M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Dividing up Canaan

14 The Israelites received these inheritances in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes assigned them. ² Their legacy was assigned by lot, exactly as the Lord had commanded the nine and a half tribes through Moses. ³ In fact, Moses had given out the legacy of the two and a half tribes on the other side of the Jordan. But he gave no legacy among them to the Levites. ⁴ The people of Joseph consisted of two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites weren’t given any portion of the land, except cities to live in and pastureland for their cattle and flocks. ⁵ The Israelites divided up the land exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Caleb receives Hebron

⁶ In Gilgal, the people of Judah approached Joshua. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses, man of God, about you and me when we were in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ I was 40 years old when Moses the Lord’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout out the land. I brought back a report to him of what I really thought. ⁸ My companions who had gone up with me made the people’s heart melt. But I remained loyal to the Lord my God. ⁹ So Moses pledged on that day, ‘The land on which you have walked will forever be a legacy for you and your children. This is because you remained loyal to the Lord my God.’ ¹⁰ Now look. The Lord has kept me alive, exactly as he promised. It is forty-five years since the Lord spoke about this to Moses. It was while Israel was journeying in the desert. Now look. Today I’m 85 years old. ¹¹ I’m just as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength then was as my strength is now, whether for war or for everyday activities. ¹² So now, give me this highland that the Lord promised me that day. True, the Anakim are there with large fortified cities, as you yourself heard that day. But if the Lord is with me, I should be able to remove them, exactly as the Lord promised.”

¹³ So Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, as a legacy. ¹⁴ So Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as a legacy today. This was because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵ (Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba. Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim.) Then the land rested from war.

Border of Judah

15 The land determined by lot for the clans of the Judahite tribe ran southward to the border of Edom. The Zin wasteland was the southern limit. ² Their south border ran from the end of the Dead Sea, from the bay that faces south. ³ It went south from the ascent of Akrabbim, passed on to Zin, and went up south of Kadesh-barnea. It passed on to Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned toward Karka. ⁴ It passed on to Azmon and went by the border^[a] of Egypt. The border ended at the sea. This will be their south border.

⁵ The east border was the Dead Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.

The border on the north side ran from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. ⁶ The border went up to Beth-hoglah and passed north of Beth-arabah. The border went up to the Stone of Bohan (Reuben’s son). ⁷ The border went up to Debir from the Achor Valley, turning north to Gilgal. Gilgal was opposite the ascent of Adummim, which was south of the ravine. The border passed on to the waters of En-shemesh and ended at En-rogel. ⁸ The border went up by the valley of Ben-Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusite city, Jerusalem, on the south. The border went up to the top of the mountain that is opposite the Hinnom Valley on the west, which is at the north end of the Rephaim Valley. ⁹ The border turned from the top of the mountain to the waters of Nephtoah Spring and went to the cities of Mount Ephron. The border turned toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The border turned westward from Baalah to Mount Seir. It passed on to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed by Timnah. ¹¹ The border went to the slope of Ekron on the north. The border turned toward Shikkeron, passed on to Mount Baalah, and went to Jabneel. The border ended at the sea.

¹² The west border was the Mediterranean Sea and its shoreline. This was the border surrounding the clans of the Judahites.

Caleb and Achsah

¹³ In agreement with the Lord’s command to him, Joshua gave a portion among the Judahites to Caleb, Jephunneh’s son. It was Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). ¹⁴ Caleb removed the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. They were the offspring of Anak. ¹⁵ Then he went up from there against the population of Debir. Debir used to be called Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶ Caleb said, “I will give Achsah my daughter in marriage to whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it.” ¹⁷ So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it, and Caleb gave him Achsah his daughter in marriage.

¹⁸ Now when she arrived, she prodded Othniel into asking for a field from her father. After she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

¹⁹ She said, “Give me a blessing. Since the land you’ve given me is in the arid southern plain, you should also give me springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

Cities of Judah

²⁰ This is the legacy for the clans of the tribe of the people of Judah. ²¹ The outlying cities of the tribe of the people of Judah ran down to the border of Edom.

In the arid southern plain: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba and its dependent cities,^{[b] 29} Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. In total: twenty-nine cities and their surrounding areas.

³³ In the lowlands: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim. In total: fourteen cities and their surrounding areas.

³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilan, Mizpeh, Jokthe-el, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah. In total: sixteen cities and their surrounding areas.

⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah. In total: nine cities and their surrounding areas.

⁴⁵ Ekron, its dependent cities and surrounding areas. ⁴⁶ From Ekron toward the sea, everything that was near Ashdod and its surrounding areas. ⁴⁷ Ashdod, its dependent cities and surrounding areas. Gaza, its dependent cities and surrounding areas as far as the border of Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea and its shoreline.

⁴⁸ In the highlands: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh. In total: eleven cities and their surrounding areas.

⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior. In total: nine cities and their surrounding areas.

⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah. In total: ten cities and their surrounding areas.

⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon. In total: six cities and their surrounding areas.

Tekoah, Ephrathah (that is, Bethlehem), Peor, Etam, Koulon, Tatam, Sores, Karem, Gallim, Bether, and Manahath. In total: eleven cities and their surrounding areas.^[c]

⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah. In total: two cities and their surrounding areas.

⁶¹ In the desert: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan (the Salt City), and En-gedi. In total: six cities and their surrounding areas.

⁶³ But the people of Judah couldn’t remove the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So today the Jebusites still live along with the people of Judah in Jerusalem.

Psalm 146

Psalm 147

The Lord’s temple

7 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: ² Stand near the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim there this message: Listen to the Lord’s word, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. ³ This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Improve your conduct and your actions, and I will dwell with you^[a] in this place. ⁴ Don’t trust in lies: “This is the Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple!” ⁵ No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly; ⁶ if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, ⁷ only then will I dwell with you^[b] in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.

