M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 27
Zelophehad’s Daughters. 1 The daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, came forward. (Zelophehad belonged to the clans of Manasseh, son of Joseph.) The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.(A) 2 Standing before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the princes, and the whole community at the entrance of the tent of meeting, they said: 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. Although he did not join the faction of those who conspired against the Lord,[a] Korah’s faction, he died for his own sin without leaving any sons. 4 But why should our father’s name be cut off from his clan merely because he had no son? Give us land among our father’s kindred.”
Laws Concerning Heiresses.[b] 5 So Moses laid their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him: 7 The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just; you shall give them hereditary land among their father’s kindred and transfer their father’s heritage to them. 8 Tell the Israelites: If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his heritage to his daughter; 9 if he has no daughter, you shall give his heritage to his brothers; 10 if he has no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his father’s brothers; 11 if his father had no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his nearest relative in his clan, who shall then take possession of it.
This will be the statutory procedure for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.(B)
Joshua to Succeed Moses. 12 The Lord said to Moses: Go up into this mountain of the Abarim range[c] and view the land that I have given to the Israelites.(C) 13 When you have viewed it, you will be gathered to your people, as was Aaron your brother.(D) 14 For in the rebellion of the community in the wilderness of Zin you both rebelled against my order to acknowledge my holiness before them by means of the water.(E) (These were the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humanity,[d] set over the community someone 17 who will be their leader in battle and who will lead them out and bring them in, that the Lord’s community may not be like sheep without a shepherd.” 18 And the Lord replied to Moses: Take Joshua, son of Nun,(F) a man of spirit,[e] and lay your hand upon him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. 20 Invest him with some of your own power, that the whole Israelite community may obey him. 21 He shall present himself to Eleazar the priest, who will seek for him the decision of the Urim[f] in the Lord’s presence; and as it directs, Joshua, all the Israelites with him, and the whole community will go out for battle; and as it directs, they will come in.
22 Moses did as the Lord had commanded him. Taking Joshua and having him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, 23 he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord had directed through Moses.
Psalm 70[a]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; of David. For remembrance.
2 Graciously rescue me, God!(A)
Come quickly to help me, Lord!(B)
3 Let those who seek my life
be confused and put to shame.(C)
Let those who desire my ruin
turn back in disgrace.
4 Let those who say “Aha!”(D)
turn back in their shame.
5 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you,
Those who long for your help
always say, “God be glorified!”(E)
6 I am miserable and poor.
God, come to me quickly!
You are my help and deliverer.
Lord, do not delay!
Psalm 71[b]
Prayer in Time of Old Age
I
1 In you, Lord, I take refuge;(F)
let me never be put to shame.(G)
2 In your justice rescue and deliver me;
listen to me and save me!
3 Be my rock of refuge,
my stronghold to give me safety;
for you are my rock and fortress.(H)
4 My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
from the clutches of the evil and violent.(I)
5 You are my hope, Lord;
my trust, God, from my youth.
6 On you I have depended since birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength;(J)
my hope in you never wavers.
7 [c]I have become a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge!
8 My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
shall sing your glory every day.
II
9 Do not cast me aside in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not forsake me.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
they watch and plot against me.(K)
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
Pursue, and seize him!
No one will come to the rescue!”
12 God, be not far from me;
my God, hasten to help me.(L)
13 Bring to a shameful end
those who attack me;
Cover with contempt and scorn
those who seek my ruin.(M)
14 I will always hope in you
and add to all your praise.
15 My mouth shall proclaim your just deeds,
day after day your acts of deliverance,
though I cannot number them all.(N)
16 I will speak of the mighty works of the Lord;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
III
17 God, you have taught me from my youth;
to this day I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 Now that I am old and gray,(O)
do not forsake me, God,
That I may proclaim your might
to all generations yet to come,(P)
Your power 19 and justice, God,
to the highest heaven.
You have done great things;(Q)
O God, who is your equal?(R)
20 Whatever bitter afflictions you sent me,
you would turn and revive me.
From the watery depths of the earth
once more raise me up.
