M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Land for Zelophehad’s Daughters
36 The leaders of Gilead’s family group went to talk to Moses and the leaders of the families of Israel. (Gilead was the son of Makir. Makir was Manasseh’s son, and Manasseh was Joseph’s son.) 2 They said, “The Lord commanded you, our master, to give the land to the Israelites by throwing lots. And the Lord commanded you to give the land of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters. 3 His daughters may marry men from other tribes of Israel. Then that land will leave our family. The people of the other tribes will get that land. So we will lose some of our land. 4 The time of Jubilee will come for the Israelites. Then their land will go to other tribes. It will go to the tribes of the people they marry. So their land will be taken away from us. And that was land we received from our fathers.”
5 Then Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: “These men from the tribe of Joseph are right. 6 This is the Lord’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: You may marry anyone you wish from your own tribe. 7 In this way the Israelites’ land will not pass from tribe to tribe. Each Israelite will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ancestors. 8 A woman who inherits her father’s land may marry. But she must marry someone from her own tribe. In this way every Israelite will keep the land that belonged to his ancestors. 9 The land must not pass from tribe to tribe. Each Israelite tribe will keep the land it received from its ancestors.”
10 Zelophehad’s daughters obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses.
11 So Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah—married their cousins. These were their father’s relatives. 12 Their husbands were from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. So their land stayed in their father’s family group and tribe.
13 These were the laws and commands that the Lord gave to the Israelites. He gave them through Moses. The Israelites were on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
A Prayer to Bring Israel Back
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies of the Agreement.” A song of Asaph.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us.
You lead the people of Joseph like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the gold creatures with wings.
Show your greatness 2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Use your strength.
Come and save us.
3 God, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
4 Lord God of heaven’s armies,
how long will you be angry
at the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed your people tears.
You have made them drink many tears.
6 You made those around us fight over us.
Our enemies make fun of us.
7 God of heaven’s armies, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
8 You brought us out of Egypt as if we were a vine.
You forced out other nations and planted us in the land.
9 You cleared the land for us.
Like a vine, we took root and filled the land.
10 We covered the mountains with our shade.
We had limbs like the mighty cedar tree.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea.
And our shoots went to the Euphrates River.
12 So why did you pull down our walls?
Now everyone who passes by steals from us.
13 Like wild pigs they walk over us.
Like wild animals they feed on us.
14 God of heaven’s armies, come back.
Look down from heaven and see.
Take care of us, your vine.
15 You planted this shoot with your own hands.
You raised and strengthened this child.
16 Now it is cut down and burned with fire.
You destroyed us by your angry looks.
17 Help the man you have chosen.
Make this human being strong for your service.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call to you for help.
19 Lord God of heaven’s armies, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
Warnings to North Israel
28 How terrible it will be for Samaria, the pride of Israel’s drunken people!
That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant.
It sits on a hill above a rich valley where drunkards live.
2 Look, the Lord has someone who is strong and full of power.
That person will come like a storm of hail and strong wind.
He will come like a sudden flood of water pouring over the country.
He will throw Samaria down to the ground.
3 That city, the pride of Israel’s drunken people,
will be trampled underfoot.
4 That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant.
It sits on a hill above a rich valley.
That city will be like the first fig of summer.
When a person sees it,
he quickly picks it and eats it.
5 At that time the Lord of heaven’s armies
will be like a beautiful crown.
He will be like a wonderful crown of flowers
for his people who are left alive.
6 Then the Lord will give wisdom
to the judges who rule his people.
The Lord will give strength
to those who battle at the city gate.
7 But now those leaders are drunk with wine.
They stumble from drinking too much beer.
The priests and prophets are drunk with beer.
They are filled with wine.
They stumble from too much beer.
The prophets are drunk when they see their visions.
The judges stumble when they make their decisions.
8 Every table is covered with vomit.
There is not a clean place anywhere.
9 The Lord is trying to teach the people a lesson.
He is trying to make them understand his teachings.
But the people are like little babies.
They are like babies who just nursed at their mother’s breast.
10 So they make fun of the Lord’s prophet and say:
“A command here, a command there.
A rule here, a rule there.
A lesson here, a lesson there.”
11 So the Lord will use strange words and foreign languages
to speak to these people.
12 God said to them,
“Here is a place of rest.
Let the tired people come and rest.
This is the place of peace.”
But the people would not listen.
13 So the words of the Lord will be,
“A command here, a command there.
A rule here, a rule there.
A lesson here, a lesson there.”
They will fall back and will be defeated.
They will be trapped and captured.
14 You who brag should listen to the Lord’s message.
Pay attention, you leaders in Jerusalem.
15 You say, “We have made an agreement with death.
We have a contract with death.
When punishment passes by,
it won’t hurt us.
We will be safe with our lies.
We will hide behind our tricks.”
16 Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says:
“I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem.
This will be a tested stone.
Everything will be built on this important and precious rock.
Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.
17 I will use justice as a measuring line.
I will use goodness to measure by.
The lies you hide behind will be destroyed as if by hail.
They will be washed away as if in a flood.
18 Your agreement with death will be erased.
Your contract with death will not help you.
When punishment comes,
you will be crushed by it.
19 Whenever punishment comes, it will take you away.
It will come morning after morning.
It will defeat you by day and by night.
Those who hear of this punishment will be terrified.”
20 You will be like the man who tried to sleep
on a bed that was too short for him.
And his blanket was too narrow
to wrap around himself.
21 The Lord will fight as he did at Mount Perazim.
He will be angry as he was in the Valley of Gibeon.
Then the Lord will do his work, his strange work.
He will finish his job, his strange job.
22 Now, you must not make fun of these things.
If you do, the ropes around you will become tighter.
The Lord of heaven’s armies has told me these things.
He has told me how the whole earth will be destroyed.
The Lord Punishes Fairly
23 Listen closely to what I tell you.
Listen carefully to what I say.
24 A farmer does not plow his field all the time.
He does not go on working the soil.
25 He prepares the ground.
Then he plants the dill seed and scatters the cummin seed.
He plants the wheat in rows.
He plants barley in its special place,
and other wheat in its own field.
26 His God teaches him
and shows him the right way.
27 A farmer doesn’t use heavy boards to crush dill.
He doesn’t use a wagon to crush cummin.
He uses a small stick to break open the dill.
With a stick he opens the cummin.
28 The grain is ground to make bread.
People do not ruin it by crushing it forever.
The farmer separates the wheat from the chaff with his cart.
But he does not let his horses grind it.
29 This lesson comes from the Lord of heaven’s armies.
He gives wonderful advice. He is very wise.
Do Not Help False Teachers
1 From the Elder.[a]
To the chosen lady[b] and to her children:
I love all of you in the truth.[c] Also, all those who know the truth love you. 2 We love you because of the truth—the truth that lives in us and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ. And may we have these blessings in truth and love.
4 I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we have had from the beginning. 6 And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You have heard this command from the beginning.
7 Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to say this is a false teacher and an enemy of Christ. 8 Be careful! Do not lose the reward that you[d] have worked for. Be careful, so that you will receive your full reward.
9 A person must continue to follow only the teaching of Christ. If he goes beyond Christ’s teaching, then he does not have God. But if he continues following the teaching of Christ, then he has both the Father and the Son. 10 If someone comes to you, but does not bring this teaching, then do not accept him into your house. Do not welcome him. 11 If you accept him, you are helping him with his evil work.
12 I have much to say to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy. 13 The children of your chosen sister[e] send you their love.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.