M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
7 The sons of Issachar:
2 The sons of Tola, each of whom was the head of a subclan:
At the time of King David, the total number of men of war from these families was 22,600.
3 Uzzi’s son was Izrahiah among whose five sons were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all chiefs of subclans. 4 Their descendants, at the time of King David, numbered 36,000 troops; for all five of them had several wives and many sons. 5 The total number of men available for military service from all the clans of the tribe of Issachar was 87,000 stouthearted warriors, all included in the official genealogy.
6 The sons of Benjamin were:
7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, Iri.
These five mighty warriors were chiefs of subclans and were the leaders of 22,034 troops (all of whom were recorded in the official genealogies).
8 The sons of Becher were: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, Alemeth.
9 At the time of David there were 20,200 mighty warriors among their descendants; and they were led by their clan chiefs.
10 The son of Jediael was
The sons of Bilhan were: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, Ahishahar.
11 They were the chiefs of the subclans of Jediael, and their descendants included 17,200 warriors at the time of King David.
12 The sons of Ir were Shuppim and Huppim. Hushim was one of the sons of Aher.
13 The sons of Naphtali (descendants of Jacob’s wife[a] Bilhah) were: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, Shallum.
14 The sons of Manasseh, born to his Aramaean concubine, were Asriel and Machir (who became the father of Gilead).
15 It was Machir who found wives for Huppim and Shuppim.[b] Machir’s sister was Maacah. Another descendant was Zelophehad, who had only daughters.
16 Machir’s wife, also named Maacah, bore him a son whom she named Peresh; his brother’s name was Sheresh, and he had sons named Ulam and Rakem.
17 Ulam’s son was Bedan. So these were the sons of Gilead, the grandsons of Machir, and the great-grandsons of Manasseh.
18 Hammolecheth, Machir’s sister, bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
20-21 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, Zabad, Shuthelah,
Elead and Ezer attempted to rustle cattle at Gath, but they were killed by the local farmers. 22 Their father Ephraim mourned for them a long time, and his brothers tried to comfort him. 23 Afterwards his wife conceived and bore a son whom he called Beriah (meaning “a tragedy”) because of what had happened.
24 Ephraim’s daughter’s name was Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.
25-27 This is Ephraim’s line of descent:
Rephah, the father of
Resheph, the father of
Telah, the father of
Tahan, the father of
Ladan, the father of
Ammihud, the father of
Elishama, the father of
Nun, the father of
Joshua.
28 They lived in an area bounded on one side by Bethel and its surrounding towns, on the east by Naaran, on the west by Gezer and its villages, and finally by Shechem and its surrounding villages as far as Ayyah and its towns.
29 The tribe of Manasseh, descendants of Joseph the son of Israel, controlled the following cities and their surrounding areas: Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor.
30 The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi,
31 The sons of Beriah were:
32 Heber’s children were:
33 Japhlet’s sons were: Pasach, Bimhal, Ashvath.
34 His brother Shomer’s[c] sons were: Rohgah, Jehubbah, Aram.
35 The sons of his brother Hotham[d] were:
36-37 The sons of Zophah were: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah,
38 The sons of Ithran[e] were: Jephunneh, Pispa, Ara.
39 The sons of Ulla were: Arah, Hanniel, Rizia.
40 These descendants of Asher were heads of subclans and were all skilled warriors and chiefs. Their descendants in the official genealogy numbered 36,000 men of war.
8 1-2 The sons of Benjamin, according to age, were:
3-5 The sons of Bela were: Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, Shephuphan, Huram.
6-7 The sons of Ehud, chiefs of the subclans living at Geba, were captured in war and exiled to Manahath. They were: Naaman, Ahijah, Gera (also called Heglam), the father of Uzza and Ahihud.
8-10 Shaharaim divorced his wives
These sons all became chiefs of subclans.
11 His wife Hushim had borne him Abitub and
12 The sons of Elpaal were: Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod and their surrounding villages).
13 His other sons were
14 Elpaal’s sons also included: Ahio,
15-16 The sons of Beriah were: Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, Joha.
17-18 The sons of Elpaal also included: Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, Ishmerai, Izliah, Jobab.
19-21 The sons of Shimei were: Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, Shimrath.
22-25 The sons of Shashak were: Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, Iphdeiah, Penuel.
26-27 The sons of Jeroham were: Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah, Zichri.
28 These were the chiefs of the subclans living at Jerusalem.
29 Jeiel, the father of Gibeon, lived at Gibeon; and his wife’s name was Maacah. 30-32 His oldest son was named Abdon, followed by: Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, Mikloth who was the father of Shimeah.
All of these families lived together near Jerusalem.
33 Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of Saul;
Saul’s sons included:
34 The son of Jonathan was Mephibosheth;[f]
The son of Mephibosheth was Micah.
35 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, Ahaz.
36 Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah, Jehoaddah was the father of: Alemeth, Azmaveth, Zimri. Zimri’s son was Moza.
