M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The People Are Counted
26 After the great sickness, the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He said, 2 “Count all the people of Israel by families. Count all the men who are 20 years old or older. They will serve in the army of Israel.” 3 Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to the people. They were on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They said, 4 “Count the men 20 years old or older. This is what the Lord commanded Moses.”
Here are the Israelites who came out of Egypt:
5 The tribe of Reuben was counted. Reuben was the first son born to Israel. From Hanoch came the Hanochite family group. From Pallu came the Palluite family group. 6 From Hezron came the Hezronite family group. From Carmi came the Carmite family group. 7 These were the family groups of Reuben. The total number of men was 43,730.
8 The son of Pallu was Eliab. 9 Eliab’s sons were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the leaders who turned against Moses and Aaron. They followed Korah when he turned against the Lord. 10 The earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah. They died when the fire burned up the 250 men. This was a warning. 11 But the children of Korah did not die.
12 These were the family groups in the tribe of Simeon. From Nemuel came the Nemuelite family group. From Jamin came the Jaminite family group. From Jakin came the Jakinite family group. 13 From Zerah came the Zerahite family group. From Shaul came the Shaulite family group. 14 These were the family groups of Simeon. The total number of men was 22,200.
15 These were the family groups in the tribe of Gad. From Zephon came the Zephonite family group. From Haggi came the Haggite family group. From Shuni came the Shunite family group. 16 From Ozni came the Oznite family group. From Eri came the Erite family group. 17 From Arodi came the Arodite family group. From Areli came the Arelite family group. 18 These were the family groups of Gad. The total number of men was 40,500.
19 Two of Judah’s sons, Er and Onan, died in Canaan.
20 These were the family groups in the tribe of Judah. From Shelah came the Shelanite family group. From Perez came the Perezite family group. From Zerah came the Zerahite family group. 21 These were the family groups from Perez. From Hezron came the Hezronite family group. From Hamul came the Hamulite family group. 22 These were the family groups of Judah. The total number of men was 76,500.
23 These were the family groups in the tribe of Issachar. From Tola came the Tolaite family group. From Puah came the Puite family group. 24 From Jashub came the Jashubite family group. From Shimron came the Shimronite family group. 25 These were the family groups of Issachar. The total number of men was 64,300.
26 These were the family groups in the tribe of Zebulun. From Sered came the Seredite family group. From Elon came the Elonite family group. From Jahleel came the Jahleelite family group. 27 These were the family groups of Zebulun. The total number of men was 60,500.
28 These were the family groups of Joseph through Manasseh and Ephraim.
29 These were the family groups of Manasseh. From Makir came the Makirite family group. (Makir was the father of Gilead.) From Gilead came the Gileadite family group. 30 These were the family groups that came from Gilead. From Iezer came the Iezerite family group. From Helek came the Helekite family group. 31 From Asriel came the Asrielite family group. From Shechem came the Shechemite family group. 32 From Shemida came the Shemidaite family group. From Hepher came the Hepherite family group. 33 (Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons. He had only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.) 34 These were the family groups of Manasseh. The total number of men was 52,700.
35 These were the family groups in the tribe of Ephraim. From Shuthelah came the Shuthelahite family group. From Beker came the Bekerite family group. From Tahan came the Tahanite family group. 36 This was the family group from Shuthelah. From Eran came the Eranite family group. 37 These were the family groups of Ephraim. The total number of men was 32,500. These are the family groups that came from Joseph.
38 These were the family groups in the tribe of Benjamin. From Bela came the Belaite family group. From Ashbel came the Ashbelite family group. From Ahiram came the Ahiramite family group. 39 From Shupham came the Shuphamite family group. From Hupham came the Huphamite family group. 40 These were the family groups from Bela through Ard and Naaman. From Ard came the Ardite family group. From Naaman came the Naamite family group. 41 These were the family groups of Benjamin. The total number of men was 45,600.
42 This was the family group in the tribe of Dan. From Shuham came the Shuhamite family group. That was the family of Dan. 43 The total number of men in the Shuhamite family group of Dan was 64,400.
44 These were the family groups in the tribe of Asher. From Imnah came the Imnite family group. From Ishvi came the Ishvite family group. From Beriah came the Beriite family group. 45 These were the family groups that came from Beriah. From Heber came the Heberite family group. From Malkiel came the Malkielite family group. 46 (Asher also had a daughter named Serah.) 47 These were the family groups of Asher. The total number of men was 53,400.
48 These were the family groups in the tribe of Naphtali. From Jahzeel came the Jahzeelite family group. From Guni came the Gunite family group. 49 From Jezer came the Jezerite family group. From Shillem came the Shillemite family group. 50 These were the family groups of Naphtali. The total number of men was 45,400.
51 So the total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.
52 The Lord said to Moses, 53 “Divide the land among these people by the number of names. 54 A large tribe will get more land. And a small tribe will get less land. The amount of land each tribe gets will depend on the number of its people. 55 Divide the land by drawing lots. And the land each tribe gets will be named for that tribe. 56 Divide the land by drawing lots. Divide it between large and small groups.”
57 The tribe of Levi was also counted. These were the family groups of Levi. From Gershon came the Gershonite family group. From Kohath came the Kohathite family group. From Merari came the Merarite family group. 58 These also were Levite family groups: the Libnite family group, the Hebronite family group, the Mahlite family group, the Mushite family group and the Korahite family group. (Kohath was the ancestor of Amram. 59 Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was from the tribe of Levi. She was born in Egypt. She and Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses, and their sister Miriam. 60 Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died. They died because they made an offering before the Lord with the wrong kind of fire.)
