M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Moses Talks to the Israelites
1 ·This is the message [L These are the words] Moses gave to all the people of Israel in the ·desert [wilderness] east of the Jordan River. They were in the ·desert [wilderness] area near Suph, between Paran and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 (The trip from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea on the Mount Seir road takes eleven days.) 3 ·Forty years after the Israelites had left Egypt [L In the fortieth year], on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses told the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them. 4 This was after the Lord had ·defeated [L struck] Sihon and Og. Sihon was king of the Amorite people and lived in Heshbon. Og was king of Bashan and lived in Ashteroth and Edrei [Num. 21:21–35].
5 Now ·the Israelites [L they] were ·east of [L beyond] the Jordan River in the land of Moab, and there Moses began to ·explain [make clear] ·what God had commanded [L this law/instruction]. He said:
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Sinai] and said, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 ·Get ready [L Turn face], and go to the mountain country of the Amorites, and to all the places around there—the ·Jordan Valley [L Arabah], the mountains, the ·western hills [L Shephelah], the ·southern area [L Negev], the seacoast, the land of Canaan, and Lebanon. Go as far as the great river, the Euphrates [Gen. 15:18–21]. 8 See, I have given you this land, so go in and take it for yourselves. The Lord ·promised it [swore] to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants [Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20].”
Moses Appoints Leaders
9 At that time I said, “I am not able to ·take care of you [L lift you up; bear you] by myself. 10 The Lord your God has made you grow in number so that there are as many of you as there are stars in the ·sky [heavens; Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; Ex. 32:13]. 11 I pray that the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], will give you a thousand times more people and ·do all the wonderful things [L bless you as] he promised. 12 ·But I cannot take care of [L How can I lift up/bear…?] your problems, your troubles, and your arguments by myself. 13 So choose some men from each tribe—wise men who have ·understanding [discernment] and experience—and I will make them leaders over you.”
14 And you said, “That’s a good thing to do.”
15 So I took the wise and experienced leaders of your tribes, and I made them your leaders. I appointed commanders over a thousand people, over a hundred people, over fifty people, and over ten people and made them officers over your tribes. 16 Then I told your ·leaders [judges], “Listen to the arguments between your people. Judge fairly between two ·Israelites [relatives; L brothers] or between an ·Israelite [L relative; brother] and a ·foreigner [resident alien]. 17 When you judge, ·be fair to everyone [do not show favoritism]; don’t act as if one person is more important than another, and don’t be ·afraid of [intimidated by] anyone, because your decision comes from God. Bring the hard cases to me, and I will judge them.” 18 At that time I told you everything you must do [Ex. 18:13–23].
Spies Enter the Land
19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we left ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; 1:6] and went toward the mountain country of the Amorite people. We went through that ·large [vast] and terrible ·desert [wilderness] you saw, and then we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 I said to you, “You have now come to the mountain country of the Amorites, to the land the Lord our God will give us. 21 Look, here it is! Go up and ·take [possess] it. The Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], told you to do this, so don’t be afraid and don’t ·worry [be dismayed].”
22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let’s send men before us to spy out the land. They can come back and ·tell us [bring back a report] about the way we should go and the cities we will find [Num. 13–14].”
23 ·I thought that was a good idea [L The matter was good/right in my eyes], so I ·chose [took] twelve of your men, one for each tribe. 24 They ·left [L turned face] and went up to the mountains, and when they came to the ·Valley of [Wadi] Eshcol they ·explored [spied on] it. 25 They took some of the fruit from that land and brought it down to us, ·saying [L and gave us a report, saying], “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.”
Israel Refuses to Enter
26 But you refused to go. You ·would not obey [rebelled against] the command of the Lord your God, 27 but grumbled in your tents, saying, “The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt just to give us to the Amorites, who will destroy us. 28 Where can we go now? ·The spies we sent have [L Our relatives/brothers] made ·us afraid [L our hearts melt], because they said, ‘The people there are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are big, with walls up to the ·sky [heavens]. And we saw the Anakites there [Num. 13:28–33]!’”
29 Then I said to you, “Don’t be frightened; don’t be afraid of those people. 30 The Lord your God will go ahead of you and fight for you as he did in Egypt; ·you saw him do it [L before your eyes]. 31 And in the ·desert [wilderness] you saw how the Lord your God carried you, like one carries a child [Ps. 131]. And he has brought you safely all the way to this place.”
