M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Korah’s Rebellion
16 Now (A)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with (B)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, 2 and they rose up before Moses, [a]together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, [b](C)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together (D)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “[c](E)You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and (F)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
4 When Moses heard this, (G)he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and (H)who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even (I)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all [d]your company, 7 and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. [e](J)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, 9 (K)is it [f]not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, (L)to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you (M)seeking for the priesthood also? 11 Therefore you and all your company are gathered together (N)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, [g]who is he that (O)you grumble against him?”
12 Then Moses sent [h]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it [i]not enough that you have brought us up out of a (P)land flowing with milk and honey (Q)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? 14 Indeed, you have not brought us (R)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of (S)fields and vineyards. Would you [j](T)put out the eyes of [k]these men? We will not come up!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “(U)Do not regard their offering! (V)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. 17 Each of you take his firepan and put incense on [l]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.” 18 So they each took his own censer and put fire on [m]it, and laid incense on [n]it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And (W)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “(X)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, (Y)that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, (Z)God of the spirits of all flesh, (AA)when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘(AB)Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “(AC)Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, (AD)or you will be swept away in all their sin.” 27 So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and (AE)their sons and their little ones. 28 Moses said, “By this you shall know that (AF)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not [o]my doing. 29 If these men die [p]the death of all men or [q]if they suffer the (AG)fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But (AH)if the Lord [r]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they (AI)descend alive into [s]Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.”
31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and (AJ)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and (AK)all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to [t]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 All Israel who were around them fled at their [u]outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” 35 (AL)Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the (AM)two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.
36 [v]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the [w]blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the [x]burning coals abroad. 38 As for the censers of these [y]men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and (AN)they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, 40 as a [z]reminder to the sons of Israel that (AO)no [aa]layman who is not of the [ab]descendants of Aaron should come near (AP)to burn incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and his company—just as the Lord had spoken to him [ac]through Moses.
Murmuring and Plague
41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel (AQ)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.” 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and (AR)the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “[ad](AS)Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and (AT)make atonement for them, for (AU)wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun!” 47 Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. (AV)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. 49 (AW)But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who (AX)died on account of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.
Futility of Boastful Wickedness.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you (A)boast in evil, O mighty man?
The (B)lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises (C)destruction,
Like a (D)sharp razor, (E)O worker of deceit.
3 You (F)love evil more than good,
(G)Falsehood more than speaking what is right. [c]Selah.
4 You love all words that devour,
O (H)deceitful tongue.
5 [d]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and (I)tear you away from your tent,
And (J)uproot you from the (K)land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous will (L)see and fear,
And will (M)laugh at him, saying,
7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But (N)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And (O)was strong in [e]his evil desire.”
8 But as for me, I am like a (P)green olive tree in the house of God;
I (Q)trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
9 I will (R)give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, (S)for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to [f]Mahalath. A [g]Maskil of David.
53 (T)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
(U)There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is (V)anyone who [h]understands,
Who (W)seeks after God.
3 (X)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Have the workers of wickedness (Y)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great [i]fear (Z)where no [j]fear had been;
For God (AA)scattered the bones of [k]him who encamped against you;
You (AB)put them to shame, because (AC)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (AD)the salvation of Israel [l]would come out of Zion!
When God [m]restores His captive people,
[n]Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Prayer for Defense against Enemies.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A [o]Maskil of David, [p]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”
54 Save me, O God, by (AE)Your name,
And [q]vindicate me by (AF)Your power.
2 (AG)Hear my prayer, O God;
(AH)Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have (AI)risen against me
And (AJ)violent men have (AK)sought my [r]life;
They have (AL)not set God before them. [s]Selah.
Isaiah’s Vision
6 In the year of (A)King Uzziah’s death (B)I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, (C)each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said,
4 And the [b]foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the [c](F)temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said,
“(G)Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of (H)unclean lips,
And I live among a (I)people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the (J)King, the Lord of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the (K)altar with tongs. 7 He (L)touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and (M)your iniquity is taken away and your sin is [d]forgiven.”
Isaiah’s Commission
8 Then I heard the (N)voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then (O)I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on (P)listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
10 “(Q)Render the hearts of this people [e](R)insensitive,
Their ears [f]dull,
And their eyes [g]dim,
(S)Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, (T)how long?” And He answered,
“Until (U)cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12 “The Lord has (V)removed men far away,
And the [h](W)forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an (X)oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The (Y)holy seed is its stump.”
The Changeless Christ
13 Let (A)love of the brethren continue. 2 Do not neglect to (B)show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have (C)entertained angels without knowing it. 3 (D)Remember (E)the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. 4 (F)Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; (G)for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Make sure that your character is (H)free from the love of money, (I)being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “(J)I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” 6 so that we confidently say,
“(K)The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”
7 Remember (L)those who led you, who spoke (M)the word of God to you; and considering the [a]result of their conduct, (N)imitate their faith. 8 (O)Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 (P)Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to (Q)be strengthened by grace, not by (R)foods, (S)through which those who [b]were so occupied were not benefited. 10 We have an altar (T)from which those (U)who serve the [c]tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For (V)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, (W)that He might sanctify the people (X)through His own blood, suffered (Y)outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, (Z)bearing His reproach. 14 For here (AA)we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking (AB)the city which is to come.
God-pleasing Sacrifices
15 (AC)Through Him then, let us continually offer up a (AD)sacrifice of praise to God, that is, (AE)the fruit of lips that [d]give thanks to His name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and (AF)sharing, for (AG)with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 (AH)Obey your leaders and submit to them, for (AI)they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. [e]Let them do this with joy and not [f]with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
18 (AJ)Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a (AK)good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. 19 And I urge you all the more to do this, (AL)so that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Benediction
20 Now (AM)the God of peace, who (AN)brought up from the dead the (AO)great Shepherd of the sheep [g]through (AP)the blood of the (AQ)eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 (AR)equip you in every good thing to do His will, (AS)working in us that (AT)which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, (AU)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
22 But (AV)I urge you, (AW)brethren, [h]bear with [i]this (AX)word of exhortation, for (AY)I have written to you briefly. 23 [j]Take notice that (AZ)our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. 24 Greet (BA)all of your leaders and all the [k](BB)saints. Those from (BC)Italy greet you.
25 (BD)Grace be with you all.
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