M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Miriam Dies
20 Then the entire community of the Israelites[a] came to the desert of Zin on the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; Miriam died and was buried there.
2 There was no water for the community, and they were gathered before Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we died when our brothers were dying before[b] Yahweh! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of Yahweh, us and our livestock, into this desert to die here? 5 Why have you brought us from Egypt to bring us to this bad place? It is not a place of seed or figs[c] or vines[d] or pomegranate trees,[e] and there is not water to drink.” 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of assembly. They fell on their faces, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to them. 7 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff and summon the community, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give water. Bring out for them water from the rock, and let the community and their livestock drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from before[f] Yahweh just as he command him, 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly to the presence of the rock, and he said to them, “Please listen, you rebels; can we bring out water for you from this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice. And abundant water went out, and the community and their livestock drank. 12 But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not trusted in me, to regard me as holy in the sight of[g] the Israelites,[h] you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given to them.” 13 Those were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites[i] quarreled with Yahweh, and he showed himself holy among them.
14 From Kadesh Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You know all the hardship that has found us; 15 our ancestors[j] went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time,[k] and the Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors.[l] 16 Then we cried to Yahweh, and he heard our voice; he sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt. And look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us go through your land. We will not go through a field or vineyard, and we will not drink water from a well. We will go along the road of the king; we will not turn aside right or left until we have gone through your territory.’”
18 Then Edom said to him, “You will not pass through us[m] lest we will go out[n] to meet you with the sword.” 19 The Israelites[o] said to him, “We will go up on the main road, and if we[p] and our livestock[q] drink your water, we will pay for it.[r] It is only a small matter; let us pass through on our feet.”[s] 20 But he said, “You will not go through.” And Edom went out to meet them[t] with a large army and a strong hand. 21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, and Israel turned aside from him.
Aaron Dies
22 And they set out from Kadesh. The Israelites,[u] the whole community, came to Mount Hor. 23 Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron on Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Let Aaron be gathered to his people; he will not come into the land that I have given to the Israelites[v] because you rebelled against my word[w] at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and take them up Mount Hor. 26 Strip off Aaron’s garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; Aaron will be gathered to his people, and he will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the community. 28 And Moses stripped off Aaron’s garments and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar went down from the mountain. 29 All the community saw that Aaron died; so all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.[x]
Judgment on the Wicked
For the music director, according to Do not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.[a]
58 Do you really speak what is right when silent?[b]
Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?[c]
2 No, in your heart you plan injustices;
in the land[d] you weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb.
They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their venom is like snake venom;
They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or the skilled caster of spells.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth.
Break off the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.
7 Let them run away like water that runs off.
When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.[e]
8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes;
like the stillborn of woman that do not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush,
whether green or dry,[f] he will sweep it away.[g]
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And people[h] will say, “Surely there is a reward[i] for the righteous.
Surely there is a God who judges in the land.”[j]
A Prayer for Protection
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.
When Saul dispatched men and they watched the house to kill him.[k]
59 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God.
Protect[l] me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from workers of iniquity,
and from men of bloodshed save me.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life.[m]
The mighty attack[n] against me,
not because of my transgression or my sin, O Yahweh.
4 Without guilt on my part they run and ready themselves.
Awake to meet me and see.
5 And you, Yahweh, God of hosts, are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.
Do not be gracious to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[o]
while they prowl the city.
7 Look, they pour out talk with their mouth.
Swords are on their lips,
for they say, “Who hears?”
8 But you, O Yahweh, will laugh at them;
you will mock all the nations.
9 O my strength,[p] I will watch for you,
because you, O God, are my (high) stronghold.
10 My[q] God of loyal love will meet me;
God will cause me to look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Do not kill them, lest my people forget.
Make them to wander by your power,
and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 By the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
even in their pride, let them be trapped,
and for the curses[r] and lies[s] they proclaim.
13 Destroy in anger; destroy so they are no more,
so that they may know that God is ruling in Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They return at evening; they howl like dogs[t]
while they prowl the city.
15 As for them, they wander for food.
If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.[u]
16 But as for me, I will sing of your strength,
and I will hail your loyal love in the morning,
because you have been my high stronghold
and a refuge in my time[v] of trouble.
17 O my strength, to you I will give praise,
because God is my high stronghold,
my God of loyal love.
Yahweh’s Anger against Arrogance
8 The Lord has sent out a word against Jacob,
and it fell on Israel.
9 And all of the people knew it,
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria
in pride and arrogance of heart, saying,
10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stone.
The sycamore-fig trees were felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 So Yahweh strengthened the adversaries of Rezin[a] against him,
and he provoked his enemies—
12 Aram from the east
and Philistines[b] from the west—
and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth.
He has not turned away his anger in all of this,
and his hand is still stretched out.
13 And the people did not turn to the one who struck it,[c]
and they did not seek Yahweh of hosts.
14 So Yahweh cut off head and tail from Israel,
palm branch and reed in one day.
15 Elders[d] and the respectable[e] are the head,
and prophets[f] who teach lies[g] are the tail.
16 And the leaders of this people were misleading them,
and those who were led were confused.
17 Therefore the Lord did not rejoice over its young men,
and he did not have compassion on its orphans and widows,
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth was speaking folly.
In all of this his anger did not turn away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
18 For wickedness burned like fire;
it consumed brier and thorn.
And it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.
19 The land was burned through the wrath of Yahweh of hosts,
and the people became like fire fuel.
People had no compassion toward each other.[h]
20 They devoured on the right but still were hungry
and devoured on the left but they were not satisfied.
Each one devoured the flesh of his arm,
21 Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
together they were against Judah.
In all of this his anger has not turned away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
Woes on the Wicked
10 Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil,
and writers who have written harm,
2 to guide the needy away from legal claims,[i]
and to rob the justice from the poor of my people,
to make widows their spoil;
and they plunder orphans.
3 And what will you do at the day of punishment,
and at calamity? It comes from afar!
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth,
4 save that they bow down under the prisoners
and fall under the slain?[j]
In all of this his anger has not turned away,
and still his hand is stretched out.
Restraining the Tongue
3 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you[a] know that we will receive a greater judgment.[b] 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual,[c] able to hold in check his whole body also. 3 And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. 4 Behold also ships: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wishes. 5 So also the tongue is a small member of the body[d] and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness,[e] the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire the course of human existence[f], being set on fire by hell.
7 For every species of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is being tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the[g] Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so! 11 A spring does not pour forth from the same opening fresh and bitter water, does it?[h] 12 A fig tree is not able, my brothers, to produce olives, or a grapevine figs. Neither can a saltwater spring produce fresh water.
The Wisdom That Comes Down from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his[i] good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among[j] those who make peace.
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