M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Land for the Tribes West of the Jordan River
14 The rest of the tribes of Israel received their shares of land in Canaan. Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun, decided what each of the tribes should receive. The leaders of the tribes helped them make these decisions. 2 The shares of nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh were decided by casting lots. That’s what the Lord had commanded through Moses. 3 Moses had given two tribes and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh their shares east of the Jordan River. But Moses had not given the Levites a share among the other tribes. 4 Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph. They had become two tribes. The Levites didn’t receive any share of the land. They only received towns to live in and grasslands for their flocks and herds. 5 So the Israelites divided up the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Joshua Gives Hebron to Caleb
6 The people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, spoke to Joshua. He said, “You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God. He spoke to him at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land. I was 40 years old at that time. I brought back an honest report to him. I told him exactly what I had seen. 8 Several other men of Israel went up with me. What they reported terrified the people. But I followed the Lord my God with my whole heart. 9 So on that day Moses made a promise to me. He said, ‘The land you have walked on will be your share. It will be the share of your children forever. That’s because you have followed the Lord my God with your whole heart.’ (Deuteronomy 1:36)
10 “The Lord has done just as he promised. He made the promise while Israel was wandering around in the desert. That was 45 years ago. He has kept me alive all this time. So here I am today, 85 years old! 11 I’m still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m just as able to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 So give me this hill country. The Lord promised it to me that day. At that time you yourself heard that the Anakites were living there. You also heard that their cities were large and had high walls around them. But I’ll drive them out, just as the Lord said I would. He will help me do it.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. He gave him Hebron as his share. 14 So ever since that time Hebron has belonged to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. That’s because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, with his whole heart. 15 Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. It was named after Arba. He was the greatest man among the Anakites.
So the land had peace and rest.
Land Is Given to Judah
15 Land was given to the tribe of Judah, according to its family groups. It reached down to the territory of Edom. It went as far south as the Desert of Zin.
2 Judah’s border on the south started from the bay at the south end of the Dead Sea. 3 It went across to the south of Scorpion Pass. It continued on to Zin. It went over to the south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it ran past Hezron up to Addar. It curved around to Karka. 4 It then went along to Azmon. There it joined the Wadi of Egypt and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. That was the southern border of Judah.
5 The border on the east was the Dead Sea. It went north all the way to where the Jordan River enters the sea.
The border on the north started at the bay of the Dead Sea. That’s where the Jordan River enters the sea. 6 From there it went up to Beth Hoglah. It continued north of Beth Arabah to the Stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. 7 Then it went from the Valley of Achor up to Debir. It turned north to Gilgal. Gilgal faces the Pass of Adummim south of the valley. The border continued along to the springs of En Shemesh. It came to an end at En Rogel. 8 Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It went along the south slope of Jerusalem. From there it climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley. The hill is also at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. 9 From the top of the hill the border headed toward the springs of Nephtoah. It went to the towns near Mount Ephron. It went down toward Kiriath Jearim. 10 Then it curved west from Kiriath Jearim to Mount Seir. It ran along the north slope of Mount Kesalon. It continued down to Beth Shemesh and crossed over to Timnah. 11 It went to the north slope of Ekron. Then it turned toward Shikkeron. It passed along to Mount Baalah and reached Jabneel. The border came to an end at the Mediterranean Sea.
12 The border on the west was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
Those were the borders of the family groups of the tribe of Judah.
13 Joshua gave a part of Judah’s share of land to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. That was according to the Lord’s command to Joshua. The share Caleb received was the city of Hebron. It was also called Kiriath Arba. Anak came from the family line of Arba. 14 Caleb drove three Anakites out of Hebron. Their names were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. They were from the family line of Anak. 15 From Hebron, Caleb marched out against the people living in Debir. It used to be called Kiriath Sepher. 16 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah to be married. She’ll be the wife of the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 17 Othniel captured it. So Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him to be his wife. Othniel was the son of Kenaz. He was Caleb’s brother.
18 One day Aksah came to Othniel. She begged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb spoke to her. He asked, “What can I do for you?”
19 She replied, “Do me a special favor. You have given me some land in the Negev Desert. Give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
20 Here is the share of land given to the tribe of Judah, according to its family groups.
21 The towns farthest south that were given to Judah were in the Negev Desert. They were near the border of Edom. Here is a list of those towns.
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor Hadattah, Hazor, 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28 Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iyim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon. The total number of towns was 29. Some of them had villages near them.
33 Towns were also given to Judah in the western hills. Here is a list of those towns.
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Sokoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah. Gederah is also called Gederothaim. The total number of towns was 14. Some of them had villages near them.
37 Here’s another list of towns given to Judah in the western hills.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Kabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah. The total number of towns was 16. Some of them had villages near them.
