M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 14

The Western Tribes. ¹ These are the portions which the Israelites received as heritage in the land of Canaan.^(A) Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites determined ² their heritage by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses concerning the remaining nine and a half tribes.^{(B) 3} To two and a half tribes Moses had already given a heritage beyond the Jordan; to the Levites he had given no heritage among them:^{(C) 4} the descendants of Joseph formed two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. But the Levites were given no share of the land except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for the herds and flocks.^(D)

⁵ As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did: they apportioned the land.

Caleb’s Portion. ^6 (E)When the Judahites approached Joshua in Gilgal, the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, said to him: “You know the word the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and concerning me in Kadesh-barnea. ^7 (F)I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to reconnoiter the land; and I brought back to him a frank report. ^8 (G)My fellow scouts who went up with me made the people’s confidence melt away, but I was completely loyal to the Lord, my God. ⁹ On that occasion Moses swore this oath, ‘The land where you have set foot shall become your heritage and that of your descendants forever, because you have been completely loyal to the Lord, my God.’ ¹⁰ Now, as he promised, the Lord has preserved me these forty-five years since the Lord spoke thus to Moses while Israel journeyed in the wilderness; and now I am eighty-five years old,^{(H) 11} but I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me forth, with no less vigor whether it be for war or for any other tasks.^{[a](I) 12} Now give me this mountain region which the Lord promised me that day, as you yourself heard. True, the Anakim are there, with large fortified cities, but if the Lord is with me I shall be able to dispossess them, as the Lord promised.”^{(J) 13} Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his heritage.^{(K) 14} Therefore Hebron remains the heritage of the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to the present day, because he was completely loyal to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ Hebron was formerly called Kiriath-arba, for Arba, the greatest among the Anakim.^(L) And the land had rest from war.

Chapter 15

Boundaries of Judah. ¹ The lot for the tribe of Judah by their clans fell toward the boundary of Edom, the wilderness of Zin in the Negeb, in the extreme south.^{(M) 2 (N)}Their southern boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea,^[b] from the tongue of land that faces the Negeb, ³ and went southward below the pass of Akrabbim, across through Zin, up to a point south of Kadesh-barnea, across to Hezron, and up to Addar; from there, looping around Karka, ⁴ it crossed to Azmon and then joined the Wadi of Egypt^[c] before coming out at the sea. (This is your southern boundary.) ⁵ The eastern boundary was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.

The northern boundary climbed northward from the tongue of the sea, toward the mouth of the Jordan, ^6 (O)up to Beth-hoglah, and ran north of Beth-arabah, up to Eben-Bohan-ben-Reuben. ⁷ Thence the boundary climbed to Debir, north of the Valley of Achor,^(P) in the direction of the Gilgal that faces the pass of Adummim, on the south side of the wadi; from there it crossed to the waters of En-shemesh and emerged at En-rogel. ⁸ Climbing again to the Valley of Ben-hinnom^[d] on the southern flank of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem), the boundary rose to the top of the mountain at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim,^(Q) which bounds the Valley of Hinnom on the west. ⁹ From the top of the mountain it ran to the fountain of waters of Nephtoah,^(R) extended to the cities of Mount Ephron, and continued to Baalah, or Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁰ From Baalah the boundary curved westward to Mount Seir and passed north of the ridge of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon); it descended to Beth-shemesh, and ran across to Timnah. ¹¹ It then extended along the northern flank of Ekron, continued through Shikkeron, and across to Mount Baalah, from there to include Jabneel, before it came out at the sea. ¹² The western boundary was the Great Sea^[e] and its coast. This was the complete boundary of the Judahites by their clans.

Conquest by Caleb. ^13 (S)As the Lord had commanded, Joshua gave Caleb, son of Jephunneh,^(T) a portion among the Judahites, namely, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron. ^14 (U)And Caleb dispossessed from there the three Anakim, the descendants of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹⁵ From there he marched up against the inhabitants of Debir,^(V) which was formerly called Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶ Caleb said, “To the man who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage.” ^17 [f]Othniel captured it, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz; so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. ¹⁸ When she came to him, she induced him to ask her father for some land. Then, as she alighted from the donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?” ¹⁹ She answered, “Give me a present! Since you have assigned to me land in the Negeb, give me also pools of water.” So he gave her the upper and the lower pools.

Cities of Judah.^{[g] 20} This is the heritage of the tribe of Judahites by their clans: ²¹ The cities of the tribe of the Judahites in the extreme southern district toward Edom were: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan; ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, and Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor); ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, and Biziothiah; ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, and Ain and Rimmon; a total of twenty-nine cities with their villages.

³³ In the Shephelah: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, Engannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities and their villages. ³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages. ⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities and their villages. ⁴⁵ Ekron and its towns and villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the sea, all the towns that lie alongside Ashdod, and their villages; ⁴⁷ Ashdod and its towns and villages; Gaza and its towns and villages, as far as the Wadi of Egypt and the coast of the Great Sea.