32 But you still did not trust the Lord your God, even though 33 he had always gone before you to find places for you to camp. In a fire at night and in a cloud during the day, he showed you which way to go.
34 When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and ·made an oath [swore], saying, 35 “I promised a good land to your ·ancestors [fathers], but none of ·you evil people [this evil generation] will see it. 36 Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will see it [Num. 14:24]. I will give him and his descendants the land he walked on, because he followed the Lord completely [Josh. 15:13–19; Judg. 1:9–15].”
37 Because of you, the Lord was also angry with me and said, “You won’t enter the land either [Num. 20:12], 38 but ·your assistant [L the one who stands before you], Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to take the land for their own.
39 “Your little children that you said would be ·captured [plunder], who do not know right from wrong at this time, will go into the land. I will give the land to them, and they will ·take it for their own [possess it]. 40 But you must turn ·around [L face] and follow the ·desert [wilderness] road toward the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [Ex. 10:19].”
41 Then you said to me, “We have sinned against the Lord, but now we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” Then all of you put on weapons, thinking it would be easy to go into the mountains.
42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell the people, ‘You must not go up there and fight. I will not be with you, and your enemies will defeat you.’”
43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You ·would not obey [rebelled against] the Lord’s command. You were ·proud [presumptuous], so you went on up into the mountains, 44 and the Amorites who lived in those mountains came out and fought you. They ·chased [swarmed over] you like bees and ·defeated [L struck] you from ·Edom [L Seir; C another name for Edom] to Hormah [Num. 14:39–45]. 45 So you came back and cried before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to you; he refused to pay attention to you. 46 So you stayed in Kadesh a long time.
A Song for a Holiday
For the director of music. By the gittith [C perhaps a musical term or instrument]. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
81 Sing for joy to God, our strength;
shout out loud to the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 ·Begin the music [Lift up a psalm]. ·Play [Sound; L Give] the tambourines [68:25; 149:3; 150:4; Ex. 15:20].
·Play pleasant music on the harps [L …the pleasant/sweet harps] and lyres.
3 Blow the ·trumpet [ram’s horn] at ·the time of the New Moon [L the month; C a monthly religious festival],
when the moon is full, when our feast begins.
4 This is the ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] for Israel;
it is the ·command [judgment] of the God of Jacob [v. 1].
5 He ·gave [set] this ·rule [decree; testimony] to the people of Joseph [C reference to the northern tribes]
when they went out of the land of Egypt [C the exodus; Ex. 12–15].
I heard a ·language [L tongue] I did not know, saying [C God now speaks]:
6 “I ·took the load off [removed the burden from] their shoulders;
·I let them put down their baskets [L Their hands were removed from the baskets].
7 When you were in ·trouble [distress], you called, and I ·saved [rescued] you.
I answered you ·with thunder [L in the secret place of thunder; Ex. 19:18–19].
I tested you at the waters of Meribah [95:8; 106:32; Ex. 17:1–17; Num. 20:1–13]. ·
8 My people, listen. I ·am warning [bear testimony/witness against] you.
Israel, please listen to me!
9 You must not have ·foreign [strange] gods;
you must not worship any ·false [foreign] god.
10 I, the Lord, am your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
·Open [L Widen] your mouth and I will feed you [Deut. 29:6; 32:10–14].
11 “But my people did not listen to ·me [L my voice];
Israel did not ·want [accept] me.
12 So I ·let them go their stubborn way [L threw them away because of their stubborn hearts]
and ·follow [walk according to] their own advice.
13 I wish my people would listen to me;
I wish Israel would ·live [L walk on] my way.
14 Then I would quickly ·defeat [subdue; quell] their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would ·bow [cringe; cower] before him.
Their ·punishment [doom] would continue forever.
16 But I would give you the finest wheat [Deut. 32:14]
and fill you with honey from the rocks [Deut. 32:13].”
A Cry for Justice
A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
82 God ·is in charge of the great meeting [L takes his place/presides in the great assembly/or the assembly of the gods/divine council; C the angels (powers and authorities; Eph. 6:12) are here called “gods”];
he judges among the “gods” [John 10:35–36].
