M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Sons of Aaron
3 When the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 (A) Aaron's four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, 3 were the ones to be ordained as priests. 4 (B) But the Lord killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable[a] in their offering to the Lord.[b] And because Nadab and Abihu had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with their father Aaron.
The Duties of the Levites
5 The Lord said to Moses:
6 Assign the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest. They will be his assistants 7 and will work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. 8 The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent. 9 They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons, 10 who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.
11-13 (C) Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in every Israelite family and the first-born males of their flocks and herds would be mine.[c] But now I accept these Levites in place of the first-born sons of the Israelites.
The Levites Are Counted
14 In the Sinai Desert the Lord said to Moses, 15 “Now I want you to count the men and boys in the Levi tribe by families and by clans. Include every one at least a month old.” 16 So Moses obeyed and counted them.
17 Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, had become the heads of their own clans. 18 Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei. 19 Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi, and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans.
21 The two Gershon clans were the Libnites and Shimeites, 22 and they had 7,500 men and boys at least one month old. 23-24 The Gershonites, under the leadership of Eliasaph son of Lael, were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent. 25 Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering, the curtain for the entrance, 26 the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
27 The four Kohath clans were the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, 28 and they had 8,600[d] men and boys at least one month old. 29-30 The Kohathites, under the leadership of Elizaphan son of Uzziel, were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent. 31 Their duties at the tent included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the most holy place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
32 Eleazar son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done.
33 The two Merari clans were the Mahlites and the Mushites, 34 and they had 6,200 men and boys at least one month old. 35 The Merarites, under the leadership of Zuriel son of Abihail, were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent. 36-37 Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent, on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshiped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death.
39 So Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites at least one month old was 22,000.
The Levites Are Accepted as Substitutes for the First-Born Sons
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a list and count the first-born sons at least one month old in each of the Israelite families. 41 They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them, and I will accept the Levites' livestock as substitutes for the Israelites' first-born livestock.”
42 Moses obeyed the Lord and counted the first-born sons; 43 there were 22,273 of them.
44 Then the Lord said, 45 “The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the first-born sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' first-born livestock. 46 But since there are more first-born sons than Levites, the extra 273 men and boys must be bought back from me. 47 For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 48 This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons.”
49 Moses collected the silver from the extra 273 first-born men and boys, 50 and it amounted to 1,365 pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 51 Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded.
(By David.)
Trust the Lord
1 Don't be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
and don't envy them.
2 They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
3 Trust the Lord and live right!
The land will be yours,
and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
and he will give you
your heart's desire.
5 Let the Lord lead you
and trust him to help.
6 Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
that you were right.
7 Be patient and trust the Lord.
Don't let it bother you
when all goes well for those
who do sinful things.
8 Don't be angry or furious.
Anger can lead to sin.
9 All sinners will disappear,
but if you trust the Lord,
the land will be yours.
10 Sinners will soon disappear,
never to be found,
11 (A) but the poor will take the land
and enjoy a big harvest.
12 Merciless people make plots
against good people
and snarl like animals,
13 but the Lord laughs and knows
their time is coming soon.
14 The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows to murder
the poor and the needy
and all who do right.
15 But they will be killed
by their own swords,
and their arrows
will be broken.
16 It is better to live right
and be poor
than to be sinful and rich.
17 The wicked will lose all
of their power,
but the Lord gives strength
to everyone who is good.
18 Those who obey the Lord
are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
will be theirs forever.
19 They won't be in trouble
when times are bad,
and they will have plenty
when food is scarce.
20 Wicked people are enemies
of the Lord
and will vanish like smoke
from a field on fire.
21 An evil person borrows
and never pays back;
a good person is generous
and never stops giving.
22 Everyone the Lord blesses
will receive the land;
everyone the Lord curses
will be destroyed.
23 If you do what the Lord wants,
he will make certain
each step you take is sure.
24 The Lord will hold your hand,
and if you stumble,
you still won't fall.
