M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Budding of Aaron’s Rod
17 [a]The Lord instructed Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelis to take a rod—one from each ancestral house, that is, one from every leader, for a total of twelve rods. Write each tribal name on his rod. 3 You are also to write Aaron’s name on the tribe of Levi, since there is to be one rod for every leader of their ancestral tribes.
4 “Then lay them there in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Ark of the Covenant[b] where I’ll meet with you. 5 The rod that belongs to the man whom I’ll choose will burst into bloom. That’s how I’ll put a stop to the complaints of the Israelis, who are complaining against you.”
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelis, and each of the tribe leaders gave him a rod, one for each leader, according to their ancestral tribes, for a total of twelve rods. Aaron’s rod was one of them. 7 Then Moses laid out the rods in the Lord’s presence, inside the Tent of Testimony. 8 The next morning, Moses went to the Tent of Testimony and the rod of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had burst into bloom! It sprouted buds, bloomed blossoms, and produced fully ripe almonds! 9 Then Moses took out all the rods from the Lord’s presence to show[c] all the Israelis. Everybody looked, and then each man took his rod.
10 Then the Lord instructed Moses, “Return Aaron’s rod before the testimony[d] to be kept for a reminder[e] against the rebels[f] so that you may put an end to their complaints against me and so that they won’t die.”
11 So Moses did exactly what the Lord had commanded him to do. 12 Then the Israelis told Moses, “We’re sure to die! We’re all going to perish—all of us! 13 Anyone who comes near or approaches the Lord’s tent is to die. Are all of us going to die?”
Responsibilities for Priests and Descendants of Levi
18 Later, the Lord told Aaron, “You, your sons, and your father’s tribe with you are to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. Also, you and your sons with you are to bear the iniquity of your priesthood. 2 Moreover, bring your brothers from your father’s tribe of Levi with you, so they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you stand in the presence of the Tent of Testimony. 3 They are to take care of your concerns and all the responsibilities involved with the tent. But they’re not to approach the holy vessels or the altar. That way, neither you nor they will die. 4 They are to join you to maintain services related to the Tent of Meeting, for all the responsibilities involved with the tent. But no unauthorized person[g] is to approach you. 5 Take care of the sanctuary and the services of the altar so that there won’t be any more wrath on the Israelis. 6 Notice that I’ve taken your brothers, the descendants of Levi, from among the Israelis, giving them to you as a gift from the Lord to perform the service of the Tent of Meeting. 7 Now you and your sons with you are to maintain your priestly duties and all matters that concern the altar and what is housed within the veil. You are to perform these services. I’m giving you the priesthood as a gift of service, but any unauthorized person[h] who approaches is to be put to death.”
Ownership for Offerings
8 Then the Lord told Aaron, “Look! I am indeed placing you in charge of my raised offerings and the holy things concerning the Israelis. Because of your anointing, I’m giving you and your sons a prescribed portion forever. 9 This is what is to belong to you from consecrated offerings spared[i] from the fire: all of their offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings that they render to me. They’re to be considered most sacred to you and your sons. 10 You may eat them as consecrated gifts. Every male may eat them. They’re sacred for you. 11 The raised offering and wave offerings presented by the Israelis are yours, too. I’ve given them to you, to your sons, and to your daughters as a prescribed apportionment forever. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it. 12 All the best[j] oil, wine, grain, and first fruits that they give to the Lord are to belong to you. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it.
13 “The first ripe fruits of everything that the land produces and that they bring to the Lord are yours, too. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it. 14 Every devoted thing in Israel is yours, too. 15 Everything that opens the womb, any living thing that they bring to the Lord—whether from human beings or animals—are for you. Just be sure that you redeem the firstborn of people and the firstborn of unclean animals. 16 Those that can be redeemed, you are to redeem at the age of one month, based on your estimate—for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, that is, for 20 gerahs. 17 But you are not to redeem the firstborn of a cow, sheep, or a female goat. They are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat for an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18 Their meat is to belong to you, just as the breast wave offering and the right thigh is yours. 19 I’m giving you, your sons, and your daughters as a prescribed portion forever all the raised offerings of the consecrated things that the Israelis offer to the Lord. It’s a salt covenant forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”
Land Prohibited to Descendants of Levi
20 Then the Lord instructed Aaron, “You are not to have any inheritance in the land, nor are you to have any portion among the people.[k] I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelis. 21 As to the descendants of Levi, certainly I’ve given all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for their services that they perform at the Tent of Meeting. 22 Therefore, the Israelis need no longer come to the Tent of Meeting, so they won’t suffer the consequences of their sin and die. 23 The descendants of Levi are to perform the service of the Tent of Meeting and they are to bear their iniquity. This is to be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that they are not to receive an inheritance among the Israelis, 24 because I’ve given to the descendants of Levi the tithes that the Israelis bring to the Lord as raised offering. Therefore I told them that, unlike the Israelis, they won’t receive an inheritance.”
