M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The descendants of Reuben
5 Reuben was Israel's firstborn son. That is, Reuben was born first. But he had sex with his father's slave wife. So his father took away the benefits that belong to a firstborn son. Instead, Israel gave those benefits to his son Joseph's sons. So Reuben does not have the first place in the list of Israel's sons. 2 Judah became stronger than all his brothers. Israel's ruler came from his tribe. But it was Joseph who received the benefits that belong to the firstborn son.[a]
3 The sons of Reuben, Israel's oldest son, were: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
4 Joel's descendants were: His son Shemaiah. Shemaiah's son Gog. Gog's son Shimei. 5 Shimei's son Micah. Micah's son Reaiah. Reaiah's son Baal. 6 Baal's son Beerah. Beerah was a leader of Reuben's tribe. Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, took him away to Assyria as his prisoner.
7 The lists of Reuben's descendants include these leaders of their clans: Jeiel was the first, then Zechariah and Bela. 8 Bela was the son of Azaz. Azaz was the son of Shema. Shema was the son of Joel.
Reuben's people lived in the region of Aroer, as far north as Nebo and Baal-Meon. 9 Their east border was the desert that goes all the way to the Euphrates River. They had too many animals to feed in the region of Gilead. So they had to live in all those other places too.
10 When Saul was Israel's king, the men of Reuben's tribe attacked the Hagrites. They won the fight. Then they moved into their land to live. That was the whole region that was east of Gilead.
The descendants of Gad
11 Gad's descendants lived in the region of Bashan, near the people of Reuben's tribe. Their land went as far as Salecah town in the east.
12 Joel was the most important leader. Shapham was the second leader. Janai and Shaphat were also leaders in Bashan. 13 Their relatives in each of their seven clans were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber.
14 They were all descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri's son. Huri was Jaroah's son. Jaroah was Gilead's son. Gilead was Michael's son. Michael was Jeshishai's son. Jeshishai was Jahdo's son. Jahdo was the son of Buz. 15 Ahi, son of Abdiel and grandson of Guni, was the leader of their clan. 16 Gad's descendants lived in Gilead, in Bashan, and in the small towns near there. They also lived in the whole land of Sharon where there was grass to feed their animals. 17 The names of Gad's descendants were written down at the time when Jotham was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel.
18 The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh had a large army. They had 44,760 brave soldiers who knew how to fight well. Their weapons were shields, swords, and bows and arrows. 19 They attacked the Hagrites and the people in Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20 God helped their army to fight against their enemies. He put the Hagrites under their power, as well as the other people who fought with them. The soldiers of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad called out to God for help during the battle. God answered their prayers because they trusted him. 21 They took all their enemies' animals. They included 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and 2,000 donkeys. They also caught 100,000 people as their prisoners. 22 They killed many of their enemy's soldiers because God was fighting for them. Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh's tribe took the land where the Hagrites had lived. They continued to live there until the exile of Judah's people.
The half tribe of Manasseh in the east[b]
23 Half of Manasseh's tribe lived in the region of Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan River. Their borders were Baal-Hermon, Senir and Hermon mountain. They became very many people.
24 These men were the leaders of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave soldiers and people respected them. They were leaders of their clans. 25 But they turned away from the God that their ancestors had worshipped. He had chased the other nations out of the land where his people now lived. But now they started to worship the gods of those nations. 26 So the God of Israel caused King Pul of Assyria to attack their land. That king is also called King Tiglath-Pileser.[c] He won the fight against the people of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. He took them away as his prisoners to Halah, to Habor, to Hara and to the Gozan river. They are still living there, even today.
The descendants of Levi
6 Levi's sons were: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
2 Kohath's sons were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
3 Amram's children were: Aaron, Moses and Miriam.
Aaron's sons were: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
4 Eleazar became the father of Phinehas. Phinehas became the father of Abishua. 5 Abishua became the father of Bukki. Bukki became the father of Uzzi. 6 Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth. 7 Meraioth became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 8 Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz. 9 Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah. Azariah became the father of Johanan. 10 Johanan became the father of Azariah. Azariah served God as a priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem.
11 Azariah became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 12 Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Shallum. 13 Shallum became the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah became the father of Azariah. 14 Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak. 15 Jehozadak went into exile with the people from Jerusalem and the rest of Judah. The Lord used Nebuchadnezzar to take them away to Babylon.
