M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Tribes Camp Around the Tent of Meeting
2 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, 2 “The Israelites must camp around the tent of meeting. But they must not camp too close to it. All of them must camp under their flags and under the banners of their families.”
3 The groups of the camp of Judah must be on the east side. They must set up camp toward the sunrise. They must camp under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 4 There are 74,600 men in Nahshon’s group.
5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar. 6 There are 54,400 men in Nethanel’s group.
7 The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the tribe of Zebulun is Eliab, the son of Helon. 8 There are 57,400 men in Eliab’s group.
9 So a total of 186,400 men will be set apart for the camp of Judah. They will be arranged group by group. They will start out first.
10 The groups of the camp of Reuben will be on the south side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur. 11 There are 46,500 men in Elizur’s group.
12 The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. 13 There are 59,300 men in Shelumiel’s group.
14 The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph, the son of Deuel. 15 There are 45,650 men in Eliasaph’s group.
16 So a total of 151,450 men will be set apart for the camp of Reuben. They will be arranged group by group. They will start out second.
17 Then the camp of the Levites will start out. The tent of meeting will go with them. They will march in the middle of the other camps. They will start out in the same order as they do when they set up camp. Each one will be in their own place under their flag.
18 The groups of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud. 19 There are 40,500 men in Elishama’s group.
20 The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. 21 There are 32,200 men in Gamaliel’s group.
22 The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni. 23 There are 35,400 men in Abidan’s group.
24 So a total of 108,100 men will be set apart for the camp of Ephraim. They will be arranged group by group. They will start out third.
25 The groups of the camp of Dan will be on the north side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. 26 There are 62,700 men in Ahiezer’s group.
27 The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Okran. 28 There are 41,500 men in Pagiel’s group.
29 The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira, the son of Enan. 30 There are 53,400 men in Ahira’s group.
31 So a total of 157,600 men will be set apart for the camp of Dan. They will start out last. They will march under their flags.
32 Those are the men of Israel. They were counted according to their families. The total number of all the men in the camps is 603,550, group by group. 33 But the Levites weren’t counted along with the other men of Israel. That’s what the Lord had commanded Moses.
34 So the Israelites did everything the Lord had commanded Moses. That’s the way they set up camp under their flags. And that’s the way they started out. Each of them marched out with their own tribe and family.
For the director of music. A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 I have a message from God in my heart.
It is about the evil ways of anyone who sins.
They don’t have any respect for God.
2 They praise themselves so much
that they can’t see their sin or hate it.
3 Their mouths speak words that are evil and false.
They do not act wisely or do what is good.
4 Even as they lie in bed they make evil plans.
They commit themselves to a sinful way of life.
They never say no to what is wrong.
5 Lord, your love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithful love reaches up to the skies.
6 Your holiness is as great as the height of the highest mountains.
You are as honest as the oceans are deep.
Lord, you keep people and animals safe.
7 How priceless your faithful love is!
People find safety in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat well because there is more than enough in your house.
You let them drink from your river that flows with good things.
9 You have the fountain of life.
We are filled with light because you give us light.
10 Keep on loving those who know you.
Keep on doing right to those whose hearts are honest.
11 Don’t let the feet of those who are proud step on me.
Don’t let the hands of those who are evil drive me away.
12 See how those who do evil have fallen!
They are thrown down and can’t get up.
12 Remember your Creator.
Remember him while you are still young.
Think about him before your times of trouble come.
The years will come when you will say,
“I don’t find any pleasure in them.”
2 That’s when the sunlight will become dark.
The moon and the stars will also grow dark.
And the clouds will return after it rains.
3 Remember your Creator before those who guard the house tremble with old age.
That’s when strong men will be bent over.
The women who grind grain will stop because there are so few of them left.
Those who look through the windows won’t be able to see very well.
4 Remember your Creator before the front doors are closed.
That’s when the sound of grinding will fade away.
Old people will rise up when they hear birds singing.
But they will barely hear any of their songs.
5 Remember your Creator before you become afraid of places that are too high.
You will also be terrified because of danger in the streets.
Remember your Creator before the almond trees have buds on them.
That’s when grasshoppers will drag themselves along.
Old people will lose their desire.
That’s when people will go to their dark homes in the grave.
And those who mourn for the dead will walk around in the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is cut.
Remember him before the golden bowl is broken.
The wheel will be broken at the well.
The pitcher will be smashed at the spring.
7 Remember your Creator before you return to the dust you came from.
Remember him before your spirit goes back to God who gave it.
8 “Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Nothing has any meaning.”
Have Respect for God and Obey His Commandments
9 The Teacher was wise. He gave knowledge to people. He tried out many proverbs. He thought about them carefully. Then he wrote them down in order. 10 He did his best to find just the right words. And what he wrote was honest and true.
11 The sayings of those who are wise move people to take action. Their collected sayings are like nails pounded in firm and deep. These sayings are given to us by one shepherd. 12 My son, be careful not to pay attention to anything added to them.
Books will never stop being written. Too much studying makes people tired.
13 Everything has now been heard.
And here’s the final thing I want to say.
Have respect for God and obey his commandments.
This is what he expects of all human beings.
14 God will judge everything people do.
That includes everything they try to hide.
He’ll judge everything, whether it’s good or evil.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing.
Philemon, we are sending you this letter. You are our dear friend. You work together with us. 2 We are also sending it to our sister Apphia and to Archippus. He is a soldier of Christ together with us. And we are sending it to the church that meets in your home.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Prays and Gives Thanks
4 I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers. 5 That’s because I hear about your love for all God’s people. I also hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that what we share by believing will help you understand even more. Then you will completely understand every good thing we share by believing in Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy. It has encouraged me. My brother, you have renewed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Paul Makes an Appeal for Onesimus
8 Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway. 9 But we love each other. And I would rather appeal to you on the basis of that love. I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. 10 I am an old man, and I’m in prison. This is how I make my appeal to you for my son Onesimus. He became a son to me while I was being held in chains. 11 Before that, he was useless to you. But now he has become useful to you and to me.
12 I’m sending Onesimus back to you. All my love for him goes with him. 13 I’m being held in chains because of the good news. So I would have liked to keep Onesimus with me. And he could take your place in helping me. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything unless you agreed. Any favor you do must be done because you want to do it, not because you have to. 15 Onesimus was separated from you for a little while. Maybe that was so you could have him back forever. 16 You could have him back not as a slave. Instead, he would be better than a slave. He would be a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even more dear to you. He is dear to you not only as another human being. He is also dear to you as a brother in the Lord.
17 Do you think of me as a believer who works together with you? Then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18 Has he done anything wrong to you? Does he owe you anything? Then charge it to me. 19 I’ll pay it back. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I won’t even mention that you owe me your life. 20 My brother, we both belong to the Lord. So I wish I could receive some benefit from you. Renew my heart. We know that Christ is the one who really renews it. 21 I’m sure you will obey. So I’m writing to you. I know you will do even more than I ask.
22 There is one more thing. Have a guest room ready for me. I hope I can return to all of you in answer to your prayers.
23 Epaphras sends you greetings. Together with me, he is a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.
24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke work together with me. They also send you greetings.
25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
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