M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Lord Punishes the Midianites
31 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 “Pay the Midianites back for what they did to the Israelites. After that, you will join the members of your family who have already died.”
3 So Moses said to the people, “Prepare some of your men for battle. They must go to war against Midian. They will carry out the Lord’s plan to punish Midian. 4 Send 1,000 men from each of the tribes of Israel into battle.” 5 So Moses prepared 12,000 men for battle. There were 1,000 from each tribe. They came from the families of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle. He sent 1,000 from each tribe. Phinehas the priest went along with them. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. Phinehas took some things from the sacred tent with him. He also took the trumpets. The trumpet blasts would tell the people what to do and when to do it.
7 They fought against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. They killed every man. 8 Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba were among the men they killed. Those men were the five kings of Midian. The Israelites also killed Balaam with their swords. Balaam was the son of Beor. 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children. They took for themselves all the herds, flocks and goods. 10 They burned down all the towns where the Midianites lived. They also burned all their camps. 11 They carried off everything they had taken. That included the people and the animals. 12 They brought back to Israel’s camp the prisoners and everything else they had taken. They took them to Moses and to Eleazar the priest. They brought them to the whole community. Israel was camped on the plains of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest went to meet them outside the camp. So did all the leaders of the community. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army who had returned from the battle. Some of them were the commanders of thousands of men. Others were the commanders of hundreds.
15 “Have you let all the women remain alive?” Moses asked them. 16 “The women followed Balaam’s advice. They caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord. The people worshiped the god named Baal that was worshiped at Peor. So a plague struck them. 17 Kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man. 18 But save for yourselves every woman who has never slept with a man.
19 “Anyone who has killed a person must stay outside the camp for seven days. And anyone who has touched a person who was killed must do the same thing. On the third and seventh days you must make yourselves pure. You must also make your prisoners pure. 20 Make all your clothes pure and ‘clean.’ Everything made out of leather, goat hair or wood must be made pure and ‘clean.’ ”
21 Then Eleazar the priest spoke to the soldiers who had gone into battle. He said, “Here is what the law the Lord gave Moses requires. 22 All your gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead 23 must be put through fire. So must everything else that doesn’t burn up. Then those things will be ‘clean.’ But they must also be made pure with the special water. In fact, everything that won’t burn up must be put through that water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes. And you will be ‘clean.’ Then you can come into the camp.”
The People Divide Up What They Had Taken
25 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 26 “Here is what you and Eleazar the priest and the family leaders of the community must do. You must count all the people and animals you captured. 27 Divide up some of what you took with the soldiers who fought in the battle. Divide up the rest with the others in the community. 28 Set apart a gift for me. Take something from the soldiers who fought in the battle. Set apart one out of every 500 people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29 Take my gift from the soldiers’ half. Give it to Eleazar the priest. It is my share. 30 Also take something from the half that belongs to the Israelites. Choose one out of every 50 people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites. They are responsible for taking care of my holy tent.” 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 What the soldiers took included 675,000 sheep. 33 There were also 72,000 cattle 34 and 61,000 donkeys. 35 And there were 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.
36 Here is the half that belonged to those who had fought in the battle.
There were 337,500 sheep. 37 From among them, the Lord’s gift was 675.
38 There were 36,000 cattle. From among them, the Lord’s gift was 72.
39 There were 30,500 donkeys. From among them, the Lord’s gift was 61.
40 There were 16,000 women. From among them, the Lord’s gift was 32.
41 Moses gave the gift to Eleazar the priest. It was the Lord’s share. Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him.
42 The other half belonged to the Israelites. Moses set it apart from what belonged to the fighting men. 43 The community’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 women. 47 Moses chose one out of every 50 people and animals. He gave them to the Levites. They were accountable for taking care of the Lord’s holy tent. Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him.
48 Then the army officers went to Moses. Some of them were the commanders of thousands of men. Others were the commanders of hundreds. 49 All of them said to Moses, “We have counted the soldiers under our command. Not a single one is missing. 50 So we’ve brought an offering to the Lord. We’ve brought the gold each of us took in the battle. That includes armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces. We’ve brought them in front of the Lord to pay for our sin.”
51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the beautiful gold things from the army officers. 52 The gold received from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds weighed 420 pounds. Moses and Eleazar offered all of it as a gift to the Lord. 53 Each soldier had taken things from the battle for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from all the commanders. They brought it into the tent of meeting. It reminded the Lord of the Israelites.
For the director of music. A psalm of Asaph. A song to the tune of “Do Not Destroy.”
75 God, we praise you.
We praise you because you are near to us.
People talk about the wonderful things you have done.
2 You say, “I choose the appointed time to judge people.
And I judge them fairly.
3 When the earth and all its people tremble,
I keep everything from falling to pieces.
