is yours today.
39 Know and believe today that the Lord is God. He is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other god! 40 Obey his laws and commands, which I am giving you today. Obey them so that things will go well for you and your children. Then you will live a long time in this land. The Lord your God is giving it to you forever.
Cities of Safety
41 Moses chose three cities east of the Jordan River. 42 A person who killed someone accidentally could go there. He did not hate the person he killed. So he could save his life by running to one of these cities. 43 These were the cities: Bezer in the desert high plain was for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead was for the Gadites; Golan in Bashan was for the Manassites.
The Law Moses Gave
44 These are the teachings Moses gave to the people of Israel. 45 They are the rules, commands and laws he gave them when they came out of Egypt. 46 They were in the valley near Beth Peor. That is east of the Jordan River in the land of Sihon. Sihon was king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. He was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 The Israelites captured his land. They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. These were the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River. 48 This land went from Aroer to Mount Hermon. Aroer is on the edge of the Arnon Ravine. 49 It included all the Jordan Valley east of the Jordan River. And it went as far as the Dead Sea below Mount Pisgah.
A Cry for Help
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, listen to me and answer me.
I am poor and helpless.
2 Protect me, because I worship you.
My God, save me, your servant.
I trust in you.
3 Lord, be merciful to me.
I have called to you all day.
4 Give happiness to me, your servant.
Lord, I give my life to you.
5 Lord, you are kind and forgiving.
You have great love for those who call to you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen when I ask for mercy.
7 I call to you in times of trouble.
You certainly will answer me.
8 Lord, there is no god like you.
There are no works like yours.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and worship you.
They will honor you.
10 You are great, and you do miracles.
Only you are God.
11 Lord, teach me what you want me to do.
And I will live by your truth.
Teach me to respect you completely.
12 Lord, my God, I will praise you with all my heart.
I will honor your name forever.
13 You have great love for me.
You have saved me from death.
14 God, proud men turn against me.
A gang of cruel men are trying to kill me.
They do not respect you.
15 But Lord, you are a God who shows mercy and is kind.
You don’t become angry quickly.
You have great love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be merciful.
Give me, your servant, strength.
Save me, the son of your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness.
When my enemies look, they will be ashamed.
You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
God Loves Jerusalem
A song of the sons of Korah.
87 The Lord built Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
2 He loves its gates
more than any other place in Israel.
3 City of God,
wonderful things are said about you. Selah
4 God says, “I will put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me.
People from Philistia, Tyre and Cush
will be born there.”
5 They will say about Jerusalem,
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will strengthen her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” Selah
7 They will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Jerusalem.”
A Good Kingdom Is Coming
32 A king will rule in a way that brings justice.
Leaders will make fair decisions.
2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind.
He will be like a safe place in a storm.
He will be like streams of water in a dry land.
He will be like a cool shadow from a large rock in a hot land.
3 People will look to the king for help.
And they will truly listen to what he says.
4 People who are now worried will be able to understand.
Those who cannot speak clearly now will then be able to speak clearly and quickly.
5 Fools will not be called great men.
People will not respect wicked men.
6 A fool says foolish things.
And in his mind he plans to do evil things.
A fool wants to do things that are wrong.
He says wrong things about the Lord.
A fool does not feed the hungry.
He does not let thirsty people drink water.
7 The wicked man uses evil like a tool.
He plans ways to take everything from poor people.
He destroys the poor with lies,
even when the poor man is in the right.
8 But a good leader plans good things to do.
And those good things make him a good leader.
Hard Times Are Coming
9 You women who are calm now,
stand up and listen to me.
You women who feel safe now,
hear what I say.
10 You women feel safe now,
but after one year you will be afraid.
There will be no grape harvest.
There will not be any summer fruit to gather.
11 Women, you are calm now, but you should shake with fear.
Women, you feel safe now, but you should tremble.
Take off your nice clothes.
Then put rough cloth around your waist to show your sadness.
12 Beat your breasts in grief because the fields that were pleasant are now empty.
Cry because the vines that once had fruit now have no more grapes.
13 Cry for the land of my people.
Cry because only thorns and weeds grow there now.
Cry for the city that once was happy.
And cry for all the houses that once were filled with joy.
14 The palace will be empty.
People will leave the noisy city.
Strong cities and towers will be empty.
Wild donkeys will love to live there. Sheep will go there to eat.
Things Will Get Better
15 This will continue until God puts his Spirit from above into us.
Then the desert will be like a fertile field.
And the fertile field will be like a forest.
16 Justice will be found even in the desert.
And fairness will be found in the fertile fields.
17 That fairness will bring peace.
And fairness will bring calm and safety forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful places.
They will have safe homes.
They will live in calm places of rest.
19 Hail will destroy the forest.
And the city will be completely destroyed.
20 But you will be happy as you plant seeds near every stream.
You will let your cattle and donkeys wander freely.
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
“The One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands says this to you. 2 I know what you do. You work hard, and you never give up. I know that you do not accept evil people. You have tested those who say that they are apostles but really are not. You found that they are liars. 3 You continue to serve me. You have suffered troubles for my name, and you have not given up.
4 “But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning. 5 So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you do not change, I will come to you. I will take away your lampstand from its place. 6 But there is something you do that is right: You hate what the Nicolaitans[a] do, as much as I.
7 “Every person who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who wins the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life. This tree is in the garden of God.
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
“The One who is the First and the Last says this to you. He is the One who died and came to life again. 9 I know your troubles. I know that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things that some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die. If you are faithful, I will give you the crown of life.
11 “Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. He who wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death.
To the Church in Pergamum
12 “Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum:
“The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this to you. 13 I know where you live. You live where Satan has his throne. But you are true to me. You did not refuse to tell about your faith in me even during the time of Antipas. Antipas was my faithful witness who was killed in your city. Your city is where Satan lives.
14 “But I have a few things against you: You have some there who follow the teaching of Balaam. Balaam taught Balak how to cause the people of Israel to sin. They sinned by eating food offered to idols and by taking part in sexual sins. 15 You also have some who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[b] 16 So change your hearts and lives! If you do not, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword that comes out of my mouth.
17 “Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!
“I will give the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it.
To the Church in Thyatira
18 “Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira:
“The Son of God is saying these things. He is the One who has eyes that blaze like fire and feet like shining bronze. He says this to you: 19 I know what you do. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first. 20 But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel do what she wants. She says that she is a prophetess. But she is leading my servants away with her teaching. Jezebel leads them to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols. 21 I have given her time to change her heart and turn away from her sin. But she does not want to change. 22 And so I will throw her on a bed of suffering. And all those who take part in adultery with her will suffer greatly. I will do this now if they do not turn away from the wrongs she does. 23 I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who knows what people feel and think. And I will repay each of you for what you have done.
24 “But others of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching. You have not learned what some call Satan’s deep secrets. This is what I say to you: I will not put any other load on you. 25 Only continue the way you are until I come.
26 “I will give power to everyone who wins the victory and continues to the end to do what I want. I will give him power over the nations:
27 ‘You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.’ Psalm 2:9
28 This is the same power I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. 29 Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.