M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
III. Second Census of a New Generation and Preparation to Enter the Promised Land
Chapter 26
The Second Census. 19 After the plague 1 the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest: 2 Take a census, by ancestral houses, throughout the community of the Israelites of all those of twenty years or more who are eligible for military service in Israel.(A) 3 So on the plains of Moab along the Jordan at Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest enrolled them, 4 those of twenty years or more, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt were as follows:[a]
5 (B)Reuben, the firstborn of Israel. The descendants of Reuben by their clans were: through Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; through Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; 6 through Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; through Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. 7 These were the clans of the Reubenites, and those enrolled numbered forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.
8 From Pallu descended Eliab. 9 The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram(C)—the same Dathan and Abiram, ones designated by the community, who contended with Moses and Aaron as part of Korah’s faction when they contended with the Lord. 10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with Korah, as a warning. The faction was destroyed when the fire consumed two hundred and fifty men. 11 The descendants of Korah, however, did not die out.
12 The descendants of Simeon by clans were: through Nemuel,[b] the clan of the Nemuelites; through Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; through Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; 13 through Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; through Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. 14 These were the clans of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred.
15 The descendants of Gad by clans were: through Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; through Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; through Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; 16 through Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; through Eri, the clan of the Erites; 17 through Arod, the clan of the Arodites; through Areli, the clan of the Arelites. 18 These were the clans of the descendants of Gad, of whom there were enrolled forty thousand five hundred.
19 The sons of Judah were Er and Onan. Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.(D) 20 The descendants of Judah by their clans were: through Shelah, the clan of the Shelahites; through Perez, the clan of the Perezites; through Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites. 21 The descendants of Perez were: through Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; through Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites. 22 These were the clans of Judah, of whom there were enrolled seventy-six thousand five hundred.
23 The descendants of Issachar by their clans were: through Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; through Puvah, the clan of the Puvahites; 24 through Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites; through Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites. 25 These were the clans of Issachar, of whom there were enrolled sixty-four thousand three hundred.
26 The descendants of Zebulun by their clans were: through Sered, the clan of the Seredites; through Elon, the clan of the Elonites; through Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites. 27 These were the clans of the Zebulunites, of whom there were enrolled sixty thousand five hundred.
28 The sons of Joseph were Manasseh and Ephraim. 29 The descendants of Manasseh by clans were: through Machir, the clan of the Machirites. Now Machir begot Gilead: through Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites. 30 The descendants of Gilead were: through Iezer, the clan of the Iezrites; through Helek, the clan of the Helekites; 31 through Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; through Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites; 32 through Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites; through Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites. 33 (E)As for Zelophehad, son of Hepher—he had no sons, but only daughters. The names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. 34 These were the clans of Manasseh, and those enrolled numbered fifty-two thousand seven hundred.
35 These were the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: through Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites; through Becher, the clan of the Becherites; through Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites. 36 These were the descendants of Shuthelah: through Eran, the clan of the Eranites. 37 These were the clans of the Ephraimites, of whom there were enrolled thirty-two thousand five hundred.
These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.
38 The descendants of Benjamin by their clans were: through Bela, the clan of the Belaites; through Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites; through Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites; 39 through Shupham, the clan of the Shuphamites; through Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites. 40 The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: through Ard, the clan of the Ardites; through Naaman, the clan of the Naamites. 41 These were the descendants of Benjamin by their clans, of whom there were enrolled forty-five thousand six hundred.
42 These were the descendants of Dan by their clans: through Shuham the clan of the Shuhamites. These were the clans of Dan, 43 of whom there were enrolled sixty-four thousand four hundred.
44 The descendants of Asher by their clans were: through Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; through Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; through Beriah, the clan of the Beriites; 45 through Heber, the clan of the Heberites; through Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites. 46 The name of Asher’s daughter was Serah. 47 These were the clans of the descendants of Asher, of whom there were enrolled fifty-three thousand four hundred.
48 The descendants of Naphtali by their clans were: through Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites; through Guni, the clan of the Gunites; 49 through Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites; through Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites. 50 These were the clans of Naphtali, of whom there were enrolled forty-five thousand four hundred.
51 These were the Israelites who were enrolled: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.
Allotment of the Land.[c] 52 The Lord said to Moses: 53 (F)Among these the land shall be divided as their heritage in keeping with the number of people named. 54 (G)To a large tribe you shall assign a large heritage, to a small tribe a small heritage, each receiving its heritage in proportion to the number enrolled in it. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot, all inheriting according to the lists of their ancestral tribes. 56 As the lot falls the heritage of each tribe, large or small, will be assigned.
Census of the Levites. 57 These were the Levites enrolled by clans: through Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; through Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; through Merari, the clan of the Merarites. 58 These were clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites.[d]
Now Kohath begot Amram, 59 whose wife was named Jochebed. She was the daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. 62 The Levites enrolled were twenty-three thousand, every male one month or more of age.(H) They were not enrolled with the other Israelites, however, for no heritage was given them among the Israelites.
63 These, then, were those enrolled by Moses and Eleazar the priest, when they enrolled the Israelites on the plains of Moab along the Jordan at Jericho. 64 Among them there was not one of those who had been enrolled by Moses and Aaron the priest, when they enrolled the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 (I)For the Lord had told them that they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun.
Psalm 69[a]
A Cry of Anguish in Great Distress
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.”[b] Of David.
I
2 Save me, God,
for the waters[c] have reached my neck.(A)
3 I have sunk into the mire of the deep,
where there is no foothold.