42 Here’s another list of towns given to Judah in the western hills.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Akzib and Mareshah. The total number of towns was nine. Some of them had villages near them.
45 Judah was also given Ekron and the settlements and villages around it. 46 West of Ekron, Judah was given all the settlements and villages near Ashdod. 47 Judah was given Ashdod and the settlements and villages around it. And Judah was given Gaza and its settlements and villages. Judah’s territory went all the way to the Wadi of Egypt and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
48 Towns were also given to Judah in the central hill country. Here is a list of those towns.
Shamir, Jattir, Sokoh, 49 Dannah, Debir, 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon and Giloh. The total number of towns was 11. Some of them had villages near them.
52 Here’s another list of towns given to Judah in the central hill country.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Hebron and Zior. The total number of towns was nine. Some of them had villages near them.
55 Here’s another list of towns given to Judah in the central hill country.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah and Timnah. The total number of towns was ten. Some of them had villages near them.
58 Here’s another list of towns given to Judah in the central hill country.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon. The total number of towns was six. Some of them had villages near them.
60 Here’s another list of towns given to Judah in the central hill country.
Kiriath Jearim and Rabbah. The total number of towns was two. They had villages near them.
61 Towns were also given to Judah in the desert. Here is a list of those towns.
Beth Arabah, Middin, Sekakah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi. The total number of towns was six. Some of them had villages near them.
63 Judah couldn’t drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. So they live there with the people of Judah to this day.
146 Praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Don’t put your trust in human leaders.
Don’t trust in people who can’t save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help.
Blessed are those who put their hope in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth and the ocean.
He made everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
7 He stands up for those who are treated badly.
He gives food to hungry people.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to those who are blind.
The Lord lifts up those who feel helpless.
The Lord loves those who do what is right.
9 The Lord watches over the outsiders who live in our land.
He takes good care of children whose fathers have died.
He also takes good care of widows.
But he causes evil people to fail
in everything they do.
10 The Lord rules forever.
The God of Zion will rule for all time to come.
Praise the Lord.
147 Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How pleasant and right it is to praise him!
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers the scattered people of Israel.
3 He heals those who have broken hearts.
He takes care of their wounds.
4 He decides how many stars there should be.
He gives each one of them a name.
5 Great is our Lord. His power is mighty.
There is no limit to his understanding.
6 The Lord gives strength to those who aren’t proud.
But he throws evil people down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord and give him grateful praise.
Make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He supplies the earth with rain.
He makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle.
He provides for the young ravens when they cry out.
10 He doesn’t take pleasure in the strength of horses.
He doesn’t take delight in the strong legs of warriors.
11 The Lord takes delight in those who have respect for him.
They put their hope in his faithful love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Zion, praise your God.
13 He makes the metal bars of your gates stronger.
He blesses the people who live inside you.
14 He keeps your borders safe and secure.
He satisfies you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth.
His word arrives there quickly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down his hail like pebbles.
No one can stand his icy blast.
18 He gives his command, and the ice melts.
He stirs up his winds, and the waters flow.
19 He has made his word known to the people of Jacob.
He has made his laws and rules known to Israel.
20 He hasn’t done that for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord.
Worshiping Other Gods Is Worthless
7 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, 2 “Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say,
“ ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the Lord who rules over all. He says, “Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in lies. Do not say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!’ 5 You must really change the way you live and act. Treat one another fairly. 6 Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you. 7 If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people of long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever. 8 But look! You are trusting in worthless lies.
9 “ ‘ “You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before. 10 Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say, ‘We are safe.’ You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate. 11 My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!” announces the Lord.
12 “ ‘ “Go now to the town of Shiloh. Go to the place where I first made a home for my Name. See what I did to it because of the evil things my people Israel were doing. 13 I spoke to you again and again,” announces the Lord. “I warned you while you were doing all these things. But you did not listen. I called out to you. But you did not answer. 14 So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house where my Name is. It is the temple you trust in. It is the place I gave to you and your people of long ago. 15 But I will throw you out of my land. That is exactly what I did to the people of Ephraim. And they are your relatives.” ’
16 “Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not make any appeal or request for them. Do not beg me. I will not listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing? They are worshiping other gods in the towns of Judah. They are offering sacrifices to them in the streets of Jerusalem. 18 The children go out and gather wood. The fathers light the fire. The women mix the dough. They make flat cakes of bread to offer to the female god called the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods. That makes me very angry. 19 But am I the one they are hurting?” announces the Lord. “Aren’t they only harming themselves? They should be ashamed of it.”
