M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Census of Israel
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year(A) after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt: 2 “Take a census(B) of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of every male one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to register those who are 20 years old or more by their military divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army.[a] 4 A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral house.(C) 5 These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
Elizur son of Shedeur from Reuben;
6 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai from Simeon;
7 Nahshon son of Amminadab from Judah;
8 Nethanel son of Zuar from Issachar;
9 Eliab son of Helon from Zebulun;
10 from the sons of Joseph:
Elishama son of Ammihud from Ephraim,
Gamaliel son of Pedahzur from Manasseh;
11 Abidan son of Gideoni from Benjamin;
12 Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai from Dan;
13 Pagiel son of Ochran from Asher;
14 Eliasaph son of Deuel[b] from Gad;
15 Ahira son of Enan from Naphtali.
16 These are the men called from the community; they are leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of Israel’s clans.”
17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18 and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting one by one the names of those 20 years old or more, 19 just as the Lord commanded Moses. He registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:
20 The descendants of Reuben,(D) the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting one by one the names of every male 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 21 those registered for the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
22 The descendants of Simeon:(E) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, those registered counting one by one the names of every male 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 23 those registered for the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
24 The descendants of Gad:(F) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 25 those registered for the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
26 The descendants of Judah:(G) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 27 those registered for the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
28 The descendants of Issachar:(H) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 29 those registered for the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
30 The descendants of Zebulun:(I) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 31 those registered for the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
32 The descendants of Joseph:(J)
The descendants of Ephraim:(K) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 33 those registered for the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.
34 The descendants of Manasseh:(L) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 35 those registered for the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
36 The descendants of Benjamin:(M) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 37 those registered for the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
38 The descendants of Dan:(N) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 39 those registered for the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
40 The descendants of Asher:(O) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 41 those registered for the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
42 The descendants of Naphtali:(P) according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral houses, counting the names of those 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army, 43 those registered for the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
44 These are the men Moses and Aaron registered, with the assistance of the 12 leaders of Israel; each represented his ancestral house. 45 So all the Israelites 20 years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel’s army, were registered by their ancestral houses. 46 All those registered numbered 603,550.(Q)
Duties of the Levites
47 But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord had told Moses: 49 “Do not register or take a census of the tribe of Levi with the other Israelites. 50 Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it. 51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it must be put to death.(R)
52 “The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner. 53 The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”(S) 54 The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Psalm 35
Prayer for Victory
Davidic.
1 Oppose my opponents, Lord;
fight those who fight me.(A)
2 Take Your shields—large and small—
and come to my aid.(B)
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”(C)
4 Let those who seek to kill me
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.(D)
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away.(E)
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.(F)
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.(G)
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his ruin.(H)
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will delight in His deliverance.(I)
10 My very bones will say,
“Lord, who is like You,(J)
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”(K)
11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.(L)
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.(M)
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.[a](N)
14 I went about grieving as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning a mother.(O)
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.(P)
16 With godless mockery[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.(Q)
17 Lord, how long will You look on?(R)
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my only one from the young lions.(S)
18 I will praise You in the great congregation;
I will exalt You among many people.(T)
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause(U)
look at me maliciously.(V)
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive deceitful schemes[c]
against those who live peacefully in the land.(W)
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it!”[d](X)
22 You saw it, Lord; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.(Y)
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!(Z)
24 Vindicate me, Lord my God,
in keeping with Your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.(AA)
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up!”(AB)
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.(AC)
Invest in Life
11 Send your bread on the surface of the waters,(A)
for after many days you may find it.
2 Give a portion to seven or even to eight,(B)
for you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or the north,
the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 One who watches the wind will not sow,
and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 Just as you don’t know the path of the wind,
or how bones develop in[a] the womb of a pregnant woman,
so you don’t know the work of God who makes everything.(C)
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.
7 Light is sweet,
and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun.(D)
8 Indeed, if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness,(E) since they will be many.
All that comes is futile.
9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;(F)
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,(G)
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
Christian Living among Outsiders
3 Remind them to be submissive(A) to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness(B) to all people. 3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions(C) and pleasures,(D) living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love
for mankind appeared,(E)
5 He saved us(F)—
not by works of righteousness that we had done,(G)
but according to His mercy,(H)
through the washing of regeneration(I)
and renewal by the Holy Spirit.(J)
6 He poured out this Spirit on us abundantly(K)
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that having been justified by His grace,(L)
we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.(M)
8 This saying is trustworthy.(N) I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish debates,(O) genealogies,(P) quarrels,(Q) and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 Reject a divisive(R) person after a first and second warning,(S) 11 knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self-condemned.
Final Instructions and Closing
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you,(T) make every effort to come to me(U) in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos(V) on their journey, so that they will lack(W) nothing.
14 And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works for cases of urgent need, so that they will not be unfruitful.(X) 15 All those who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.(Y)
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