I have gone down to the watery depths;
the flood overwhelms me.(B)
4 I am weary with crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
from looking for my God.(C)
5 More numerous than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause.(D)
Those who would destroy me are mighty,
my enemies without reason.
Must I now restore
what I did not steal?[d]
II
6 God, you know my folly;
my faults are not hidden from you.
7 Let those who wait in hope for you, Lord of hosts,
not be shamed because of me.
Let those who seek you, God of Israel,(E)
not be disgraced because of me.
8 For it is on your account I bear insult,
that disgrace covers my face.(F)
9 I have become an outcast to my kindred,
a stranger to my mother’s children.(G)
10 Because zeal for your house has consumed me,[e]
I am scorned by those who scorn you.(H)
11 When I humbled my spirit with fasting,(I)
this led only to scorn.
12 When I clothed myself in sackcloth;
I became a byword for them.
13 Those who sit in the gate gossip about me;
drunkards make me the butt of songs.
III
14 But I will pray to you, Lord,
at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
with your sure deliverance.(J)
15 Rescue me from the mire,(K)
and do not let me sink.
Rescue me from those who hate me
and from the watery depths.
16 Do not let the flood waters overwhelm me,
nor the deep swallow me,
nor the pit close its mouth over me.
17 Answer me, Lord, in your generous love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
18 Do not hide your face from your servant;
hasten to answer me, for I am in distress.(L)
19 Come and redeem my life;
because of my enemies ransom me.
20 You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace;
before you stand all my foes.
21 Insult has broken my heart, and I despair;
I looked for compassion, but there was none,(M)
for comforters, but found none.
22 Instead they gave me poison for my food;
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.(N)
IV
23 May their own table be a snare for them,
and their communion offerings a trap.(O)
24 Make their eyes so dim they cannot see;
keep their backs ever feeble.
25 Pour out your wrath upon them;
let the fury of your anger overtake them.
26 Make their camp desolate,
with none to dwell in their tents.(P)
27 For they pursued the one you struck,
added to the pain of the one you wounded.
28 Heap punishment upon their punishment;
let them gain from you no vindication.
29 May they be blotted from the book of life;
not registered among the just!(Q)
V
30 But here I am miserable and in pain;
let your saving help protect me, God,
31 [f]That I may praise God’s name in song
and glorify it with thanksgiving.
32 That will please the Lord more than oxen,
more than bulls with horns and hooves:(R)
33 “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, take heart!(S)
34 For the Lord hears the poor,
and does not spurn those in bondage.
35 Let the heaven and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!”
VI
Chapter 16
1 Send them forth,[a] hugging the earth like reptiles,
from Sela across the desert,
to the mount of daughter Zion.
2 Like flushed birds,
like scattered nestlings,
Are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.[b](A)
3 [c]Offer counsel, take their part;
at high noon make your shade like the night;
Hide the outcasts,
do not betray the fugitives.
4 Let the outcasts of Moab live with you,
be their shelter from the destroyer.
When there is an end to the oppressor,
when destruction has ceased,
and the marauders have vanished from the land,
5 A throne shall be set up in mercy,
and on it shall sit in fidelity,
in David’s tent,
A judge upholding right,
prompt to do justice.(B)
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab,
how very proud he is,
Of his haughtiness, pride, and arrogance
that his empty words do not match.(C)
7 [d]Therefore let Moab wail,
let everyone wail for Moab;
For the raisin cakes[e] of Kir-hareseth
let them sigh, stricken with grief.
8 The terraced slopes of Heshbon languish,
the vines of Sibmah,
Whose clusters once overpowered
the lords of nations,
Reaching as far as Jazer
winding through the wilderness,[f]
Whose branches spread forth,
crossing over the sea.
9 Therefore I weep with Jazer
for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
Heshbon and Elealeh;
For on your summer fruits and harvests
the battle cry[g] has fallen.(D)
10 From the orchards are taken away
joy and gladness,
In the vineyards there is no singing,
no shout of joy;
In the wine presses no one treads grapes,
the vintage shout is stilled.(E)
11 Therefore for Moab
my heart moans like a lyre,
my inmost being for Kir-hareseth.(F)
12 [h]When Moab wears himself out on the high places,
and enters his sanctuary to pray,
it shall avail him nothing.(G)
13 [i]That is the word the Lord spoke against Moab in times past. 14 But now the Lord speaks: In three years, like the years of a hired laborer, the glory of Moab shall be empty despite all its great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and weak.(H)
Chapter 4
Christian Restraint.[a] 1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same attitude (for whoever suffers in the flesh has broken with sin), 2 so as not to spend what remains of one’s life in the flesh on human desires, but on the will of God. 3 For the time that has passed is sufficient for doing what the Gentiles like to do: living in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and wanton idolatry.(A) 4 They are surprised that you do not plunge into the same swamp of profligacy, and they vilify you; 5 but they will give an account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.(B) 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead[b] that, though condemned in the flesh in human estimation, they might live in the spirit in the estimation of God.
Christian Charity.[c] 7 The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober for prayers. 8 (C)Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.[d] 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining.(D) 10 As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.(E) 11 Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,(F) to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.[e]
IV. Advice to the Persecuted
Trial of Persecution.[f] 12 Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you.(G) 13 But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.(H) 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.(I) 15 But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer. 16 But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name. 17 For it is time for the judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, how will it end for those who fail to obey the gospel of God?(J)
18 “And if the righteous one is barely saved,
where will the godless and the sinner appear?”(K)
19 As a result, those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful creator as they do good.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.