M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Cities of Safety
19 The Lord your God is giving you land that belongs to other nations. He will destroy those nations. You will force them out and live in their cities and houses. 2 Then choose three cities. They must be in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. 3 Build roads to those cities. And divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts. Then someone who kills another person may run to these cities.
4 This is the rule for someone who kills another person. He may run to one of these cities to save his life. But he must have killed his neighbor without meaning to kill him. He did not hate his neighbor. 5 A man might go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood. The man swings his ax to cut down a tree. But the ax head flies off the handle. It hits his neighbor and kills him. The man who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life. 6 Otherwise, the dead man’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer might be angry and chase him. And the relative might catch him if the city is far away. The relative might kill the man. But the man should not be killed because he did not mean to kill his neighbor. 7 This is why I command you to choose these three cities.
8-9 Carefully obey all these laws I’m giving you today. Love the Lord your God. Always do what he wants you to do. Then the Lord your God will enlarge your land as he promised your ancestors. He will give you the whole land he promised to them. After that, choose three more cities of safety. 10 This is so that innocent people will not be killed in your land. The Lord your God is giving it to you to own. By doing this you will not be guilty of murder.
11 But a person might hate his neighbor. And he might hide and wait for him. He might attack and kill him and then run to one of these cities for safety. 12 The elders of his own city should send for him. They should bring him back from the city of safety. And they should hand him over to the relative who has the duty of punishing the murderer. 13 Give him no mercy. You must remove from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people. Then things will go well for you.
14 Do not move the stone that marks the border of your neighbor’s land. People long ago set them in place. They mark what you inherit in the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.
Rules About Witnesses
15 One witness is not enough to accuse a man of a crime or sin. A case must be proved by two or three witnesses.
16 A witness might lie and accuse a person of a crime. 17 The two people who are arguing must stand before the Lord. They must stand before the priests and judges who are on duty. 18 The judges must check the matter carefully. The witness might be a liar. He might be lying about his fellow Israelite. 19 If so, he must be punished as he wanted his brother punished. You must get rid of the evil among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear about this and be afraid. No one among you will ever do such an evil thing again. 21 Give him no mercy. A life must be paid for a life. It must be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.
Israel’s Failure to Trust God
106 Praise the Lord!
Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 No one can tell all the mighty things the Lord has done.
No one can speak all his praise.
3 Happy are those people who are fair,
who do what is right at all times.
4 Lord, remember me when you are kind to your people.
Help me when you save them.
5 Let me see the good things you do for your chosen people.
Let me be happy along with your happy nation.
Let me join your own people in praising you.
6 We have sinned just as our ancestors did.
We have done wrong. We have done evil.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt
did not learn from your miracles.
They did not remember all your kindnesses.
So they turned against you at the Red Sea.
8 But the Lord saved them for his own sake,
to show his great power.
9 He commanded the Red Sea, and it dried up.
He led them through the deep sea as if it were a desert.
10 He saved them from those who hated them.
He saved them from their enemies.
11 And the water covered their enemies.
Not one of them escaped.
12 Then the people believed what the Lord said.
They sang praises to him.
13 But they quickly forgot what he had done.
They did not wait for his advice.
14 They became greedy for food in the desert.
And they tested God there.
15 So he gave them what they wanted.
But he also sent a terrible disease among them.
16 The people in the camp became jealous of Moses
and of Aaron, the holy priest of the Lord.
17 Then the ground opened up and swallowed Dathan.
It closed over Abiram’s group.
18 Then a fire burned among their followers.
Flames burned up the wicked people.
19 The people made a gold calf at Mount Sinai.
They worshiped a metal statue.
20 They exchanged their glorious God
for a statue of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt.
22 He did miracles in Egypt.[a]
He did amazing things by the Red Sea.
23 So God said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stood before him.
He stopped God’s anger from destroying them.
24 Then they refused to go into the beautiful land of Canaan.
They did not believe what God promised.
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore to them
that they would die in the desert.
27 He said their children would be killed by other nations
and that they would be scattered among other countries.
28 They joined in worshiping Baal at Peor.
They ate meat that had been sacrificed to lifeless statues.
29 They made the Lord angry by what they did.
So many people became sick with a terrible disease.
