M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
12 Here is the list of the kings on the east side of the Jordan River whose cities were destroyed by the Israelis: (The area involved stretched all the way from the valley of the Arnon River to Mount Hermon, including the cities of the eastern desert.)
2 King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His kingdom extended from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and from the middle of the valley of the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, which is the boundary of the Ammonites. This includes half of the present area of Gilead, which lies north of the Jabbok River. 3 Sihon also controlled the Jordan River Valley as far north as the western shores of the Lake of Galilee; and as far south as the Dead Sea and the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
4 King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei: 5 He ruled a territory stretching from Mount Hermon in the north to Salecah on Mount Bashan in the east, and on the west, extending to the boundary of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. His kingdom also stretched south to include the northern half of Gilead where the boundary touched the border of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon. 6 Moses and the people of Israel had destroyed these people, and Moses gave the land to the tribes of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
7 Here is a list of the kings destroyed by Joshua and the armies of Israel on the west side of the Jordan. (This land which lay between Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon and Mount Halak, west of Mount Seir, was allotted by Joshua to the other tribes of Israel. 8-24 The area included the hill country, the lowlands, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the Judean Desert, and the Negeb.
The people who lived there were the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites): the king of Jericho; the king of Ai, near Bethel; the king of Jerusalem; the king of Hebron; the king of Jarmuth; the king of Lachish; the king of Eglon; the king of Gezer; the king of Debir; the king of Geder; the king of Hormah; the king of Arad; the king of Libnah; the king of Adullam; the king of Makkedah; the king of Bethel; the king of Tappuah; the king of Hepher; the king of Aphek; the king of Lasharon; the king of Madon; the king of Hazor; the king of Shimron-meron; the king of Achshaph; the king of Taanach; the king of Megiddo; the king of Kedesh; the king of Jokneam, in Carmel; the king of Dor in the city of Naphathdor; the king of Goiim in Gilgal; the king of Tirzah. So in all, thirty-one kings and their cities were destroyed.
13 Joshua was now an old man. “You are growing old,” the Lord said to him, “and there are still many nations to be conquered. 2-7 Here is a list of the areas still to be occupied:
All the land of the Philistines;
The land of the Geshurites;
The territory now belonging to the Canaanites from the brook of Egypt to the southern boundary of Ekron;
Five cities of the Philistines: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron;
The land of the Avvim in the south;
In the north,[a] all the land of the Canaanites, including Mearah (which belongs to the Sidonians), stretching northward to Aphek at the boundary of the Amorites;
The land of the Gebalites on the coast and all of the Lebanon mountain area from Baal-gad beneath Mount Hermon in the south to the entrance of Hamath in the north;
All the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians.
“I am ready to drive these people out from before the nation of Israel, so include all this territory when you divide the land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh as I have commanded you.”
8 The other half of the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, for Moses had previously assigned this land to them. 9 Their territory ran from Aroer, on the edge of the valley of the Arnon River, included the city in the valley, and crossed the tableland of Medeba to Dibon; 10 it also included all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and extended as far as the borders of Ammon. 11 It included Gilead; the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites; all of Mount Hermon; Mount Bashan with its city of Salecah; 12 and all the territory of King Og of Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was the last of the Rephaim, for Moses had attacked them and driven them out. 13 However, the people of Israel had not driven out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, who still live there among the Israelites to this day.)
14 The Territorial Assignments
The Land Given to the Tribe of Levi: Moses hadn’t assigned any land to the tribe of Levi: instead, they were given the offerings brought to the Lord.
15 The Land Given to the Tribe of Reuben: Fitting the size of its territory to the size of its population,[b] Moses had assigned the following area to the tribe of Reuben: 16 Their land extended from Aroer on the edge of the valley of the Arnon River, past the city of Arnon in the middle of the valley, to beyond the tableland near Medeba. 17 It included Heshbon and the other cities on the plain—Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the mountain above the valley, 20 Beth-peor, Beth-jeshimoth, and the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
21 The land of Reuben also included the cities of the tableland and the kingdom of Sihon. Sihon was the king who had lived in Heshbon and was killed by Moses along with the other chiefs of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. 22 The people of Israel also killed Balaam the magician, the son of Beor. 23 The Jordan River was the western boundary of the tribe of Reuben.
