M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
25 While Israel was camped at Acacia, some of the young men began going to wild parties with the local Moabite girls. 2 These girls also invited them to attend the sacrifices to their gods, and soon the men were not only attending the feasts, but also bowing down and worshiping the idols. 3 Before long all Israel was joining freely in the worship of Baal, the god of Moab; and the anger of the Lord was hot against his people.
4 He issued the following command to Moses:
“Execute all the tribal leaders of Israel. Hang them up before the Lord in broad daylight, so that his fierce anger will turn away from the people.”
5 So Moses ordered the judges to execute all who had worshiped Baal.
6 But one of the Israeli men insolently brought a Midianite girl into the camp, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as they were weeping at the door of the Tabernacle. 7 When Phinehas (son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) saw this, he jumped up, grabbed a spear, 8 and rushed after the man into his tent, where he had taken the girl. He thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into her stomach. So the plague was stopped, 9 but only after 24,000 people had already died.
10-11 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Phinehas (son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) has turned away my anger for he was angry with my anger, and would not tolerate the worship of any God but me. So I have stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended. 12-13 Now because of what he has done—because of his zeal for his God, and because he has made atonement for the people of Israel by what he did—I promise that he and his descendants shall be priests forever.”
14 The name of the man who was killed with the Midianite girl was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of the tribe of Simeon. 15 The girl’s name was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, a Midianite prince.
16-17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Destroy the Midianites, 18 for they are destroying you with their wiles. They are causing you to worship Baal, and they are leading you astray, as you have just seen by the death of Cozbi.”
68 Arise, O God, and scatter all your enemies! Chase them away! 2 Drive them off like smoke before the wind; melt them like wax in fire! So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But may the godly man exult. May he rejoice and be merry. 4 Sing praises to the Lord! Raise your voice in song to him who rides upon the clouds![a] Jehovah is his name—oh, rejoice in his presence. 5 He is a father to the fatherless; he gives justice to the widows, for he is holy.[b] 6 He gives families to the lonely, and releases prisoners from jail, singing with joy! But for rebels there is famine and distress.
7 O God, when you led your people through the wilderness, 8 the earth trembled and the heavens shook. Mount Sinai quailed before you—the God of Israel. 9-10 You sent abundant rain upon your land, O God, to refresh it in its weariness! There your people lived, for you gave them this home when they were destitute.
11-13 The Lord speaks. The enemy flees. The women at home[c] cry out the happy news: “The armies that came to destroy us have fled!” Now all the women of Israel are dividing the booty. See them sparkle with jewels of silver and gold, covered all over as wings cover doves! 14 God scattered their enemies like snowflakes melting in the forests of Zalmon.
15-16 O mighty mountains in Bashan! O splendid many-peaked ranges! Well may you look with envy at Mount Zion, the mount where God has chosen to live forever. 17 Surrounded by unnumbered chariots, the Lord moves on from Mount Sinai and comes to his holy Temple high upon Mount Zion. 18 He ascends the heights, leading many captives in his train. He receives gifts for men,[d] even those who once were rebels. God will live among us here.
19 What a glorious Lord! He who daily bears our burdens also gives us our salvation.
20 He frees us! He rescues us from death. 21 But he will crush his enemies, for they refuse to leave their guilty, stubborn ways. 22 The Lord says, “Come,” to all his people’s enemies;[e] they are hiding on Mount Hermon’s highest slopes and deep within the sea! 23 His people must destroy them. Cover your feet with their blood; dogs will eat them.
24 The procession of God my King moves onward to the sanctuary— 25 singers in front, musicians behind, girls playing the timbrels in between. 26 Let all the people of Israel praise the Lord, who is Israel’s fountain. 27 The little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. The princes and elders of Judah, and the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali are right behind.[f] 28 Summon your might; display your strength, O God, for you have done such mighty things for us.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing their gifts to your Temple in Jerusalem. 30 Rebuke our enemies, O Lord. Bring them—submissive, tax in hand.[g] Scatter all who delight in war. 31 Egypt will send gifts of precious metals. Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God in adoration. 32 Sing to the Lord, O kingdoms of the earth—sing praises to the Lord, 33 to him who rides upon the ancient heavens, whose mighty voice thunders from the sky.