The three clans of Levi
16 Levi's sons were: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
17 The names of Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.
18 Kohath's sons were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
19 Merari's sons were: Mahli and Mushi.
These are the ancestors of the clans of the Levites:
20 Gershon's descendants were his son Libni, Libni's son Jahath and Jahath's son Zimmah. 21 Zimmah's son was Joah. Joah's son was Iddo. Iddo's son was Zerah. Zerah's son was Jeatherai.
22 Kohath's descendants were his son Amminadab, Amminadab's son Korah and Korah's son Assir. 23 Assir's son was Elkanah. Elkanah's son was Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph's son was Assir. 24 Assir's son was Tahath. Tahath's son was Uriel. Uriel's son was Uzziah. Uzziah's son was Shaul.
25 Elkanah's other sons were Amasai and Ahimoth. 26 Ahimoth's son was Elkanah. Elkanah's son was Zophai. Zophai's son was Nahath. 27 Nahath's son was Eliab. Eliab's son was Jeroham. Jeroham's son was Elkanah.
28 Samuel's firstborn son was Joel and his second son was Abijah.[d]
29 Merari's descendants were his son Mahli, Mahli's son Libni, Libni's son Shimei and Shimei's son Uzzah. 30 Uzzah's son was Shimea. Shimea's son was Haggiah. Haggiah's son was Asaiah.
The musicians for the temple
31 After David put God's Covenant Box in the Lord's house, he chose some men to lead the music there. 32 They used music to serve the Lord in his special tent where he met with his people. After King Solomon built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem, they served the Lord there. They obeyed the rules that told them how to do their work.
33 These are the leaders of the music and their sons:
From Kohath's clan: Heman the singer. He was Joel's son. Joel was Samuel's son. 34 Samuel was Elkanah's son. Elkanah was Jeroham's son. Jeroham was Eliel's son. Eliel was Toah's son. 35 Toah was Zuph's son. Zuph was Elkanah's son. Elkanah was Mahath's son. Mahath was Amasai's son. 36 Amasai was Elkanah's son. Elkanah was Joel's son. Joel was Azariah's son. Azariah was Zephaniah's son. 37 Zephaniah was Tahath's son. Tahath was Assir's son. Assir was Ebiasaph's son. Ebiasaph was Korah's son. 38 Korah was Izhar's son. Izhar was Kohath's son. Kohath was Levi's son. Levi was Israel's son.
39 Heman worked with his relative, Asaph. Asaph was Heman's helper. He was Berekiah's son. Berekiah was Shimea's son. 40 Shimea was Michael's son. Michael was Baaseiah's son. Baaseiah was Malkijah's son. 41 Malkijah was Ethni's son. Ethni was Zerah's son. Zerah was Adaiah's son. 42 Adaiah was Ethan's son. Ethan was Zimmah's son. Zimmah was Shimei's son. 43 Shimei was Jahath's son. Jahath was Gershon's son. Gershon was Levi's son.
44 Other relatives of Heman and Asaph worked with them. They belonged to Merari's clan and they stood on the left side. Kishi's son Ethan led this group. Kishi was Abdi's son. Abdi was Malluch's son. 45 Malluch was Hashabiah's son. Hashabiah was Amaziah's son. Amaziah was Hilkiah's son. 46 Hilkiah was Amzi's son. Amzi was Bani's son. Bani was Shemer's son. 47 Shemer was Mahli's son. Mahli was Mushi's son. Mushi was Merari's son. Merari was Levi's son.
48 All the other Levites also had jobs to do in God's special tent.
Aaron's descendants
49 Only Aaron and his descendants served God as priests. They offered sacrifices to God on the altar for burnt offerings. They also burned sweet oils on the altar for incense. That was their work in the Most Holy Place. They made sacrifices so that God would forgive the sins of the Israelites. They did all this in the way that God's servant Moses had commanded.
50 These were Aaron's descendants:
Eleazar was Aaron's son. Phinehas was Eleazar's son. Abishua was Phinehas's son. 51 Bukki was Abishua's son. Uzzi was Bukki's son. Zerahiah was Uzzi's son. 52 Meraioth was Zerahiah's son. Amariah was Meraioth's son. Ahitub was Amariah's son. 53 Zadok was Ahitub's son. Ahimaaz was Zadok's son.
