M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Obey the Terms of the Covenant
29 Here are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab. The terms were added to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Horeb.
2 Moses sent for all the Israelites. Here is what he said to them.
With your own eyes you have seen everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh. You have seen what he did to all Pharaoh’s officials and to his whole land. 3 With your own eyes you saw how the Lord really made them suffer. You saw the signs and amazing things he did. 4 But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands. He hasn’t given you eyes that see. He hasn’t given you ears that hear. 5 Yet the Lord says, “I led you through the desert for 40 years. During that time your clothes didn’t wear out. The sandals on your feet didn’t wear out either. 6 You didn’t eat any bread. You didn’t drink any kind of wine. I did all these things because I wanted you to know that I am the Lord your God.”
7 When you got here, Sihon and Og came out to fight against us. Sihon was the king of Heshbon. And Og was the king of Bashan. But we won the battle over them. 8 We took their land. We gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh as their share.
9 Be careful to obey the terms of this covenant. Then you will have success in everything you do. 10 Today all of you are standing here in the sight of the Lord your God. Your leaders and chief men are here. Your elders and officials are here. So are all the other men of Israel. 11 Your children and wives are here with you too. So are the outsiders living in your camps. They chop your wood and carry your water. 12 All of you are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God. He is making the covenant with you today. He’s giving you his word. 13 Today he wants to show you that you are his people and that he is your God. That’s what he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 I’m making this covenant and the promise that goes along with it. I’m making this covenant with you. 15 You are standing here with us today in front of the Lord our God. And I’m also making this covenant with those who aren’t here today.
16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt. You also know how we passed through other countries on the way here. 17 You saw the statues of their gods made out of wood, stone, silver and gold. The Lord hates those statues. 18 Make sure there isn’t a man or woman among your families or tribes who turns away from the Lord our God. No one must worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that kind of worship doesn’t spread like bitter poison through your whole community.
19 Some people who worship those gods will hear the promise that seals the covenant I’m making. They think they can escape trouble by what they’re saying. They say, “We’ll be safe, even though we’re stubborn and go our own way.” But they will bring trouble on the whole land. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive those people. His great anger will blaze out against them. All the curses I’ve written down in this book will fall on them. And the Lord will erase any mention of them from the earth. 21 He will find those people in all the tribes of Israel and give them nothing but trouble. That will agree with all the curses of the covenant. They are written down in this Book of the Law.
22 Even your children’s children will see the troubles that have fallen on the land. They’ll see the sicknesses the Lord has brought on it. People who come from countries far away will also see those things. 23 The whole land will be burned up. Nothing but salt and sulfur will be left. Nothing will be planted there. Nothing will grow there. In fact, nothing will even start to grow there. The land will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim after they were destroyed. The Lord wiped out those cities because he was very angry. 24 All the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to the land? What could have made him so very angry?”
25 And they will hear the answer, “It’s because the people living there have broken the covenant of the Lord. He’s the God of their people of long ago. He made that covenant with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They went off and worshiped other gods. They bowed down to them. They hadn’t known anything about those gods before. The Lord hadn’t given those gods to them. 27 So the Lord became very angry with this land. He brought on it all the curses written down in this book. 28 The Lord’s anger blazed out against his people. So he pulled them up out of their land. He threw them into another land. And that’s where they are now.”
29 The Lord our God keeps certain things hidden. But he makes other things known to us and to our children forever. He does it so we can obey all the words of this law.
ז Zayin
49 Remember what you have said to me.
You have given me hope.
50 Even when I suffer, I am comforted
because you promised to keep me alive.
51 Proud people make fun of me without mercy.
But I don’t turn away from your law.
52 Lord, I remember the laws you gave long ago.
I find comfort in them.
53 I am very angry
because evil people have turned away from your law.
54 No matter where I live,
I sing about your orders.
55 Lord, during the night I remember who you are.
That’s why I keep your law.
56 I have really done my best
to obey your rules.
ח Heth
57 Lord, you are everything I need.
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I have looked to you with all my heart.
Be kind to me as you have promised.
59 I have thought about the way I live.
And I have decided to follow your covenant laws.
60 I won’t waste any time.
I will be quick to obey your commands.
61 Evil people may tie me up with ropes.
But I won’t forget to obey your law.
62 At midnight I get up to give you thanks
because your decisions are very fair.
63 I’m a friend to everyone who has respect for you.
I’m a friend to everyone who follows your rules.
64 Lord, the earth is filled with your love.
Teach me your orders.
ט Teth
65 Lord, be good to me
as you have promised.
66 Increase my knowledge and give me good sense,
because I trust your commands.
67 Before I went through suffering, I went down the wrong path.
But now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good.
Teach me your orders.
69 The lies of proud people have taken away my good name.
But I follow your rules with all my heart.
70 Their unfeeling hearts are hard and stubborn.
But I take delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to suffer.
That’s what helped me to understand your orders.
72 The law you gave is worth more to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
The Lord Will Save Those Who Come to Him
56 The Lord says,
“Do what is fair and right.
I will soon come and save you.
Soon everyone will know that what I do is right.
2 Blessed is the person who does what I want them to.
They are faithful in keeping the Sabbath day.
They do not misuse it.
They do not do what is evil on that day.”
3 Suppose an outsider wants to follow the Lord.
Then that person shouldn’t say,
“The Lord won’t accept me as one of his people.”
And a eunuch shouldn’t say,
“I’m like a dry tree
that doesn’t bear any fruit.”
4 The Lord says,
“Suppose some eunuchs keep my Sabbath days.
They choose to do what pleases me.
And they are faithful in keeping my covenant.
5 Then I will set up a monument in the area of my temple.
Their names will be written on it.
That will be better for them than having sons and daughters.
The names of the eunuchs will be remembered forever.
They will never be forgotten.
6 “Suppose outsiders want to follow me
and serve me.
They want to love me
and worship me.
They keep the Sabbath day and do not misuse it.
And they are faithful in keeping my covenant.
7 Then I will bring them to my holy mountain of Zion.
I will give them joy in my house.
They can pray there.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices on my altar.
My house will be called
a house where people from all nations can pray.”
8 The Lord and King will gather
those who were taken away from their homes in Israel.
He announces, “I will gather them to myself.
And I will gather others to join them.”
The Lord Judges Israel’s Evil Leaders
9 Come, all you enemy nations! Come like wild animals.
Come and destroy like animals in the forest.
10 Israel’s prophets are blind.
They don’t know the Lord.
All of them are like watchdogs that can’t even bark.
They just lie around and dream.
They love to sleep.
11 They are like dogs that love to eat.
They never get enough.
They are like shepherds who don’t have any understanding.
All of them do as they please.
They only look for what they can get for themselves.
12 “Come!” they shout. “Let’s get some wine!
Let’s drink all the beer we can!
Tomorrow we’ll do the same thing.
And that will be even better than today.”
Jesus Is Tempted in the Desert
4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. 2 After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. It is written,
“ ‘The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you.
They will lift you up in their hands.
Then you won’t trip over a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:11,12)
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
8 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “If you bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give you all this.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
11 Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him.
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. 13 Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,
15 “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Galilee, where Gentiles live!
Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
16 The people who are now living in darkness
have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
But a light has shined on them.” (Isaiah 9:1,2)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Jesus Chooses His First Disciples
18 One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake, because they were fishermen. 19 “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them. 22 Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals Sick People
23 Jesus went all over Galilee. There he taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He healed every illness and sickness the people had. 24 News about him spread all over Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn’t move at all. And Jesus healed all of them. 25 Large crowds followed him. People came from Galilee, from the area known as the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Others came from the area across the Jordan River.
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