M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Korah, Dathan and Abiram
16 Korah was the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath. Kohath was the son of Levi. Korah and certain men from the tribe of Reuben turned against Moses. The men from Reuben were Dathan, Abiram and On. Dathan and Abiram were the sons of Eliab. On was the son of Peleth. 2 All those men rose up against Moses. And 250 men of Israel joined them. All of them were known as leaders in the community. They had been appointed as members of the ruling body. 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron. They said to Moses and Aaron, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy. Every one in it is holy. And the Lord is with them. So why do you put yourselves above the Lord’s people?”
4 When Moses heard what they said, he fell with his face to the ground. 5 Then he spoke to Korah and all his followers. He said, “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. He will show who is holy. He’ll bring that person near him. He’ll bring the man he chooses near him. 6 Korah, here’s what you and all your followers must do. Get some shallow cups for burning incense. 7 Tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them. Offer it to the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites! 9 The God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the community of Israel. He has brought you near him to work at the Lord’s holy tent. He has given you to the people so that you can serve them. Isn’t all that enough for you? 10 He has already brought you and all the other Levites near him. But now you want to be priests too. 11 You and all your followers have joined together against the Lord. Why are you telling Aaron you aren’t happy with him?”
12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We won’t come! 13 You have brought us up out of a land that has plenty of milk and honey. You have brought us here to kill us in this desert. Isn’t that enough? Now do you also want to act as if you were ruling over us? 14 Besides, you haven’t brought us into a land that has plenty of milk and honey. You haven’t given us fields and vineyards of our own. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No! We won’t come!”
15 Then Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “Don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken even a donkey from them. In fact, I haven’t done anything wrong to any of them.”
16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must stand in front of the Lord tomorrow. You must appear there along with Aaron. 17 Each man must get his shallow cup. He must put incense in it. There will be a total of 250 incense cups. Each man must bring his cup to the Lord. You and Aaron must also bring your cups.” 18 So each of them got his cup. He put burning coals and incense in it. All the men came with Moses and Aaron. They stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 Korah gathered all his followers together at the entrance to the tent. They opposed Moses and Aaron. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from these people. Then I can put an end to all of them at once.”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground. They cried out, “God, you are the God who gives life and breath to all living things. Will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?”
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 24 “Tell the community, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’ ”
25 Moses got up. He went to Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him. 26 Moses warned the community. He said, “Move away from the tents of these evil men! Don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, the Lord will sweep you away because of all their sins.” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had already come out. They were standing at the entrances to their tents. Their wives, children and little ones were standing there with them.
28 Then Moses said, “What is about to happen wasn’t my idea. The Lord has sent me to do everything I’m doing. Here is how you will know I’m telling you the truth. 29 These men won’t die a natural death. Something will happen to them that doesn’t usually happen to people. If what I’m telling you doesn’t happen, then you will know that the Lord hasn’t sent me. 30 But the Lord will make something totally new happen. The ground will open its mouth and swallow them up. It will swallow up everything that belongs to them. They will be buried alive. When that happens, you will know that these men have disrespected the Lord.”
31 As soon as Moses finished saying all these words, what he had said came true. The ground under them broke open. 32 It opened its mouth. It swallowed up those men. In fact, it swallowed up everyone who lived in their houses. It swallowed all Korah’s men. And it swallowed up everything they owned. 33 They went down into the grave alive. Everything they owned went down with them. The ground closed over them and they died. And so they disappeared from the community. 34 All the Israelites around them heard their cries. They ran away from them. They shouted, “The ground is going to swallow us up too!”
35 Then the Lord sent down fire. It burned up the 250 men offering the incense.
36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Speak to Eleazar the priest. He is the son of Aaron. Remind him that the shallow cups are holy. He must take them out of the ashes. He must scatter the burning coals away from there. 38 The men who sinned used those cups. And it cost them their lives. Hammer the cups into bronze sheets that will cover the altar. The cups were offered to the Lord. They have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the Israelites.”
39 So the priest Eleazar collected the bronze incense cups. They had been brought by the men who had been burned to death. He had them hammered out to cover the altar. 40 He did just as the Lord had directed Moses to tell him to do. The covering would be a reminder to the Israelites. It would remind them that no one except a son of Aaron should come and burn incense to the Lord. If people other than priests did that, they would become like Korah and his followers.
41 The next day the whole community of Israel told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.
42 The community gathered together to oppose Moses and Aaron. The people walked toward the tent of meeting. Suddenly the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting. 44 The Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from these people. Then I can put an end to all of them at once.” And Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground.
46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your incense cup. Put incense in it. And put burning coals from the altar in it. Then hurry to the people and pay for their sin. The Lord has begun to show his anger. The plague has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran in among the people. The plague had already started among them. But Aaron offered the incense and paid for their sin. 48 He stood between those alive and those dead. And the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague. That doesn’t include those who had died because of what Korah did. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The plague had stopped.
For the director of music. A maskil of David when Doeg, who was from Edom, had gone to Saul. Doeg had told Saul, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
52 You think you are such a big, strong man!
Why do you brag about the evil things you’ve done?
You are a dishonor to God all the time.
2 You plan ways to destroy others.
Your tongue is like a blade that has a sharp edge.
You are always telling lies.
3 You love evil instead of good.
You would rather lie than tell the truth.
4 You love to harm others with your words, you liar!
5 So God will destroy you forever.
He will grab you and pluck you from your tent.
He will remove you from this life.
6 Those who do what is right will see it and learn a lesson from it.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Just look at this fellow!