20 So the Lord and King says, “I will pour out my burning anger on this place. It will strike people and animals alike. It will destroy the trees in the fields and the crops in your land. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out.”
21 The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Go ahead! Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices. Eat the meat yourselves! 22 When I brought your people out of Egypt, I spoke to them. But I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also gave them another command. I said, ‘Obey me. Then I will be your God. And you will be my people. Live the way I command you to live. Then things will go well with you.’ 24 But they did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. They went backward and not forward. 25 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets to you. They came to you day after day. They prophesied from the time your people left Egypt until now. 26 But your people of long ago did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. They were stubborn. They did more evil things than their people who lived before them.
27 “Jeremiah, when you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not answer. 28 So say to them, ‘You are a nation that has not obeyed the Lord your God. You did not pay attention when you were corrected. Truth has died out. You do not tell the truth anymore.’ ”
29 The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem, “Cut off your hair. Throw it away. Sing a song of sadness on the bare hilltops. I am very angry with you. I have turned my back on you. I have deserted you.
The Valley of Death
30 “The people of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes,” announces the Lord. “They have set up statues of their gods. They have worshiped them in the house where my Name is. They have made my house ‘unclean.’ I hate those statues. 31 The people have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There they worship other gods. And there they sacrifice their children in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind. 32 So watch out!” announces the Lord. “The days are coming when people will not call it Topheth anymore. And they will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom either. Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death. They will bury the dead bodies of some people in Topheth. But they will run out of room. 33 Then they will not be able to bury the bodies of other people there. So the bodies will become food for birds and wild animals. And no one will scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of brides and grooms will not be heard anymore. There will be no sounds of joy in the towns of Judah. And there will be no joy in the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a desert.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
21 As they all approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage. It was on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent out two disciples. 2 He said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a donkey tied up. Her colt will be with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them. The owner will send them right away.”
4 This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would come true. It says,
5 “Say to the city of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
He is riding on a donkey’s colt.’ ” (Zechariah 9:9)
6 The disciples went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt. They placed their coats on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Some of the people went ahead of him, and some followed. They all shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:26)
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. The people asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Clears Out the Temple
12 Jesus entered the temple courtyard. He began to drive out all those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He also turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written that the Lord said, ‘My house will be called a house where people can pray.’ (Isaiah 56:7) But you are making it ‘a den for robbers.’ ” (Jeremiah 7:11)
14 Blind people and those who were disabled came to Jesus at the temple. There he healed them. 15 The chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did. They also saw the children in the temple courtyard shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” But when they saw all this, they became angry.
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus. “Haven’t you ever read about it in Scripture? It says,
“ ‘Lord, you have made sure that children and infants
praise you.’ ” (Psalm 8:2)
17 Then Jesus left the people and went out of the city to Bethany. He spent the night there.
Jesus Makes a Fig Tree Dry Up
18 Early in the morning, Jesus was on his way back to Jerusalem. He was hungry. 19 He saw a fig tree by the road. He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Right away the tree dried up.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You must have faith and not doubt. Then you can do what was done to the fig tree. And you can say to this mountain, ‘Go and throw yourself into the sea.’ It will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive what you ask for when you pray.”
The Authority of Jesus Is Questioned
23 Jesus entered the temple courtyard. While he was teaching there, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “Who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 Where did John’s baptism come from? Was it from heaven? Or did it come from human authority?”
They talked to one another about it. They said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But what if we say, ‘From human authority’? We are afraid of the people. Everyone believes that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things either.
The Story of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “ ‘I will not,’ the son answered. But later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son. He said the same thing. The son answered, ‘I will, sir.’ But he did not go.
31 “Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. You saw this. But even then you did not turn away from your sins and believe him.
The Story of the Renters
33 “Listen to another story. A man who owned some land planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it. He dug a pit for a winepress in it. He also built a lookout tower. He rented the vineyard out to some farmers. Then he moved to another place. 34 When harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the renters. He told the slaves to collect his share of the fruit.
35 “But the renters grabbed his slaves. They beat one of them. They killed another. They threw stones at the third to kill him. 36 Then the man sent other slaves to the renters. He sent more than he did the first time. The renters treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But the renters saw the son coming. They said to one another, ‘This is the one who will receive all the owner’s property someday. Come, let’s kill him. Then everything will be ours.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard. Then they killed him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those renters?”
41 “He will destroy those evil people,” they replied. “Then he will rent the vineyard out to other renters. They will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what the Scriptures say,
“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.
The Lord has done it.
It is wonderful in our eyes’? (Psalm 118:22,23)
43 “So here is what I tell you. The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”
45 The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ stories. They knew he was talking about them. 46 So they looked for a way to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowd. The people believed that Jesus was a prophet.
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