M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Altar on Mount Ebal
27 Moses and the elders of Israel gave commands to the people. They said, “Obey all the commands we’re giving you today. 2 You will go across the Jordan River. You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you do, set up some large stones. Put a coat of plaster on them. 3 Write all the words of this law on them. Do it when you have crossed over into the land the Lord your God is giving you. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Lord is the God of your people of long ago. He promised you that you would enter the land. 4 After you have gone across the Jordan, set up those stones on Mount Ebal. Put a coat of plaster on them. We’re commanding you today to do that. 5 Build an altar there to honor the Lord your God. Make it out of stones. Don’t use any iron tool on them. 6 Use stones you find in the fields to build his altar. Then offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Sacrifice friendship offerings there. Eat them and be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. 8 You must write all the words of this law on the stones you have set up. Write the words very clearly.”
Curses for Not Obeying the Lord
9 Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, spoke to all the Israelites. They said, “Israel, be quiet! Listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Obey him. Obey his commands and rules that we’re giving you today.”
11 Here are the commands Moses gave the people that same day.
12 You will go across the Jordan River. When you do, six tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people. Those tribes are Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 The other six tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to announce some curses. Those tribes are Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14 The Levites will speak to all the Israelites in a loud voice. The Levites will say,
15 “May anyone who makes a statue of a god and sets it up in secret be under the Lord’s curse. That statue is made by a skilled worker. And the Lord hates it.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
16 “May anyone who brings shame on their father or mother be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
17 “May anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
18 “May anyone who leads blind people down the wrong road be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
19 “May anyone who treats unfairly outsiders, widows, and children whose fathers have died be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
20 “May anyone who sleeps with his stepmother be under the Lord’s curse. That man brings shame on his father by doing that.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
21 “May anyone who has sex with animals be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
22 “May anyone who sleeps with his sister be under the Lord’s curse. It doesn’t matter whether she is his full sister or his half sister.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
23 “May anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
24 “May anyone who kills their neighbor secretly be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
25 “May anyone who accepts money to kill someone who isn’t guilty of doing anything wrong be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
26 “May anyone who doesn’t honor the words of this law by obeying them be under the Lord’s curse.”
Then all the people will say, “Amen!”
Blessings for Obeying the Lord
28 Make sure you obey the Lord your God completely. Be careful to obey all his commands. I’m giving them to you today. If you do these things, the Lord will honor you more than all the other nations on earth. 2 If you obey the Lord your God, here are the blessings that will come to you and remain with you.
3 You will be blessed in the cities. You will be blessed out in the country.
4 Your children will be blessed. Your crops will be blessed. The young animals among your livestock will be blessed. That includes your calves and lambs.
5 Your baskets and bread pans will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed no matter where you go.
7 Enemies will rise up against you. But the Lord will help you win the battle over them. They will come at you from one direction. But they’ll run away from you in every direction.
8 The Lord your God will bless your barns with plenty of grain and other food. He will bless everything you do. He’ll bless you in the land he’s giving you.
9 The Lord your God will make you his holy people. He will set you apart for himself. He promised to do this. He promised to do it if you would keep his commands and live exactly as he wants you to live. 10 All the nations on earth will see that you belong to the Lord. And they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will give you more than you need. You will have many children. Your livestock will have many little ones. Your crops will do very well. All of that will happen in the land he promised to give you. He promised this to your people of long ago.
12 The Lord will open up the heavens. That’s where he stores his riches. He will send rain on your land at just the right time. He’ll bless everything you do. You will lend money to many nations. But you won’t have to borrow from any of them. 13 The Lord your God will make you leaders, not followers. Pay attention to his commands that I’m giving you today. Be careful to obey them. Then you will always be on top. You will never be on the bottom. 14 Don’t turn away from any of the commands I’m giving you today. Don’t turn to the right or the left. Don’t follow other gods. Don’t worship them.
Curses for Not Obeying the Lord
15 But suppose you don’t obey the Lord your God. And you aren’t careful to obey all his commands and rules I’m giving you today. Then he will send curses on you. They’ll catch up with you. Here are those curses.
16 You will be cursed in the cities. You will be cursed out in the country.
17 Your baskets and bread pans will be cursed.
18 Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. Your calves and lambs will be cursed.
19 You will be cursed no matter where you go.
א Aleph
119 Blessed are those who live without blame.
They live in keeping with the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who obey his covenant laws.
They trust in him with all their hearts.
3 They don’t do anything wrong.
They live as he wants them to live.
4 You have given me rules
that I must obey completely.
5 I hope I will always stand firm
in following your orders.
6 Then I won’t be put to shame
when I think about all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an honest heart
as I learn about how fair your decisions are.
8 I will obey your orders.
Please don’t leave me all alone.
ב Beth
9 How can a young person keep their life pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I trust in you with all my heart.