62 The total number of male Levites one month old or older was 23,000. But these men were not counted with the other Israelites. They did not receive any of the land that the Lord gave the other Israelites.
63 Moses and Eleazar the priest counted all these people. They counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. 64 Moses and Aaron the priest had counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. But no one Moses counted on the plains of Moab was in the first counting. 65 The Lord had told the Israelites they would all die in the desert. The only two left were Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
A Cry for Help
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A song of David.
69 God, save me.
The water has risen to my neck.
2 I’m sinking down into the mud.
There is nothing to stand on.
I am in deep water.
The flood covers me.
3 I am tired from calling for help.
My throat is sore.
My eyes are tired from waiting
for God to help me.
4 There are more people who hate me for no reason
than hairs on my head.
Those who want to destroy me are powerful.
My enemies are liars.
They make me pay back
what I did not steal.
5 God, you know what I have done wrong.
I cannot hide my guilt from you.
6 Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies,
do not let those who hope in you be ashamed because of me.
God of Israel,
do not let your worshipers
be disgraced because of me.
7 For you, I carry this shame.
My face is covered with disgrace.
8 I am like a stranger to my brothers.
I am like a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.
When people insult you, it hurts me.
10 When I cry and go without food,
they make fun of me.
11 When I wear rough cloth to show my sadness,
they joke about me.
12 They make fun of me in public places.
The drunkards make up songs about me.
13 But I pray to you, Lord.
I pray that you will accept me.
God, because of your great love, answer me.
You are truly able to save.
14 Pull me from the mud.
Do not let me sink.
Save me from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
15 Do not let the flood drown me.
Do not let the deep water swallow me.
Do not let the grave close its mouth over me.
16 Lord, answer me because your love is so good.
Because of your great kindness, turn to me.
17 Do not hide from me, your servant.
I am in trouble. Hurry to help me!
18 Come near and save me.
Rescue me from my enemies.
19 You see my shame and disgrace.
You know all my enemies and what they have said.
20 Insults have broken my heart.
I am weak.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none.
I found no one to comfort me.
21 They put poison in my food.
They gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their own feasts cause their ruin.
Let their feasts trap them and pay them back.
23 Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see.
Let their backs be forever weak from troubles.
24 Pour your anger out on them.
Show them how angry you are.
25 May their place be empty.
Leave no one to live in their tents.
26 They chase after those you have hurt.
They talk about the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Charge them with crime after crime.
Do not let them have anything good.
28 Wipe their names from the book of life.
Do not list them with those who do what is right.
29 I am sad and hurting.
God, save me and protect me.
30 I will praise God in a song.
I will honor him by giving thanks.
31 That will please the Lord more than offering him cattle.
It will please him more than the sacrifice of a bull with horns and hooves.
32 People who are not proud will see this and be glad.
Be encouraged, you who worship God.
33 The Lord listens to those in need.
He does not look down on captives.
34 Heaven and earth should praise him.
The seas and everything in them should also.
35 God will save Jerusalem.
He will rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will live there and own the land.
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit that land.
Those who love him will live there.
16 Send the king of the land
the payment he demands.
Send a lamb from Sela through the desert
to the mountain of Jerusalem.
2 The women of Moab
try to cross the river Arnon.
They are like little birds
that have fallen from their nest.
3 They say: “Help us.
Tell us what to do.
Protect us from our enemies
as shade protects us from the noon sun.
Hide us because we are running for safety!
Don’t give us to our enemies.
4 Let those of us who were forced out of Moab live in your land.
Hide us from our enemies.”
The robbing of Moab will stop.
The enemy will be defeated.
The men who hurt others will disappear from the land.
5 Then a new loyal king will come.
This faithful king will be from the family of David.
He will judge fairly.
He wants to do what is right.
6 We have heard that the people of Moab are proud
and very conceited.
They are very proud and angry.
But their bragging means nothing.
7 So the people of Moab will cry.
They will all be sad.
They will moan and groan
for the raisin cakes they had in Kir Hareseth.
8 But the fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah cannot grow grapes.
Foreign rulers have destroyed the grapevines.
The grapevines once spread as far as the city of Jazer and into the desert.
They had spread as far as the sea.
9 I cry with the people of Jazer
for the grapevines of Sibmah.
I will cry with the people of Heshbon and Elealeh.
There will be no shouts of joy,
because there will be no harvest or ripe fruit.
10 There will be no joy and happiness in the orchards.
There will be no songs or shouts of joy in the vineyards.
No one makes wine in the winepresses.
I have put an end to shouts of joy.
11 My heart cries for Moab like a harp playing a funeral song.
I am very sad for Kir Hareseth.
12 The people of Moab will go to their places of worship.
They will try to pray.
But when they go to their temple to pray,
they will not be able.
13 The Lord said these things about Moab before. 14 And now the Lord says, “In three years all those people and what they are proud of will be hated. (This is three years as a hired helper would count time.) There will be a few people left, but they will be weak.”
Changed Lives
4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. 2 Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. 3 In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols. 4 Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you. 5 But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.
Use God’s Gifts Wisely
7 The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. Then you will be able to pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins. 9 Open your homes to each other, without complaining. 10 Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other. 11 Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. The person who serves should serve with the strength that God gives. You should do these things so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering As a Christian
12 My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you. 13 But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. 14 When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. 15 Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. 16 But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name. 17 It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?
18 “It is very hard for a good person to be saved.
Then the wicked person and
the sinner will surely be lost!”[a]
19 So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.