The cities of the Levites
54 Aaron's descendants belonged to the clan of Levi's son, Kohath. When the leaders used lots to divide the land, Kohath's clan received the first part of the land.[e] These places belonged to them:
55 They had Hebron city in Judah's land. They had the fields around the city. 56 But Jephunneh's son, Caleb, had the villages around the city, with their fields. 57 Aaron's descendants received these towns with the fields around them: Hebron (a safe city),[f] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, 58 Hilen, Debir, 59 Ashan, Juttah and Beth-Shemesh.
60 They also received some towns in land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe. They received these towns with the fields around them: Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth and Anathoth.
So there were 13 towns for Aaron's descendants to live in.
61 The other people who were Kohath's descendants received ten towns in land that belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh. They used lots to choose the towns.
62 Gershon's descendants received 13 towns. The lots showed which towns they would receive. Their towns were in land that belonged to the tribes of Issachar, Asher and Naphtali, as well as in Manasseh's land in the region of Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan River.
63 Merari's descendants received 12 towns. The lots showed which towns they would receive. Their towns were in land that belonged to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
64 So the Israelites gave those towns and the fields around them to the Levites. 65 They used lots to choose these towns, including the towns in land that belonged to the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.
66 Descendants of Kohath received towns in land that belonged to Ephraim's tribe. They received these towns with the fields around them: 67 Shechem (a safe city in the hill country of Ephraim), Gezer, 68 Jokmeam, Beth-Horon, 69 Aijalon and Gath-Rimmon. 70 The other descendants of Kohath received towns in land that belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh. They received Aner with its fields and Bileam with its fields.
71 The descendants of Gershon received these towns in land that belonged to the other half tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its fields and Ashtaroth with its fields. 72 They also received towns in land that belonged to Issachar's tribe. They received these towns and the fields around them: Kedesh, Daberath, 73 Ramoth and Anem. 74 They received these towns in land that belonged to Asher's tribe: Mashal with its fields, Abdon with its fields, 75 Hukok with its fields and Rehob with its fields. 76 They received these towns in land that belonged to Naphtali's tribe: Kedesh in Galilee with its fields, Hammon with its fields and Kiriathaim with its fields.
77 The rest of Levi's descendants, who belonged to Merari's clan, received these towns: In land that belonged to Zebulun's tribe they received Rimmono with its fields and Tabor with its fields. 78 They also received towns in land that belonged to Reuben's tribe on the east side of the Jordan River, beyond Jericho city. They received these towns and the fields around them: Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, 79 Kedemoth and Mephaath. 80 They received these towns in land that belonged to Gad's tribe: Ramoth in Gilead with its fields, Mahanaim with its fields, 81 Heshbon with its fields and Jazer with its fields.
10 God's laws which he gave to Moses are like a shadow of the good things that would come later. But those laws do not show exactly what those good things are like. They say that the priests must continue to offer the same sacrifices on behalf of the people, year after year. So those sacrifices can never make the people completely clean when they come to worship God. 2 If the old rules could do that, the priests would have stopped offering sacrifices. The people who came to worship God would have become completely clean once, for all time. They would no longer have trouble in their minds about their sins. 3 But as it is, those sacrifices every year cause people to remember their sins. 4 We know that the blood of bulls and of goats cannot remove the punishment for sins. 5 So, when Christ came into the world, he said to his Father,
‘You have not wanted people to offer sacrifices and other gifts to you.
Instead, you have prepared a body for me to offer to you.
6 Sacrifices do not make you happy.
If people burn whole animals as a sacrifice,
or if they offer a sacrifice to make them clean from their sins,
that does not make you happy.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, my God.
I have come to do what you want.
That is what it says about me in the Bible.” ’[a]
8 So think about what Christ said there. First he said to God, ‘You have not wanted gifts and sacrifices of animals. Any kind of sacrifice like that does not make you happy.’ But we know that Moses' rules taught about those sacrifices. God's law said that they were necessary. 9 Then Christ said, ‘Here I am. I have come to do what you want.’ In that way, Christ took away the first agreement and its rules about sacrifices. Christ's sacrifice of his own body is the new way that God forgives our sins. 10 Jesus Christ was ready to do what God wanted. He offered his own body to God once, for all time. Because of Christ's sacrifice, God has made us clean so that we belong to him.
