M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

20 And the sons of Israel and all the multitude came into the desert of Zin, in the first month. And the people dwelled in Kadesh; and Marie was dead there, and buried in the same place. (And so the Israelites and all the multitude came into the wilderness of Zin, in the first month. And the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.)

² And when the people had need to water (And when the people needed water), they went together against Moses and Aaron;

³ and they were turned into dissension, that is, rebelty and striving (that is, rebellion and strife), and said, We would that we had perished among our brethren before the Lord.

⁴ Why have ye led out the church of the Lord into wilderness, that both we and our beasts die (here)? (Why have ye led out the Lord’s congregation into this wilderness, so that both we and our beasts shall die here?)

⁵ Why have ye made us to go up from Egypt, and have brought us into this worst place, which may not be sown, which neither bringeth forth fig trees, nor vines, neither pomegranates; furthermore and it hath not water to drink? (and furthermore there is no water to drink!)

⁶ And when the multitude was left, Moses and Aaron entered into the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, and they fell down low upon the earth, and they cried to God, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a well of quick water, that when they be filled, the grouching of them cease. And the glory of the Lord appeared upon them; (And they left the multitude, and Moses and Aaron entered into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and they fell down on the ground, and they cried out to God, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of these people, and open thy treasure to them, yea, a well of fresh water, so that when they be filled, their grumbling shall cease. And the glory of the Lord appeared above them;)

⁷ and the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

⁸ Take the rod of Aaron, and gather together the people, thou, and Aaron thy brother; and speak ye to the stone before them, and it shall give out waters. And when thou hast led water out of the stone, all the multitude shall drink, and their beasts thereof. (Take the staff, and gather together the people, thou, and thy brother Aaron; and speak ye to the stone before them, and it shall give out water. And when thou hast led out water from the stone, all the multitude and their beasts shall drink it.)

⁹ Therefore Moses took the rod that was in the sight of the Lord, as the Lord commanded to him, (And so Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him,)

¹⁰ when the multitude was gathered before the stone; and he said to them, Hear ye, rebel[s], and unbelieveful; whether we may bring out of this stone water to you? (and when the multitude was gathered in front of the stone, Moses said to them, Listen, ye rebels and unbelievers; must we get water out of this stone for you?)

¹¹ And when Moses had raised his hand, and had smitten the flint twice with the rod, most large waters went out, so that the people drank, and their beasts. (And when Moses had raised up his hand, and had struck the rock twice with the staff, a great deal of water came out, so that the people drank, and also their beasts.)

¹² And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, For ye believed not to me, that ye should hallow me before the sons of Israel (For ye did not believe me, and uphold my holiness before the Israelites), ye shall not lead these peoples into the land which I shall give to them.

¹³ This is the water of against-saying; there the sons of Israel strived against the Lord, and he was hallowed in them. (This is the water of Meribah; there the Israelites complained against the Lord, but he was still holy before them.)

¹⁴ In the meantime Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, the which (messengers) said, Israel thy brother, sendeth these things to thee. Thou knowest all the travail that hath taken us,

¹⁵ how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelled there much time, and (the) Egyptians tormented us, and our fathers (as well);

¹⁶ and how we cried to the Lord, and he heard us, and sent an angel that [hath] led us out of Egypt. And lo! we be set in the city of Kadesh, that is in thine uttermost coasts (that is on thy most distant border),

¹⁷ and we beseech thee that it be leaveful to us to pass through thy land; we shall not go by thy fields, neither by thy vineries, neither we shall drink waters of thy wells; but we shall go in the common way, and we shall not bow to the right side, neither to the left side, till we pass thy terms. (and we beseech thee that it be lawful for us to pass through thy land; we shall not go into thy fields, or into thy vineyards, and we shall not drink any water from thy wells; but we shall go on the common way, and we shall not turn to the right side, or to the left side, till we go out again over thy border.)

¹⁸ To whom Edom answered, Ye shall not pass by me, else I shall be armed, and come against thee. (To whom the Edomites answered, Ye shall not pass through our land, and if ye try, we shall be armed, and shall come out against thee.)

¹⁹ And the sons of Israel said, We shall go by the way commonly used, and if we and our beasts drink thy waters, we shall give that that is just; no hardness shall be in the price, only pass we in haste (we will have no difficulty to pay you for it; but just let us quickly pass through thy land).

