M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ten Commandments
5 Moses called all the people of Israel together and said: Listen, Israel, to the commands and laws I give you today. Learn them and obey them carefully. 2 The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Sinai. 3 He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with us. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face. He spoke from the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between you and the Lord. I told you what the Lord said. You were afraid of the fire. So you would not go up on the mountain.) The Lord said:
6 “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
7 “You must not have any other gods except me.
8 “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 9 You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 10 But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
11 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.
12 “Keep the Sabbath as a holy day. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. 13 You may work and get everything done during six days each week. 14 But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your ox, your donkey nor any of your animals may work. The foreigners living in your cities may not work. That way your servants may rest as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by his great power and strength. So the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. Then you will live a long time. And things will go well for you in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.
17 “You must not murder anyone.
18 “You must not be guilty of adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court.
21 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s wife. You must not want to take your neighbor’s house or land. You must not want to take his men or women slaves. You must not want to take his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
22 The Lord gave these commands to all of you on the mountain. He spoke them in a loud voice out of the fire. He spoke from the cloud and the deep darkness. He did not say anything else. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.
23 You heard the voice from the darkness. The mountain was blazing with fire. Then all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and majesty. We have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks to him. 25 But now, we will die! This great fire will burn us up. And we will die if we hear the Lord our God speak anymore. 26 No human being has ever heard the living God speaking from a fire and still lived. But we have. 27 Moses, you go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then you tell us what the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”
28 The Lord heard what you said to me. And he said to me, “I have heard what the people said to you. Everything they said was good. 29 I wish their hearts would always respect me. I wish they would always obey my commands. Then things would go well for them and their children forever!
30 “Go and tell the people to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here with me. I will give you all the commands, rules and laws. Teach the people to obey them in the land I am giving them to own.”
32 So be careful. Do what the Lord your God has commanded you. You must follow the commands exactly. 33 Live the way the Lord your God has commanded you. Then you will live and be successful. You will live a long time in the land you will own.
A Sad Complaint
A song of the sons of Korah. For the director of music. By the mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, you are the God who saves me.
I cry out to you day and night.
2 Accept my prayer.
Listen to my cry.
3 My life is full of troubles.
I am nearly dead.
4 They think I am on the way to my grave.
I am like a man with no strength.
5 I have been left as dead,
like a body lying in a grave.
You don’t remember dead people.
They are cut off from your care.
6 You have brought me close to death.
I am almost in the dark place of the dead.
7 You have been very angry with me.
All your waves crush me. Selah
8 You have taken my friends away from me.
You have made them hate me.
I am trapped and cannot escape.
9 My eyes are weak from crying.
Lord, I have prayed to you every day.
I have lifted my hands in prayer to you.
10 Do you show your miracles for the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Selah
11 Will your love be told in the grave?
Will your loyalty be told in the place of death?
12 Will your miracles be known in the dark grave?
Will your goodness be known in the land where the dead are forgotten?
13 But, Lord, I have called out to you for help.
Every morning I pray to you.
14 Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide from me?
15 I have been weak and dying since I was young.
I suffer from your terrors, and I am helpless.
16 You have been angry with me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They surround me daily like a flood.
They are all around me.
18 You have taken away my loved ones and friends.
Darkness is my only friend.
Warnings to Assyria and Promises to God’s People
33 How terrible it will be for you who destroy others.
But you have not been destroyed yet.
How terrible it will be for you, traitor.
But no one has turned against you yet.
When you stop destroying,
others will destroy you.
When you stop turning against others,
they will turn against you.
2 Lord, be kind to us.
We have waited for your help.
Lord, give us strength every morning.
Save us when we are in trouble.
3 Your powerful voice makes people run away in fear.
Your greatness causes the nations to run away.
4 Like locusts, your enemies will take away the things you stole in war.
Like locusts rushing about, they will take your wealth.
5 The Lord is very great. He lives in a high place.
He fills Jerusalem with fairness and justice.
6 The Lord will be your safety.
He is full of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.
Respect for the Lord is the greatest treasure.
7 See, brave men are crying out in the streets.
Those who tried to bring peace are crying loudly.
8 There is no one on the roads.
No one is walking in the paths.
People have broken the agreements they made.
People refuse to believe the proof from witnesses.
No one respects other people.
9 The land is sick and dying.
Lebanon is ashamed and dying.