2 He says, “How long will you ·defend evil people [or judge unfairly]?
How long will you show ·greater kindness [favor; preference] to the wicked? ·
3 ·Defend [Judge] the ·weak [or poor] and the orphans;
·defend the rights of [vindicate] the poor and ·suffering [needy].
4 ·Save [Rescue] the ·weak [or poor] and helpless;
·free [protect] them from the ·power [L hand] of the wicked.
5 “You know nothing. You don’t understand.
You walk in the dark,
while the ·world is falling apart [L foundations of the earth are tottering].
6 I said, ‘You are “gods.”
You are all sons of God Most High.’
7 But you will die like any other person;
you will fall like all the ·leaders [princes; C God will punish these evil angels].”
8 God, ·come [rise up] and judge the earth,
because you ·own [inherit] all the nations.
Warnings to Jerusalem
29 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] you, Ariel [C another name for Jerusalem, perhaps meaning either “lion” or “altar hearth”; v. 2],
the city where David ·camped [lived; settled; or besieged; C David first conquered, then lived in the city; 2 Sam. 5:6–9].
Your festivals have continued
year after year.
2 I will ·attack [threaten; bring distress to] ·Jerusalem [L Ariel; v. 1],
and that city will be filled with ·sadness [mourning] and ·crying [lamentation].
It will be like an ·altar [or altar hearth; C the Hebrew word sounds like Ariel, perhaps indicating that Jerusalem will burn like an altar] to me.
3 I will ·put armies all around you [encamp against/besiege you; C same word as in v. 1];
I will surround you with towers
and with ·devices to attack [siege works against] you.
4 You will be pulled down and will speak from the ground;
I will hear your voice rising from the ·ground [or underworld].
It will sound like the voice of a ghost;
your words will come like a whisper from the ·dirt [dust].
5 Your ·many [multitude of] enemies will become like fine dust;
the many ·cruel people [ruthless hordes] will be like chaff that is blown away.
·Everything will happen very quickly [L Suddenly, in an instant…; C this phrase may go with what comes before or after].
6 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will come
with thunder, earthquakes, and great noises,
with ·storms [whirlwind], ·strong winds [tempest], and a fire that ·destroys [devours].
7 Then all the nations that fight against ·Jerusalem [L Ariel; v. 1]
will be like a dream;
all the nations that ·attack [besiege; bring distress to] her
will be like a vision in the night.
8 They will be like a hungry man who dreams he is eating,
but when he awakens, he is still hungry.
They will be like a thirsty man who dreams he is drinking,
but when he awakens, he is still weak and thirsty.
It will be the same way with ·all the [the multitude of] nations
who fight against Mount Zion.
9 ·Be surprised and amazed [Shock yourselves and be shocked].
Blind yourselves ·so that you cannot see [and be blind].
Become drunk, but not from wine.
Trip and fall, but not from ·beer [T strong drink; C alcoholic beverage made from grain].
10 The Lord has ·made you go into [L poured out on you] a deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes. (The prophets are your eyes.)
He has covered your heads. (The seers [C another name for prophets] are your heads.)
11 This vision is like the words of a ·book [scroll] that is closed and sealed. You may give the book to someone who can read and tell that person to read it. But he will say, “I can’t read the book, because it is sealed.” 12 Or you may give the book to someone who cannot read and tell him to read it. But he will say, “I don’t know how to read.”
13 The Lord says:
“These people ·worship me [L come near to me] with their mouths,
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their ·worship [awe; fear] is based on
nothing but human ·rules [L commandments that have been taught].
14 So [L look; T behold] I will continue to ·amaze [astound] these people
by doing more and more ·miracles [wonders].
·Their wise men will lose their wisdom [L The wisdom of the wise will perish];
·their wise men will not be able to understand [L the discernment of the discerning will disappear; 1 Cor. 1:19].”
Warnings About Other Nations
15 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] those who ·try
to hide [deeply hide; or hide too deep to see] ·things [plans; counsel] from the Lord
and who do their work in darkness.
They ·think no one will see them or know what they do [L say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”].
16 You ·are confused [L turn things upside down!].
You think the clay is equal to the potter.
·You think that an object can [or Should the thing formed…?] tell the one who made it,
“You didn’t make me [10:15; Rom. 9:20].”
