M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Where the tribes put up their tents
2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 ‘The Israelites must put up their tents on each side of the Tent of Meeting. They must not be very near to it but they must be all around it. They must live together in their tribes. Each person must be with his own tribe. Each tribe must have its own flag.[a]
3 The people in Judah's tribe must be on the east side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them, and they must put up their tents in groups. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 4 There will be 74,600 soldiers in his army.
5 The tribe of Issachar will put up their tents on one side of Judah's camp. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar. 6 There will be 54,400 soldiers in his army.
7 The tribe of Zebulun will be on the other side of Judah's camp. The leader of the tribe of Zebulun is Eliab, the son of Helon. 8 There will be 57,400 soldiers in his army.
9 So there will be 186,400 soldiers in the three groups on Judah's side of the camp. When the people travel, these tribes will march first.
10 The tribe of Reuben must be on the south side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them, and they must put up their tents in groups. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur. 11 There will be 46,500 soldiers in his army.
12 The tribe of Simeon will put up their tents on one side of Reuben's camp. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. 13 There will be 59,300 soldiers in his army.
14 The tribe of Gad will be on the other side of Reuben's camp. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph, the son of Deuel. 15 There will be 45,650 soldiers in his army.
16 So there will be 151,450 soldiers in the three groups on Reuben's side of the camp. When the people travel, they will march second.
17 The Levites must march next. The Levites must carry the Tent of Meeting. They must march between the first two groups of tribes and the last two groups of tribes. Each man must be in his own place. They must march with their flag.
18 The tribe of Ephraim must be on the west side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must live in groups. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud. 19 There will be 40,500 soldiers in his army.
20 The tribe of Manasseh will be on one side of Ephraim's camp. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. 21 There will be 32,200 soldiers in his army.
22 The tribe of Benjamin will be on the other side of Ephraim's camp. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni. 23 There will be 35,400 soldiers in his army.
24 So there will be 108,100 soldiers in the three groups on Ephraim's side of the camp. When the people travel, they will march third.
25 The tribe of Dan must be on the north side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must live in groups. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. 26 There will be 62,700 soldiers in his army.
27 The tribe of Asher will put up their tents on one side of Dan's camp. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Ocran. 28 There will be 41,500 soldiers in his army.
29 The tribe of Naphtali will be on the other side of Dan's camp. The leader of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira, the son of Enan. 30 There will be 53,400 soldiers in his army.
31 So there will be 157,600 soldiers in the three groups on Dan's side of the camp. They will march last with their flag.’
32 In that way, Moses and his helpers counted all the Israelite men who were able to fight. They counted them in groups, clan by clan. There were 603,550 soldiers. 33 They did not count the Levites among the other Israelites. That was what the Lord had told Moses.
34 The Israelites did everything that the Lord had told Moses. They put up their tents in groups, as the Lord wanted. Each tribe put up its tents under its own flag. When they started to travel, each man walked with his own clan and his own family.
The Lord's servant, David, wrote this song for the music leader.
A message from God
36 A wicked person turns against God completely.
He does not respect God.
2 He is too proud to think about his sin,
so he does not hate it.
3 He speaks wicked things to deceive people.
He does nothing that is wise or good.
4 While he lies on his bed at night,
he thinks about bad things that he can do.
He lives only to do things that are not good.
He does not turn away from evil things.
5 Lord your faithful love reaches as high as the sky.
People can trust you beyond the clouds.
6 Your justice is like the strongest mountains.
You always do what is right,
more than the seas are deep.[a]
You take care of people and animals
and you keep them safe.
7 God, your faithful love has great value!
You keep all humans safe,
like birds protect their babies under their wings.
8 You have plenty of food in your house,
to give them all that they need.
You give them water from your river,
that makes them happy when they drink it.
9 Yes, you are the one who gives us light and life.
10 Continue to love those who serve you as your people.
Let good, honest people receive your justice.
11 Do not let proud people hurt me.
Do not let evil people chase me away from home.
12 Now I see that those wicked people have fallen down!
They are lying there on the ground,
and they cannot get up again!
12 Remember to serve God while you are young.
He is the one who made you.
Your life will have many troubles in the future.
During those years, you will say,
‘I do not enjoy my life any more.’
2 When you are old, the light from the sun will not seem to be bright.
You will not see the moon or the stars.
There will always be dark clouds after the rain.
3 Your arms that have kept you safe will shake.
Your legs will become weak.
You will have only a few teeth to eat with.
Your eyes will no longer see very well.
4 Your ears will not hear noises outside in the streets.
You will not hear the sound of people as they work.
You will not hear the sound of people as they sing songs.
