M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Daughters of Zelophehad(A)
36 The leaders of the ancestral families of the descendants of Gilead, who were descendants of Machir, and descendants of Manasseh, from Joseph’s tribe, approached and spoke to Moses and the leaders of the ancestral houses[a] of the Israelis. 2 “The Lord commanded my master[b] to apportion the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelis,” they said. “Now my master was ordered by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 But when they get married to one of the descendants of the tribes of Israel, their inheritances are to be withdrawn from our father’s inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they are to belong. Consequently, it is to be withdrawn from the portion of our inheritance. 4 Then, when the Jubilee Year of the Israelis comes, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they have come to belong. Their inheritance will thus be taken away from the inheritance of our father’s tribe!”
5 So Moses issued the Israelis these orders based on what the Lord said: “The tribe of the descendants of Joseph has spoken. 6 This is what the Lord is commanding the daughters of Zelophehad: If they decide it’s a good idea in their opinion[c] to get married only within the family of their father’s tribe, then let them get married 7 so that the inheritance of the Israelis won’t be turned over[d] from one tribe to another. Each one has an inheritance from his own father’s tribe that the Israelis are to maintain. 8 Every daughter who is in possession of an inheritance from the Israelis is to marry someone from the families within her father’s tribe so the Israelis can retain possession of their ancestral inheritance. 9 That way, their inheritance won’t be turned over from one tribe to another, because the Israelis are each to maintain their ancestral inheritances.”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters did just what the Lord had commanded Moses 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah: Zelophehad’s daughters married their uncle’s sons. 12 They married[e] into families of the descendants of Manasseh, that is, Joseph’s descendants, so that their inheritance remained within the tribe of their ancestor’s family.
13 These were the commands and the ordinances that the Lord issued to the Israelis through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River in Jericho.
For the Director of Music: According to “The Lilies”. A testimony of Asaph. A psalm.
A Prayer for Jerusalem
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen!
The one who leads Joseph like a flock,
the one enthroned on the cherubim,
display your glory.[a]
2 Reveal[b] your power before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
then come to our rescue.
3 God, restore us,
show your favor[c] and deliver us.
4 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
when will your smoldering anger[d]
toward your people’s prayers cease?[e]
5 You fed them tears as their food,
and caused them to drink a full measure of tears.
6 You have set us at strife against our neighbors
and our enemies deride us.
7 God of the Heavenly Armies, restore us
and show your favor,[f]
so we may be delivered.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt,
and drove out nations to transplant it.
9 You cleared the ground[g] so that its roots grew
and filled the land.
10 Mountains were covered by its shadows,
and the mighty cedars by its branches.
11 Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean[h] Sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates[i] River.
12 Why did you break down its walls
so that those who pass by pluck its fruits?[j]
13 Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it,
and creatures of the field feed on it.
14 God of the Heavenly Armies, return!
Look down from heaven and see.
Show care[k] toward this vine.
15 The root[l] that your right hand planted,
the shoot[m] that you tended for yourself,
16 was burned with fire, cut off,
and destroyed on account of your rebuke.
17 May you support the man at your right hand;
the son of man whom you have raised for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Restore us, so we can call upon your name.
19 God of hosts, restore to us the light of your favor.[n]
Then we’ll be delivered.
The Captivity of Ephraim
28 How terrible it will be for that arrogant garland—
the drunks of Ephraim!
How terrible it will be for that fading flower of his glorious beauty,
which sits on the heads of people bloated with food,[a]
of people overcome with wine!
2 Look! The Lord[b] has one who is mighty and strong,
like a hailstorm and destructive tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing water—
and[c] he will give rest to the land.
3 With hands[d] and feet, that proud garland[e]—
those drunks of Ephraim—will be trampled.
4 And that fading flower, his glorious beauty,
which sits on the heads of people bloated with food,
will be like an early fig before summer—
whenever someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it’s in his hand.
5 At that time,[f] the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will become a glorious crown,
a beautiful diadem for the remnant of his people,
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment,
a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 These people also[g] stagger from wine
and reel from strong drink.
Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink;
they’re drunk from[h] wine;
they reel from strong drink,
waver when seeing visions,
and stumble when rendering decisions.
8 For all the tables are covered in vomit and filth,
with no clean[i] space left.
Misuse of God’s Word
9 To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
To children just weaned from milk?
To those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is: “Do this and do that,
do this and do that,
Line upon line, line upon line,
a little here, a little there.”
11 Very well, then, through the mouths of foreigners[j]
and foreign languages
the Lord will speak to this people
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place,
so give rest to the weary”’
and,
“This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So, then, the message from the Lord to them will become:
“Do this and do that,
do this and do that,
line upon line,
line upon line,
a little here,
a little there,”
so that they will go,
but fall backward,
and be injured, snared, and captured.
God’s Precious Cornerstone
14 “Therefore hear[k] the message from the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.
15 Because you said:
‘We have entered into a covenant with death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol,[l]
so when the overwhelming scourge makes its choice,[m]
it cannot reach us,
since we have made lies our refuge
and have concealed ourselves inside falsehood,’
16 therefore this is what the Lord God[n] says:
“Look! I am laying[o] a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure[p] foundation:
Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.
17 And I will make justice the measuring line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,
and floods[q] will overflow your hiding place.
18 “Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol[r] will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be trampled by it.
19 As often as it sweeps through,
it will carry you away,
for it will sweep by morning after morning in the day;
but understanding this message will bring sheer terror at night,[s]
20 because the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its blankets too narrow to wrap around oneself!
God is on Mount Perazim
21 For the Lord will stand upon[t] Mount Perazim,[u]
he will rouse himself in[v] the Valley of Gibeon;
to carry out his work—
his strange deed,
and to perform his task—
his alien task!
22 But as for you,[w] don’t start mocking,
or your chains will become tighter;
for I have heard from the Lord[x] of the Heavenly Armies about destruction,
and it is decreed against the whole land.
The God who Plows and Harvests
23 “Pay attention!
Listen to what I have to say;
Pay attention,
and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow all the time?
Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing his field?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
he scatters caraway[y] and sows cumin, doesn’t he?
He plants wheat in rows,
barley in its designated place,
and feed for livestock[z] around its borders,[aa] doesn’t he?
26 His God instructs him regarding the correct way,
directing him how to plant.[ab]
27 For caraway is not threshed with a sharp sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin.
Instead, caraway is winnowed with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 It[ac] must be ground;[ad]
one cannot keep threshing it forever.
Even if he drives his cart[ae] and horses over it,
he cannot crush it.
29 This insight also comes from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
who is distinguished[af] in practical advice
and[ag] magnificent in sound wisdom.”
Greetings from John
1 From:[a] The Elder
To: The chosen lady and her children, whom I genuinely love, and not only I but also all who know the truth, 2 that is present in us and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus[b] the Messiah,[c] the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Living in the Truth
4 I was overjoyed to find some of your[d] children living truthfully, just as the Father has commanded us. 5 Dear lady, I am now requesting of you[e] that we all continue to love one another. It is not as though I am writing to give you[f] a new commandment, but one that we have had from the beginning. 6 And this is what demonstrates[g] love: that we live according to God’s[h] commandments. Just as you[i] have heard from the beginning what he commanded, you[j] must live by it.
Reject False Teachers
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world. They refuse to acknowledge Jesus the Messiah[k] as having become human. Any such person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 See[l] to it that you[m] don’t destroy what we have[n] worked for, but that you[o] receive your[p] full reward. 9 Everyone who does not remain true to the teaching of the Messiah,[q] but goes beyond it, does not have God. The person who remains true to the teaching of the Messiah[r] has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you[s] but does not present his teachings,[t] do not receive[u] him into your house or even welcome[v] him, 11 because the one who welcomes him shares in his evil deeds.
Final Greeting
12 Although I have a great deal to write to you,[w] I would prefer not to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your[x] chosen sister greet you.[y]
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