24 The Land Given to the Tribe of Gad: Moses also assigned land to the tribe of Gad in proportion to its population.[c] 25 This territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of the land of Ammon as far as Aroer near Rabbah. 26 It also extended from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to Lodebar. 27-28 In the valley were Beth-haram, and Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, and the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. The Jordan River was the western border, extending as far as the Lake of Galilee; then the border turned east from the Jordan River.
29 The Land Given to the Half-Tribe of Manasseh: Moses had assigned the following territory to the half-tribe of Manasseh in proportion to its needs:[d] 30 Their territory extended north from Mahanaim, included all of Bashan, the former kingdom of King Og, and the sixty cities of Jair in Bashan. 31 Half of Gilead and King Og’s royal cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei were given to half of the clan Machir, who was Manasseh’s son.
32 That was how Moses divided the land east of the Jordan River where the people were camped at that time across from Jericho. 33 But Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi for, as he had explained to them, the Lord God was their inheritance. He was all they needed. He would take care of them in other ways.
145 1-2 I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name each day and forever.
3 Great is Jehovah! Greatly praise him! His greatness is beyond discovery! 4 Let each generation tell its children what glorious things he does. 5 I will meditate about your glory, splendor, majesty, and miracles. 6 Your awe-inspiring deeds shall be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. 7 Everyone will tell about how good you are and sing about your righteousness.
8 Jehovah is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of love. 9 He is good to everyone, and his compassion is intertwined with everything he does. 10 All living things shall thank you, Lord, and your people will bless you. 11 They will talk together about the glory of your kingdom and mention examples of your power. 12 They will tell about your miracles and about the majesty and glory of your reign. 13 For your kingdom never ends. You rule generation after generation.
14 The Lord lifts the fallen and those bent beneath their loads. 15 The eyes of all mankind look up to you for help; you give them their food as they need it. 16 You constantly satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
17 The Lord is fair in everything he does and full of kindness. 18 He is close to all who call on him sincerely. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who reverence and trust him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. 20 He protects all those who love him, but destroys the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord and call on all men everywhere to bless his holy name forever and forever.
6 Run, people of Benjamin, run for your lives! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the alarm in Tekoa; send up a smoke signal at Beth-haccherem; warn everyone that a powerful army is on the way from the north, coming to destroy this nation! 2 Helpless as a girl, you are beautiful and delicate—and doomed. 3 Evil shepherds shall surround you. They shall set up camp around the city and divide your pastures for their flocks. 4 See them prepare for battle. At noon it has begun. All afternoon it rages until the evening shadows fall. 5 “Come,” they say. “Let us attack by night and destroy her palaces!”
6 For the Lord Almighty has said to them, Cut down her trees for battering rams; smash down the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is vile through and through. 7 She spouts evil like a fountain! Her streets echo with the sounds of violence; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 This is your last warning, O Jerusalem. If you don’t listen, I will empty the land. 9 Disaster on disaster shall befall you. Even the few who remain in Israel shall be gleaned again, the Lord Almighty has said; for as a grape-gatherer checks each vine to pick what he has missed, so the remnant of my people shall be destroyed again.
10 But who will listen when I warn them? Their ears are closed, and they refuse to hear. The word of God has angered them; they don’t want it at all.
11 For all this I am full of the wrath of God against them. I am weary of holding it in. I will pour it out over Jerusalem, even upon the children playing in the streets, upon the gatherings of young men, and on husbands and wives and grandparents. 12 Their enemies shall live in their homes and take their fields and wives. For I will punish the people of this land, the Lord has said. 13 They are swindlers and liars, from the least of them right to the top! Yes, even my prophets and priests! 14 You can’t heal a wound by saying it’s not there! Yet the priests and prophets give assurances of peace when all is war. 15 Were my people ashamed when they worshiped idols? No, not at all—they didn’t even blush. Therefore they shall lie among the slain. They shall die beneath my anger.
