M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David Assigns the Priests Their Duties
24 Aaron's descendants were then divided into work groups. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 (A) But Nadab and Abihu died long before their father, without having any sons. That's why Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.
3 David divided Aaron's descendants into groups, according to their assigned work. Zadok, one of Eleazar's descendants, and Ahimelech, one of Ithamar's descendants, helped David.
4 Eleazar's descendants were divided into 16 groups, and Ithamar's were divided into eight groups, because Eleazar's family included more family leaders. 5 However, both families included temple officials and priests, and so to make sure the work was divided fairly, David asked God what to do.[a]
6 As each group was assigned their duties, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the Levite wrote down the name of the family leader in charge of that group. The witnesses were David and his officials, as well as Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the family leaders from the clans of the priests and the Levites.
7-18 Each group of priests went by the name of its family leader, and they were assigned their duties in the following order: Jehoiarib, Jedaiah, Harim, Seorim, Malchijah, Mijamin, Hakkoz, Abijah, Jeshua, Shecaniah, Eliashib, Jakim, Huppah, Jeshebeab, Bilgah, Immer, Hezir, Happizzez, Pethahiah, Jehezkel, Jachin, Gamul, Delaiah, Maaziah. 19 These men were assigned their duties at the temple, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded their ancestor Aaron.
The Rest of the Levites Are Assigned Their Duties
20 Here is a list of the other descendants of Levi:
Amram was the ancestor of Shubael and Jehdeiah.
21 Rehabiah was the ancestor of Isshiah, the oldest son in his family.
22 Izhar was the father of Shelomoth and the grandfather of Jahath.
23 Hebron had four sons, in the following order: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.
24 Uzziel was the father of Micah and the grandfather of Shamir.
25 Isshiah, Micah's brother, was the father of Zechariah.
26 Merari was the father of Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah.
27 Jaaziah had three sons: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.[b] 28-29 Mahli was the father of Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar had no sons, but Kish was the father of Jerahmeel. 30 Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
These were the descendants of Levi, according to their clans. 31 Each one was assigned his duties in the same way that their relatives the priests had been assigned their duties. David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the family leaders of the priests and Levites were the witnesses.
David Assigns the Temple Musicians Their Duties
25 David and the temple officials chose the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to be in charge of music. They were to praise the Lord by playing cymbals, harps and other stringed instruments. Here is a list of the musicians and their duties:
2 Asaph's four sons, Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, were under the direction of their father and played music whenever the king told them to.
3 Jeduthun's six sons, Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[c] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, were under the direction of their father and played harps and sang praises to the Lord.
4 Heman had 14 sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. 5 Heman was one of the king's prophets, and God honored Heman by giving him 14 sons and 3 daughters. 6 His sons were under his direction and played cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments during times of worship at the temple.
Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman took their orders directly from the king.
7 There were 288 of these men, and all of them were skilled musicians. 8 David assigned them their duties by asking the Lord what he wanted.[d] Everyone was responsible for something, whether young or old, teacher or student.
9-31 The musicians were divided into 24 groups of twelve, and each group went by the name of their family leader. They were assigned their duties in the following order: Joseph, Gedaliah, Zaccur, Zeri, Nethaniah, Bukkiah, Asarelah, Jeshaiah, Mattaniah, Shimei, Uzziel, Hashabiah, Shebuel, Mattithiah, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Joshbekashah, Hanani, Mallothi, Eliathah, Hothir, Giddalti, Mahazioth, and Romamtiezer.
Helping Christian Leaders
5 Church leaders, I am writing to encourage you. I too am a leader, as well as a witness to Christ's suffering, and I will share in his glory when it is shown to us.
2 (A) Just as shepherds watch over their sheep, you must watch over everyone God has placed in your care. Do it willingly in order to please God, and not simply because you think you must. Let it be something you want to do, instead of something you do merely to make money. 3 Don't be bossy to those people who are in your care, but set an example for them. 4 Then when Christ the Chief Shepherd returns, you will be given a crown that will never lose its glory.
5 (B) All of you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say,
“God opposes proud people,
but he helps everyone
who is humble.”
6 (C) Be humble in the presence of God's mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. 7 (D) God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.
8 Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. 9 But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers are suffering just as you are. 10 But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That's why he appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. 11 God will be in control forever! Amen.
Final Greetings
12 (E) Silvanus helped me write this short letter, and I consider him a faithful follower of the Lord. I wanted to encourage you and tell you how kind God really is, so you will keep on having faith in him.
13 (F) Greetings from the Lord's followers in Babylon.[a] They are God's chosen ones.
Mark, who is like a son to me, sends his greetings too.
14 Give each other a warm greeting. I pray that God will give peace to everyone who belongs to Christ.[b]
Evil Rulers and Lying Prophets
3 Listen to me,
you rulers of Israel!
You know right from wrong,
2 but you prefer to do evil
instead of what is right.
You skin my people alive.
You strip off their flesh,
3 break their bones,
cook it all in a pot,
and gulp it down.
4 Someday you will beg the Lord
to help you,
but he will turn away
because of your sins.
5 You lying prophets promise
security for anyone
who gives you food,
but disaster for anyone
who refuses to feed you.