This is like a pot telling ·its maker [the potter],
“You don’t ·know anything [understand].”
A Better Time Is Coming
17 In a very short time, Lebanon will become ·rich farmland [a fertile/fruitful field],
and the ·rich farmland [fertile/fruitful field] will seem like a forest.
18 ·At that time [L In that day] the deaf will hear the words in a ·book [scroll].
·Instead of having [L From; Out of] darkness and gloom, the blind will see.
19 The Lord will make the ·poor people [humble; lowly; meek] ·happy [rejoice];
·they [L the poor/needy] will ·rejoice [delight; exult] in the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
20 Then the ·people without mercy [ruthless; tyrants] will come to an end;
·those who do not respect God [the scoffer/mocker/arrogant] will disappear.
Those who ·enjoy [are intent on; have an eye for] doing evil will be ·gone [cut off/down]:
21 those who ·lie about others in court [bear false testimony; L make a person a sinner with a word],
those who trap ·people in court [L the arbiter at the city gate],
those who ·lie and [with false charges/testimony] take justice from innocent people in court.
22 This is what the Lord who ·set free [redeemed; rescued] Abraham says to the ·family [L house] of Jacob:
“Now ·the people of Jacob [L Jacob] will not be ashamed
or ·disgraced [L their faces turn pale] any longer.
23 When they see all their children,
the children I made with my hands,
they will ·say my name is holy [honor/sanctify my name].
They will ·agree [recognize; acknowledge] that the Holy One of Jacob [1:4] is holy,
and they will ·respect [stand in awe of; fear] the God of Israel.
24 People who ·do wrong [wander/err in spirit] will now understand.
Those who complain will accept ·being taught [insight; instruction].”
Help Christians Who Teach Truth
1 From the Elder [or old man; C Greek: presbyteros, referring to advanced age, a church office, or both; 1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:1; see 2 John 1].
To ·my dear friend [L the beloved] Gaius [C an otherwise unknown Christian leader], whom I love in the truth [C the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ]:
2 ·My dear friend [L Beloved], I pray that you are ·doing well [prospering] in ·every way [all respects] and that your health is good, just as ·your soul is doing fine [it is well with your soul; your soul is prospering]. 3 [L For] I was very happy when some brothers and sisters came and ·told me [testified] about the truth in your life and how you are ·following [L walking in] the way of truth [2 John 4]. 4 Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children [C members of the church under his spiritual care] are ·following the way of truth [walking in the truth].
5 ·My dear friend [L Beloved], ·it is good that [you are living out your faith when] you help the brothers and sisters, even those ·you do not know [L who are strangers]. 6 They ·told [testified before] the church about your love. ·Please help them [You will do well] to continue their trip [C as missionaries] in a way worthy of God. 7 [L For] They ·started out in service to Christ [L departed for the sake of the name], and they have been accepting ·nothing [no support] from nonbelievers [L Gentiles; pagans]. 8 So we should ·help [show hospitality to; support] such people; when we do, we ·share in their work [become coworkers] for the truth.
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be ·their leader [first], will not ·listen to us [receive us; or accept our authority]. 10 So if I come, I will ·talk about [call to mind; bring attention to] what Diotrephes [C nothing further is known about this man] is doing, about how he ·lies and says evil things about us [slanders us with evil/malicious words]. But ·more than [not satisfied with] that, he refuses to ·accept [welcome; receive] the other brothers and sisters; he even ·stops [prevents] those who do want to ·accept [welcome; receive] them and ·puts them out of [expels them from] the church.
11 ·My dear friend [Beloved], do not ·follow [imitate] what is ·bad [evil]; ·follow [imitate] what is good [1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 2 Thess. 3:7; Heb. 6:12; 13:7]. The one who does good ·belongs to [is from] God. But the one who does evil has never ·known [L seen] God.
12 Everyone ·says [witnesses/testifies to] good things about Demetrius [C likely the bearer of the letter to Gaius; otherwise unknown], and the truth agrees with what they say. We also ·speak [witness; testify] well of him, and you know ·what we say [our witness/testimony] is true.
13 I have many things I want to write you, but I do not want to use pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon and talk face to face. 15 Peace to you. The friends here greet you. Please greet each friend there by name [2 John 12–13].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.