M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Offerings for Priests and Levites
18 The priests, who are Levites, won’t receive any part of the land of Israel. That also applies to the whole tribe of Levi. They will eat the food offerings presented to the Lord. That will be their share. 2 They won’t have any part of the land the Lord gave the other tribes in Israel. The Lord himself is their share, just as he promised them.
3 Anyone who sacrifices a bull or a sheep owes a share of it to the priests. Their share is the shoulder, the inside parts and the meat from the head. 4 You must give the priests the first share of the harvest of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. You must also give them the first wool you clip from your sheep. 5 The Lord your God has chosen the Levites and their sons after them to serve him in his name always. He hasn’t chosen priests from any of your other tribes.
6 Sometimes a Levite will move from the town in Israel where he’s living. And he will come to the place the Lord will choose. He’ll do it because he really wants to. 7 Then he can serve in the name of the Lord his God. He’ll be like all the other Levites who serve the Lord there. 8 He must have an equal share of the good things they have. That applies even if he has already received money by selling things his family owned.
Practices the Lord Hates
9 You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you do, don’t copy the practices of the nations there. The Lord hates those practices. 10 Here are things you must not do. Don’t sacrifice your children in the fire to other gods. Don’t practice any kind of evil magic at all. Don’t use magic to try to explain the meaning of warnings in the sky or of any other signs. Don’t take part in worshiping evil powers. 11 Don’t put a spell on anyone. Don’t get messages from those who have died. Don’t talk to the spirits of the dead. Don’t get advice from the dead. 12 The Lord your God hates it when anyone does these things. The nations in the land he’s giving you do these things he hates. So he will drive out those nations to make room for you. 13 You must be without blame in the sight of the Lord your God.
The Prophet of the Lord
14 You will take over the nations that are in the land the Lord is giving you. They listen to those who practice all kinds of evil magic. But you belong to the Lord your God. He says you must not do these things. 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to him. 16 At Mount Horeb you asked the Lord your God for a prophet. You asked him on the day you gathered together. You said, “We don’t want to hear the voice of the Lord our God. We don’t want to see this great fire anymore. If we do, we’ll die.”
17 The Lord said to me, “What they are saying is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you. He will be one of their own people. I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him to say. 19 The prophet will speak in my name. But someone might not listen to what I say through the prophet. I will hold that person responsible for not listening. 20 But suppose a prophet dares to speak in my name something I have not commanded. Or he speaks in the name of other gods. Then that prophet must be put to death.”
21 You will say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message hasn’t been spoken by the Lord?” 22 Sometimes a prophet will announce something in the name of the Lord. And it won’t take place or come true. Then that’s a message the Lord hasn’t told him to speak. That prophet has dared to speak on his own authority. So don’t be afraid of what he says.
105 Give praise to the Lord and announce who he is.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him.
Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
3 Praise him, because his name is holy.
Let the hearts of those who trust in the Lord be glad.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Always seek him.
5 Remember the wonderful things he has done.
Remember his miracles and how he judged our enemies.
6 Remember what he has done, you children of his servant Abraham.
Remember it, you people of Jacob, God’s chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God.
He judges the whole earth.
8 He will keep his covenant forever.
He will keep his promise for all time to come.
9 He will keep the covenant he made with Abraham.
He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it stand as a law for Jacob.
He made it stand as a covenant for Israel that will last forever.
11 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will belong to you.”
12 At first there weren’t very many of God’s people.
There were only a few, and they were strangers in the land.
13 They wandered from nation to nation.
They wandered from one kingdom to another.
14 But God didn’t allow anyone to treat them badly.
To keep them safe, he gave a command to kings.
15 He said to them, “Do not touch my anointed ones.
Do not harm my prophets.”
16 He made the people in the land go hungry.
He destroyed all their food supplies.
17 He sent a man ahead of them into Egypt.
That man was Joseph. He had been sold as a slave.
18 The Egyptians put his feet in chains.
They put an iron collar around his neck.
19 He was in prison until what he said would happen came true.
The word of the Lord proved that he was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and let him out of prison.
The ruler of many nations set him free.
21 He put Joseph in charge of his palace.
He made him ruler over everything he owned.
22 Joseph was in charge of teaching the princes.
He taught the elders how to think and live wisely.
23 Then the rest of Jacob’s family went to Egypt.
The people of Israel lived as outsiders in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord gave his people so many children
that there were too many of them for their enemies.
25 He made the Egyptians hate his people.
The Egyptians made evil plans against them.
26 The Lord sent his servant Moses to the king of Egypt.
He sent Aaron, his chosen one, along with him.
27 The Lord gave them the power to do signs among the Egyptians.
They did his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 The Lord sent darkness over the land.
He did it because the Egyptians had refused to obey his words.
29 He turned their rivers and streams into blood.
He caused the fish in them to die.
30 Their land was covered with frogs.
Frogs even went into the bedrooms of the rulers.
31 The Lord spoke, and large numbers of flies came.
Gnats filled the whole country.
32 He turned their rain into hail.
Lightning flashed all through their land.
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees.
He broke down the trees in Egypt.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came.
There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted.
35 They ate up every green thing in the land.
They ate up what the land produced.
36 Then he killed the oldest son of every family in Egypt.
He struck down the oldest of all their sons.
37 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
The Egyptians loaded them down with silver and gold.
From among the tribes of Israel no one got tired or fell down.
38 The Egyptians were glad when the people of Israel left.
They were terrified because of Israel.
