M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Tribes East of the Jordan
32 The people of Reuben and Gad had many cattle. They saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were good for cattle. 2 So they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the people. 3-4 They said, “We, your servants, have many cattle. The Lord has captured for the Israelites a land that is good for cattle. This is the land around Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon. 5 If it pleases you, we would like this land to be given to us. Don’t make us cross the Jordan River.”
6 Moses told the people of Gad and Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you stay behind? 7 You will discourage the Israelites. They will not want to go over to the land the Lord has given them. 8 Your ancestors did the same thing. From Kadesh Barnea I sent them to look at the land. 9 They went as far as the Valley of Eshcol. They saw the land. And they discouraged the Israelites from going into the land the Lord had given them. 10 The Lord became very angry that day. He made this promise: 11 ‘None of the people who came from Egypt and who are 20 years old or older will see this land. I promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But these people have not followed me completely. 12 Only Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun followed the Lord completely.’
13 “The Lord was very angry with Israel. So he made them wander in the desert for 40 years. Finally all the people who had sinned against him had died. 14 And now you are acting just like your fathers! You sinful people are making the Lord even more angry with Israel. 15 If you quit following the Lord, it will add to their stay in the desert. So you will destroy all these people.”
16 But the Reubenites and Gadites came up to Moses. They said, “We will build pens for our animals. And we will build cities for our wives and children here. 17 Then our families will be in strong, walled cities. They will be safe from the people who live in this land. Then we will prepare for war. We will help the other Israelites get their land. 18 We will not return home until every Israelite has received his land. 19 We won’t take any of the land west of the Jordan River. Our part of the land is east of the Jordan.”
20 So Moses told them, “You must do these things. You must go before the Lord into battle. 21 You must cross the Jordan River armed. The Lord will force out the enemy. 22 After the Lord helps us take the land, you may return home. You will have done your duty to the Lord and Israel. Then you may have this land as your own.
23 “But if you don’t do these things, you will be sinning against the Lord. And know for sure that you will be punished for your sin. 24 Build cities for your wives and children and pens for your animals. But then you must do what you promised.”
25 The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We are your servants. We will do what you, our master, command. 26 Our wives, children and all our cattle will stay in the cities of Gilead. 27 But we, your servants, will prepare for battle. We will go over and fight for the Lord, as you have said.”
28 So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest. And he gave them to Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of the tribes of Israel. 29 Moses said to them, “The Gadites and Reubenites will prepare for battle. They will cross the Jordan River with you. They will go before the Lord and help you take the land. If they do that, give them the land of Gilead for their own. 30 But if they do not go over armed, they will not receive it. Their land will be in Canaan with you.”
31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “We are your servants. We will do as the Lord said. 32 We will cross over into Canaan. We will go before the Lord ready for battle. But our land will be east of the Jordan River.”
33 So Moses gave that land to the Gadites, Reubenites and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. (Manasseh was Joseph’s son.) That land had been the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. And it included the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan. It also included all the cities and the land around them.
34 The Gadites rebuilt the cities of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran. These were strong, walled cities. And they built sheep pens.
37 The Reubenites built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal Meon and Sibmah. They renamed Nebo and Baal Meon when they rebuilt them.
39 The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went and captured Gilead. They forced out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the family of Makir son of Manasseh. And they settled there. 41 Jair son of Manasseh went out and captured the small towns there. He called them the Towns of Jair. 42 Nobah went and captured Kenath and the small towns around it. Then he named it Nobah after himself.
Remembering God’s Help
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A song of Asaph.
77 I cry out loud to God.
I call to God, and he will hear me.
2 I looked for the Lord on the day of trouble.
All night long I reached out my hands.
I cannot be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I become upset.
When I think, I become afraid. Selah
4 You keep my eyes from closing.
I am too upset to say anything.
5 I keep thinking about the old days,
the years of long ago.
6 At night I remember my songs.
I think, and I ask myself:
7 “Will the Lord reject us forever?
Will he never be kind to us again?
8 Is his love gone forever?
Has he stopped speaking for all time?
9 Has God forgotten mercy?
Is he too angry to pity us?” Selah
10 Then I said, “This is what makes me sad:
For years the power of God Most High was with us.”