Offerings Given to the Descendants of Levi
25 Then the Lord instructed Moses, 26 “Tell the descendants of Levi that when they receive tithes from the Israelis (the tithes that I’ve given you from them as an inheritance), you are to offer a tenth of it[l] as a raised offering for the Lord. 27 Your raised offerings are to be accounted for you as though it were grain from threshing floors and full produce from wine vats. 28 You are to offer a raised offering to the Lord from all your tithes that you receive from the Israelis. Give Aaron the priest the raised offering of the Lord 29 out of all the most consecrated offerings that you receive, that is, all the raised offerings of the Lord, with all its best and the most holy parts of it. 30 Tell them that when they bring the best from it, as far as the descendants of Levi are concerned, it is to be considered like produce from the threshing floors and wine vats. 31 You and your household may eat it anywhere, because it’s a reward to you in return for your services at the Tent of Meeting. 32 You won’t sin by offering the best of it, and you are not to profane the sacred things of the Israelis, so that you won’t die.”
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction.[a]
Betrayal by a Friend
55 Pay attention to my prayer, God,
and do not hide yourself from my appeal.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I moan and groan in my thoughts,
3 because of the voice of the enemy,
and because of the oppression of the wicked.
They bring down evil upon me,
and in anger they hate me.
4 My heart is trembling within me,
and the terrors of death have assaulted me.
5 Fear and trembling have overwhelmed me,
and horror has covered me.
6 I said, “O, who will give me the wings of a dove,
so that I could fly away and live somewhere else?
7 Look, I want to flee far away;
I want to settle down in the wilderness.
8 I want to deliver myself quickly
from this windstorm and tempest.”
9 Confound them, Lord,
and confuse their speech,
because I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl around its walls;
evil and iniquity are within it.
11 Wickedness is at the center of it;
fraud and lies never leave its streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who insults me—
I could have handled that—
nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me—
I could have hidden myself from him—
13 but it is you—
a man whom I treated as my equal—
my personal confidant,
my close friend!
14 We had good fellowship together;
and we even walked together in the house of God!
15 Let death seize them!
May they be plunged alive into the afterlife,[b]
for wicked things are in their homes
and among them.
16 I call upon God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
17 Morning, noon, and night,
I mulled over these things
and cried out in my distress,
and he heard my voice.
18 He calmly ransomed my soul from the war waged against me,
for there was a vast crowd who stood against me.
19 God, who is enthroned from long ago,
will hear me and humble them.
Because they do not repent,
they do not fear God.
20 Each of my friends[c] raises his hand against his allies;
each of my friends[d] breaks his word.[e]
21 His mouth is as smooth as butter,
while war is in his heart.
His words were as smooth as olive oil,
while his sword is drawn.
22 Cast on the Lord whatever he sends your way,
and he will sustain you.
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
23 But you, God, bring them down to the Pit of corruption;[f]
bloodthirsty and deceitful people will not live out half their days.
But I put my full confidence in you.
The Message to Ahaz
7 During the reign of Jotham’s son Ahaz, Uzziah’s grandson, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Remaliah’s son Pekah, king of Israel, approached Jerusalem and waged war against it, but they[a] could not mount an attack against it. 2 When it was reported to the house of David, “Aram has joined forces with Ephraim!” the[b] heart of the people of Ahaz[c] trembled like forest[d] trees in a windstorm.