Here is what the Lord says
to you prophets:
6 “You will live in the dark,
far from the sight of the sun,
with no message from me.
7 You prophets and fortunetellers
will all be disgraced,
with no message from me.”
8 But the Lord has filled me
with power and his Spirit.
I have been given the courage
to speak about justice
and to tell you people of Israel
that you have sinned.
9 So listen to my message,
you rulers of Israel!
You hate justice
and twist the truth.
10 You make cruelty and murder
a way of life in Jerusalem.
11 You leaders accept bribes
for dishonest decisions.
You priests and prophets
teach and preach,
but only for money.
Then you say,
“The Lord is on our side.
No harm will come to us.”
12 (A) And so, because of you,
Jerusalem will be plowed under
and left in ruins.
Thorns will cover the mountain
where the temple now stands.
Warnings
12 (A) As thousands of people crowded around Jesus and were stepping on each other, he told his disciples:
Be sure to guard against the dishonest teaching[a] of the Pharisees! It is their way of fooling people. 2 (B) Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. 3 Whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day. Whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.
The One To Fear
(Matthew 10.28-31)
4 (C) My friends, don't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but after that, there is nothing else they can do. 5 God is the one you must fear. Not only can he take your life, but he can throw you into hell. God is certainly the one you should fear!
6 Five sparrows are sold for only a few cents, but God doesn't forget a single one of them. 7 Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don't be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.
Telling Others about Christ
(Matthew 10.32,33; 12.32; 10.19,20)
8 If you tell others that you belong to me, the Son of Man will tell God's angels that you are my followers. 9 But if you reject me, you will be rejected in front of them. 10 (D) If you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven, but if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you cannot be forgiven.
11 (E) When you are brought to trial in the synagogues or before rulers or officials, don't worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say.
A Rich Fool
13 A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.”
14 Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?”
15 Then he said to the crowd, “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe.”
16 So Jesus told them this story:
A rich man's farm produced a big crop, 17 and he said to himself, “What can I do? I don't have a place large enough to store everything.”
18 Later, he said, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. 19 (F) Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ ”
20 But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”
21 “This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.”
Worry
(Matthew 6.25-34)
22 Jesus said to his disciples:
I tell you not to worry about your life! Don't worry about having something to eat or wear. 23 Life is more than food or clothing. 24 Look at the crows! They don't plant or harvest, and they don't have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. 25 Can worry make you live longer?[b] 26 If you don't have power over small things, why worry about everything else?
27 (G) Look how the wild flowers grow! They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you Solomon with all his wealth[c] wasn't as well clothed as one of these flowers. 28 God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't he do even more for you? You have such little faith!
29 Don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. 30 Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. 31 But put God's work first, and these things will be yours as well.
Treasures in Heaven
(Matthew 6.19-21)
32 My little group of disciples, don't be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves moneybags that never wear out. Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it. 34 Your heart will always be where your treasure is.
Faithful and Unfaithful Servants
(Matthew 24.45-51)
35 (H) Be ready and keep your lamps burning 36 (I) just like those servants who wait up for their master to return from a wedding feast. As soon as he comes and knocks, they open the door for him. 37 Servants are fortunate if their master finds them awake and ready when he comes! I promise you he will get ready and let his servants sit down so he can serve them. 38 Those servants are really fortunate if their master finds them ready, even though he comes late at night or early in the morning. 39 (J) You would surely not let a thief break into your home, if you knew when the thief was coming. 40 So always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.
41 Peter asked Jesus, “Did you say this just for us or for everyone?”
42 The Lord answered:
Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? 43 Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. 44 A servant who is always faithful will surely be put in charge of everything the master owns.
45 But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won't return until late. Suppose that servant starts beating all the other servants and eats and drinks and gets drunk. 46 If that happens, the master will come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the servants who cannot be trusted.
47 If servants are not ready or willing to do what their master wants them to do, they will be beaten hard. 48 But servants who don't know what their master wants them to do will not be beaten so hard for doing wrong. If God has been generous with you, he will expect you to serve him well. But if he has been more than generous, he will expect you to serve him even better.
Not Peace, but Trouble
(Matthew 10.34-36)
49 I came to set fire to the earth, and I wish it were already on fire! 50 (K) I am going to be put to a hard test. And I will have to suffer a lot of pain until it is over. 51 Do you think that I came to bring peace to earth? No indeed! I came to make people choose sides. 52 A family of five will be divided, with two of them against the other three. 53 (L) Fathers and sons will turn against one another, and mothers and daughters will do the same. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law will also turn against each other.
Knowing What To Do
(Matthew 16.2,3; 5.25,26)
54 Jesus said to all the people:
As soon as you see a cloud coming up in the west, you say, “It's going to rain,” and it does. 55 When the south wind blows, you say, “It's going to get hot,” and it does. 56 Are you trying to fool someone? You can predict the weather by looking at the earth and sky, but you don't really know what's going on right now. 57 Why don't you understand the right thing to do? 58 When someone accuses you of something, try to settle things before you are taken to court. If you don't, you will be dragged before the judge. Then the judge will hand you over to the jailer, and you will be locked up. 59 You won't get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.
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