M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
A Request from Zelophehad’s Daughters
27 The daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, descendant of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, belonged to the families of Manasseh, son of Joseph. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came 2 to Moses and stood in front of him, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said, 3 “Our father died in the desert. He was not a part of Korah’s followers who joined forces against Yahweh. He died for his own sin and left no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name be allowed to die out in his family because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
5 So Moses brought their case to Yahweh, 6 and Yahweh said to him, 7 “Zelophehad’s daughters are right. You must give them property of their own among their father’s relatives. Turn their father’s property over to them.
8 “Tell the Israelites: If a man dies and leaves no sons, turn his property over to his daughters. 9 If he has no daughters, give his property to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his property to his uncles on his father’s side of the family. 11 If he has no uncles, give his property to the nearest relative in his family, and that relative will take possession of it. This will be a rule for the Israelites, as Yahweh commanded Moses.”
The Lord Appoints Joshua to Succeed Moses
12 Yahweh said to Moses, “Go up into the Abarim Mountains, and take a look at the land I will give the Israelites. 13 After you see it, you, too, will join your ancestors in death, as your brother Aaron did. 14 You both rebelled against my command in the Desert of Zin. You didn’t show the people how holy I am when they were complaining at the oasis.” (This was the oasis of Meribah at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.)
15 Moses said to Yahweh, 16 “Yahweh, you are the Elohim who gives the breath of life to everyone. Please appoint someone over the community 17 who will lead them in and out of battle so that Yahweh’s community will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 So Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has the Ruach, and place your hand on him. 19 Make him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and give him his instructions in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so that the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim[a] to make decisions in Yahweh’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.”
22 Moses did as Yahweh commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community. 23 Moses placed his hands on Joshua and gave him his instructions as Yahweh had told him.
Psalm 70[a]
For the choir director; by David; to be kept in mind.
1 Come quickly to rescue me, O Elohim!
Come quickly to help me, O Yahweh!
2 Let those who seek my life
be confused and put to shame.
Let those who want my downfall
be turned back and disgraced.
3 Let those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be turned back because of their own shame.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you.
Let those who love your salvation continually say,
“Elohim is great!”
5 But I am oppressed and needy.
O Elohim, come to me quickly.
You are my help and my savior.
O Yahweh, do not delay!
Psalm 71
1 I have taken refuge in you, O Yahweh.
Never let me be put to shame.
2 Rescue me and free me because of your righteousness.
Turn your ear toward me, and save me.
3 Be a rock on which I may live,
a Maon where I may always go.
You gave the order to save me!
Indeed, you are my rock and my Metsuda.
4 My Elohim, free me from the hands of a wicked person,
from the grasp of one who is cruel and unjust.
5 You are my hope, O Adonay Yahweh.
You have been my confidence ever since I was young.
6 I depended on you before I was born.
You took me from my mother’s womb.
My songs of praise constantly speak about you.
7 I have become an example to many people,
but you are my strong Machseh.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
with your glory all day long.
9 Do not reject me when I am old
or abandon me when I lose my strength.
10 My enemies talk about me.
They watch me as they plot to take my life.
11 They say, “Elohim has abandoned him.
Pursue him and grab him because there is no one to rescue him.”
12 O Elohim, do not be so distant from me.
O my Elohim, come quickly to help me.
13 Let those who accuse me come to a shameful end.
Let those who want my downfall be covered
with disgrace and humiliation.
14 But I will always have hope.
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
about your salvation all day long.
Even then, it is more than I can understand.
16 I will come with the mighty deeds of Adonay Yahweh.
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O Elohim, you have taught me ever since I was young,
and I still talk about the miracles you have done.
18 Even when I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O Elohim.
Let me live to tell the people of this age
what your strength has accomplished,
to tell about your power to all who will come.
19 Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O Elohim.
You have done great things.
O Elohim, who is like you?
20 You have made me endure many terrible troubles.
You restore me to life again.
You bring me back from the depths of the earth.
21 You comfort me and make me greater than ever.
22 Because of your faithfulness, O my Elohim,
even I will give thanks to you as I play on a lyre.
I will make music with a harp to praise you, O Qedosh Yisrael.
23 My lips will sing with joy when I make music to praise you.
My soul, which you have rescued, also will sing joyfully.
24 My tongue will tell about your righteousness all day long,
because those who wanted my downfall
have been disgraced and put to shame.
Damascus and Israel Will Be Punished
17 This is the divine revelation about Damascus.
“Damascus will no longer be a city.