The Plain of Sharon is dry like the desert.
The trees of Bashan and Carmel are dying.
10 The Lord says, “Now, I will stand up
and show my greatness.
Now, I will become important to the people.
11 You people do useless things.
These things are like hay and straw.
A destructive wind will burn you like fire.
12 People will be burned until their bones become like lime.
They will burn quickly like dry thornbushes.”
13 You people in faraway lands, hear what I have done.
You people who are near me, learn about my power.
14 The sinners in Jerusalem are afraid.
The people who are separated from God shake with fear.
They say, “Can any of us live through this fire that destroys?
Who can live near this fire that burns on and on?”
15 A person might do what is right.
He might speak what is right.
He might refuse to take money unfairly.
He might refuse to take money to hurt others.
He might not listen to plans of murder.
He might refuse to think about evil.
16 This is the kind of person who will be safe.
He will be protected as he would be in a high, walled city.
He will always have bread,
and he will not run out of water.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty.
You will see the land that stretches far away.
18 You will think about the terror of the past.
You will think, “Where is that officer?
Where is the one who collected the taxes?
Where is the officer in charge of our defense towers?”
19 You will not see those proud people from other countries anymore.
No more will you hear their strange language
that you couldn’t understand.
God Will Protect Jerusalem
20 Look at Jerusalem, the city of our festivals.
Look at Jerusalem, that beautiful place of rest.
It is like a tent that will never be moved.
The pegs that hold her in place will never be moved.
Her ropes will never be broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
That land is a place with streams and wide rivers.
But there will be no enemy boats on those rivers.
No powerful ship will sail on those rivers.
22 This is because the Lord is our judge.
The Lord makes our laws.
The Lord is our king.
He will save us.
23 You sailors from other lands, hear:
The ropes on your boats hang loose.
The mast is not held firm.
The sails are not spread open.
The Lord will give us your wealth.
There will be so much wealth even the crippled people will carry off a share.
24 No one living in Jerusalem will say, “I am sick.”
The people who live there will have their sins forgiven.
To the Church in Sardis
3 “Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis:
“The One who has the seven spirits and the seven stars says this to you. I know what you do. People say that you are alive, but really you are dead. 2 Wake up! Make yourselves stronger while you still have something left and before it dies completely. I have found that what you are doing is not good enough for my God. 3 So do not forget what you have received and heard. Obey it. Change your hearts and lives! You must wake up, or I will come to you and surprise you like a thief. And you will not know when I will come. 4 But you have a few there in Sardis who have kept themselves clean. They will walk with me. They will wear white clothes, because they are worthy. 5 He who wins the victory will be dressed in white clothes like them. I will not take away his name from the book of life. I will say that he belongs to me before my Father and before his angels. 6 Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“The One who is holy and true says this to you. He holds the key of David. When he opens something, it cannot be closed. And when he closes something, it cannot be opened. 8 I know what you do. I have put an open door before you, and no one can close it. I know that you have a little strength. But you have followed my teaching. And you were not afraid to speak my name. 9 Listen! There is a synagogue that belongs to Satan. Those in this synagogue say they are Jews, but they are liars. They are not true Jews. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet. They will know that I have loved you. 10 You have followed my teaching about not giving up. So I will keep you from the time of trouble that will come to the whole world. This trouble will test those who live on earth.
11 “I am coming soon. Continue the way you are now. Then no one will take away your crown. 12 I will make the one who wins the victory a pillar in the temple of my God. He will never have to leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God. This city is the new Jerusalem.[a] It comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on him my new name. 13 Every person who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the Church in Laodicea
14 “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea:
“The Amen[b] is the One who is the faithful and true witness. He is the ruler of all that God has made. He says this to you: 15 I know what you do. You are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold! 16 But you are only warm—not hot, not cold. So I am ready to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say you are rich. You think you have become wealthy and do not need anything. But you do not know that you are really miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I advise you to buy gold from me—gold made pure in fire. Then you can be truly rich. Buy from me clothes that are white. Then you can cover your shameful nakedness. Buy from me medicine to put on your eyes. Then you can truly see.
19 “I correct and punish those whom I love. So be eager to do right. Change your hearts and lives. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him. And he will eat with me.
21 “He who wins the victory will sit with me on my throne. It was the same with me. I won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 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.