3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool that proceeds along the highway to Launderer’s Field. 4 Tell him, ‘Be careful, be calm, don’t be afraid, and don’t lose heart because of these two smoldering stumps of torches, that is, because of[e] the fierce anger of Rezin, from Aram, and Remaliah’s son. 5 Aram, Ephraim, and Remaliah’s son have plotted this evil against you: 6 “Let’s go attack Judah, let’s terrorize it, and let’s conquer it for ourselves. Then we’ll install Tabeel’s son as king!”’
7 ‘But this is what the Lord God has to say:
“‘It won’t take place.
It won’t ever happen.
8 Because Aram’s head is Damascus,
and Rezin is its king,[f]
within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
9 Furthermore, Ephraim’s head is Samaria,
and Remaliah’s son is its king.[g]
If all of you don’t keep on believing,
you’ll never remain loyal.’”[h]
God with Us
10 Later on, the Lord spoke to Ahaz again: 11 “Ask a sign from the Lord your God. Make it as deep as Sheol[i] or as high as heaven above.”
12 But Ahaz replied, “I won’t ask! I won’t put the Lord to the test.”
13 In reply, the Lord[j] announced, “Please listen, you household of David. Is it such a minor thing for you to try the patience of[k] men? Must you also try the patience of[l] my God?
14 “Therefore the Lord[m] himself will give you a sign. Watch! The virgin[n] is conceiving a child, and will give birth to a son, and his name will be called[o] Immanuel.[p] 15 He’ll eat cheese[q] and honey, when he knows enough to reject what’s wrong and choose what’s right. 16 However, before the youth knows enough to reject what’s wrong and choose what’s right, the land whose two kings you dread will be devastated.”
Conquest by Assyria
17 “The Lord will bring to you, to your people, and to your ancestor’s house such a time[r] as has never been since Ephraim broke away from Judah—the king of Assyria will come.[s]
18 “At that time,[t] the Lord will call[u] for flies that will come from far away—from the headwaters of Egypt’s rivers—and for bees that are in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines, in the rocky crevices, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the pastures.[v] 20 At that time,[w] the Lord will hire a barber[x] to come[y] from beyond the Euphrates[z] River—that is, the king of Assyria—and he will shave your heads, your leg[aa] hair, and your beards, too.
21 “At that time,[ab] a man will keep alive a heifer and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will have cheese[ac] to eat, since whoever remains in the land will be eating cheese[ad] and honey.
23 “At that time,[ae] every place where once there were a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels[af] of silver, only briars and thorns will grow.
24 “People will come there armed with bows[ag] and arrows, because the entire land will be nothing but briers and thorns. 25 As for all the hills that used to be cultivated with a hoe, you won’t go there, because you’ll fear iron[ah] briars and thorns. Nevertheless, those hills[ai] will be reserved as a pasture where cattle will feed and where sheep will graze.”[aj]
Greetings
1 From:[a] James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[b]
To: The twelve tribes in the Dispersion.[c]
Greetings.
Responding Wisely to Life
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to everyone generously without a rebuke, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without any doubts, for the one who has doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he undertakes.[d]
9 A brother of humble means should rejoice in his having been exalted, 10 and a rich person in his having been humbled, because he will fade away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass. The flower in it drops off, and its beauty is gone. That is how the rich person will fade away in his pursuits.
Trial and Temptation
12 How blessed is the man who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the victor’s crown of life that God[e] has promised to those who keep on loving him. 13 When someone is tempted, he should not say, “I am being tempted by God,” because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. 14 Instead, each person is tempted by his own desire, being lured and trapped by it. 15 When that desire becomes pregnant, it gives birth to sin; and when that sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
Practical Christian Living
16 Do not be[f] deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights,[g] in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow. 18 In accordance with his will he made us his children by the word of truth, so that we might become the most important of his creatures.[h]
19 You must understand this, my dear brothers. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 For human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls.
22 Keep on being obedient to[i] the word, and not merely being hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if anyone hears the word but is not obedient to it, he is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror 24 and studies himself carefully, and then goes off and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it—thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law[j] requires—will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone thinks that he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but instead deceives himself,[k] his religion is worthless. 27 A religion that is pure and stainless according to[l] God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows who are suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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