M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Land for Joseph’s Sons
16 The lot was drawn for Joseph. The border of Joseph’s territory goes from the Jordan River at Jericho to the springs of Jericho on the east, through the desert that goes up from Jericho, and through the mountains to Bethel. 2 From Bethel the border goes to Luz and over to Ataroth at the border of the Archites. 3 Then it descends west to the border of Japhlet and Lower Beth Horon, on to Gezer, and ends at the Mediterranean Sea. 4 So Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, received this land as their inheritance.
Ephraim’s Land
5 This is the territory for the families descended from Ephraim. The eastern border of the land they inherited is from Ataroth Addar to Upper Beth Horon. 6 From there the border goes west, with Michmethath on the north. The border then turns east to Taanath Shiloh and passes east to Janoah. 7 From Janoah it descends to Ataroth and Naarah, touches Jericho, and ends at the Jordan River. 8 At Tappuah the border goes west along the Kanah River and ends at the Mediterranean Sea. This is the land given as an inheritance to the families of the tribe of Ephraim 9 with all the cities and their villages selected for Ephraim in Manasseh’s territory. 10 However, they did not force out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites still live in Ephraim today, but they are required to do forced labor.
Manasseh’s Land
17 The lot was drawn for the tribe of Manasseh, because Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn. Machir, Manasseh’s firstborn, the ancestor of the people living in Gilead, had received Gilead and Bashan because he was a soldier. 2 The land was given to the rest of the families descended from Manasseh, to the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh listed by their families.
3 Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, and great-grandson of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, had no sons—only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came to the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the leaders. They said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us some land as an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father’s relatives as the Lord had required. 5 Ten portions of land went to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan River. 6 These portions were distributed because Manasseh’s daughters were given an inheritance along with his sons, while Gilead belonged to Manasseh’s other descendants.
7 Manasseh’s border extends from Asher to Michmethath, which faces Shechem. Then the border goes south toward the people who live in En Tappuah. 8 (The land of Tappuah belongs to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belongs to Ephraim.) 9 The border then descends southward to the Kanah River. These cities belong to Ephraim, although they are among Manasseh’s cities. Manasseh’s ⌞southern⌟ border is the river, which ends at the Mediterranean Sea. 10 What is south ⌞of the river⌟ belongs to Ephraim, and what is north ⌞of it⌟ belongs to Manasseh. So the Mediterranean Sea ⌞is its western border⌟, Asher its northern border, and Issachar its eastern border. 11 In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shean and Ibleam with their villages and the people living in Dor, En Dor, Taanach, and Megiddo and their villages. The last three are on mountain ridges.
12 But Manasseh was not able to take possession of these cities since the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. 13 When the Israelites became strong enough, they made the Canaanites do forced labor, since they didn’t force all of them out.
14 Joseph’s descendants asked Joshua, “Why did you give us only one region for an inheritance? We have a lot of people because the Lord has blessed us.”
15 Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, go into the forest! Clear ground for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim if the mountains of Ephraim are too confining for you.”
16 Joseph’s descendants responded, “The mountains are not enough for us either. Besides, all the Canaanites living in the valley, in Beth Shean and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel have chariots made of iron.”
17 Then Joshua said to the descendants of Joseph, ⌞the tribes of⌟ Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are an important and very powerful people. One region is really not enough for you. 18 The mountain region will be yours as well. It is a forest, so you will have to clear it. All of it will be yours. But you must force out the Canaanites, even though they are strong and have chariots made of iron.”
148 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens.
Praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels.
Praise him, his entire heavenly army.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heaven
and the water above the sky.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord
because they were created by his command.
6 He set them in their places forever and ever.
He made it a law that no one can break.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth.
Praise him, large sea creatures and all the ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail,
snow and fog,
strong winds that obey his commands,
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedar trees,
10 wild animals and all domestic animals,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all its people,
officials and all judges on the earth,
12 young men and women,
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord
because his name is high above all others.
His glory is above heaven and earth.
14 He has given his people a strong leader,[a]
someone praiseworthy for his faithful ones,
for the people of Israel, the people who are close to him.
Hallelujah!
8 The Lord declares, “At that time the bones of the kings and the leaders of Judah, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the others who lived in Jerusalem will be taken out of their graves. 2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky. These are the things that they had loved, served, gone after, sought, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered or buried, but they will become manure on the ground.
3 “Then the few who remain from these wicked people will want to die rather than live where I will scatter them,” declares the Lord of Armies.
The Lord’s Judgment on Judah’s False Religion
4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
When someone falls, he gets back up.
When someone turns away from me, he returns.
5 The people of Jerusalem turned away from me without ever returning.
They still cling to deceit.
They refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened,
but they weren’t honest.
They don’t turn away from their wickedness and ask,
“What have we done?”
They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.
7 Even storks know when it’s time to return.
Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know
when it’s time to migrate.
But my people don’t know
that I, the Lord, am urging them to return.
8 “ ‘How can you say that you are wise
and that you have the Lord’s teachings?
The scribes have used their pens to turn these teachings into lies.
9 Wise people are put to shame, confused, and trapped.
They have rejected the Lord’s word.
They don’t really have any wisdom.
10 That is why I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
All of them, from the least important to the most important,
are eager to make money dishonestly.
All of them, from prophets to priests, act deceitfully.
11 They treat my dear people’s wounds
as though they were not serious, saying,
“Everything is alright! Everything is alright!”
But it’s not alright.
12 Are they ashamed that they do disgusting things?
No, they’re not ashamed.
They don’t even know how to blush.
So they will die with those who die.
They will be brought down when I punish them,’ ” says the Lord.
13 “ ‘I would have gathered their harvest,’ ” declares the Lord,
“ ‘but there are no grapes on the vine.
There are no figs on the tree,
and the leaves have dried up.
What I have given them will be taken away.’ ”
14 Why are we just sitting here? Let’s get up!
Let’s go into the fortified cities and die there.
The Lord our God has condemned us to die.
He has given us poison to drink
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We hoped for peace, but nothing good has happened.
We hoped for a time of healing, but there’s only terror.
16 The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan.
The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble.
They are coming to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and its people.
17 “I am going to send snakes among you,
vipers that can’t be charmed.
They will bite you,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Grief over His People’s Punishment
18 Sorrow has overwhelmed me.
I am sick at heart!
19 The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land:
“Isn’t the Lord in Zion?
Isn’t Zion’s king still there?”
They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods.
20 The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we haven’t been saved.
21 I am crushed because my dear people have been crushed.
I mourn; terror grips me.
22 Isn’t there medicine in Gilead?
Aren’t there doctors there?
Then why hasn’t the health of my dear people been restored?
A Story about a Wedding Reception
22 Again Jesus used stories as illustrations when he spoke to them. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who planned a wedding for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. 4 He sent other servants to tell the people who had been invited, ‘I’ve prepared dinner. My bulls and fattened calves have been butchered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding!’
5 “But they paid no attention and went away. Some went to work in their own fields, and others went to their businesses. 6 The rest grabbed the king’s servants, mistreated them, and then killed them.
7 “The king became angry. He sent his soldiers, killed those murderers, and burned their city.
8 “Then the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited don’t deserve the honor. 9 Go where the roads leave the city. Invite everyone you find to the wedding.’ 10 The servants went into the streets and brought in all the good people and all the evil people they found. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “When the king came to see the guests, he saw a person who was not dressed in the wedding clothes ⌞provided for the guests⌟. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without proper wedding clothes?’
“The man had nothing to say. 13 Then the king told his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.’
14 “Therefore, many are invited, but few of those are chosen to stay.”
A Question about Taxes(A)
15 Then the Pharisees went away and planned to trap Jesus into saying the wrong thing. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with Herod’s followers. They said to him, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth and that you teach the truth about the way of God. You don’t favor individuals because of who they are. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”
18 Jesus recognized their evil plan, so he asked, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me a coin used to pay taxes.”
They brought him a coin. 20 He said to them, “Whose face and name is this?”
21 They replied, “The emperor’s.”
Then he said to them, “Very well, give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.”
22 They were surprised to hear this. Then they left him alone and went away.
The Dead Come Back to Life(B)
23 On that day some Sadducees, who say that people will never come back to life, came to Jesus. They asked him, 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’ 25 There were seven brothers among us. The first married and died. Since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother. 26 The second brother also died, as well as the third, and the rest of the seven brothers. 27 At last the woman died. 28 Now, when the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? All seven brothers had been married to her.”
29 Jesus answered, “You’re mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power. 30 When people come back to life, they don’t marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven. 31 Haven’t you read what God told you about the dead coming back to life? He said, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ He’s not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33 He amazed the crowds who heard his teaching.
Love God and Your Neighbor(C)
34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 One of them, an expert in Moses’ Teachings, tested Jesus by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in Moses’ Teachings?”
37 Jesus answered him, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and most important commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40 All of Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
How Can David’s Son Be David’s Lord?(D)
41 While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They answered him, “David’s.”
43 He said to them, “Then how can David, guided by the Spirit, call him Lord? David says,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Take the honored position—the one next to me [and the Father] on the heavenly throne
until I put your enemies under your control.[a]” ’
45 If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?”
46 No one could answer him, and from that time on no one dared to ask him another question.
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