⁴⁸ In the mountain regions: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities and their villages. ⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities and their villages. ⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibbeah, and Timnah; ten cities and their villages. ⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities and their villages. Tekoa, Ephrathah (that is, Bethlehem), Peor, Etam, Kulom, Tatam, Zores, Karim, Gallim, Bether, and Manoko; eleven cities and their villages. ⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah; two cities and their villages.^(W)

⁶¹ In the wilderness:^[h] Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, Ir-hamelah, and En-gedi; six cities and their villages. ⁶³ But the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem the Judahites could not dispossess; so the Jebusites dwell in Jerusalem beside the Judahites to the present day.^(X)

Psalm 146^[a]

Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer

¹ Hallelujah!

I

II

Psalm 147^[b]

God’s Word Restores Jerusalem

¹ Hallelujah!

I

II

III

II. Oracles Primarily from the Days of Jehoiakim

Chapter 7

The Temple Sermon.^{[a] 1} The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² Stand at the gate of the house of the Lord and proclaim this message there: Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord! ³ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Reform your ways and your deeds so that I may dwell with you in this place.^{(A) 4} Do not put your trust in these deceptive words: “The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!”^{(B) 5} Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with your neighbor; ⁶ if you no longer oppress the alien,^[b] the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow after other gods to your own harm,^{(C) 7} only then will I let you continue to dwell in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors long ago and forever.^(D)

⁸ But look at you! You put your trust in deceptive words to your own loss! ⁹ Do you think you can steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal, follow other gods that you do not know,^{(E) 10} and then come and stand in my presence in this house, which bears my name, and say: “We are safe! We can commit all these abominations again!”?^{(F) 11} Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves? I have seen it for myself!—oracle of the Lord.^{(G) 12} Go to my place at Shiloh,^[c] where I made my name dwell in the beginning. See what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.^{(H) 13} And now, because you have committed all these deeds—oracle of the Lord—because you did not listen, though I spoke to you untiringly, and because you did not answer, though I called you, ¹⁴ I will do to this house, which bears my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your ancestors, exactly what I did to Shiloh.^{(I) 15} I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast away all your kindred, all the offspring of Ephraim.^(J)

Abuses in Worship. ¹⁶ You, now, must not intercede for this people! Do not raise a cry or prayer in their behalf!^(K) Do not press me, for I will not listen to you! ¹⁷ Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children gather wood, their fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven,^[d] while libations are poured out to other gods—all to offend me!^{(L) 19} Are they really offending me—oracle of the Lord—or rather themselves, to their own disgrace?^{(M) 20} Therefore, thus says the Lord God: my anger and my wrath will pour out upon this place, upon human being and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruits of the earth; it will burn and not be quenched.^(N)

²¹ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Heap your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices; eat up the meat! ²² In speaking to your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I gave them no command^[e] concerning burnt offering or sacrifice. ²³ This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk exactly in the way I command you, so that you may prosper.^(O)

²⁴ But they did not listen to me, nor did they pay attention. They walked in the stubbornness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.^{(P) 25} From the day that your ancestors left the land of Egypt even to this day, I kept on sending all my servants the prophets to you.^{(Q) 26} Yet they have not listened to me nor have they paid attention; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their ancestors.^{(R) 27} When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either. When you call to them, they will not answer you. ²⁸ Say to them: This is the nation which does not listen to the voice of the Lord, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.

³⁰ The people of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes—oracle of the Lord. They have set up their detestable things in the house which bears my name, thereby defiling it.^{(T) 31} In the Valley of Ben-hinnom^[g] they go on building the high places of Topheth to sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire, something I never commanded or considered. ³² Be assured! Days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when they will no longer say “Topheth” or “Valley of Ben-hinnom” but “Valley of Slaughter.” For want of space, Topheth will become burial ground.^{(U) 33} The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and beasts of the earth, which no one will drive away.^{(V) 34} I will silence the cry of joy, the cry of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for the land will be turned to rubble.^(W)

Chapter 21

The Entry into Jerusalem.^{[a] 1 (A)}When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage^[b] on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her.^[c] Untie them and bring them here to me. ³ And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” ^4 [d]This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. ^7 [e]They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. ^8 [f](C)The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. ^9 (D)The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying:

¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken^[h] and asked, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet,^[i] from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The Cleansing of the Temple.^{[j] 12 (E)}Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.^{[k](F) 13 (G)}And he said to them, “It is written:

^14 (H)The blind and the lame^[m] approached him in the temple area, and he cured them. ¹⁵ When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things^[n] he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant ^16 [o](I)and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?” ¹⁷ And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and there he spent the night.

The Cursing of the Fig Tree.^{[p] 18 (J)}When he was going back to the city in the morning, he was hungry. ^19 (K)Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again.” And immediately the fig tree withered. ²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed and said, “How was it that the fig tree withered immediately?” ^21 [q](L)Jesus said to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. ^22 (M)Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned.^{[r] 23 (N)}When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things?^[s] And who gave you this authority?”^{(O) 24} Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question,^[t] and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ^26 [u](P)But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.^[v]

The Parable of the Two Sons.^{[w] 28} “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. ^31 [x]Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. ^32 [y](Q)When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants.^{[z] 33 (R)}“Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,^[aa] put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.^{(S) 34} When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants^[ab] to the tenants to obtain his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ^38 [ac]But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ ^39 [ad](T)They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” ⁴¹ They answered^[ae] him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” ^42 [af](U)Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures:

^43 [ag]Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ [^[ah] The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees^[ai] heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.