M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Korah’s Rebellion
16 Korah (son of Izhar), Dathan and Abiram (sons of Eliab), and On (son of Peleth) dared to challenge Moses.[a] (Korah was a descendant of Kohath and Levi. Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben.) 2 These four men were joined by 250 Israelite men, well-known leaders of the community, chosen by the assembly. 3 They came together to confront Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You’ve gone far enough! Everyone in the whole community is holy, and Yahweh is among them. Why do you set yourselves above Yahweh’s assembly?”
4 As soon as Moses heard this, he bowed with his face touching the ground. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “In the morning Yahweh will show who belongs to him, who is holy, and who it is that he will allow to come near him. Only the person Yahweh chooses will be allowed to come near him. 6 Korah, you and all your followers must do this tomorrow: Take incense burners, 7 and put burning coals and incense in them in Yahweh’s presence. Then Yahweh will choose the man who is holy. You’ve gone far enough!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough for you that the Elohim of Israel has separated you from the rest of the community of Israel? Yahweh has brought you near himself to do the work for his tent and stand in front of the community to serve them. 10 He has brought you and all the other Levites near himself, but now you demand to be priests. 11 So you and all your followers have joined forces against Yahweh! Who is Aaron that you should complain about him?”
12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab. But they said, “We won’t come! 13 Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey only to kill us in the desert? Do you also have to order us around? 14 Certainly you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us any fields and vineyards to own. Do you think you can still pull the wool over our eyes? We won’t come.”
15 Moses became angry and said to Yahweh, “Don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken anything from them, not even a donkey. And I haven’t mistreated any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and all your followers must come into Yahweh’s presence. Aaron will also be there with you. 17 Each man will take his incense burner and put incense in it. They will offer all 250 incense burners to Yahweh. Then you and Aaron offer your incense burners.”
18 So each man took his incense burner, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers—those who opposed Moses and Aaron—at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of Yahweh appeared to the whole group.
20 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Move away from these men, and I’ll destroy them in an instant.” 22 Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground and said, “O El, you are the Elohim who gives the breath of life to everyone! If one man sins, will you be angry with the whole community?”
23 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 24 “Tell the community: Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the leaders of Israel followed him. 26 He said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you’ll be swept away because of all their sins.” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children.
28 Moses said, “This is how you will know that Yahweh sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t my idea: 29 If these men die like all other people—if they die a natural death—then Yahweh hasn’t sent me. 30 But if Yahweh does something totally new—if the ground opens up, swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive to their graves—then you’ll know that these men have treated Yahweh with contempt.”
31 As soon as he had finished saying all this, the ground under them split, 32 and the earth opened up to swallow them, their families, the followers of Korah, and all their property. 33 They went down alive to their graves with everything that belonged to them. The ground covered them, and so they disappeared from the assembly. 34 All the Israelites around them ran away when they heard their screams. They thought the ground would swallow them, too.
35 Fire came from Yahweh and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.[b]
36 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, to take the incense burners out of the fire and scatter the coals and incense somewhere else, because the incense burners have become holy. 38 The incense burners of these men who sinned and lost their lives are holy, because they were offered to Yahweh. Hammer them into thin metal sheets to cover the altar. This will be a sign to the Israelites.”
39 So the priest Eleazar took the bronze incense burners which had been brought by those who had been burned to death. The incense burners were then hammered into thin metal sheets to cover the altar, 40 following the command that Yahweh had given through Moses. The bronze-covered altar will remind Israel that no one but a descendant of Aaron can come near to burn incense to Yahweh. Everyone else will die like Korah and his followers.
41 The next day the whole community of Israel complained to Moses and Aaron. They said, “You have killed Yahweh’s people.” 42 The community came together to confront Moses and Aaron. When they turned toward the tent of meeting, they saw the smoke covering it, and the glory of Yahweh appeared.
43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting. 44 Yahweh said to Moses, 45 “Get away from these people, and let me destroy them in an instant!” Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground.
46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your incense burner, put burning coals from the altar and incense in it, and go quickly into the community to make peace with the Lord for the people. Yahweh is showing his anger; a plague has started.”
47 Aaron took his incense burner, as Moses told him, and ran into the middle of the assembly, because the plague had already begun among the people. He put incense on the incense burner to make peace with the Lord for the people. 48 He stood between those who had died and those who were still alive, and the plague stopped. 49 Still, 14,700 died from the plague in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 By the time Aaron came back to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the plague had stopped.
Psalm 52
For the choir director; a maskil; a psalm by David when Doeg (who was from Edom) told Saul that David had come to Ahimelech’s home.
1 Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero?
The mercy of El lasts all day long!
2 Your tongue makes up threats.
It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit.
3 You prefer evil to good.
You prefer lying to speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love every destructive accusation, you deceitful tongue!
5 But El will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and drag you out of your tent.
He will pull your roots out of this world of the living. Selah
6 Righteous people will see this and be struck with fear.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look at this person who refused to make Elohim his fortress!
Instead, he trusted his great wealth
and became strong through his greed.”
