M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel Attacks the Midianites
31 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 2 “Pay back the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites; after that you will die.”
3 So Moses said to the people, “Get some men ready for war. The Lord will use them to pay back the Midianites. 4 Send to war a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5 So twelve thousand men got ready for war, a thousand men from each tribe. 6 Moses sent those men to war; Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest was with them. He took with him the holy things and the trumpets for giving the alarm. 7 They fought the Midianites as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every Midianite man. 8 Among those they killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with a sword.
9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children, and they took all their flocks, herds, and goods. 10 They burned all the Midianite towns where they had settled and all their camps, 11 but they took all the people and animals and goods. 12 Then they brought the captives, the animals, and the goods back to Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the Israelites. Their camp was on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went outside the camp to meet them. 14 Moses was angry with the army officers, the commanders over a thousand men, and those over a hundred men, who returned from war.
15 He asked them, “Why did you let the women live? 16 They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and turned the Israelites from the Lord at Peor. Then a terrible sickness struck the Lord’s people. 17 Kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations. 18 But save for yourselves the girls who have not had sexual relations with a man.
19 “All you men who killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third and seventh days you and your captives must make yourselves clean. 20 You must clean all your clothes and anything made of leather, goat hair, or wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to war, “These are the teachings that the Lord gave to Moses: 22 Put any gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead— 23 anything that will not burn—into the fire, and then it will be clean. But also purify those things with the cleansing water. Then they will be clean. If something cannot stand the fire, wash it with the water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may come into the camp.”
Dividing the Goods
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “You, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the family groups should take a count of the goods, the men, and the animals that were taken. 27 Then divide those possessions between the soldiers who went to war and the rest of the people. 28 From the soldiers who went to war, take a tax for the Lord of one item out of every five hundred. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, or sheep. 29 Take it from the soldiers’ half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s share. 30 And from the people’s half, take one item out of every fifty. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals. Give that to the Levites, who take care of the Lord’s Holy Tent.” 31 So Moses and Eleazar did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 There remained from what the soldiers had taken 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 women who had not had sexual relations with a man. 36 The soldiers who went to war got 337,000 sheep, 37 and they gave 675 of them to the Lord. 38 They got 36,000 cattle, and they gave 72 of them to the Lord. 39 They got 30,500 donkeys, and they gave 61 of them to the Lord. 40 They got 16,000 people, and they gave 32 of them to the Lord. 41 Moses gave the Lord’s share to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord had commanded him.
42 Moses separated the people’s half from the soldiers’ half. 43 The people got 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the people’s half Moses took one item out of every fifty for the Lord. This included the animals and the people. Then he gave them to the Levites, who took care of the Lord’s Holy Tent. This was what the Lord had commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers of the army, the commanders of a thousand men and commanders of a hundred men, came to Moses. 49 They told Moses, “We, your servants, have counted our soldiers under our command, and not one of them is missing. 50 So we have brought the Lord a gift of the gold things that each of us found: arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces. These are to remove our sins so we will belong to the Lord.”
51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, which had been made into all kinds of objects. 52 The commanders of a thousand men and the commanders of a hundred men gave the Lord the gold, and all of it together weighed about 420 pounds; 53 each soldier had taken something for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of a thousand men and the commanders of a hundred men. Then they put it in the Meeting Tent as a memorial before the Lord for the people of Israel.
God the Judge
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
75 God, we thank you;
we thank you because you are near.
We tell about the miracles you do.
2 You say, “I set the time for trial,
and I will judge fairly.
3 The earth with all its people may shake,
but I am the one who holds it steady. Selah
4 I say to those who are proud, ‘Don’t brag,’
and to the wicked, ‘Don’t show your power.
5 Don’t try to use your power against heaven.
Don’t be stubborn.’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or the desert can judge you.
7 God is the judge;
he judges one person as guilty and another as innocent.
8 The Lord holds a cup of anger in his hand;
it is full of wine mixed with spices.