⁸ And yet you trust in lies that will only hurt you. ⁹ Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal and go after other gods that you don’t know, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name, and say, “We are safe,” only to keep on doing all these detestable things? ¹¹ Do you regard this temple, which bears my name, as a hiding place for criminals? I can see what’s going on here, declares the Lord. ¹² Just go to my sanctuary^[c] in Shiloh, where I let my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. ¹³ And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, because you haven’t listened when I spoke to you again and again or responded when I called you, ¹⁴ I will do to this temple that bears my name and on which you rely, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just as I did to Shiloh. ¹⁵ I will cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out the rest of your family, all the people of Ephraim.

¹⁶ As for you, don’t pray for these people, don’t cry out or plead for them, and don’t intercede with me, for I won’t listen to you. ¹⁷ Can’t you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven. And to offend me all the more, they pour out drink offerings to foreign gods. ¹⁹ But am I the one they are really offending? declares the Lord. Aren’t they in fact humiliating themselves? ²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I’m going to pour out my fierce anger on this place, on humans and beasts, on the trees of the field and the crops of the fertile land. It will burn and not go out.

²¹ This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Add your entirely burned offerings to your sacrifices and eat them yourselves! ²² On the day I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t say a thing—I gave no instructions—about entirely burned offerings or sacrifices. ²³ Rather, this is what I required of them: Obey me so that I may become your God and you may become my people. Follow the path I mark out for you so that it may go well with you. ²⁴ But they didn’t listen or pay attention. They followed their willful and evil hearts and went backward rather than forward. ²⁵ From the moment your ancestors left the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent you all my servants the prophets—day after day. ²⁶ But they didn’t listen to me or pay attention; they were stubborn and did more harm than their ancestors. ²⁷ When you tell them all this, they won’t listen to you. When you call to them, they won’t respond. ²⁸ Therefore, say to them: This nation neither obeys the Lord its God nor accepts correction; truth has disappeared; it has vanished from their lips.

³⁰ The people of Judah have done what displeases me, declares the Lord. They have corrupted the temple that bears my name by setting up their disgusting idols. ³¹ They have built shrines at Topheth in the Ben-hinnom Valley to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, although I never commanded such a thing, nor did it ever cross my mind. ³² So now the time is coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer speak of Topheth or the Ben-hinnom Valley, but the Carnage Valley. They will bury in Topheth until no space is left. ³³ The corpses of this people will be food for birds and wild animals, with no one to drive them off. ³⁴ I will silence the sound of joy and delight as well as the voice of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for the country will be reduced to a wasteland.

Entry into Jerusalem

21 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two disciples a task. ² He said to them, “Go into the village over there. As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that their master needs them.” He sent them off right away. ⁴ Now this happened to fulfill what the prophet said, ⁵ Say to Daughter Zion, “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt the donkey’s offspring.”^{[a] 6} The disciples went and did just as Jesus had ordered them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on them. Then he sat on them.

⁸ Now a large crowd spread their clothes on the road. Others cut palm branches off the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds in front of him and behind him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!^[b]Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. “Who is this?” they asked. ¹¹ The crowds answered, “It’s the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the temple

¹² Then Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those who were selling and buying there. He pushed over the tables used for currency exchange and the chairs of those who sold doves. ¹³ He said to them, “It’s written, My house will be called a house of prayer.^[c] But you’ve made it a hideout for crooks.”

¹⁴ People who were blind and lame came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and legal experts saw the amazing things he was doing and the children shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were angry. ¹⁶ They said to Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Haven’t you ever read, From the mouths of babies and infants you’ve arranged praise for yourself? ^[d]” ¹⁷ Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

Cursing the fig tree

¹⁸ Early in the morning as Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ He saw a fig tree along the road, but when he came to it, he found nothing except leaves. Then he said to it, “You’ll never again bear fruit!” The fig tree dried up at once.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so fast?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus responded, “I assure you that if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree. You will even say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the lake.’ And it will happen. ²² If you have faith, you will receive whatever you pray for.”

Jesus’ authority questioned

²³ When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and elders of the people came to him as he was teaching. They asked, “What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I have a question for you. If you tell me the answer, I’ll tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things. ²⁵ Where did John get his authority to baptize? Did he get it from heaven or from humans?”

They argued among themselves, “If we say ‘from heaven,’ he’ll say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But we can’t say ‘from humans’ because we’re afraid of the crowd, since everyone thinks John was a prophet.” ²⁷ Then they replied, “We don’t know.”

Jesus also said to them, “Neither will I tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.

Parable of two sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. Now he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’

²⁹ “‘No, I don’t want to,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “The father said the same thing to the other son, who replied, ‘Yes, sir.’ But he didn’t go.

³¹ “Which one of these two did his father’s will?”

They said, “The first one.”

Jesus said to them, “I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s kingdom ahead of you. ³² For John came to you on the righteous road, and you didn’t believe him. But tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Yet even after you saw this, you didn’t change your hearts and lives and you didn’t believe him.

Parable of the tenant farmers

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it to tenant farmers and took a trip. ³⁴ When it was time for harvest, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵ But the tenant farmers grabbed his servants. They beat some of them, and some of them they killed. Some of them they stoned to death.

³⁶ “Again he sent other servants, more than the first group. They treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and we’ll have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ They grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenant farmers?”

⁴¹ They said, “He will totally destroy those wicked farmers and rent the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruit when it’s ready.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the scriptures, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this, and it’s amazing in our eyes?^{[e] 43} Therefore, I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be crushed. And the stone will crush the person it falls on.”

⁴⁵ Now when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard the parable, they knew Jesus was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They were trying to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.