But a bird's song will wake you
when you want to sleep.
5 You will be afraid to stand on high places.
You will worry about danger in the streets.
When you are old, your hair will become white,
like the flowers on an almond tree.
You will feel too tired to move yourself,
like an old grasshopper.
You will not want to have sex.
Finally, we will all die and go to our home in the ground.
Many people will weep at our funeral.
6 Remember to serve God while you are young,
because one day your life will finish.
It will be like a silver chain that breaks;
like a gold bowl that breaks;
like a water pot at the well that breaks into pieces;
like a rope at the well that breaks apart.[a]
7 Our bodies go back into the ground as dust.
The breath of our life goes back to God,
who gave it to us.[b]
8 So I, the Teacher, say,
‘All these things have no purpose.
We cannot understand why they happen.’
About the Teacher
9 The Teacher was wise man. He also taught the people to understand things. He studied many proverbs and he wrote them down carefully. 10 The Teacher tried to find the right words, so that he could show the true meaning of what he wrote. 11 The words of wise people are like sharp sticks that a farmer uses to move his animals along. Their messages are like strong nails in a piece of wood. It is God, our one Shepherd, who gives these messages to us.
A final message
12 My son, I warn you to be careful about any other teaching. There will always be more and more books to read. If you try to study everything, you will be very weak and tired.
13 Now I have heard everything and this is what I have decided: Respect God and obey his commands. That is God's purpose for all people. 14 Remember that God will judge everything that we do, to see if it is good or it is bad. He knows even the things that we do secretly.
Paul says ‘Hello’ to Philemon
1 This letter is from me, Paul. I am in prison because I serve Christ Jesus. Our Christian friend Timothy is here with me.
We are writing to you, Philemon. You are our friend, and we love you. You work on behalf of Christ, as we do. 2 We say ‘hello’ also to Apphia, who is like a sister to us. And we say ‘hello’ to Archippus, who serves Christ like a soldier, as we do. We also say ‘hello’ to the group of Christians who meet in your home.
3 I pray that God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your minds.
Paul thanks God because of Philemon
4 When I pray for you, I always thank my God when I think about you. 5 I thank God because people tell me good things about you. You love all God's people and you trust in the Lord Jesus. 6 We each have the same faith in Christ as we serve him. So I pray that, as a result, you will become strong. I pray that you will understand more about every good thing that is ours because of Christ. 7 My friend, you have helped God's people to feel stronger. Your love for them has made me very happy. It makes me feel stronger too.
Paul asks Philemon to help Onesimus
8 I want to ask you to do something. I am sure that Christ has given me authority. So I could tell you strongly what you should do. 9 But instead, because of love, I will ask you, ‘Please do it.’ I, Paul, am an old man. Also, I am in prison now because I serve Christ Jesus. 10 So I am asking you to help Onesimus, who is like my own child. I taught him about Jesus while I was in prison. Because of that, he now has life with God. I am like his father. 11 Before he trusted Jesus, Onesimus did not really help you. But now he can help both you and me.[a]
12 So I am now sending him back to you. Because I love him, it is like I am sending you my own heart. 13 I wanted to keep him here with me, to help me on your behalf. I am in prison here because I taught people the good news about Jesus. 14 But I did not want to do anything unless you agreed. I wanted you to help me because you really want to help. I did not want to make you do it.
15 When Onesimus ran away from you, perhaps God let that happen. Onesimus left you for a short time so that you could now have him back for ever. 16 You can have him back again not only as your slave. He will be something much better than a slave for you. He will be like a brother that you love. I love him very much. But now you will love him even more. He will serve you as a slave, but he will also serve the Lord, as you do.
17 I am your friend. Together we serve God. If you agree with that, please be kind to Onesimus. Accept him in the same way that you would accept me. 18 If Onesimus has done anything wrong to you, I will make it right again. If he took money from you, I will pay it back. 19 I, Paul, am writing this myself: ‘I will pay the money back to you.’ But you should remember what I have given to you already. You have life with God because I told you the good news about Jesus.
20 Yes, my friend, please help me now, because we both belong to the Lord. As a Christian friend, help me to feel happier. 21 I am sure that you will do what I ask. That is why I have written this letter to you. I know that you will do even more than this to help me.
22 I want to ask you one more thing. Please prepare a room in your home where I can stay. I know that all of you are praying for God to let me go free. As a result, I hope that I will be able to visit you again.
Paul finishes his letter
23 Epaphras is also here in prison with me because he serves Christ Jesus. He says ‘hello’ to you. 24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, who work with me here, also say ‘hello’ to you.
25 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to all of you.
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