He didn’t depend on God for his safety.
He put his trust in all his wealth.
He grew strong by destroying others!”
8 But I am like a healthy olive tree.
My roots are deep in the house of God.
I trust in your faithful love
for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done.
I will praise you when I’m with your faithful people.
I will put my hope in you because you are good.
For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David.
53 Foolish people say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They do all kinds of horrible and evil things.
No one does anything good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on all people.
He wants to see if there are any who understand.
He wants to see if there are any who trust in God.
3 All of them have turned away.
They have all become evil.
No one does anything good,
no one at all.
4 Don’t these people who do evil know anything?
They eat up my people as if they were eating bread.
They never call out to God for help.
5 Just look at them! They are filled with terror
even when there is nothing to be afraid of!
People of Israel, God scattered the bones of those who attacked you.
You put them to shame, because God hated them.
6 How I pray that the God who saves Israel will come out of Zion!
God will bless his people with great success again.
Then let the people of Jacob be filled with joy! Let Israel be glad!
For the director of music. To be played on stringed instruments. A maskil of David when the men from Ziph had gone to Saul. They had said, “Isn’t David hiding among us?”
54 God, save me by your power.
Set me free by your might.
2 God, hear my prayer.
Listen to what I’m saying.
3 Enemies who are proud are attacking me.
Mean people are trying to kill me.
They don’t care about God.
4 But I know that God helps me.
The Lord is the one who keeps me going.
5 My enemies tell lies about me.
Do to them the evil things they planned against me.
God, be faithful and destroy them.
6 I will sacrifice an offering to you
just because I choose to.
Lord, I will praise your name
because it is good.
7 You have saved me from all my troubles.
With my own eyes I have seen you win the battle over my enemies.
The Lord Appoints Isaiah to Speak for Him
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was seated on his throne. His long robe filled the temple. He was highly honored. 2 Above him were seraphs. Each of them had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces. With two wings they covered their feet. And with two wings they were flying. 3 They were calling out to one another. They were saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who rules over all.
The whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 The sound of their voices caused the stone doorframe to shake. The temple was filled with smoke.
5 “How terrible it is for me!” I cried out. “I’m about to be destroyed! My mouth speaks sinful words. And I live among people who speak sinful words. Now I have seen the King with my own eyes. He is the Lord who rules over all.”
6 A seraph flew over to me. He was holding a hot coal. He had used tongs to take it from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with the coal. He said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away. Your sin has been paid for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord. He said, “Who will I send? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9 So he said, “Go and speak to these people. Tell them,
“ ‘You will hear but never understand.
You will see but never know what you are seeing.’
10 Make the hearts of these people stubborn.
Plug up their ears.
Close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes.
They might hear with their ears.
They might understand with their hearts.
And they might turn to me and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long will it be like that?”
He answered,
“It will last until the cities of Israel are destroyed.
It will last until no one is living in them.
It will last until the houses are deserted.
The fields will be completely destroyed.
12 It will last until the Lord has sent everyone far away.
The land will be totally deserted.
13 Suppose only a tenth of the people remain there.
Even then the land will be completely destroyed again.
But when oak trees and terebinth trees
are cut down, stumps are left.
And my holy people will be like stumps
that begin to grow again.”
Final Appeals
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to welcome outsiders. By doing that, some people have welcomed angels without knowing it. 3 Keep on remembering those in prison. Do this as if you were together with them in prison. And remember those who are treated badly as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 All of you should honor marriage. You should keep the marriage bed pure. God will judge the person who commits adultery. He will judge everyone who commits sexual sins. 5 Don’t be controlled by love for money. Be happy with what you have. God has said,
“I will never leave you.
I will never desert you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
6 So we can say boldly,
“The Lord helps me. I will not be afraid.
What can mere human beings do to me?” (Psalm 118:6,7)
7 Remember your leaders. They spoke God’s word to you. Think about the results of their way of life. Copy their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Don’t let all kinds of strange teachings lead you astray. It is good that God’s grace makes our hearts strong. Don’t try to grow strong by eating foods that the law requires. They have no value for the people who eat them. 10 The priests, who are Levites, worship at the holy tent. But we have an altar that they have no right to eat from.
11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Room. He brings their blood as a sin offering. But the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 Jesus also suffered outside the city gate. He suffered to make the people holy by spilling his own blood. 13 So let us go to him outside the camp. Let us be willing to suffer the shame he suffered. 14 Here we do not have a city that lasts. But we are looking for the city that is going to come.
15 So let us never stop offering to God our praise through Jesus. Let us talk openly about our faith in him. Then our words will be like an offering to God. 16 Don’t forget to do good. Don’t forget to share with others. God is pleased with those kinds of offerings.
17 Trust in your leaders. Put yourselves under their authority. Do this, because they keep watch over you. They know they are accountable to God for everything they do. Do this, so that their work will be a joy. If you make their work a heavy load, it won’t do you any good.
18 Pray for us. We feel sure we have done what is right. We desire to live as we should in every way. 19 I beg you to pray that I may return to you soon.
Final Blessing and Greetings
20 Our Lord Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep. The God who gives peace brought him back from the dead. He did it because of the blood of the eternal covenant. Now may God 21 supply you with everything good. Then you can do what he wants. May he do in us what is pleasing to him. We can do it only with the help of Jesus Christ. Give him glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers and sisters, I beg you to accept my word. It tells you to be faithful. Accept my word because I have written to you only a short letter.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders. Greet all the Lord’s people.
The believers from Italy send you their greetings.
25 May grace be with you all.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.