39 The Lord spread out a cloud to cover his people.
He gave them a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for meat, and he brought them quail.
He fed them well with manna, the bread of heaven.
41 He broke open a rock, and streams of water poured out.
They flowed like a river in the desert.
42 He remembered the holy promise
he had made to his servant Abraham.
43 His chosen people shouted for joy
as he brought them out of Egypt.
44 He gave them the lands of other nations.
He let them take over what others had worked for.
45 He did it so they might obey his rules
and follow his laws.
Praise the Lord.
45 “Cyrus is my anointed king.
I take hold of his right hand.
I give him the power
to bring nations under his control.
I help him strip kings of their power
to go to war against him.
I break city gates open so he can go through them.
I say to him,
2 ‘I will march out ahead of you.
I will make the mountains level.
I will break down bronze gates.
I will cut through their heavy iron bars.
3 I will give you treasures that are hidden away.
I will give you riches that are stored up in secret places.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
I am the God of Israel.
I am sending for you by name.
4 Cyrus, I am sending for you by name.
I am doing it for the good of the family of Jacob.
They are my servant.
I am doing it for Israel.
They are my chosen people.
You do not know anything about me.
But I am giving you a title of honor.
5 I am the Lord. There is no other Lord.
I am the one and only God.
You do not know anything about me.
But I will make you strong.
6 Then people will know there is no God but me.
Everyone from where the sun rises in the east
to where it sets in the west will know it.
I am the Lord.
There is no other Lord.
7 I cause light to shine. I also create darkness.
I bring good times. I also create hard times.
I do all these things. I am the Lord.
8 “ ‘Rain down my godliness, you heavens above.
Let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide to receive it.
Let freedom spring to life.
Let godliness grow richly along with it.
I have created all these things.
I am the Lord.’ ”
9 How terrible it will be for anyone who argues with their Maker!
They are like a broken piece of pottery lying on the ground.
Does clay say to a potter,
“What are you making?”
Does a pot say,
“The potter doesn’t have any skill”?
10 How terrible it will be for anyone who says to a father,
“Why did you give me life?”
How terrible for anyone who says to a mother,
“Why have you brought me into the world?”
11 The Lord is the Holy One of Israel.
He made them.
He says to them,
“Are you asking me about what will happen to my children?
Are you telling me what I should do with what my hands have made?
12 I made the earth.
I created human beings to live there.
My own hands spread out the heavens.
I put all the stars in their places.
13 I will stir up Cyrus and help him win his battles.
I will make all his roads straight.
He will rebuild Jerusalem.
My people have been taken away from their country.
But he will set them free.
I will not pay him to do it.
He will not receive a reward for it,”
says the Lord who rules over all.
14 The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem,
“You will get everything Egypt produces.
You will receive everything the people of Cush
and the tall Sabeans get in trade.
All of it will belong to you.
And all these people will walk behind you as slaves.
They will be put in chains and come over to you.
They will bow down to you.
They will admit,
‘God is with you.
There is no other God.’ ”
15 You are a God who has been hiding yourself.
You are the God of Israel. You save us.
16 All those who make statues of gods will be put to shame.
They will be dishonored.
They will be led away in shame together.
17 But the Lord will save Israel.
He will save them forever.
They will never be put to shame or dishonored.
That will be true for all time to come.
18 The Lord created the heavens.
He is God.
He formed the earth and made it.
He set it firmly in place.
He didn’t create it to be empty.
Instead, he formed it for people to live on.
He says, “I am the Lord.
There is no other Lord.
19 I have not spoken in secret.
I have not spoken from a dark place.
I have not said to Jacob’s people,
‘It is useless to look for me.’
I am the Lord. I always speak the truth.
I always say what is right.
20 “Come together, you people of the nations
who escaped from Babylon.
Gather together and come into court.
Only people who do not know anything
would carry around gods that are made out of wood.
They pray to false gods that can’t save them.
21 Tell me what will happen. State your case.
Talk it over together.
Who spoke long ago about what would happen?
Who said it a long time ago?
I did. I am the Lord.
I am the one and only God.
I always do what is right.
I am the one who saves.
There is no God but me.
22 “All you who live anywhere on earth,
turn to me and be saved.
I am God. There is no other God.
23 I have made a promise in my own name.
I have spoken with complete honesty.
I will not take back a single word. I said,
‘Everyone will kneel down to me.
Everyone’s mouth will make promises in my name.’
24 They will say, ‘The Lord is the only one who can save us.
Only he can make us strong.’ ”
All those who have been angry with the Lord will come to him.
And they will be put to shame.
25 But the Lord will save all the people of Israel.
And so they will boast about the Lord.
Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
15 I saw in heaven another great and wonderful sign. Seven angels were about to bring the seven last plagues. The plagues would complete God’s anger. 2 Then I saw something that looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire. Standing beside the sea were those who had won the battle over the beast. They had also overcome its statue and the number of its name. They held harps given to them by God. 3 They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb. They sang,
“Lord God who rules over all,
everything you do is great and wonderful.
King of the nations,
your ways are true and fair.
4 Lord, who will not have respect for you?
Who will not bring glory to your name?
You alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you.
They see that the things you do are right.”
5 After this I looked, and I saw the temple in heaven. And it was opened. The temple is the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant law were kept. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels who were bringing the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen. They wore gold strips of cloth around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave seven golden bowls to the seven angels. The bowls were filled with the anger of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with smoke that came from the glory and power of God. No one could enter the temple at that time. They had to wait until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
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