M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Duties of the Kohathites
4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “Take [a]a census of the [b]descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households, 3 from (A)thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the work of the [c]descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.
5 “When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down (B)the veil of the screen and cover the (C)ark of the testimony with it; 6 and they shall lay a (D)covering of porpoise skin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth of pure [d]blue, and shall insert its poles. 7 Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of [e]blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the sacrificial bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and (E)the continual bread shall be on it. 8 They shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material, and cover the same with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its poles. 9 Then they shall take a [f]blue cloth and cover the (F)lampstand for the light, (G)along with its lamps and its snuffers, and its [g]trays and all its oil vessels, by which they serve it; 10 and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin, and shall put it on the carrying bars. 11 Over the golden altar they shall spread a [h]blue cloth and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin, and shall insert its poles; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a [i]blue cloth and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin, and put them on the carrying bars. 13 Then they shall take away the [j]ashes from the (H)altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks and shovels and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of porpoise skin over it and insert its poles. 15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects (I)and die. These are the [k]things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “The responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (J)the oil for the light and the (K)fragrant incense and (L)the continual grain offering and (M)the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the [l]tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. 19 But do this to them that they may live and (N)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load; 20 but (O)they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonites
21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take [m]a census of the sons of Gershon [n]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; 23 from (P)thirty years and upward to fifty years old, you shall [o]number them; all who enter to perform the service to do the work in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying: 25 they shall carry (Q)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and (R)the covering of porpoise skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, 26 and (S)the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the gate of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service; and all that is to be done, [p]they shall perform. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their loads and in all their work, shall be performed at the [q]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a duty all their loads. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their duties shall be [r]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Duties of the Merarites
29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30 from (T)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31 Now this is the duty of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its [s]sockets, 32 and the pillars around the court and their [t]sockets and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items [u]he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tent of meeting, [v]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, 35 from (U)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tent of meeting. 36 Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. 37 These are the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [w]commandment of the Lord [x]through Moses.
38 The numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, 39 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tent of meeting. 40 Their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. 41 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [y]commandment of the Lord.
42 The numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, 43 from (V)thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tent of meeting. 44 Their numbered men by their families were 3,200. 45 These are the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the [z]commandment of the Lord [aa]through Moses.
46 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ households, 47 from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of service and the work of carrying in the tent of meeting. 48 Their numbered men were (W)8,580. 49 According to the [ab]commandment of the Lord [ac]through Moses, they (X)were numbered, everyone by his serving or carrying; thus these were his numbered men, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
The Bride’s Admiration
3 “[e]Like an [f](E)apple tree among the trees of the forest,
So is my beloved among the [g]young men.
In his shade I took great delight and sat down,
And his (F)fruit was sweet to my [h]taste.
4 “He has (G)brought me to his [i]banquet hall,
And his (H)banner over me is love.
5 “Sustain me with (I)raisin cakes,
Refresh me with [j](J)apples,
Because (K)I am lovesick.
6 “Let (L)his left hand be under my head
And (M)his right hand (N)embrace me.”
7 “[k]I (O)adjure you, O (P)daughters of Jerusalem,
By the (Q)gazelles or by the (R)hinds of the field,
(S)That you do not arouse or awaken my love
Until [l]she pleases.”
8 “[m]Listen! My beloved!
Behold, he is coming,
Climbing (T)on the mountains,
Leaping on the hills!
9 “My beloved is like a (U)gazelle or a (V)young [n]stag.
Behold, he is standing behind our wall,
He is looking through the windows,
He is peering (W)through the lattice.
10 “My beloved responded and said to me,
‘(X)Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
11 ‘For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 ‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for [o]pruning the vines,
And the voice of the (Y)turtledove has been heard in our land.
13 ‘The (Z)fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the (AA)vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’”
14 “[p]O (AB)my dove, (AC)in the clefts of the [q]rock,
In the secret place of the steep [r]pathway,
Let me see your [s]form,
(AD)Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your [t]form is (AE)lovely.”
Give Heed
2 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to [a]what we have heard, so that (A)we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word (B)spoken through (C)angels proved [b]unalterable, and (D)every transgression and disobedience received a just [c](E)penalty, 3 (F)how will we escape if we neglect so great a (G)salvation? [d]After it was at the first (H)spoken through the Lord, it was (I)confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by (J)signs and wonders and by (K)various [e]miracles and by [f](L)gifts of the Holy Spirit (M)according to His own will.
Earth Subject to Man
5 For He did not subject to angels [g](N)the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified (O)somewhere, saying,
“(P)What is man, that You remember him?
Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him?
7 “(Q)You have made him [h]for a little while lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
[i]And have appointed him over the works of Your hands;
8 (R)You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now (S)we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
Jesus Briefly Humbled
9 But we do see Him who was (T)made [j]for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, (U)because of the suffering of death (V)crowned with glory and honor, so that (W)by the grace of God He might (X)taste death (Y)for everyone.
10 For (Z)it was fitting for Him, (AA)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (AB)perfect the [k](AC)author of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who (AD)sanctifies and those who (AE)are [l]sanctified are all (AF)from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them (AG)brethren, 12 saying,
“(AH)I will proclaim Your name to My brethren,
In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
13 And again,
“(AI)I will put My trust in Him.”
And again,
“(AJ)Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Therefore, since the children share in [m](AK)flesh and blood, (AL)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that (AM)through death He might render powerless (AN)him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through (AO)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not [n]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [o]descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He [p]had (AP)to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might (AQ)become a merciful and faithful (AR)high priest in (AS)things pertaining to God, to (AT)make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was (AU)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.