8 But I am like a large olive tree in Elohim’s house.
I trust the mercy of Elohim forever and ever.
9 I will give thanks to you forever
for what you have done.
In the presence of your godly people,
I will wait with hope in your good name.
Psalm 53[a]
For the choir director; according to mahalath,[b] a maskil by David.
1 Godless fools say in their hearts,
“There is no Elohim.”
They are corrupt.
They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good things.
2 Elohim looks down from heaven on Adam’s descendants
to see if there is anyone who acts wisely,
if there is anyone who seeks help from Elohim.
3 Everyone has fallen away.
Together they have become rotten to the core.
No one, not even one person, does good things.
4 Are all those troublemakers,
those who devour my people as if they were devouring food,
so ignorant that they do not call on Elohim?
5 There they are—panic-stricken—
but there was no reason to panic,
because Elohim has scattered the bones
of those who set up camp against you.[c]
You put them to shame.
After all, Elohim has rejected them.
6 If only salvation for Israel would come from Zion!
When Elohim restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice.
Israel will be glad.
Psalm 54
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David when people from the city of Ziph told Saul that David was hiding among them.
1 O Elohim, save me by your name,
and defend me with your might.
2 O Elohim, hear my prayer,
and open your ears to the words from my mouth.
3 Strangers have attacked me.
Ruthless people seek my life.
They do not think about Elohim.[d] Selah
4 Elohim is my helper!
Adonay is the provider for my life.
5 My enemies spy on me.
Pay them back with evil.
Destroy them with your truth!
6 I will make a sacrifice to you along with a freewill offering.
I will give thanks to your good name, O Yahweh.
7 Your name rescues me from every trouble.
My eyes will gloat over my enemies.
Isaiah Is Sent with a Message for the Lord’s People
6 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw Adonay sitting on a high and lofty throne. The bottom of his robe filled the temple. 2 Angels[a] were standing above him. Each had six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They called to each other and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Tsebaoth!
The whole earth is filled with his glory.”
4 Their voices shook the foundations of the doorposts, and the temple filled with smoke.
5 So I said, “Oh, no!
I’m doomed.
Every word that passes through my lips is sinful.
I live among people with sinful lips.
I have seen the Melek, Yahweh Tsebaoth!”
6 Then one of the angels flew to me. In his hand was a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin has been forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the voice of Adonay, saying, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9 And he said, “Go and tell these people,
‘No matter how closely you listen, you’ll never understand.
No matter how closely you look, you’ll never see.’
10 Make these people close-minded.
Plug their ears.
Shut their eyes.
Otherwise, they may see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
and return and be healed.”
11 I asked, “How long, O Adonay?”
And he replied,
“Until the cities lie in ruins with no one living in them,
the houses have no people,
and the land is completely desolate.
12 Yahweh will send his people far away,
and a large area in the middle of the land will be abandoned.
13 Even if one out of ten people is left in it,
the land will be burned again.
When a sacred oak or an oak is cut down, a stump is left.
The holy seed will be the land’s stump.”
13 Continue to love each other. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to believers you don’t know. By doing this some believers have shown hospitality to angels without being aware of it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are mistreated as if you were being mistreated.
4 Marriage is honorable in every way, so husbands and wives should be faithful to each other. God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.
5 Don’t love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you.” 6 So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper.
I will not be afraid.
What can mortals do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. Think about how their lives turned out, and imitate their faith.
8 Yeshua Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Don’t get carried away by all kinds of unfamiliar teachings. Gaining inner strength from God’s kindness[a] is good for us. This strength does not come from following rules about food, rules that don’t help those who follow them. 10 Those who serve at the tent have no right to eat what is sacrificed at our altar.
11 The chief priest brings the blood of animals into the holy place as an offering for sin. But the bodies of those animals were burned outside the Israelite camp. 12 That is why Yeshua suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem. He suffered to make the people holy with his own blood. 13 So we must go to him outside the camp and endure the insults he endured. 14 We don’t have a permanent city here on earth, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. 15 Through Yeshua we should always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, words that acknowledge him. 16 Don’t forget to do good things for others and to share what you have with them. These are the kinds of sacrifices that please God.
17 Obey your leaders, and accept their authority. They take care of you because they are responsible for you. Obey them so that they may do this work joyfully and not complain about you. (Causing them to complain would not be to your advantage.)
18 Pray for us. We are sure that our consciences are clear because we want to live honorably in every way. 19 I especially ask for your prayers so that I may come back to you soon.
20 The God of peace brought the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Yeshua, back to life through the blood of an eternal promise.[b] 21 May this God of peace prepare you to do every good thing he wants. May he work in us through Yeshua Christ to do what is pleasing to him. Glory belongs to Yeshua Christ forever. Amen.
Farewell
22 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to listen patiently to my encouraging words. I have written you a short letter. 23 You know that Timothy, our brother, has been freed. If he comes here soon, both of us will visit you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all God’s holy people. Those who are with us from Italy greet you.
25 May God’s good will[c] be with all of you!
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.