M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joseph Meets His Brothers
42 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” 2 Then he said, “Look! I’ve heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some grain for us there so that we’ll live and not die.”
3 So Joseph’s brothers went down, ten of them, to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob did not send, for he said, “An accident might happen to him.”
5 The sons of Israel went to buy grain among the others who were coming, because the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Now Joseph was the ruler over the land. He was the provider of grain for all the people of the earth. 7 Then Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he made himself unrecognizable to them. Then he spoke harshly and said to them, “Where have you come from?”
“From the land of Canaan,” they said, “to buy grain as food.”
8 Though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them. He said to them, “You’re spies! You’ve come to see the undefended places in the land.”
10 “No, my lord!” they said to him. “Your servants came to buy grain as food. 11 All of us—we are sons of one man. We’re honest. Your servants have never been spies.”
12 “Not so,” he said to them. “Rather, you’ve come to see the undefended places in the land.”
13 But they said, “We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan. Look, the youngest is with our father today and the other one is no more.”
14 Joseph said to them, “It’s just like I told you when I said, ‘You’re spies.’ 15 By this you’ll be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you’ll not leave from here until your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one from among yourselves to get your brother, while you remain confined, in order to test your words, to see whether the truth is with you. If not, by the life of Pharaoh, you’re definitely spies!”
17 So he put them together in custody for three days. 18 Then Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and you will live. I fear God. 19 If you’re honest, let one of your brothers remain as a prisoner in the guardhouse where you’ve been, while you, go and bring grain for the hunger in your homes. 20 And your youngest brother, bring to me so that your words can be verified—and you won’t die.” So they did.
21 Then each man said to his brother, “We’re truly guilty for our brother. We saw the distress of his soul when he begged us for mercy, but we didn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come to us.”
22 Reuben answered them and said, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy’? But you didn’t listen. Now, see how his blood is now being accounted for.”
23 They did not know that Joseph was listening, since there was an interpreter between them. 24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and tied him up before their eyes.
25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. So it was done for them. 26 Then they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left from there. 27 As one of them opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodge, he saw his money—behold, it was in the opening of his bag. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! Look, it’s in my bag.”
Their hearts sank. Trembling, each one turned to his brother and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke with us harshly, and took us as spies of the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We’re honest. We’ve never been spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I’ll know if you’re honest: leave one of your brothers with me. As for the hunger of your homes: take and go! 34 Then bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may know you are not spies, but you are honest. I’ll give you back your brother and you can move about freely in the land.’”
35 Now as they were emptying their sacks, behold, there was each man’s bundle of money in his sack. When they saw their money bundles, they and their father, they were afraid.
36 Then their father Jacob said to them, “You’ve made me childless! Joseph is no more. Now Simeon is gone, and next you’ll take Benjamin! Everything is against me!”
37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You can put my two sons to death if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my hand and I—I will return him to you.”
38 But he said, “My son will not go down with you—for his brother is dead and he alone remains. And if harm should happen to him along the way you’re going, you’ll bring my grey hair down to Sheol in grief.”
Taking the Kingdom by Force
12 Yeshua began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower. He leased it to some tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 And at the season, he sent a servant to collect from the tenants part of the vineyard’s fruit. 3 But grabbing him, they beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again the man sent another servant to them, and they wounded his head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed; and so on with many others, beating some and killing some. 6 He had yet one, a well-loved son. He sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir! Come on, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So grabbing the son, they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the master of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture?
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the chief cornerstone.
11 This came from Adonai,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.’”[a]
12 They were trying to seize Yeshua, because they realized that He spoke the parable against them. But they feared the crowd, so they left Him and went away.
A Test of Loyalty
13 Then they send some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Yeshua in order to trap Him with a word. 14 They come and say to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are honest, and what others think doesn’t concern You. You don’t look at men’s appearance, but teach the way of God according to the truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay, or shouldn’t we?”
But Yeshua saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius so I may see it.”
16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they said to Him.
17 Then Yeshua said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were completely amazed at Him.
The Challenge of the Sadducees
18 Then Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came and began questioning Yeshua, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, then his brother should take the widow and father children for his brother.’ [b] 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and, when he died, left no offspring. 21 And the second took her and died, leaving no offspring, and the third likewise. 22 Now the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died, too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise up, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you’ve gone astray, because you don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise up from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But concerning the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the burning bush? How God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [c] 27 He’s not the God of the dead, but of the living. You have gone far astray!”
Love Ends the Argument
28 One of the Torah scholars came and heard them debating. Seeing that Yeshua had answered them well, he asked Him, “Which commandment is first of all?”
29 Yeshua answered, “The first is, ‘Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. 30 And you shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [d] 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, Teacher,” the Torah scholar said to Him. “You have spoken the truth, that He is echad, and besides Him there is no other! [f] 33 And ‘to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’[g] and ‘to love the neighbor as oneself,’[h] is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Yeshua saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared any longer to question Him.
Who Is King David’s Lord?
35 While Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, He said, “How is it that the Torah scholars say that the Messiah is Ben-David? 36 David himself, through the Ruach ha-Kodesh, said,
‘Adonai said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’[i]
37 If David himself calls Him ‘Lord,’ in what way is He his son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.
38 In His teaching He said, “Watch out for the Torah scholars, who like to walk around in long robes. They like greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at feasts. 40 They devour widows’ houses and make long prayers as a show. These men will receive greater condemnation!”
41 He sat down opposite the treasury and began watching how the people were putting money into the offering box. Many rich people were putting in a lot. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 Calling His disciples over, He said to them, “Amen, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those contributing to the box! 44 For they all put in from their surplus; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, her whole living.”
Bildad: God Restores the Righteous
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you say these things?
The words of your mouth are like a mighty wind.
3 Does God pervert justice?
Does Shaddai pervert justice?
4 If your children sinned against Him,
He handed them over to their rebellion.
5 If you would seek God
and plead with Shaddai,
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now He will awaken for you
and restore your righteous abode.
7 And though your beginning was small,
your future would flourish.
8 Now ask the previous generation;
consider the findings of their fathers;
9 for we were born yesterday
and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their hearts?
11 “Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
Can reeds flourish without water?
12 When still in bloom and uncut,
it withers more quickly than other grass.
13 Such are the ways of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless perishes—
14 whose confidence is snapped off,
his trust is a spider’s web.
15 He leans against his house but it does not stand,
He holds fast to it, but it does not hold up.
16 He is a well-watered plant in the sun,
spreading his shoots over his garden;
17 he entwines his roots around a heap of stones,
and looks for a place between the rocks.
18 If he is uprooted from his place,
it denies him saying, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Such is his joyous course,
and from the earth others spring up.
20 Surely God does not spurn the blameless
or strengthen the hand of evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame.
The tent of the wicked will be no more!”
Be Dead to Self
12 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For through the grace given me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think—but to use sound judgment, as God has assigned to each person a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many parts in one body—and all the parts do not have the same function— 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Messiah and everyone parts of one another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace that was given to us—if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; or the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who gives, in generosity; the one who leads, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy—detesting what is evil, holding fast to the good. 10 Be tenderly devoted to one another in brotherly love; outdo one another in giving honor. 11 Do not be lagging in zeal; be fervent in spirit. Keep serving the Lord, 12 rejoicing in hope, enduring in distress, persisting in prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the kedoshim, extending hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you—bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. [a] 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own eyes. [b] 17 Repay no one evil for evil;[c] give thought to what is good in the eyes of all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in shalom with all people. 19 Never take your own revenge, loved ones, but give room for God’s wrath—for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,”[d] says Adonai. 20 Rather, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For by doing so you will heap coals of fire upon his head.” [e] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.