²⁰ And he answered, Ye shall not pass by me. And anon he went out against Israel, with a multitude without number, and [with a] strong hand/and with strong power, (And they answered, Ye shall not pass through our land. And at once the Edomites went out against Israel, in a multitude without number, and with mighty power,)

²¹ neither he would assent to Israel beseeching, that he should grant passage by his coasts. (for they would not agree to Israel’s beseeching, to grant them passage through their land.)

²² Wherefore Israel turned away from him. And when Israel had moved their tents from Kadesh, they came into the hill of Hor, (And so Israel turned, and went by another way. And when they had moved on from Kadesh, they came to Mount Hor,)

²³ which is in the ends of the land of Edom (which is near Edom’s border); where the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

²⁴ Aaron (shall) go to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I gave to the sons of Israel, for he was unbelieveful to my word, at the waters of against-saying. (Aaron shall now go to his people, that is, he shall die; for he shall not enter into the land which I gave to the Israelites, for he did not believe my word at the waters of Meribah.)

²⁵ Take thou Aaron, and his son with him, and thou shalt lead them into the hill of Hor (and lead thou them up onto Mount Hor);

²⁶ and when thou hast made naked the father of his cloth (and when thou hast made stripped the father of his priestly cloak, or robe), thou shalt clothe therewith Eleazar, his son, and Aaron shall be gathered (to his people), and shall die there.

²⁷ And Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they ascended into the hill of Hor, before all the multitude (and they went up onto Mount Hor, in the sight of all the multitude).

²⁸ And when Moses had made naked Aaron of his clothes, he clothed with those Eleazar, his son. Soothly when Aaron was dead in the top of the hill, Moses came down with Eleazar. (And when Moses had stripped Aaron of his priestly clothes, he clothed Aaron’s son Eleazar with them. And then, after that Aaron had died there on the mountain-top, Moses came down with Eleazar.)

²⁹ Soothly all the multitude saw that Aaron was dead, and it wept upon him thirty days, by all their families. (And all the multitude saw that Aaron had died, and all the families wept over him for thirty days.)

58 To victory, lose thou not the sweet song, either the seemly psalm, of David. Forsooth if ye speak rightfulness verily; ye sons of men, deem rightfully. (To victory, destroy thou not the sweet song, that is, the comely song, of David. Speak ye truly with righteousness, ye sons and daughters of men? judge ye justly? Nay!)

² For in heart ye work wickedness in earth; your hands make ready unrightfulnesses. (For in your hearts ye do evil; and your hands bring forth unrightfulnesses, or wickedness, in all the earth.)

³ Sinners were made aliens from the womb (Sinners, or evil-doers, go wrong from the womb); they erred from the womb, they spake false things.

⁴ Strong vengeance is to them, by the likeness of a serpent; as of a deaf snake, and stopping his ears. (Strong venom cometh forth from them, like that of serpents; and they be like a deaf snake that stoppeth its ears.)

⁵ Which shall not hear the voice of charmers; and of a venom-maker charming (ever so) wisely.

⁶ God shall all-break the teeth of them in their mouth; the Lord shall break (al)together the great teeth of lions. (O God, break all the teeth in their mouths; O Lord, break all in pieces the great teeth of these lions.)

⁷ They shall come to nought, as water running away; he bent his bow, till they be made sick. (They shall come to nothing, like water running forth; and when they go to bend their bows, they shall be made feeble, or weak.)

⁸ As wax that floateth away, they shall be taken away; fire fell above, and they saw not the sun. (Like a snail that melteth away into slime, they shall be taken away; like a dead-born child, they shall not see the sun.)

⁹ Before that your thorns understood the rhamn, either thieve-thorn; he swalloweth them so in ire, as (with) living men. (Before that the rhamn, or the thieve-thorn, that is, a weed, can grow, he shall swallow them up in his anger; yea, while they still be living.)

¹⁰ The just man shall be glad, when he shall see vengeance; he shall wash his hands in the blood of a sinner. (The righteous shall be glad when they see the vengeance taken; they shall wash their hands in the blood of the sinners.)

¹¹ And a man shall say truly, For fruit is to a just man; truly God is deeming them in earth. (And someone shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous; truly God is judging people here on earth.)

59 To the overcomer, lose thou not the seemly song of David (destroy thou not David’s comely song), when Saul sent and kept the house, to slay him. My God, deliver thou me from mine enemies; and deliver thou me from them that rise against me.

² Deliver thou me from them that work wickedness; and save thou me from men-quellers. (Rescue thou me from those who do evil; and save thou me from these murderers.)