11 I remember what the Lord did.
I remember the miracles you did long ago.
12 I think about all the things you did.
I think about what you have done.
13 God, your ways are holy.
No god is as great as our God.
14 You are the God who did miracles.
You showed people your power.
15 By your power you have saved your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 God, the waters saw you.
They saw you and became afraid.
The deep waters shook with fear.
17 The clouds poured down their rain.
The sky thundered.
Your lightning flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder sounded in the whirlwind.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.
19 You made a way through the sea
and paths through the deep waters.
But your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep.
You led them by using Moses and Aaron.
God Will Punish the World
24 Look! The Lord will destroy the earth and leave it empty.
He will ruin the surface of the land and scatter its people.
2 At that time the same thing will happen to everyone:
to common people and priests,
to slaves and masters,
to women slaves and their women masters,
to buyers and sellers,
to those who borrow and those who lend,
and to bankers and those who owe the bank.
3 The earth will be completely empty.
The wealth will all be taken.
This will happen because the Lord commanded it.
4 The earth will dry up and die.
The world will grow weak and die.
The great leaders in this land will become weak.
5 The people of the earth have ruined it.
They do not follow God’s teachings.
They do not obey God’s laws.
They break their agreement with God that was to last forever.
6 A curse will destroy the earth.
The people of the world are guilty.
So they will be burned up.
Only a few will be left.
7 The new wine will be bad, and the grapevines will die.
People who were happy will be sad.
8 The happy music of the tambourines will end.
The happy sounds of wild parties will stop.
The joyful music from the harps will end.
9 People will no longer sing while they drink their wine.
The beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.
10 The ruined city will be empty.
People will hide behind closed doors.
11 People in the streets will ask for wine.
But joy will have turned to sadness.
All the happiness will have left.
12 The city will be left in ruins.
Its gates will be smashed to pieces.
13 This is what will happen all over the earth.
This will happen to all the nations.
The earth will be like an olive tree after the harvest.
It will be like the few grapes left on a vine after harvest.
14 The people shout for joy.
From the west they praise the greatness of the Lord.
15 People in the east, praise the Lord.
People in the islands of the sea,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs from every part of the earth.
These songs praise God, the Righteous One.
But I said, “I am dying! I am dying!
How terrible it will be for me!
Traitors turn against people.
With their dishonesty, they turn against people.”
17 There are terrors, holes and traps
for the people of the earth.
18 Anyone who tries to escape from the sound of terror
will fall into a hole.
Anyone who climbs out of the hole
will be caught in a trap.
The clouds in the sky will pour out rain.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth will be broken up.
And the earth will split open.
The earth will shake violently.
20 The earth will stumble around like a man who is drunk.
It will shake like a hut in a storm.
Its sin is like a heavy weight on its back.
The earth will fall and never rise again.
21 At that time the Lord will punish
the powers in the sky above
and the rulers on earth below.
22 They will be gathered together.
They will be thrown into a pit as prisoners.
They will be shut up in prison.
After much time they will be punished.
23 The moon will be embarrassed.
The sun will be ashamed.
This will happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies will rule as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s leaders will see his greatness.
Jesus Is Our Helper
2 My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the Righteous One. He defends us before God the Father. 2 Jesus died in our place to take away our sins. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.
3 If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God. 4 If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him. 5 But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God: 6 Whoever says that God lives in him must live as Jesus lived.
The Command to Love Others
7 My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard. 8 But I am writing a new command to you. This command is true; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9 Someone says, “I am in the light.”[a] But if he hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him that will cause him to do wrong. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in darkness. He lives in darkness and does not know where he is going. The darkness has made him blind.
12 I write to you, dear children,
because your sins are forgiven through Christ.
13 I write to you, fathers,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have defeated the Evil One.
14 I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong;
the word of God lives in you,
and you have defeated the Evil One.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world. 17 The world is passing away. And everything that people want in the world is passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.
Reject the Enemies of Christ
18 My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. 19 Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.
20 You have the gift[b] that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.[c] 21 Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22 So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son. 23 If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.
24 Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.
26 I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you the wrong way. 27 Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you do not need any other teacher. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.
28 Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes back. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes. 29 You know that Christ is righteous. So you know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.