37 Moza was the father of Binea, whose sons were: Raphah, Eleasah, Azel.
38 Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, Hanan.
39 Azel’s brother Eshek had three sons:
40 Ulam’s sons were prominent warriors who were expert marksmen with their bows. These men had 150 sons and grandsons, and they were all from the tribe of Benjamin.
11 What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. 2 Men of God in days of old were famous for their faith.
3 By faith—by believing God—we know that the world and the stars—in fact, all things—were made at God’s command; and that they were all made from things that can’t be seen.[a]
4 It was by faith that Abel obeyed God and brought an offering that pleased God more than Cain’s offering did. God accepted Abel and proved it by accepting his gift; and though Abel is long dead, we can still learn lessons from him about trusting God.
5 Enoch trusted God too, and that is why God took him away to heaven without dying; suddenly he was gone because God took him. Before this happened God had said[b] how pleased he was with Enoch. 6 You can never please God without faith, without depending on him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely look for him.
7 Noah was another who trusted God. When he heard God’s warning about the future, Noah believed him even though there was then no sign of a flood, and wasting no time, he built the ark and saved his family. Noah’s belief in God was in direct contrast to the sin and disbelief of the rest of the world—which refused to obey—and because of his faith he became one of those whom God has accepted.
8 Abraham trusted God, and when God told him to leave home and go far away to another land that he promised to give him, Abraham obeyed. Away he went, not even knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached God’s promised land, he lived in tents like a mere visitor as did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. 10 Abraham did this because he was confidently waiting for God to bring him to that strong heavenly city whose designer and builder is God.
11 Sarah, too, had faith, and because of this she was able to become a mother in spite of her old age, for she realized that God, who gave her his promise, would certainly do what he said. 12 And so a whole nation came from Abraham, who was too old to have even one child—a nation with so many millions of people that, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the ocean shores, there is no way to count them.
13 These men of faith I have mentioned died without ever receiving all that God had promised them; but they saw it all awaiting them on ahead and were glad, for they agreed that this earth was not their real home but that they were just strangers visiting down here. 14 And quite obviously when they talked like that, they were looking forward to their real home in heaven.
15 If they had wanted to, they could have gone back to the good things of this world. 16 But they didn’t want to. They were living for heaven. And now God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has made a heavenly city for them.
17 While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; 18 yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants!
19 He believed that if Isaac died God would bring him back to life again; and that is just about what happened, for as far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac was doomed to death, but he came back again alive! 20 It was by faith that Isaac knew God would give future blessings to his two sons, Jacob and Esau.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s two sons as he stood and prayed, leaning on the top of his cane.
22 And it was by faith that Joseph, as he neared the end of his life, confidently spoke of God bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt; and he was so sure of it that he made them promise to carry his bones with them when they left!
23 Moses’ parents had faith too. When they saw that God had given them an unusual child, they trusted that God would save him from the death the king commanded, and they hid him for three months and were not afraid.
24-25 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of the king, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Christ than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him. 27 And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger. Moses kept right on going; it seemed as though he could see God right there with him. 28 And it was because he believed God would save his people that he commanded them to kill a lamb as God had told them to and sprinkle the blood on the doorposts of their homes so that God’s terrible Angel of Death could not touch the oldest child in those homes as he did among the Egyptians.
29 The people of Israel trusted God and went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians chasing them tried it, they all were drowned.
30 It was faith that brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down after the people of Israel had walked around them seven days as God had commanded them. 31 By faith—because she believed in God and his power—Rahab the harlot did not die with all the others in her city when they refused to obey God, for she gave a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 Well, how much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah and David and Samuel and all the other prophets. 33 These people all trusted God and as a result won battles, overthrew kingdoms, ruled their people well, and received what God had promised them; they were kept from harm in a den of lions 34 and in a fiery furnace. Some, through their faith, escaped death by the sword. Some were made strong again after they had been weak or sick. Others were given great power in battle; they made whole armies turn and run away. 35 And some women, through faith, received their loved ones back again from death. But others trusted God and were beaten to death, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free—trusting that they would rise to a better life afterwards.
36 Some were laughed at and their backs cut open with whips, and others were chained in dungeons. 37-38 Some died by stoning and some by being sawed in two; others were promised freedom if they would renounce their faith, then were killed with the sword. Some went about in skins of sheep and goats, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in dens and caves. They were hungry and sick and ill-treated—too good for this world. 39 And these men of faith, though they trusted God and won his approval, none of them received all that God had promised them; 40 for God wanted them to wait and share the even better rewards that were prepared for us.
5 Sadly I sing this song of grief for you, O Israel:
2 “Beautiful Israel lies broken and crushed upon the ground and cannot rise. No one will help her. She is left alone to die.” 3 For the Lord God says, “The city that sends a thousand men to battle, a hundred will return. The city that sends a hundred, only ten will come back alive.”