25 As long as I can remember,
good people have never
been left helpless,
and their children have never
gone begging for food.
26 They gladly give and lend,
and their children
turn out good.
27 If you stop sinning
and start doing right,
you will keep living
and be secure forever.
28 The Lord loves justice,
and he won't ever desert
his faithful people.
He always protects them,
but destroys the children
of the wicked.
29 God's people will own the land
and live here forever.
30 Words of wisdom come
when good people speak
for justice.
31 They remember God's teachings,
and they never take
a wrong step.
32 The wicked try to trap
and kill good people,
33 but the Lord is on their side,
and he will defend them
when they are on trial.
34 Trust the Lord and follow him.
He will give you the land,
and you will see
the wicked destroyed.
35 I have seen brutal people
abuse others and grow strong
like trees in rich soil.[a]
36 Suddenly they disappeared!
I looked, but they were gone
and no longer there.
37 Think of the bright future
waiting for all the families
of honest, innocent,
and peace-loving people.
38 But not a trace will be left
of the wicked
or their families.
39 The Lord protects his people,
and they can come to him
in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps his people
and saves them from the wicked
because they run to him.
Love Is Better than Wine
1 (A) This is Solomon's
most beautiful song.
She Speaks:
2 Kiss me tenderly!
Your love is better than wine,
3 and you smell so sweet.
All the young women adore you;
the very mention of your name
is like spreading perfume.
* 4 Hurry, my king! Let's hurry.
Take me to your home.
The Young Women Speak:
We are happy for you!
And we praise your love
even more than wine.
She Speaks:
Young women of Jerusalem,
it is only right
that you should adore him.
5 My skin is dark and beautiful,
like a tent in the desert
or like Solomon's curtains.
6 Don't stare at me
just because the sun
has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me work in the vineyard,
and so I neglected
my complexion.
7 My darling, I love you!
Where do you feed your sheep
and let them rest at noon?
Don't let the other shepherds
think badly of me.
I'm not one of those women
who shamelessly follow
after shepherds.[a]
He Speaks:
8 My dearest, if you don't know,
just follow the path
of the sheep.
Then feed your young goats
near the shepherds' tents.
9 You move as gracefully
as the pony that leads
the chariot of the king.
10 Earrings add to your beauty,
and you wear a necklace
of precious stones.
11 Let's make you some jewelry
of gold, woven with silver.
She Speaks:
12 My king, while you
were on your couch,
my aroma was a magic charm.[b]
13 My darling, you are perfume
between my breasts;
14 you are flower blossoms
from the gardens of En-Gedi.[c]
He Speaks:
15 My darling, you are lovely,
so very lovely—
your eyes are those of a dove.
She Speaks:
16 My love, you are handsome,
truly handsome—
the fresh green grass
will be our wedding bed
17 in the shade of cedar
and cypress trees.
1 Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. 2 (A) But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. 3 (B) God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.
After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side[a] of the glorious God in heaven. 4 He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs.
God's Son Is Greater than Angels
5 (C) God has never said
to any of the angels,
“You are my Son, because today
I have become your Father!”
Neither has God said
to any of them,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son!”
6 (D) When God brings his first-born Son[b] into the world, he commands all of his angels to worship him.
7 (E) And when God speaks about the angels, he says,
“I change my angels into wind
and my servants
into flaming fire.”
8 (F) But God says about his Son,
“You are God,
and you will rule
as King forever!
Your[c] royal power
brings about justice.
9 You loved justice
and hated evil,
and so I, your God,
have chosen you.
I appointed you
and made you happier
than any of your friends.”
10 (G) The Scriptures also say,
“In the beginning, Lord,
you were the one
who laid the foundation
of the earth
and created the heavens.
11 They will all disappear
and wear out like clothes,
but you will last forever.
12 You will roll them up
like a robe
and change them
like a garment.
But you are always the same,
and you will live forever.”
13 (H) God never said to any
of the angels,
“Sit at my right side
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you!”
14 (I) Angels are merely spirits sent to serve people who are going to be saved.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.