21 Restore my honor;
turn and comfort me,
22 That I may praise you with the lyre
for your faithfulness, my God,
And sing to you with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel!
23 My lips will shout for joy as I sing your praise;
my soul, too, which you have redeemed.
24 Yes, my tongue shall recount
your justice day by day.
For those who sought my ruin
have been shamed and disgraced.
Chapter 17
Damascus
1 Oracle on Damascus:[a]
See, Damascus shall cease to be a city
and become a pile of ruins;(A)
2 Her cities shall be forever abandoned,
for flocks to lie in undisturbed.
3 The fortress shall vanish from Ephraim[b]
and dominion from Damascus;
The remnant of Aram shall become like the glory
of the Israelites—
oracle of the Lord of hosts.
4 On that day
The glory of Jacob shall fade,
and his full body shall grow thin.(B)
5 Like the reaper’s mere armful of stalks,
when he gathers the standing grain;
Or as when one gleans the ears
in the Valley of Rephaim.[c]
6 [d]Only gleanings shall be left in it,
as when an olive tree has been beaten—
Two or three olives at the very top,
four or five on its most fruitful branches—
oracle of the Lord, the God of Israel.(C)
7 On that day people shall turn to their maker,
their eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel.(D)
8 They shall not turn to the altars, the work of their hands,
nor shall they look to what their fingers have made:
the asherahs[e] or the incense stands.
9 On that day his strong cities shall be
like those abandoned by the Hivites and Amorites
When faced with the Israelites;
and there shall be desolation.(E)
10 Truly, you have forgotten the God who saves you,
the Rock, your refuge, you have not remembered.(F)
Therefore, though you plant plants for the Pleasant One,[f]
and set out cuttings for a foreign one,(G)
11 Though you make them grow the day you plant them
and make them blossom the morning you set them out,
The harvest shall disappear on a day of sickness
and incurable pain.
12 Ah! the roaring of many peoples—[g]
a roar like the roar of the seas!
The thundering of nations—
thunder like the thundering of mighty waters!(H)
13 [h]But God shall rebuke them,
and they shall flee far away,
Driven like chaff on the mountains before a wind,
like tumbleweed before a storm.(I)
14 At evening, there is terror,
but before morning, they are gone!
Such is the portion of those who despoil us,
the lot of those who plunder us.(J)
Chapter 18
Ethiopia
1 Ah! Land of buzzing insects,[i]
beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,(K)
2 Sending ambassadors by sea,
in papyrus boats on the waters!
Go, swift messengers,
to a nation tall and bronzed,
To a people dreaded near and far,
a nation strong and conquering,
whose land is washed by rivers.(L)
3 [j]All you who inhabit the world,
who dwell on earth,
When the signal is raised on the mountain, look!
When the trumpet blows, listen!
4 For thus says the Lord to me:
I will be quiet, looking on from where I dwell,(M)
Like the shimmering heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew at harvest time.
5 Before the vintage, when the flowering has ended,
and the blooms are succeeded by ripening grapes,
Then comes the cutting of branches with pruning hooks,
and the discarding of the lopped-off shoots.
6 They shall all be left to the mountain vultures
and to the beasts of the earth;
The vultures shall summer on them,
all the beasts of the earth shall winter on them.
7 Then will gifts be brought to the Lord of hosts—to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, Mount Zion—from a people tall and bronzed, from a people dreaded near and far, a nation strong and conquering, whose land is washed by rivers.(N)
Chapter 5
Advice to Presbyters.[a] 1 So I exhort the presbyters[b] among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. 2 Tend the flock of God in your midst, [overseeing] not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.(A) 3 Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 (B)And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.[c]
Advice to the Community.[d] 5 Likewise, you younger members,[e] be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:
“God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.”(C)
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.(D) 7 Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.(E)
8 Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour.(F) 9 Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. 10 The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.(G) 11 To him be dominion forever. Amen.
V. Conclusion
12 I write you this briefly through Silvanus,[f] whom I consider a faithful brother, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Remain firm in it. 13 The chosen one[g] at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.(H)
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.