M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel’s Sin with the Moabite Women
25 [a] When[b] Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to commit sexual immorality[c] with the daughters of Moab. 2 These women invited[d] the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods.[e] 3 When Israel joined themselves to Baal Peor,[f] the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel.
God’s Punishment
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Arrest all the leaders[g] of the people, and hang them up[h] before the Lord in broad daylight,[i] so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.” 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you must execute those of his men[j] who were joined to Baal Peor.”
6 Just then[k] one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers[l] a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of[m] the whole community of the Israelites, while they[n] were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it,[o] he got up from among the assembly, took a javelin in his hand, 8 and went after the Israelite man into the tent[p] and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman’s abdomen.[q] So the plague was stopped from the Israelites.[r] 9 Those that died in the plague were 24,000.
The Aftermath
10 The Lord spoke to Moses: 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, when he manifested such zeal[s] for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal.[t] 12 Therefore, announce:[u] ‘I am going to give[v] to him my covenant of peace.[w] 13 So it will be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of a permanent priesthood, because he has been zealous for his God,[x] and has made atonement[y] for the Israelites.’”
14 Now the name of the Israelite who was stabbed—the one who was stabbed with the Midianite woman—was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of a clan[z] of the Simeonites. 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur. He was a leader[aa] over the people of a clan of Midian.[ab]
16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Bring trouble[ac] to the Midianites, and destroy them, 18 because they bring trouble to you by their treachery with which they have deceived[ad] you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian,[ae] their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague that happened as a result of Peor.”
Psalm 68[a]
For the music director, by David, a psalm, a song.
68 God springs into action.[b]
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries[c] run from him.[d]
2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.[e]
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
3 But the godly[f] are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy.[g]
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.[h]
For the Lord is his name.[i]
Rejoice before him.
5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows.[j]
God rules from his holy dwelling place.[k]
6 God settles in their own homes those who have been deserted;[l]
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity.[m]
But sinful rebels live in the desert.[n]
7 O God, when you lead your people into battle,[o]
when you march through the wastelands,[p] (Selah)
8 the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[q]
before God, the God of Israel.[r]
9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall[s] on your chosen people.[t]
When they[u] are tired, you sustain them,[v]
10 for you live among them.[w]
You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.
11 The Lord speaks;[x]
many, many women spread the good news.[y]
12 Kings leading armies run away—they run away![z]
The lovely lady[aa] of the house divides up the loot.
13 When[ab] you lie down among the sheepfolds,[ac]
the wings of the dove are covered with silver
and with glittering gold.[ad]
14 When the Sovereign One[ae] scatters kings,[af]
let it snow[ag] on Zalmon.
15 The mountain of Bashan[ah] is a towering mountain;[ai]
the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.[aj]
16 Why do you look with envy,[ak] O mountains[al] with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live?[am]
Indeed[an] the Lord will live there[ao] permanently.
17 God has countless chariots;
they number in the thousands.[ap]
The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor.[aq]
18 You ascend on high;[ar]
you have taken many captives.[as]
You receive tribute[at] from[au] men,
including even sinful rebels.
Indeed, the Lord God lives there.[av]
19 The Lord deserves praise.[aw]
Day after day[ax] he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us. (Selah)
20 Our God is a God who delivers;
the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, can rescue from death.[ay]
21 Indeed, God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.[az]
22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them[ba] from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 so that your feet may stomp[bb] in their blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.”[bc]
24 They[bd] see your processions, O God—
the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor.[be]
25 Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed instruments,[bf]
in the midst of young women playing tambourines.[bg]
26 In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel.[bh]
27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler,[bi]
and the princes of Judah in their robes,[bj]
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 God has decreed that you will be powerful.[bk]
O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power.
29 Because of your temple in Jerusalem,[bl]
kings bring tribute to you.
30 Sound your battle cry against[bm] the wild beast of the reeds,[bn]
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls.[bo]
They humble themselves[bp] and offer gold and silver as tribute.[bq]
God[br] scatters[bs] the nations that like to do battle.
31 They come with red cloth[bt] from Egypt.
Ethiopia[bu] voluntarily offers tribute[bv] to God.
32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times.[bw]
Look! He thunders loudly.[bx]
34 Acknowledge God’s power,[by]
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies.[bz]
35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple.[ca]
It is the God of Israel[cb] who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise![cc]
The Lord Will Judge Moab
15 This is an oracle[a] about Moab:
Indeed, in a night it is devastated,
Ar of Moab is destroyed!
Indeed, in a night it is devastated,
Kir of Moab is destroyed!
2 They went up to the temple;[b]
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament.[c]
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba,[d] Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off.[e]
3 In their streets they wear sackcloth;
on their roofs and in their town squares
all of them wail;
they fall down weeping.
4 The people of[f] Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.
For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;
their courage wavers.[g]
5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight,[h]
and for the fugitives[i] stretched out[j] as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.
For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;
they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim.[k]
6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone;[l]
the grass is dried up,
the vegetation has disappeared,
and there are no plants.
7 For this reason what they have made and stored up,
they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.
8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory;
their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim.[m]
9 Indeed, the waters of Dimon[n] are full of blood!
Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon.[o]
A lion will attack[p] the Moabite fugitives
and the people left in the land.
Wives and Husbands
3 In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then,[a] even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live,[b] 2 when they see your pure and reverent conduct.[c] 3 Let your[d] beauty[e] not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry[f] or fine clothes— 4 but the inner person[g] of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. 5 For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, 6 like Sarah who obeyed[h] Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children[i] when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.[j] 7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor[k] as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.[l]
Suffering for Doing Good
8 Finally, all of you be harmonious,[m] sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble. 9 Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless[n] others[o] because you were called to inherit a blessing. 10 For
the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep[p] his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit.
11 And he must turn away from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are[q] upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the Lord’s face is against those who do evil.[r]
13 For[s] who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But in fact, if you happen to suffer[t] for doing what is right,[u] you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them[v] or be shaken.[w] 15 But set Christ[x] apart[y] as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.[z] 16 Yet do it with courtesy and respect,[aa] keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.[ab] 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it,[ac] than for doing evil.
18 [ad] Because Christ also suffered[ae] once for sins,
the just for the unjust,[af]
to bring you to God,
by being put to death in the flesh
but[ag] by being made alive in the spirit.[ah]
19 In it[ai] he went and preached to the spirits in prison,[aj]
20 after they were disobedient long ago[ak] when God patiently waited[al] in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark[am] a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. 21 And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you[an]—not the washing off of physical dirt[ao] but the pledge[ap] of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God[aq] with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.[ar]
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