It will become a pile of rubble.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted.
These cities will be used for sheep, which will lie down in them.
There will be no one to disturb those sheep.
3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and the kingdom will disappear from Damascus.
The remaining few from Aram will share Israel’s honor,”
declares Yahweh Tsebaoth.
4 “When that day comes, the honor of Jacob’s people will fade away,
and they will become skin and bones.
5 That time will be like harvesting bundles of grain by the armful.
It will be like gathering grain in the Rephaim Valley.
6 Only a few people will survive.
They will be like an olive tree that has been beaten.
Only two or three olives are left
at the top of the highest branch,
four or five olives on the rest of the branches,”
declares Yahweh Elohim of Israel.
7 When that day comes, they will look to their maker,
and their eyes will look to Qedosh Yisrael.
8 They won’t look to the altars made by their hands
or to the Asherah poles or incense altars
which their fingers molded.
9 When that day comes, the fortified cities
which other people abandoned because of the Israelites
will be like abandoned woods and undergrowth.
So it will become a wasteland.
10 You have forgotten the Elohim of your salvation.
You haven’t remembered the rock, your stronghold.
Instead, you have planted the best plants
and have set out the imported grapevines.
11 On the day you plant, you will make it grow.[a]
On the morning you set out the seedling, you will make it sprout.
But the harvest will become a [rotting] pile[b]
on a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 How horrible it will be for many people!
They will roar like the roaring sea.
The noise that the people make
will be like the noise from rushing water.
13 The people will make noise like raging water.
But Elohim will yell at them, and they will run far away.
They will be chased away
like husks on the mountains being blown by the wind,
like whirling dust being blown by a storm.
14 In the evening there will be sudden terror.
Before morning they will be gone.
This will be the fate of those who looted us,
the destiny of those who robbed us.
Sudan Will Be Punished
18 How horrible it will be for the land of whirring wings
which lies beyond the rivers of Sudan.
2 It sends messengers by sea
in boats made of reeds
skimming over the surface of the water.
Go, swift messengers, to a tall and smooth-skinned people,
a people who are feared far and near,
a strong and aggressive nation,
whose land is divided by rivers.
3 Look when someone raises a flag on the mountains.
Listen when someone blows a ram’s horn,
all you inhabitants of the world who live on the earth.
4 This is what Yahweh says to me:
I will keep quiet and watch from my dwelling place.
My presence will be like scorching heat in the sunshine,
like heavy dew in the heat of the harvest.
5 Before the harvest, when blossoms are gone
and grapes are ripening from blossoms,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning shears
and chop off the spreading branches.
6 They will be left for the birds of prey on the mountains
and the wild animals.
The birds of prey will feed on them in the summer,
and all the wild animals on earth
will feed on them in the winter.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to Yahweh Tsebaoth
from a tall and smooth-skinned people,
a people who are feared far and near,
a strong and aggressive nation,
whose land is divided by rivers.
They will be brought to Mount Zion,
the place where the name of Yahweh Tsebaoth is.
Instructions for Spiritual Leaders
5 I appeal to your spiritual leaders.[a] I make this appeal as a spiritual leader who also witnessed Christ’s sufferings and will share in the glory that will be revealed. 2 Be shepherds over the flock God has entrusted to you. Watch over it as God does: Don’t do this because you have to, but because you want to. Don’t do it out of greed, but out of a desire to serve. 3 Don’t be rulers over the people entrusted to you, but be examples for the flock to follow. 4 Then, when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Instructions for Christians
5 Young people, in a similar way, place yourselves under the authority of spiritual leaders.
Furthermore, all of you must serve each other with humility, because God opposes the arrogant but favors the humble. 6 Be humbled by God’s power so that when the right time comes he will honor you.
7 Turn all your anxiety over to God because he cares for you. 8 Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour. 9 Be firm in the faith and resist him, knowing that other believers throughout the world are going through the same kind of suffering. 10 God, who shows you his kindness[b] and who has called you through Christ Yeshua to his eternal glory, will restore you, strengthen you, make you strong, and support you as you suffer for a little while. 11 Power belongs to him forever. Amen.
Farewell
12 I’ve written this short letter to you and I’m sending it by Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother. I’ve written to encourage you and to testify that this is God’s genuine good will.[c] Remain firmly established in it!
13 Your sister church in Babylon, chosen by God, and my son Mark send you greetings. 14 Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.