11 Every day, the priests do their work to serve God. They offer the same sacrifices to God again and again. But those sacrifices can never take away people's sins. 12 But Christ, our special priest, offered one sacrifice to take away our sins. He did that once, for all time. After that, he sat down at God's right side to rule with him. 13 Since then, he waits for God to win against his enemies completely. They will become like a place for him to put his feet. 14 So, as a result of his one sacrifice, Christ has made God's people completely clean for all time.
15 God's Holy Spirit also shows us that these things are true. He says this first:[b]
16 ‘The Lord God says:
After the time of the old agreement,
I will make a new agreement with my people.
It will be like this:
I will put my laws deep inside them.
I will put them into their thoughts.’
17 Then he says this:[c]
‘I will not continue to think about their sins
when they do not obey my laws.’
18 So that is the way that God forgives our sins. When God has done that, we do not need to have any other sacrifice to take away our sins.
We must continue to trust God
19 So then, Christian friends, we see that Jesus died as a sacrifice on our behalf. Because of that, we may go into God's Most Holy Place. We are not afraid to do that. 20 Jesus has opened a new way for us to come near to God. That way gives us life with God. It leads us through the curtain into God's Most Holy Place. Jesus opened that curtain for us when he offered his own body to God as a sacrifice.[d] 21 We have a great priest who rules the people of God's house. 22 So we should come near to God and we should not be afraid. But we must be honest and we must continue to trust him. He has made us clean from the dirt of our sins. Our thoughts no longer give us trouble about our sins. We have become clean. It is like he has washed our bodies with clean water.[e]
23 We know that we can trust God to do the things that he has promised. So we must continue to expect those things. We must tell other people that we trust God. We should not stop doing that. 24 We should think about how we can help one another. We want everyone to show love to each other. We want everyone to do good things to help one another. 25 Some people have stopped meeting with the group of Christians. But that is not good. We should all continue to meet together. We need to help one another to be strong and brave. That is now even more important, because the Lord's great day is coming. You know that the Lord will return soon.
We must not turn away from Jesus Christ
26 Now that we have learned what is true, we must continue to believe in Jesus. If we know God's true message, but we still choose to do wrong things, God will not forgive us. There is no other sacrifice that will take away our sins. 27 We know that God will judge us, and that will make us very afraid. Because we know that God will punish everyone who is against him. That punishment will be a very hot fire that destroys people. 28 In the old agreement, anyone who refused to obey Moses' rules had to die. If two or three people said that he had done a bad thing, that person had to die. They would not forgive him.[f]
29 So think about a person who has turned against the Son of God. That person's punishment will surely be much worse! He says that Christ's sacrifice has no value for him. He has made God's new agreement seem like something bad. It was Christ's death on the cross that made that person clean, so that he belonged to God. But now that person has insulted God's Spirit, who brings God's kind help to us. 30 We know God and his message. And God said this: ‘I am the one who will punish people for their sins. I will give them the punishment that they ought to receive.’[g] God also said this: ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ 31 Yes, if God takes hold of you to punish you, that will make you very afraid! He is the powerful God who lives for ever.[h]
32 Remember what happened to you in those early days. When you first understood the message about Christ, you had many troubles. But you continued to be strong. 33 Sometimes people insulted you. They made you ashamed in front of other people. Sometimes you chose to help other Christians who had trouble like that. Their troubles became your troubles. 34 You were kind to Christians who were in prison. When people took away your own things, you still chose to be happy. You knew that you had something better that would belong to you for ever.[i]
35 So continue to be strong in your thoughts. If you continue to trust God, you will receive great things. 36 You need to be patient and strong. Then you will continue to do what God wants. As a result, you will receive what God has promised. 37 This is what the Bible says:
‘In a very short time,
my special servant will come.
He is the one that I promised to send to you.
He will not be late.[j]
38 The person that I have accepted as right will live.
That person will live because he trusts me.
But if anyone is afraid and he turns back,
I will not be happy with that person.’[k]
39 But we are not like those people who are afraid and who turn back. If we were, God would destroy us. But we are people who continue to trust God. And so, our lives are safe with God.
The Lord speaks against the people in Samaria
4 Listen to this message, you women who live on the hill in Samaria. You are like fat cows that do not work hard for food. You are like the cows in Bashan. They eat on very good land by the Jordan river. You do not give to weak people what they need. You are not fair to poor people. Then you sit down and you say to your husbands, ‘Bring us more to drink.’ 2 The Lord God has made this promise and he speaks only true words. He says, ‘The time will come, when your enemies will take you away with meat hooks and fish hooks. 3 There are places in your city's walls where people have broken the walls. Your enemies will pull you through those places and they will throw you out. They will take you to that bad place called Harmon.[a] None of you will stay here.’
