M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Agreement in Moab
29 The Lord commanded Moses to make an agreement with the Israelites in Moab. This agreement was in addition to the agreement he had made with them at Mount Sinai.
2 Moses called all the Israelites together. And he said to them:
You have seen everything the Lord did to the king of Egypt. You saw what he did to the king’s leaders and to the whole country. 3 With your own eyes you saw the great troubles, signs and miracles. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands. You don’t really understand what you see with your eyes or hear with your ears. 5 The Lord led you through the desert for 40 years. During that time neither your clothes nor sandals wore out. 6 You ate no bread. You drank no wine or beer. This was so you would understand that he is the Lord your God.
7 You came to this place. Then Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight us. But we defeated them. 8 We captured their land. And we gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh to own.
9 You must carefully obey everything in this agreement. Then you will succeed in everything you do. 10 Today you are all standing here before the Lord your God. Here are your leaders and important men. Your elders, officers and all the other men of Israel are here. 11 Here are your wives and children and the foreigners who live among you. They chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are all here to enter into an agreement and a promise with the Lord your God. The Lord is making this agreement with you today. 13 This will make you today the Lord’s own people. He will be your God. This is what he told you. He promised it to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 But the Lord is not just making this agreement and its promises with you. 15 You are standing here before the Lord your God today. But he is also making it with those who are not here today.
16 You know how we lived in Egypt. You know how we passed through the countries when we came here. 17 You saw their hated idols made of wood, stone, silver and gold. 18 Make sure no man, woman, family group or tribe among you leaves the Lord. Don’t let them go and serve the gods of those nations. That would be like a plant that grows bitter, poisonous fruit.
19 That kind of person might hear these curses. But he blesses himself. And he thinks, “I will be safe. I will continue doing what I want to do.” That person might destroy all of your land, both wet and dry. 20 The Lord will not forgive that person. His anger will be like a burning fire against that man. All the curses written in this book will come on him. And the Lord will destroy any memory of him on the earth. 21 The Lord will separate him from all the tribes of Israel for punishment. All the curses of the agreement will happen to him. They are written in this Book of the Teachings.
22 Your children who will come after you will see this. And foreigners from faraway lands will see this. They will see the disasters that come to this land. And they will see the diseases the Lord will send on it. They will say, 23 “The land is nothing but burning cinders and salt. Nothing is planted. Nothing grows. Nothing blooms. It is like Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim. The Lord destroyed them because he was very angry.” 24 All the other nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to the land? Why is he so angry?”
25 And the answer will be, “It is because the people broke the agreement of the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He made it with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They went and served other gods. They bowed down to gods they did not even know. The Lord did not allow that. 27 So the Lord became very angry at the land. And he brought all the curses on it that are written in this book. 28 The Lord became angry and furious with them. So he took them out of their land. And he put them in another land where they are today.”
29 There are some things the Lord our God has kept secret. But there are some things he has let us know. These things belong to us and our children forever. It is so we will do everything in these teachings.
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant.
It gives me hope.
50 When I suffer, this comforts me:
Your promise gives me life.
51 Proud people make fun of me all the time.
But I do not reject your teachings.
52 I remember your laws from long ago.
They comfort me, Lord.
53 I become angry with wicked people.
They have not kept your teachings.
54 I sing about your demands
wherever I live.
55 Lord, I remember you at night.
I will obey your teachings.
56 This is what I do:
I follow your orders.
57 Lord, you are my share in life.
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I prayed to you with all my heart.
Be kind to me as you have promised.
59 I thought about my life,
and I decided to obey your rules.
60 I hurried and did not wait
to obey your commands.
61 Wicked people have surrounded me.
But I have not forgotten your teachings.
62 In the middle of the night, I get up to thank you
because your laws are right.
63 I am a friend to everyone who fears you.
I am a friend to anyone who follows your orders.
64 Lord, your love fills the earth.
Teach me your demands.
65 You have done good things for me, your servant,
as you have promised, Lord.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge
because I trust your commands.
67 Before I suffered, I did wrong.
But now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and you do what is good.
Teach me your demands.
69 Proud people have made up lies about me.
But I will follow your orders with all my heart.
70 Those people have no feelings,
but I love your teachings.
71 It was good for me to suffer
so I would learn your demands.
72 Your teachings are worth more to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
All Nations Will Obey the Lord
56 This is what the Lord says:
“Give justice to all people.
Do what is right.
Do this because my salvation will come to you soon.
Soon everyone will know that I do what is right.
2 The person who obeys the law about the Sabbath
will be blessed.
And the person who does no evil
will be blessed.”
3 Foreigners have joined the Lord. They should not say,
“The Lord will not accept me with his people.”
The eunuch should not say,
“Because I cannot have children the Lord will not accept me.”
4 This is what the Lord says:
“The eunuchs should obey the law about the Sabbath.
They should do what I want.
They should keep my agreement.
5 If they do, I will make their names remembered
within my Temple and its walls.
It will be better for them than children.
I will give them a name that will last forever.
It will never be forgotten.
6 Foreigners will join the Lord to serve him.
They will worship and love him.
They will worship him.
They will obey the law about the Sabbath.
They will keep the agreement with the Lord.
7 I will bring these people to my holy mountain.
I will give them joy in my house of prayer.
The offerings and sacrifices
they place on my altar will please me.
This is because my Temple will be called
a house for prayer for people from all nations.”
8 The Lord gathers the Israelites who were forced to leave their country.
This is what the Lord God says,
“I will bring other people to those who are already gathered.”
Israel’s Leaders Are Evil
9 All you animals of the field, come to eat.
All you animals of the forest, come to eat.
10 The leaders who are to guard the people are blind.
They don’t know what they are doing.
All of them are like quiet dogs.
They don’t know how to bark.
They lie down and dream.
They love to sleep.
11 They are like hungry dogs.
They are never satisfied.
They are like shepherds
who don’t know what they are doing.
They each have gone their own way.
All they want to do is satisfy themselves.
12 They say, “Come, let’s drink some wine.
Let’s drink all the beer we want.
And tomorrow we will do this again.
Or, maybe we will have even a better time.”
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. 3 The devil came to Jesus to tempt him. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person does not live only by eating bread. But a person lives by everything the Lord says.’”[a]
5 Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem. He put Jesus on a very high place of the Temple. 6 The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off. It is written in the Scriptures,
‘He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will catch you with their hands.
And you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” Psalm 91:11-12
7 Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”[b]
8 Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all the great things that are in those kingdoms. 9 The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10 Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’”[c]
11 So the devil left Jesus. And then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.
Jesus Begins Work in Galilee
12 Jesus heard that John had been put in prison. So Jesus went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went and lived in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee. Capernaum is in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 Jesus did this to make true what the prophet Isaiah said:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali
are on the way to the sea.
They are along the Jordan River.
This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.
16 These people who live in darkness
will see a great light.
They live in a place that is very dark.
But a light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:1-2
Jesus Chooses Some Followers
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon.”
18 Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew. The brothers were fishermen, and they were fishing in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said, “Come follow me. I will make you fishermen for men.” 20 At once Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed him.
21 Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets to catch fish. Jesus told them to come with him. 22 At once they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus Teaches and Heals People
23 Jesus went everywhere in Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and preached the Good News about the kingdom of heaven. And he healed all the people’s diseases and sicknesses. 24 The news about Jesus spread all over Syria, and people brought all the sick to him. These sick people were suffering from different kinds of diseases and pain. Some were suffering very great pain, some had demons, some were epileptics,[d] and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them. 25 Many people followed him. They came from Galilee, the Ten Towns,[e] Jerusalem, Judea, and the land across the Jordan River.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.