16 Yet the Lord pleads with you still: Ask where the good road is, the godly paths you used to walk in, in the days of long ago. Travel there, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, “No, that is not the road we want!” 17 I set watchmen over you who warned you: “Listen for the sound of the trumpet! It will let you know when trouble comes.” But you said, “No! We won’t pay any attention!”
18-19 This, then, is my decree against my people: (Listen to it, distant lands; listen to it, O my people in Jerusalem; listen to it, all the earth!) I will bring evil upon this people; it will be the fruit of their own sin because they will not listen to me. They reject my law. 20 There is no use now in burning sweet incense from Sheba before me! Keep your expensive perfumes! I cannot accept your offerings; they have no sweet fragrance for me. 21 I will make an obstacle course of the pathway of my people; fathers and sons shall be frustrated; neighbors and friends shall collapse together. 22 The Lord God says: See the armies marching from the north—a great nation is rising against you. 23 They are a cruel, merciless people, fully armed, mounted for war. The noise of their army is like a roaring sea.
24 We have heard the fame of their armies, and we are weak with fright. Fright and pain have gripped us like that of women in travail. 25 Don’t go out to the fields! Don’t travel the roads! For the enemy is everywhere, ready to kill; we are terrorized at every turn.
26 O Jerusalem, pride of my people, put on mourning clothes and sit in ashes; weep bitterly as for an only son. For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you.
27 Jeremiah, I have made you an assayer of metals that you may test this my people and determine their value. Listen to what they are saying and watch what they are doing. 28 Are they not the worst of rebels, full of evil talk against the Lord? They are insolent as brass, hard and cruel as iron. 29 The bellows blow fiercely; the refining fire grows hotter, but it can never cleanse them, for there is no pureness in them to bring out. Why continue the process longer? All is dross. No matter how hot the fire, they continue in their wicked ways. 30 I must label them “Impure, Rejected Silver,” and I have discarded them.
20 Here is another illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven. “The owner of an estate went out early one morning to hire workers for his harvest field. 2 He agreed to pay them $20 a day
3 “A couple of hours later he was passing a hiring hall and saw some men standing around waiting for jobs, 4 so he sent them also into his fields, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 At noon and again around three o’clock in the afternoon he did the same thing.
6 “At five o’clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more men standing around and asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they replied.
“‘Then go on out and join the others in my fields,’ he told them.
8 “That evening he told the paymaster to call the men in and pay them, beginning with the last men first. 9 When the men hired at five o’clock were paid, each received $20. 10 So when the men hired earlier came to get theirs, they assumed they would receive much more. But they, too, were paid $20.
11-12 “They protested, ‘Those fellows worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as those of us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
13 “‘Friend,’ he answered one of them, ‘I did you no wrong! Didn’t you agree to work all day for $20? 14 Take it and go. It is my desire to pay all the same; 15 is it against the law to give away my money if I want to? Should you be angry because I am kind?’ 16 And so it is that the last shall be first, and the first, last.”
17 As Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside 18 and talked to them about what would happen to him when they arrived.
“I[b] will be betrayed to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, and they will condemn me to die. 19 And they will hand me over to the Roman government, and I will be mocked and crucified, and the third day I will rise to life again.”
20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, brought them to Jesus and respectfully asked a favor.
21 “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit on two thrones[c] next to yours?”
22 But Jesus told her, “You don’t know what you are asking!” Then he turned to James and John and asked them, “Are you able to drink from the terrible cup I am about to drink from?”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
23 “You shall indeed drink from it,” he told them. “But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. Those places are reserved for the persons my Father selects.”
24 The other ten disciples were indignant when they heard what James and John had asked for.
25 But Jesus called them together and said, “Among the heathen, kings are tyrants and each minor official lords it over those beneath him. 26 But among you it is quite different. Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant. 27 And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave. 28 Your attitude[d] must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
29 As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a vast crowd surged along behind.
30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Sir, King David’s Son, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only yelled the louder.
32-33 When Jesus came to the place where they were, he stopped in the road and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Sir,” they said, “we want to see!”
34 Jesus was moved with pity for them and touched their eyes. And instantly they could see, and followed 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.