4 The Lord says to the people of Israel, “Seek me—and live. 5 Don’t seek the idols of Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba; for the people of Gilgal will be carried off to exile, and those of Bethel shall surely come to grief.”
6 Seek the Lord and live, or else he will sweep like fire through Israel and consume her, and none of the idols in Bethel can put it out.
7 O evil men, you make “justice” a bitter pill for the poor and oppressed. “Righteousness” and “fair play” are meaningless fictions to you!
8 Seek him who created the Seven Stars and the constellation Orion, who turns darkness into morning and day into night, who calls forth the water from the ocean and pours it out as rain upon the land. The Lord, Jehovah, is his name. 9 With blinding speed and violence he brings destruction on the strong, breaking all defenses.
10 How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth! 11 You trample the poor and steal their smallest crumb by all your taxes, fines, and usury; therefore, you will never live in the beautiful stone houses you are building, nor drink the wine from the lush vineyards you are planting.
12 For many and great are your sins. I know them all so well. You are the enemies of everything good; you take bribes; you refuse justice to the poor. 13 Therefore, those who are wise will not try to interfere with the Lord in the dread day of your punishment.
14 Be good, flee evil—and live! Then the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will truly be your Helper, as you have claimed he is. 15 Hate evil and love the good; remodel your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Hosts will have mercy on his people who remain.
16 Therefore the Lord God says this: “There will be crying in all the streets and every road. Call for the farmers to weep with you too; call for professional mourners to wail and lament. 17 There will be sorrow and crying in every vineyard, for I will pass through and destroy. 18 You say, ‘If only the Day of the Lord were here, for then God would deliver us from all our foes.’ But you have no idea what you ask. For that day will not be light and prosperity, but darkness and doom! How terrible the darkness will be for you; not a ray of joy or hope will shine. 19 In that day you will be as a man who is chased by a lion and is met by a bear, or a man in a dark room who leans against a wall and puts his hand on a snake. 20 Yes, that will be a dark and hopeless day for you.
21 “I hate your show and pretense—your hypocrisy of ‘honoring’ me with your religious feasts and solemn assemblies. 22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and thank offerings. I will not look at your offerings of peace. 23 Away with your hymns of praise—they are mere noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is.
24 “I want to see a mighty flood of justice—a torrent of doing good.
25-27 “You sacrificed to me for forty years while you were in the desert, Israel—but always your real interest has been in your heathen gods—in Sakkuth your king, and in Kaiwan, your god of the stars, and in all the images of them you made. So I will send them into captivity with you far to the east of Damascus,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
1 1-2 Dear friend who loves God:[a]
Several biographies of Christ have already been written using as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses. 3 However, it occurred to me that it would be well to recheck all these accounts from first to last and after thorough investigation to pass this summary on to you,[b] 4 to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught.
5 My story begins with a Jewish priest, Zacharias, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zacharias was a member of the Abijah division of the Temple service corps. (His wife, Elizabeth, was, like himself, a member of the priest tribe of the Jews, a descendant of Aaron.) 6 Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God’s laws in spirit as well as in letter. 7 But they had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and now they were both very old.
8-9 One day as Zacharias was going about his work in the Temple—for his division was on duty that week—the honor fell to him by lot[c] to enter the inner sanctuary and burn incense before the Lord. 10 Meanwhile, a great crowd stood outside in the Temple court, praying as they always did during that part of the service when the incense was being burned.
11-12 Zacharias was in the sanctuary when suddenly an angel appeared, standing to the right of the altar of incense! Zacharias was startled and terrified.
13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias! For I have come to tell you that God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. 14 You will both have great joy and gladness at his birth, and many will rejoice with you. 15 For he will be one of the Lord’s great men. He must never touch wine or hard liquor—and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from before his birth! 16 And he will persuade many a Jew to turn to the Lord his God. 17 He will be a man of rugged[d] spirit and power like Elijah, the prophet of old; and he will precede the coming of the Messiah, preparing the people for his arrival. He will soften adult hearts to become like little children’s, and will change disobedient minds to the wisdom of faith.”
18 Zacharias said to the angel, “But this is impossible! I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! 20 And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.”
21 Meanwhile the crowds outside were waiting for Zacharias to appear and wondered why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally came out, he couldn’t speak to them, and they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple. 23 He stayed on at the Temple for the remaining days of his Temple duties and then returned home. 24 Soon afterwards Elizabeth his wife became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.
25 “How kind the Lord is,” she exclaimed, “to take away my disgrace of having no children!”
26 The following month God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin, Mary, engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Congratulations, favored lady! The Lord is with you!”[e]
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
30 “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to wonderfully bless you! 31 Very soon now, you will become pregnant and have a baby boy, and you are to name him ‘Jesus.’ 32 He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he shall reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom shall never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy—the Son of God. 36 Furthermore, six months ago your Aunt[f] Elizabeth—‘the barren one,’ they called her—became pregnant in her old age! 37 For every promise from God shall surely come true.”
38 Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.