He pours it out even to the last drop,
and the wicked drink it all.
9 I will tell about this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 He will take all power away from the wicked,
but the power of good people will grow.
The God Who Always Wins
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
76 People in Judah know God;
his fame is great in Israel.
2 His Tent is in Jerusalem;
his home is on Mount Zion.
3 There God broke the flaming arrows,
the shields, the swords, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 God, how wonderful you are!
You are more splendid than the hills full of animals.
5 The brave soldiers were stripped
as they lay asleep in death.
Not one warrior
had the strength to stop it.
6 God of Jacob, when you spoke strongly,
horses and riders fell dead.
7 You are feared;
no one can stand against you when you are angry.
8 From heaven you gave the decision,
and the earth was afraid and silent.
9 God, you stood up to judge
and to save the needy people of the earth. Selah
10 People praise you for your anger against evil.
Those who live through your anger are stopped from doing more evil.
11 Make and keep your promises to the Lord your God.
From all around, gifts should come to the God we worship.
12 God breaks the spirits of great leaders;
the kings on earth fear him.
God’s Message to Lebanon
23 This is a message about Tyre:
You trading ships, cry!
The houses and harbor of Tyre are destroyed.
This news came to the ships
from the land of Cyprus.
2 Be silent, you who live on the island of Tyre;
you merchants of Sidon, be silent.
Sailors have made you rich.
3 They traveled the sea to bring grain from Egypt;
the sailors of Tyre brought grain from the Nile Valley
and sold it to other nations.
4 Sidon, be ashamed.
Strong city of the sea, be ashamed, because the sea says:
“I have not felt the pain of giving birth;
I have not reared young men or women.”
5 Egypt will hear the news about Tyre,
and it will make Egypt hurt with sorrow.
6 You ships should return to Tarshish.
You people living near the sea should be sad.
7 Look at your once happy city!
Look at your old, old city!
People from that city have traveled
far away to live.
8 Who planned Tyre’s destruction?
Tyre made others rich.
Its merchants were treated like princes,
and its traders were greatly respected.
9 It was the Lord All-Powerful who planned this.
He decided to make these proud people unimportant;
he decided to disgrace those who were greatly respected.
10 Go through your land, people of Tarshish,
like the Nile goes through Egypt.
There is no harbor for you now!
11 The Lord has stretched his hand over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.
He commands that Canaan’s
strong, walled cities be destroyed.
12 He said, “Sidon, you will not rejoice any longer,
because you are destroyed.
Even if you cross the sea to Cyprus,
you will not find a place to rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians;
it is not a country now.
Assyria has made it a place for wild animals.
Assyria built towers to attack it;
the soldiers took all the treasures from its cities,
and they turned it into ruins.
14 So be sad, you trading ships,
because your strong city is destroyed.
15 At that time people will forget about Tyre for seventy years, which is the length of a king’s life. After seventy years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh woman, you are forgotten.
Take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your harp well. Sing your song often.
Then people will remember you.”
17 After seventy years the Lord will deal with Tyre, and it will again have trade. It will be like a prostitute for all the nations of the earth. 18 The profits will be saved for the Lord. Tyre will not keep the money she earns but will give them to the people who serve the Lord, so they will have plenty of food and nice clothes.
1 We write you now about what has always existed, which we have heard, we have seen with our own eyes, we have looked at, and we have touched with our hands. We write to you about the Word[a] that gives life. 2 He who gives life was shown to us. We saw him and can give proof about it. And now we announce to you that he has life that continues forever. He was with God the Father and was shown to us. 3 We announce to you what we have seen and heard, because we want you also to have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with God the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to you so we may be full of joy.[b]
God Forgives Our Sins
5 Here is the message we have heard from Christ and now announce to you: God is light,[c] and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 So if we say we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars and do not follow the truth. 7 But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.
8 If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and we do not accept God’s teaching.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.