M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 36
The Daughters of Zelophehad. 1 The family heads of the clan of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses, before the leaders, and before the family heads of the people of Israel. 2 They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, the Lord commanded my lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 If they marry members of another Israelite tribe, then the inheritance of our ancestral tribe will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they have married. It will be taken from the portion of our inheritance. 4 During the Jubilee of the people of Israel their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they were received. Thus, their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
5 Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of Joseph is correct in what they have said. 6 This is what the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whomever they wish, only they are to marry within the ancestral tribe of their father. 7 Thus, no inheritance among the people of Israel will be transferred from one tribe to another. The people of Israel will hold on to the inheritance of their ancestral tribe. 8 Every daughter who comes into the possession of an inheritance of any tribe among the people of Israel will marry someone from the family of the tribe of her father. This way, each Israelite will inherit the inheritance of his fathers. 9 No inheritance will pass from one tribe to another. Each Israelite tribe is to keep its own inheritance.’ ”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters did as the Lord had commanded Moses.[a] 11 Zelophehad’s daughters, Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, married their cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married within the clans of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. Their inheritance remained within their clan and their tribe. 13 These are the commandments and the ordinances that the Lord commanded the people of Israel through Moses while they were in the plain of Moab, near the Jordan, across from Jericho.
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer for the Persecuted People
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]Listen to us, O shepherd of Israel,[d]
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
As you sit enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
3 over Ephraim,[e] Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power
and come to save us.
4 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine[f] upon us,
and we will be saved.
5 O Lord of hosts,[g]
how long will you be angry
at your people’s prayers?
6 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink tears beyond measure.
7 You have made us an object of contention to our neighbors,
a source of mockery to our enemies.
8 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
9 [h]You brought a vine[i] out of Egypt;
you dispersed the nations and planted it.
10 You prepared the ground for it;
then it took root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered with its shade
and the cedars of God[j] with its shoots.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the Sea,[k]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 [l]Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pluck its grapes?[m]
14 The boars from the forest ravage it,
and wild beasts of the field feed on it.
15 Turn once again to us, O Lord of hosts;[n]
look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
16 this shoot[o] that your right hand has planted,
the son that you yourself made strong.
17 Let those who would burn it or cut it down
perish when confronted by your rebuke.
18 Let your hand rest upon the man at your right,[p]
the son of man that you yourself made strong.
19 Then we will never again turn away from you;
give us life and we will call upon your name.[q]
20 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
The Lord Saves Israel and Judah[a]
Chapter 28
Against Samaria
1 Woe to the proud garlands of Ephraim’s drunkards
and to the fading flowers of its glorious beauty,
the crowning glory of a nation of men
overcome with wine and lying in the streets.
2 But behold, the Lord has one in his service
who is mighty and strong,
and who, like a storm of hail,
like a destroying tempest,
like a torrent of rain and raging flood waters,
will hurl them violently to the ground.
3 The majestic garlands of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4 And the fading blooms of its glorious beauty,
at the head of the lush valley,
will be like early figs before the summer;
whoever sees them will pluck them
and immediately consume them.
5 On that day the Lord of hosts
will be a crown of glory
and a beautiful diadem
to the remnant of his people,
6 a spirit of justice
to the one who sits in judgment,
and a spirit of strength to those
who repel the enemy at the city gates.
Against Judah
7 These also stagger from wine
and stumble due to strong drink.
Priests and prophets are confused because of liquor;
alcohol leaves them unable to think clearly
or to pronounce fair judgments.
8 Every table is covered with filthy vomit;
no place is clean.
9 “To whom will the prophet impart knowledge?
To whom will he explain his message?
To babies who are newly weaned,
to those just taken from the breast?
10 With him we are given
command after command, command after command,
rule after rule, rule after rule,
here a little, there a little.”[b]
11 Now, with stammering lips
and in an alien tongue,
he will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
“This is the place for rest;
give rest to the weary.
This is the place for repose.”
However, they would not listen.
13 Therefore, to them the word of the Lord will be,
“Command after command, command after command,
rule after rule, rule after rule,
here a little, there a little.”
14 Therefore, listen to the word of the Lord,
you arrogant rulers of this people in Jerusalem.
15 Proudly you have boasted,
“We have made a covenant with death
and entered into a pact with the netherworld.
And so, when the overwhelming scourge occurs,
it will not afflict us.
For we have made lies our refuge
and taken shelter in falsehood.”
16 Therefore, the Lord God
has this to say to you in response:
Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a stone that has been tested,
a precious cornerstone as a firm foundation;
those who place their trust in it will not falter.
17 And I will make justice the measuring line,
with righteousness as the plumb line.
Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and flood waters will submerge your hiding place.
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled
and your pact with Sheol will not survive.
When the raging waters roar forth,
you will be overwhelmed by them.
19 As often as the flood sweeps through,
it will engulf you,
sweeping over you day and night,
as terror conveys the message clearly.
20 For your bed will be too short
to enable you to stretch out,
and the blanket will be too narrow
to cover you sufficiently.
21 Then the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim,
and he will rage as he did in the Valley of Gibeon,
to accomplish his work, his mysterious work,
and to perform his deed, his strange deed.[c]
22 Therefore, cease your arrogance,
or your bonds will be further tightened.
For the Lord God of hosts has revealed to me
the destruction he has decreed for the entire earth.
23 Listen carefully to my words;
pay close attention to what I have to say.
24 Does the plowman spend his entire time plowing,
breaking up and harrowing his land?
25 Once he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter the fennel and sow cummin,
and plant wheat and barley,
with spelt around the borders?
26 God has instructed him in this
and trained him correctly.
27 Fennel must not be threshed with a sledge,
nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin.
28 Grain must be crushed for bread,
but it cannot be done so to excess;
one maneuvers the cartwheels and the horses
but is careful not to grind it too fine.
29 All this knowledge comes from the Lord of hosts
whose counsel is wonderful
and whose wisdom is great.
Salutation. 1 The Presbyter[a] to the chosen Lady and to her children whom I love in the truth—and not I alone but also all who know the truth 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
The Commandment of Love.[b] 4 It was a cause of great joy to me to discover that some of your children have been walking in the truth[c] just as we have been commanded by the Father. 5 [d]But now, Lady, I am making this request of you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment but simply one that we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. 6 And this is love: when we walk according to his commandments.[e] This is the commandment that you have heard from the beginning, and you must follow it.
Warning against False Teachers.[f] 7 Many deceivers have gone forth into the world, those who refuse to acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Any such person is the Deceiver[g] and the Antichrist. 8 Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full.[h]
9 Anyone who fails to remain faithful to the teaching of Christ but goes beyond[i] it does not have God. Only the one who remains faithful to the teaching possesses both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not impart this teaching, do not receive him into your house or welcome him.[j] 11 For anyone who welcomes him has a share in his evil deeds.
12 Conclusion. I have much to write to you, but I do not think it prudent to do so with paper and ink.[k] Instead, I hope to visit you and to talk with you face to face so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your sister, the chosen one,[l] send you greetings.
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