The people in Israel have not learned to listen to God
4 The Lord also says, ‘You like to go to Bethel. You say that it is your holy place. And when you go there, you do wrong things. So go there, if you must, and do your bad things. Go to Gilgal, if you must, and do more bad things there. You bring your sacrifices there every morning as a gift. But that does not make me happy. Every three days, you bring your gifts. But that also does not make me happy. 5 You bring bread to say “thank you”. You even bring lots of it and you tell everyone, “Look at how much I have brought.” You really like to do that. So continue to do it, but it does not make me happy.’ The Lord God says this!
6 ‘Earlier I made you hungry in all your cities. There was no food anywhere. But you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!
7 ‘Three months before your food was ready to pick, I did not send rain. So all the food became too dry. Sometimes I sent rain to one city, but I did not send it to other cities. I sent rain to one person's land, but I did not send it to another person's land. So that other person's land became too dry. 8 People became weak. They went from city to city to look for water. They were almost too weak to walk. There was not enough water. But still you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!
9 ‘I sent hot winds from the east. They burned the small plants, so those plants died. Worms made the other plants sick. So the other plants died. Locusts ate your trees that give fruit. But still you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!.
10 ‘I caused many people among you to become very sick. It was like what happened many years ago in Egypt. At that time, very many people got sick. Then I sent soldiers to you. And they killed your young men and they took away your horses. The smell from dead bodies was very bad. But you still did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!
11 ‘I killed many people among you, as I destroyed the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. Some of you did not die. You were like a stick that is already burning. And someone saves it from the fire. But still you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!
12 ‘So I will send trouble to you Israelites again. Get ready! You will see it. Then you will know that I have come to judge you.
13 I made the mountains and I made the wind. I tell people what I have decided to do. I change dawn into night. I walk on the high places of the earth. My name is the Lord God Almighty.’
The 3rd Hallelujah Psalm[a]
148 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the sky above!
Praise him high in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.
Praise him all his armies in heaven.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all bright stars.
4 Praise him, skies above,
and the water above the sky.
5 They should all praise the name of the Lord.
It was his command that created them.
6 He has fixed them in their places for all time.
Nothing can change the command that he has given.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth!
Praise him, sea monsters and all the deep seas.
8 Praise him, fire and hail, snow and clouds.
Praise him, wind and storm, as you obey his commands.
9 Praise him, mountains and all hills.
Praise him fruit trees and all trees in the forests.
10 Praise him, wild animals and farm animals.
Praise him, snakes and birds.
11 Praise him, kings all over the world,
and people of every nation.
Praise him, princes and all rulers on earth.
12 Praise him, young men and young women.
Praise him, old men, as well as children.
13 They should all praise the name of the Lord.
Only the Lord's name is great above all other names.
He is the king who rules over heaven and earth.
14 He has made his own people strong,
so that other nations respect them.
All the people who serve him should praise him.
They are the Israelite nation, who belong to him.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The 4th Hallelujah Psalm
149 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song to worship the Lord.
When his own people meet together,
they should praise him.
2 People of Israel, be very happy,
because God made you.
People of Zion, be very happy,
because God is your king.
3 Yes, dance to praise the name of the Lord.
Take your harps and tambourines
and make music to praise him with your songs.
4 When the Lord's people serve him,
it makes him happy.
He is happy to help humble people,
so that people respect them.
5 The people who belong to God should be very happy,
because he has made them great.
They should always sing with joy,
even when they lie on their beds at night.
6 They should shout aloud to praise God,
while they hold sharp swords in their hands.
7 That is how they must fight against other nations,
to punish them for their sins.
8 They must tie up the foreign kings with chains,
and put the rulers in prison.
9 They must do that to punish their enemies
in the way that is right.
That is how God will cause his people to become great.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
The 5th Hallelujah Psalm[b]
150 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his temple.
Praise him high in the sky,
where he shows his great strength.
2 Praise God for the great things that he has done.
Praise him because he is great and powerful.
3 Praise him with music!
Yes! Use trumpets, harps and lyres
to praise God![c]
4 Dance and hit drums to praise him!
Make music with harps and flutes
to praise him!
5 Make music with big cymbals and small cymbals
to praise him!
6 Everything that is alive should praise the Lord.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
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