M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Zelophehad’s Daughters
27 Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. (Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph.) These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before Moses and Eleazar the priest, before the tribal chiefs and the entire community. They said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered together against the Lord along with the followers of Korah, but he died in his own sin. He had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from a place among his clan, because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”
5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord spoke to Moses: 7 “What the daughters of Zelophehad say is correct. You must give them property as an inheritance among their father’s brothers. You are to allow their father’s inheritance to be passed down to them. 8 You are to tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you are to have his inheritance pass down to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you will give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you will give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father has no brothers, then you will give his inheritance to his closest relative from his clan, and he will take possession of it. This will be a legal statute for the Israelites, just as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Joshua Will Succeed Moses
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up onto this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land which I have given to the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you yourself will also be gathered to your people just as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For when the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, you both rebelled against my command to honor me as holy in their sight at the waters.” (This refers to the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 Moses spoke to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community, 17 who will go out before them and come in before them, who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and place your hand on him. 19 Have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. You will commission him in their sight. 20 You will give some of your authority to him so that the entire Israelite community will listen to him. 21 He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will inquire for him before the Lord with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, the entire community, will go out at his command and come in at his command.”
22 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. 23 He placed his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord spoke through Moses.
Psalm 70
Hurry to Save Me
(Psalm 40:13-17)
Heading
For the choir director. By David. To bring to remembrance.
Hurry to Help Me
1 Hurry, God! Rescue me!
Lord, hurry to help me!
2 May those who seek my life be put to shame and disgrace.
May all who desire to harm me be turned back and disgraced.
3 May those who say, “Aha! We got you!” be dismayed,
because they have been put to shame.
4 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who love your salvation always say, “Let God be exalted!”
5 Yet I am oppressed and poor.
God, hurry to me. You are my help and my deliverer.
O Lord, do not delay.
Psalm 71
Do Not Throw Me Away When I Am Old
Opening Prayer
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.
May I not be put to shame forever.
2 In your righteousness rescue me and deliver me.
Turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock and my refuge to which I can always go.
You give the command to save me,
because you are my high ridge and my stronghold.
4 My God, deliver me from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and the ruthless.
Remembrance of Past Help
5 For you have been my hope, Lord God,
my confidence since my youth.
6 I have depended on[a] you since I was in the womb.
You separated me from my mother’s body.
My praise to you is continuous.
Statement of Present Need
7 I am like an evil omen to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with praise for you
and with your splendor all day long.
Plea for Help in Present Trouble
9 Do not throw me away in old age.
As my strength fails, do not forsake me.
10 For my enemies speak against me,
and those who seek my life conspire together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken him.
Pursue him and seize him,
because there is no one to rescue him.”
12 God, do not be far from me.
My God, hurry to help me.
13 Let them be ashamed.
Let my murderous accusers be consumed.
Let those who seek to harm me be covered
with shame and disgrace.
Present and Future Praise
14 But as for me, I will always keep hoping.
I will keep adding to my praise for you.
15 My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
about your salvation all day long,
although I do not know how to tell all about it.
16 I will come and tell about your mighty deeds, Lord God.
I will commemorate[b] your righteousness, yours alone.
17 God, you have taught me since my youth,
and even now I still declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
till I declare the strength of your arm to the next generation,
your power to all who are to come.
Closing Confidence
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heights.
You have done great things.
God, who is like you,
20 you who have made us see many troubles and disasters?
You will give us life again.
From the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness and comfort me once again.
Closing Praise
22 Yes, I will praise you, my God, for your faithfulness.
I will praise you with an instrument, with the harp.
I will make music to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout with joy when I make music to you.
Even my soul, which you have redeemed, will shout.
24 Indeed, my tongue will tell of your righteousness all day long.
How ashamed, how disgraced they are—
those who are trying to harm me.
A Prophecy Against Damascus and Israel
17 An oracle against Damascus.
Soon Damascus will no longer be a city.
It will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken.
They will be places for flocks.
The flocks will lie down,
and no one will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,
and the kingdom from Damascus.
What remains of Aram will be like the glory of the people of Israel,
declares the Lord of Armies.
4 On that day the glory of Jacob will fade,
and his sturdy body will waste away.
5 It will be like the time when a reaper has gathered the standing grain,
and his arm has reaped the heads of grain,
when someone gleans grain in the Valley of Rephaim,
6 and a few gleanings are still left there,
or when the branches of an olive tree have been beaten,
and only two or three ripe olives are left on the top of the highest bough,
or four or five remain on the fruitful branches,
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 On that day people will trust in their Maker,
and they will look to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars, the work of their own hands.
They will not respect what their fingers have made,
neither the Asherah poles nor the altars for incense.
9 On that day Israel’s strong cities will be
like the forsaken hilltops of the Amorites,[a]
like the places that were abandoned when the people of Israel
first came.
They will be desolate.
10 You have forgotten the God who saves you.
You have not remembered the Rock who is your strength.
Therefore, although you set out the best quality plants,
and you plant cuttings from imported vines,
11 and you put a fence around them on the day you plant them,
and you get your seed to sprout in the morning,
nevertheless, the harvest will come to nothing
in the day of grief and desperate sorrow.[b]
12 Oh, the roar of many peoples!
They roar like the raging seas.
Oh, the uproar of nations!
It sounds like huge, crashing waves!
13 The nations will roar like the crashing of great waves,
but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away.
They will be driven off the mountains like wind-blown chaff,
like a tumbleweed blown about in a storm.
14 In the evening, terror rushes in!
Before morning they are gone.
This will be the reward for those who plunder us,
the lot of those who rob us.
A Prophecy About Cush
18 Woe to the land of the whirring wings, along the rivers of Cush.[c]
2 They send ambassadors by sea, in papyrus boats on the water.
Go, you swift messengers,
to a tall people with smooth, dark skin,[d]
to a nation feared far and near,
a nation powerful and conquering,[e]
from a land divided by rivers!
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
and you who dwell on the earth,
look for a signal flag raised on the mountains!
Listen for the blast of the ram’s horn!
4 For the Lord has said to me,
“I will look on quietly from my dwelling place,
like the shimmering heat of the sun,
like the rising mist at harvest time.”
5 For before the harvest,
after the blossom has fallen
and the flower has turned into ripening grapes,
the Lord will cut off the new shoots with pruning hooks,
and he will cut down and remove the longer vines.
6 They will all be left for the scavenging birds in the mountains
and for the wild animals in the countryside.
The scavenging birds will feed on them all summer,
and wild animals will feed on them all winter.
7 At that time people will give gifts to the Lord of Armies.
These gifts will come from a tall people with smooth, dark skin,
a nation feared far and near,
a nation powerful and conquering,
from a land divided by rivers.
They will bring their gifts to Mount Zion,
the place where the Lord of Armies has put his name.
Admonition to Elders
5 Therefore, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and as one who also shares in the glory that is about to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: 2 Shepherd God’s flock that is among you, serving as overseers, not grudgingly but willingly, as God desires,[a] not because you are greedy for money but because you are eager to do it. 3 Do not lord it over those entrusted to your care, but be examples for the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory.
Final Exhortations
5 Likewise, young men, be submissive to those who are older.[b] And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility[c] toward one another. For “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”[d]
6 Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time.[e] 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8 Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary,[f] the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him by being firm in the faith. You know that the same kinds of sufferings are being laid on your brotherhood[g] all over the world.
10 After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you. 11 To him be the glory and[h] the power forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12 I have written to you briefly (through Silas,[i] whom I consider a faithful brother), to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 She who is in Babylon, who was chosen along with you, greets you. So does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ Jesus.[j]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.