³ For lo! they have taken my soul; strong men fell in on me. Neither (for) my wickedness, neither (for) my sin; (For lo! they lie in wait for me; strong men have fallen in on me. But not because of my wickedness, nor for my sin.)

⁴ Lord, I ran without wickedness, and (ad)dressed my works. Rise up into my meeting, and see; (Lord, though I am innocent, they run into position against me. Rise up to help me, and see;)

⁵ and thou, Lord God of virtues, art God of Israel. Give thou attention to visit all folks; do thou not mercy to all that work wickedness. (for thou, Lord God of hosts, art the God of Israel. Give thou attention to punishing all the nations; do not thou give mercy to any who do evil.)

⁶ They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)

⁷ Lo! they shall speak in their mouth, and a sword in their lips; for who heard? (Lo! they shall speak out insults with their mouths, and their lips, or their tongues, shall be like swords; for they say, Who shall hear us?)

⁸ And thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring all folks to nought. (But thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring down all these nations to nothing.)

⁹ I shall keep my strength to thee; for God is mine up-taker, (O my strength, I shall turn to thee; for God is my defender,)

¹⁰ my God, his mercy shall come before me. God showed to me (my desire) on mine enemies, (my God, his love shall come to me. God shall show me my heart’s desire for all my enemies.)

¹¹ slay thou not them; lest any time my peoples forget. Scatter thou them in thy virtue; and, Lord, my defender, put thou them down. (But kill thou them not; lest any time my people forget. Rather, scatter thou them by thy strength; and, O Lord, my defender, put thou them down.)

¹² Put down the trespass of their mouth, and the word of their lips; and be they taken in their pride. And of cursing and of leasing; they shall be showed (up) in the ending. (And for the trespasses of their mouths, and the words of their lips; let them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and their lies; let them be shown up in the end.)

¹³ (Destroy thou them) In the ire of ending, and they shall not be; and they shall know, that the Lord shall be Lord of Jacob, and of the ends of earth. (Destroy thou them in thy anger, yea, destroy them altogether, and they shall be no more; and then they shall know, that the Lord is the lord, or the ruler, in Jacob, and unto the ends of the earth.)

¹⁴ They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)

¹⁵ They shall be scattered abroad, for to eat; soothly if they be not [ful]filled, and they shall grutch. (They shall be scattered abroad, searching for food; and truly they shall grumble, if they be not satisfied, or fulfilled.)

¹⁶ But I shall sing (of) thy strength; and early I shall enhance thy mercy. For thou art made mine up-taker; and my refuge, in the day of my tribulation. (But I shall sing of thy strength; and in the morning I shall sing of thy love. For thou art my defender; and my refuge, in the days of my trouble.)

¹⁷ Mine helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, mine up-taker, my God, my mercy. (My helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, my defender, the God who loveth me.)

⁸ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it fell in Israel. (The Lord sent a word against Jacob, and it fell upon Israel.)

⁹ And all the people of Ephraim shall know, and they that dwell in Samaria (and they who live in Samaria), saying in the pride and greatness of heart,

¹⁰ Tilestones fell down (The bricks fell down), but we shall build with square stones; they have cut down (the) sycamores, but we shall (ex)change (them for) cedars.

¹¹ And the Lord shall raise (up) the enemies of Rezin on him, and he shall turn the enemies of him into noise; (And the Lord shall raise up Rezin’s enemies against him, and his enemies shall attack him;)

¹² God shall make Syria to come from the east, and (the) Philistines from the west; and with all the mouth they shall devour Israel. In all these things the strong vengeance of the Lord is not turned away, but yet his hand is stretched forth;

¹³ and the people is not turned again to the Lord smiting it, and they sought not the Lord of hosts. (and still the people did not turn again to the Lord/and still the people did not return to the Lord, who struck them, yea, they did not seek out the Lord of hosts.)

¹⁴ And the Lord shall lose from Israel the head and the tail, [the] crooking and [the] beshrewing, either (the) refraining, in one day. (And the Lord shall destroy in Israel the head and the tail, yea, the crooked and the depraved, all in one day.)

¹⁵ An eld man and honourable, he is the head; and a prophet teaching leasing, he is the tail. (An old and honourable man, he is the head; and a prophet teaching lies, he is the tail.)

¹⁶ And they that bless his people, shall be deceivers, and they that be blessed, shall be cast down. (And they who bless his people, shall be deceivers, and they who be blessed, shall be cast down.)