30 But Phinehas prayed to the Lord,
and the disease stopped.
31 The Lord will remember that Phinehas did what was right.
And God will remember this from now on.
32 The people also made the Lord angry at Meribah.
And Moses was in trouble because of them.
33 The people turned against the Spirit of God.
So Moses spoke without stopping to think.
34 The people did not destroy the other nations
as the Lord had told them to do.
35 Instead, they mixed with the other nations.
And they learned their customs.
36 They worshiped other nations’ idols.
And they were trapped by them.
37 They even killed their sons and daughters
as sacrifices to demons.
38 They killed innocent people.
They killed their own sons and daughters
as sacrifices to the idols of Canaan.
So the land was made unholy by their blood.
39 The people became unholy by their sins.
They were unfaithful to God in what they did.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people.
He hated his own children.
41 He let other nations defeat them.
He let their enemies rule over them.
42 Their enemies were cruel to them.
Their enemies kept them under their power.
43 The Lord saved his people many times.
But they continued to turn against him.
So they became even more wicked.
44 But God saw their misery.
He heard their cry.
45 He remembered his agreement with them.
And he felt sorry for them because of his great love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
by those who held them captive.
47 Lord our God, save us.
Bring us back from other nations.
Then we will thank you.
Then we will gladly praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He always was and always will be.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
False Gods Are Useless
46 Bel and Nebo bow down.
Their idols are carried by animals.
The statues are only heavy loads that must be carried.
They only make people tired.
2 These false gods will all bow down.
They cannot save themselves.
They will all be carried away like prisoners.
3 “Family of Jacob, listen to me!
All you people from Israel who are still alive, listen!
I have carried you since you were born.
I have taken care of you from your birth.
4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you.
Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you.
I made you and will take care of you.
I will carry you, and I will save you.
5 “Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me or like me.
6 Some people are rich with gold.
They weigh their silver on the scales.
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god.
Then they bow down and worship it.
7 They put it on their shoulders and carry it.
They set it in its place, and there it stands.
It cannot move from its place.
People may yell at it, but it cannot answer.
It cannot save people from their troubles.
8 “Remember this, and do not forget it!
Think about these things, you who turn against God.
9 Remember what happened long ago.
Remember that I am God. There is no other God.
I am God. There is no one like me.
10 From the beginning I told you what would happen in the end.
A long time ago I told you things that have not yet happened.
When I plan something, it happens.
I do the things I want to do.
11 I am calling a man from the east to carry out my plan.
He will come like a hawk from a country far away.
I will make what I have said come true.
I will do what I have planned.
12 Listen to me, you stubborn people.
You are far from what is right.
13 I will soon do the things that are right.
I will bring salvation soon.
I will save Jerusalem.
And I will bring glory to Israel.”
The Bowls of God’s Anger
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple. The voice said to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s anger on the earth.”
2 The first angel left. He poured out his bowl on the land. Then ugly and painful sores came upon all those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his idol.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. Then the sea became blood like that of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water. And they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel of the waters say to God:
“Holy One, you are the One who is and who was.
You are right to decide to punish these evil people.
6 They have spilled the blood of your holy people and your prophets.
Now you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar say:
“Yes, Lord God All-Powerful,
the way you punish evil people is right and fair.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. The sun was given power to burn the people with fire. 9 They were burned by the great heat, and they cursed the name of God. God is the One who had control over these troubles. But the people refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. And darkness covered the beast’s kingdom. People bit their tongues because of the pain. 11 They cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had. But they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. The water in the river was dried up. This prepared the way for the kings from the east to come. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 These evil spirits are the spirits of demons. They have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world. They go out to gather the kings for battle on the great day of God All-Powerful.
15 “Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Happy is the person who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him. Then he will not have to go without clothes and be ashamed because he is naked.”
16 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon[a] in the Hebrew language.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. The voice said, “It is finished!” 18 Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and a big earthquake. This was the worst earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth. 19 The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish Babylon the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger. 20 Every island disappeared, and there were no more mountains. 21 Giant hailstones fell on people from the sky. The hailstones weighed about 100 pounds each. People cursed God because of the hail. This trouble was a terrible thing.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.