4 To the proud I say, ‘Don’t brag anymore.’
To sinners I say, ‘Don’t show off your power.
5 Don’t show it off against me.
Don’t talk back to me.’ ”
6 No one from east or west or north or south
can judge themselves.
7 God is the one who judges.
He says to one person, “You are guilty.”
To another he says, “You are not guilty.”
8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup.
It is full of wine mixed with spices.
It is the wine of his anger.
He pours it out. All the evil people on earth
drink it down to the very last drop.
9 I will speak about this forever.
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 God says, “I will destroy the power of all sinful people.
But I will make godly people more powerful.”
For the director of music. A psalm of Asaph. A song to be played on stringed instruments.
76 In the land of Judah, God is well known.
In Israel, his name is great.
2 His tent is in Jerusalem.
The place where he lives is on Mount Zion.
3 There he broke the deadly arrows of his enemies.
He broke their shields and swords.
He broke their weapons of war.
4 God, you shine like a very bright light.
You are more majestic than mountains full of wild animals.
5 Brave soldiers have been robbed of everything they had.
Now they lie there, sleeping in death.
Not one of them can even lift his hands.
6 God of Jacob, at your command
both horse and chariot lie still.
7 People should have respect for you alone.
Who can stand in front of you when you are angry?
8 From heaven you handed down your sentence.
The land was afraid and became quiet.
9 God, that happened when you rose up to judge.
It happened when you came to save all your suffering people in the land.
10 Your anger against sinners brings you praise.
Those who live through your anger gather to worship you.
11 Make promises to the Lord your God and keep them.
Let all the neighboring nations
bring gifts to the God who should be respected.
12 He breaks the proud spirit of rulers.
The kings of the earth have respect for him.
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 Here is a prophecy against Tyre that the Lord gave me.
Men in the ships of Tarshish, cry out!
The city of Tyre is destroyed.
Its houses and harbor are gone.
That’s the message you have received
from the island of Cyprus.
2 People on the island of Tyre, be silent.
Traders from the city of Sidon, be quiet.
Those who sail on the Mediterranean Sea have made you rich.
3 Grain from Egypt
came across the mighty waters.
The harvest of the Nile River brought wealth to Tyre.
It became the market place of the nations.
4 Sidon, be ashamed. Mighty Tyre out in the sea, be ashamed.
The sea has spoken. It has said,
“It’s as if I had never felt labor pains or had children.
It’s as if I had never brought up sons or daughters.
It’s as if the city of Tyre had never existed.”
5 The Egyptians will hear about what has happened to Tyre.
They’ll be very sad and troubled.
6 People of the island of Tyre, cry out!
Go across the sea to Tarshish.
7 Just look at Tyre.
It’s no longer the old, old city that was known for its wild parties.
It no longer sends its people out
to make their homes in lands far away.
8 Tyre was a city that produced kings.
Its traders were princes.
They were honored all over the earth.
So who planned to destroy such a city?
9 The Lord who rules over all planned to do it.
He wanted to bring down all its pride and glory.
He wanted to shame those who were honored all over the earth.
10 People of Tarshish, farm your land
as they do along the Nile River.
That’s because you don’t have a harbor anymore.
11 The Lord has reached his powerful hand out over the sea.
He has made its kingdoms tremble with fear.
He has given a command concerning Phoenicia.
He has ordered that its forts be destroyed.
12 He said, “No more wild parties for you!
People of Sidon, you are now destroyed!
“Leave your city. Go across the sea to Cyprus.
Even there you will not find any rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians.
No one lives there anymore.
The Assyrians have turned it
into a place for desert creatures.
They built their towers in order to attack it.
They took everything out of its forts.
They knocked down all its buildings.
14 Men in the ships of Tarshish, cry out!
Mighty Tyre is destroyed!
15 A time is coming when people will forget about Tyre for 70 years. That’s the length of a king’s life. But at the end of those 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute that people sing about. They say,
16 “Forgotten prostitute, pick up a harp.
Walk through the city.
Play the harp well. Sing many songs.
Then you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of the 70 years, the Lord will punish Tyre. He will let it return to its way of life as a prostitute. It will earn its living with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 But the money it earns will be set apart for the Lord. The money won’t be stored up or kept for Tyre. Instead, it will go to those who live the way the Lord wants them to. It will pay for plenty of food and fine clothes for them.
The Word of Life Became a Human Being
1 Here is what we announce to everyone about the Word of life. The Word was already here from the beginning. We have heard him. We have seen him with our eyes. We have looked at him. Our hands have touched him. 2 This life has appeared. We have seen him. We are witnesses about him. And we announce to you this same eternal life. He was already with the Father. He has appeared to us. 3 We announce to you what we have seen and heard. We do it so you can share life together with us. And we share life with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
5 Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. 6 Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. 7 But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.
8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.