¹⁷ For this thing the Lord shall not be glad on the young men thereof, and he shall not have mercy on the fatherless children and widows thereof; for each man is an hypocrite and wayward, and each mouth spake folly. In all these things the strong vengeance of him is not turned away, but yet his hand is stretched forth; and the people is not turned again to the Lord smiting it (and still the people did not turn again to the Lord/and still the people did not return to the Lord, who struck them).

¹⁸ For why wickedness is kindled as fire; it shall devour the briars and thorns, and it shall be kindled in the thickness of the forest, and it shall be wrapped (al)together in the pride of smoke. (For wickedness is kindled like a fire; it shall devour the briars and thorns, and it shall be kindled in the thickness of the forest, and it shall be wrapped up in a pall, or in a column, of smoke.)

¹⁹ In the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land shall be troubled, and the people shall be as the meat of fire (and the people shall become food for the fire); a man shall not spare his brother.

²⁰ And he shall bow to the right half, and he shall hunger, and he shall eat at the left half, and he shall not be [ful]filled; each man shall devour the flesh of his arm. (And one person shall turn to the right, and he shall still have hunger, and another shall eat on the left, and he shall not be fulfilled; and everyone shall devour the flesh of their own children.)

²¹ Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim shall devour Manasseh, and they together against Judah. In all these things the strong vengeance of him is not turned away, but yet his hand is stretched forth.

10 Woe to them that make wicked laws, and they writing have written unrightfulness, (Woe to them who make wicked laws, and they writing have written injustice,)

² for to oppress poor men in doom, and to do violence to the cause of meek men of my people; that widows shall be the prey of them, and that they should ravish fatherless children. (and so they oppress the poor in judgement, and do violence to the cause of the humble among my people; and widows shall become their prey, and they shall rob fatherless children.)

³ What shall ye do in the day of visitation, and of wretchedness coming from [a]far? To whose help shall ye flee? and where shall ye leave your glory,

⁴ that ye be not bowed down under bond and fall not down with slain men? (so that ye be not bowed down in slavery, and fall not down with the slain?) On all these things his strong vengeance is not turned away, but yet his hand is stretched forth.

3 My brethren, do not ye be made many masters, witting that ye take the more doom.

² For all we offend in many things. If any man offendeth not in word, this is a perfect man; for also he may lead about all the body with a bridle [forsooth he may with a bridle lead about all the body].

³ For if we put bridles into horses' mouths, for to consent to us, and we lead about all the body of them.

⁴ And lo! ships, when they be great, and be driven of strong winds, yet they be borne about of a little rudder, where the moving of the governor will.

⁵ So also the tongue is but a little member, and raiseth great things. Lo! how little fire burneth a full great wood [Lo! how much fire kindleth how great a wood].

⁶ And our tongue is fire, the university of wickedness. The tongue is ordained in our members, which defouleth all the body; and it is inflamed of hell [and it is inflamed, or set afire, of hell], and inflameth the wheel of our birth.

⁷ And all the kind of beasts, and of fowls, and of serpents, and of others is chastised, and those be made tame of man's kind; [Soothly all kind of beasts, and fowls, and serpents, and of others, be overcome, or under-yoked, and be made tame, of mankind];

⁸ but no man may chastise the tongue, for it is an unpeaceable evil [soothly it is an unquiet, or unpeaceable, evil thing], and full of deadly venom.

⁹ In it we bless God, the Father, and in it we curse men, that be made to the likeness of God.

¹⁰ Of the same mouth passeth forth blessing and cursing [Of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing]. My brethren, it behooveth not that these things be done so.

¹¹ Whether a well of the same hole bringeth forth [bring forth] sweet and salt water?

¹² My brethren, whether a fig tree may make grapes, either a vine figs [or a vine figs]? So neither salt water may make sweet water.

¹³ Who is wise, and taught among you? show he of good living his working, in mildness of his wisdom [show he of good living his work, in mildness of wisdom].

¹⁴ That if ye have bitter envy, and strivings be in your hearts, do not ye have glory [That if ye have bitter zeal, or envy, and strives be in your hearts, do not ye glory], and be liars against the truth.

¹⁵ For this wisdom is not from above coming down, but earthly, and beastly, and fiendly [but earthly, beastly, fiendly].

¹⁶ For where is envy and strife, there is unsteadfastness and all depraved work [and all shrewd work].

¹⁷ But wisdom that is from above, first it is chaste, afterward peaceable, mild, able to be counseled [persuadable, that is, easy to treat, and to be treated], consenting to good things, full of mercy and of good fruits, deeming without feigning.

¹⁸ And the fruit of rightwiseness is sown in peace, to men that make peace.