Don’t let me wander away from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Lord, I give praise to you.
Teach me your orders.
13 With my lips I talk about
all the decisions you have made.
14 Following your covenant laws gives me joy
just as great riches give joy to others.
15 I spend time thinking about your rules.
I consider how you want me to live.
16 I take delight in your orders.
I won’t fail to obey your word.
ג Gimel
17 Be good to me while I am alive.
Do this so that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I can see
the wonderful truths in your law.
19 I’m a stranger on earth.
Don’t hide your commands from me.
20 My heart is filled with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You correct proud people. They are under your curse.
They wander away from your commands.
22 I obey your covenant laws.
So don’t let evil people laugh at me or hate me.
23 Even if rulers sit together and tell lies about me,
I will spend time thinking about your orders.
24 Your covenant laws are my delight.
They give me wise advice.
Jerusalem Will Be Glorious
54 “Jerusalem, sing!
You are now like a woman who never had a child.
Burst into song! Shout for joy!
You who have never had labor pains,
you are now all alone.
But you will have more children than a woman who still has a husband,”
says the Lord.
2 “Make a large area for your tent.
Spread out its curtains.
Go ahead and make your tent wider.
Make its ropes longer.
Drive the stakes down deeper.
3 You will spread out to the right and the left.
Your children after you will drive out the nations that are now living in your land.
They will make their homes in the deserted cities of those nations.
4 “Do not be afraid. You will not be put to shame anymore.
Do not be afraid of being dishonored.
People will no longer make fun of you.
You will forget the time when you suffered as slaves in Egypt.
You will no longer remember the shame
of being a widow in Babylon.
5 I made you. I am now your husband.
My name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
I have set you free.
I am the God of the whole earth.
6 You were like a wife who was deserted.
And her heart was broken.
You were like a wife who married young.
And her husband sent her away.
But now I am calling you to come back,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I left you.
But because I love you so much, I will bring you back.
8 For a moment I turned my face away from you.
I was very angry with you.
But I will show you my loving concern.
My faithful love will continue forever,”
says the Lord. He is the one who set you free.
9 “During Noah’s time I made a promise.
I said I would never cover the earth with water again.
In the same way, I have promised not to be angry with you.
I will never punish you again.
10 The mountains might shake.
The hills might be removed.
But my faithful love for you will never be shaken.
And my covenant that promises peace to you will never be removed,”
says the Lord. He shows you his loving concern.
11 “Suffering city, you have been beaten by storms.
You have not been comforted.
I will rebuild you with turquoise stones.
I will rebuild your foundations with lapis lazuli.
12 I will line the top of your city wall with rubies.
I will make your gates out of gleaming jewels.
And I will make all your walls out of precious stones.
13 I will teach all your children.
And they will enjoy great peace.
14 When you do what is right,
you will be made secure.
Your leaders will not be mean to you.
You will not have anything to be afraid of.
You will not be terrified anymore.
Terror will not come near you.
15 People might attack you. But I will not be the cause of it.
Those who attack you will give themselves up to you.
16 “I created blacksmiths.
They fan the coals into flames of fire.
They make weapons that are fit for their work.
I also created those who destroy others.
17 But no weapon used against you will succeed.
People might bring charges against you.
But you will prove that they are wrong.
Those are the things I do for my servants.
I make everything right for them,”
announces the Lord.
The Wise Men Visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea. After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose. Now we have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 4 So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah was going to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,
6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
He will rule my people Israel like a shepherd.’ ” (Micah 5:2)
7 Then Herod secretly called for the Wise Men. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me. Then I can go and worship him too.”
9 After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.
Jesus’ Family Escapes to Egypt
13 When the Wise Men had left, Joseph had a dream. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to come back. Herod is going to search for the child. He wants to kill him.”
14 So Joseph got up. During the night, he left for Egypt with the child and his mother Mary. 15 They stayed there until King Herod died. So the words the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true. He had said, “I brought my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1)
16 Herod realized that the Wise Men had tricked him. So he became very angry. He gave orders about Bethlehem and the area around it. He ordered all the boys two years old and under to be killed. This agreed with the time when the Wise Men had seen the star. 17 In this way, the words Jeremiah the prophet spoke came true. He had said,
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah.
It’s the sound of crying and deep sadness.
Rachel is crying over her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
because they are gone.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
Jesus’ Family Returns to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, Joseph had a dream while he was still in Egypt. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to him. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother. Go to the land of Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up. He took the child and his mother Mary back to the land of Israel. 22 But then he heard that Archelaus was king of Judea. Archelaus was ruling in place of his father Herod. This made Joseph afraid to go there. Joseph had been warned in a dream. So he went back to the land of Galilee instead. 23 There he lived in a town called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said about Jesus came true. They had said that he would be called a Nazarene.
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