M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Israel Wins the Battle Over the Kings in the Land

12 The Israelites took over the territory east of the Jordan River. The land they captured reached from the Arnon River valley to Mount Hermon. It included the whole east side of the Arabah Valley. Israel won the battle over the kings of that whole territory. Here are the lands Israel captured from the kings they won the battle over.

⁶ Moses was the servant of the Lord. Moses and the Israelites won the battle over those two kings. He gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. He gave it to them as their share.

⁷ Joshua and the Israelites won the battle over the kings who ruled west of the Jordan River. The lands of those kings reached from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their lands to the tribes of Israel as their very own. He divided them up and gave each tribe its share. ⁸ Those lands included the central hill country, the western hills and the Arabah Valley. They also included the mountain slopes, the Desert of Judah and the Negev Desert. Those lands belonged to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Here are the kings Israel won the battle over.

The total number of kings was 31.

The Land That Remained to Be Taken Over

13 Joshua was now very old. The Lord said to him, “You are very old. And there are still very large areas of land that have not yet been taken over.

² “Here is the land that remains to be taken over.

⁶ “I myself will drive out all the people who live in the mountain areas. Those areas reach from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim. They include the area where all the people of Sidon live. I myself will drive out those people to make room for the Israelites. Make sure you set that land apart for Israel. Give it to them as their share, just as I have directed you. ⁷ Divide it up among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Give each tribe its share.”

Land for the Tribes East of the Jordan River

⁸ The other half of Manasseh’s tribe had already received the share of land Moses had given them. Their share was east of the Jordan River. The tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their share too. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had given it to them.

¹⁵ Here is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben, according to its family groups.

²³ The border of the tribe of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan River. All those towns and their villages were given to the tribe of Reuben as their very own. Each family group received its share.

²⁴ Here is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, according to its family groups.

²⁸ All those towns and their villages were given to the tribe of Gad as their very own. Each family group received its share.

²⁹ Here is what Moses had given to half of the tribe of Manasseh, according to its family groups. It’s what Moses had given to half of Manasseh’s family line.

That land was given to half of the family line of Makir. He was the son of Manasseh. Each family group received its share.

³² Those were the shares of land Moses had given the eastern tribes when he was in the plains of Moab. The plains are across the Jordan River east of Jericho. ³³ But Moses hadn’t given any share to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, is their share. Moses gave the Levites what he had promised them.

A psalm of praise. A psalm of David.

The Babylonians Will Attack Jerusalem

⁶ The Lord who rules over all speaks to the Babylonians. He says,

⁹ The Lord rules over all. He says to me,

¹⁶ The Lord tells the people of Judah,

²¹ So the Lord says,

²² The Lord says to Jerusalem,

The Story of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned land. He went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to give them the usual pay for a day’s work. Then he sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine o’clock in the morning he went out again. He saw others standing in the market doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard. I’ll pay you what is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and at three o’clock and did the same thing. ⁶ About five o’clock he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard spoke to the person who was in charge of the workers. He said, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay. Begin with the last ones I hired. Then go on to the first ones.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five o’clock came. Each received the usual day’s pay. ¹⁰ So when those who were hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received the usual day’s pay. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to complain about the owner. ¹² ‘These people who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said. ‘You have paid them the same as us. We have done most of the work and have been in the hot sun all day.’

¹³ “The owner answered one of them. ‘Friend,’ he said, ‘I’m being fair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for the usual day’s pay? ¹⁴ Take your money and go. I want to give the one I hired last the same pay I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Do you feel cheated because I gave so freely to the others?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time About His Coming Death

¹⁷ Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took his 12 disciples to one side to talk to them. ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said. “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will sentence him to death. ¹⁹ Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles. The people will make fun of him and whip him. They will nail him to a cross. On the third day, he will rise from the dead!”

A Mother Asks a Favor of Jesus

²⁰ The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus. Her sons came with her. Getting on her knees, she asked a favor of him.

²¹ “What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Promise me that one of my two sons may sit at your right hand in your kingdom. Promise that the other one may sit at your left hand.”

²² “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³ Jesus said to them, “You will certainly drink from my cup. But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those my Father has prepared them for.”

²⁴ The other ten disciples heard about this. They became angry at the two brothers. ²⁵ Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about the rulers of the Gentiles. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. ²⁶ Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. ²⁷ And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave. ²⁸ Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”

Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight

²⁹ Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho. A large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the side of the road. They heard that Jesus was going by. So they shouted, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd commanded them to stop. They told them to be quiet. But the two men shouted even louder, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

³² Jesus stopped and called out to them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want to be able to see.”

³⁴ Jesus felt deep concern for them. He touched their eyes. Right away they could see. And they followed him.