34 Power belongs to God! His majesty shines down on Israel; his strength is mighty in the heavens. 35 What awe we feel, kneeling here before him in the sanctuary. The God of Israel gives strength and mighty power to his people. Blessed be God!
15 Here is God’s message to Moab: In one night your cities of Ar and Kir will be destroyed. 2 Your people in Dibon go mourning to their temples to weep for the fate of Nebo and Medeba; they shave their heads in sorrow and cut off their beards. 3 They wear sackcloth through the streets, and from every home comes the sound of weeping. 4 The cries from the cities of Heshbon and Elealeh are heard far away, even in Jahaz. The bravest warriors of Moab cry in utter terror.
5 My heart weeps for Moab! His people flee to Zoar and Eglath. Weeping, they climb the upward road to Luhith, and their crying will be heard all along the road to Horonaim. 6 Even Nimrim River is desolate! The grassy banks are dried up and the tender plants are gone. 7 The desperate refugees take only the possessions they can carry and flee across the Brook of Willows. 8 The whole land of Moab is a land of weeping from one end to the other. 9 The stream near Dibon will run red with blood, but I am not through with Dibon yet! Lions will hunt down the survivors, both those who escape and those who remain.
3 1-2 Wives, fit in with your husbands’ plans; for then if they refuse to listen when you talk to them about the Lord, they will be won by your respectful, pure behavior. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words.
3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on jewelry, or beautiful clothes, or hair arrangement. 4 Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit that is so precious to God. 5 That kind of deep beauty was seen in the saintly women of old, who trusted God and fitted in with their husbands’ plans.
6 Sarah, for instance, obeyed her husband Abraham, honoring him as head of the house. And if you do the same, you will be following in her steps like good daughters and doing what is right; then you will not need to fear offending your husbands.[a]
7 You husbands must be careful of your wives, being thoughtful of their needs and honoring them as the weaker sex. Remember that you and your wife are partners in receiving God’s blessings, and if you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not get ready answers.
8 And now this word to all of you: You should be like one big happy family, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t snap back at those who say unkind things about you. Instead, pray for God’s help for them, for we are to be kind to others, and God will bless us for it.
10 If you want a happy, good life, keep control of your tongue, and guard your lips from telling lies. 11 Turn away from evil and do good. Try to live in peace even if you must run after it to catch and hold it! 12 For the Lord is watching his children, listening to their prayers; but the Lord’s face is hard against those who do evil.
13 Usually no one will hurt you for wanting to do good. 14 But even if they should, you are to be envied, for God will reward you for it. 15 Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord, and if anybody asks why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way.
16 Do what is right; then if men speak against you, calling you evil names, they will become ashamed of themselves for falsely accusing you when you have only done what is good. 17 Remember, if God wants you to suffer, it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong!
18 Christ also suffered. He died once for the sins of all us guilty sinners although he himself was innocent of any sin at any time, that he might bring us safely home to God. But though his body died, his spirit lived on, 19 and it was in the spirit that he visited the spirits in prison and preached to them— 20 spirits of those who, long before in the days of Noah, had refused to listen to God, though he waited patiently for them while Noah was building the ark. Yet only eight persons were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. 21 (That, by the way, is what baptism pictures for us: In baptism we show that we have been saved from death and doom by the resurrection of Christ;[b] not because our bodies are washed clean by the water but because in being baptized we are turning to God and asking him to cleanse our hearts from sin.) 22 And now Christ is in heaven, sitting in the place of honor next to God the Father, with all the angels and powers of heaven bowing before him and obeying him.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.