M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Land for Ephraim and Manasseh
16 This is the land the tribe of Joseph received. It started at the Jordan River near Jericho. It continued to the waters of Jericho, just east of the city. The border went up from Jericho to the mountains of Bethel. 2 Then it continued from Bethel (also called Luz) to the Arkite border at Ataroth. 3 From there it went west to the border of the Japhletites. It continued to the area of the Lower Beth Horon. Then it went to Gezer and ended at the sea.
4 So Manasseh and Ephraim received their land. They were sons of Joseph.
5 This is the land that was given to the family groups of Ephraim: Their border started at Ataroth Addar in the east. It went to Upper Beth Horon 6 and then to the sea. From Micmethath it turned eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and continued eastward to Janoah. 7 Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah. It continued until it touched Jericho and stopped at the Jordan River. 8 The border went from Tappuah west to Kanah Ravine and went to the sea. This is all the land that was given to the Ephraimites. Each family group in the tribe got a part of this land. 9 Many of the border towns of Ephraim were actually within Manasseh’s borders. But the people of Ephraim got those towns and their fields. 10 The Ephraimites could not force the Canaanites to leave Gezer. So the Canaanites still live among the Ephraimites today. But they became slaves of the Ephraimites.
17 Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. He was Joseph’s first son. Manasseh’s first son was Makir, the father of Gilead. Makir was a great soldier. So the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family. 2 Land was also given to the other family groups of Manasseh. They were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These were all the other sons of Manasseh son of Joseph.
3 Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Makir, and Makir was the son of Manasseh. But Zelophehad had no sons. He had five daughters. The daughters were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. 4 The daughters went to Eleazar the priest. They also went to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land like the men received.” So Eleazar obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters some land. These daughters received land just as the brothers of their father did. 5 So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land west of the Jordan River. They also had two more sections, Gilead and Bashan. These sections were on the other side of the Jordan River. 6 The daughters of Manasseh got land just as the sons did. Gilead was given to the rest of the families of Manasseh.
7 The lands of Manasseh were in the area between Asher and Micmethath. This is near Shechem. The border went south to the En Tappuah area. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh. But the town of Tappuah did not. It was along the border of Manasseh’s land and belonged to the sons of Ephraim. 9 The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah Ravine. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea. 10 The land to the south belonged to Ephraim. And the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land on the north. And it touched Issachar’s land on the east.
11 In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh owned Beth Shan and its small towns. They also owned Ibleam and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Dor and its small towns. They owned the people in Naphoth Dor and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns. Manasseh also owned the people in Megiddo and its small towns. 12 Manasseh was not able to defeat those cities. So the Canaanites continued to live there. 13 But the Israelites grew strong. When this happened, they forced the Canaanites to work for them. But they did not force them to leave the land.
14 The people from the tribes of Joseph spoke to Joshua. They said, “You gave us only one area of land. But we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”
15 And Joshua answered them, “You have many people. Go up to the forest. Make a place for yourselves to live there. This is in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you.”
16 The people of Joseph said, “It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us. But the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area. And they are also in the Valley of Jezreel.”
17 Then Joshua spoke to the people of Joseph—to Ephraim and to Manasseh. He said, “But there are many of you. And you have great power. You should be given more than one share of land. 18 You also will have the mountain country. It is a forest. But you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. And you will own all of it. You will force the Canaanites to leave the land. You can defeat them even though they have powerful weapons and are strong.”
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens.
Praise him high above the earth.
2 Praise him, all you angels.
Praise him, all you armies of heaven.
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens
and you waters above the sky.
5 Let them praise the Lord
because they were created by his command.
6 He set them in place forever and ever.
He made a law that will never end.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth.
Praise him, you large sea animals and all the oceans.
8 Praise him, lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
and stormy winds that obey him.
9 Praise him, mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedar trees.
10 Praise him, you wild animals and all cattle,
small crawling animals and birds.
11 Praise him, you kings of the earth and all nations,
princes and all rulers of the earth.
12 Praise him, you young men and women,
old people and children.
13 Praise the Lord.
He alone is great.
He is greater than heaven and earth.
14 God has given his people a king.
He should be praised by all who belong to him.
He should be praised by the Israelites, the people closest to his heart.
Praise the Lord!
8 “‘The Lord says: At that time the bones will be removed from the tombs. The bones of Judah’s kings and officers, priests and prophets and the people of Jerusalem will be removed. 2 The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon and stars the people loved and served. They went after these gods, searched them out and worshiped them. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung thrown on the ground. 3 I will force the people of Judah to leave their homes and their land. Those of this evil family who are not dead will wish they were dead, says the Lord.’
Sin and Punishment
4 “Say to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says:
When a man falls down, doesn’t he get up again?
And when a man goes the wrong way, doesn’t he come back again?
5 Why, then, have the people of Judah gone the wrong way?
And why do the people of Jerusalem not turn back?
They believe their own lies.
They refuse to turn around and come back.
6 I have listened to them very carefully.
But they do not say what is right.
They do not feel sorry about their wicked ways.
The people don’t think about the bad things they have done.
Each person goes his own way.
He is like a horse charging into a battle.
7 Even the birds in the sky
know the right times to do things.
The storks, doves, swifts and thrushes
know when it is time to migrate.
But my people don’t know
what the Lord wants them to do!
8 “‘You keep saying, “We are wise.
This is because we have the teachings of the Lord.”
But actually, those who copy the Scriptures
have written lies with their pens.
9 These wise men refused to listen to the word of the Lord.
So they are not really wise at all.
They will be ashamed.
They will be shocked and trapped.
10 So I will give their wives to other men.
I will give their fields to new owners.
Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for money.
Even the prophets and priests
all tell lies.
11 They try to heal my people’s serious injuries
as if they were small wounds.
They say, “It’s all right, it’s all right!”
But really, it is not all right.
12 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act.
But they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.
So they will fall, along with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them, says the Lord.
13 “‘I will take away their crops, says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.
There will be no figs on the fig tree.
Even the leaves will dry up and die.
I will take away what I gave them!’”
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Let’s get together!
We have sinned against the Lord.
So he has given us poisoned water to drink.
Come, let’s run to the strong, walled cities.
The Lord our God has decided that we must die.
So let’s die there.
15 We hoped to have peace.
But nothing good has come.
We hoped for a time when he would heal us.
But only disaster has come!
16 From the land of the tribe of Dan,
the snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard.
The ground shakes from the neighing of their large horses.
They have come to destroy
the land and everything in it.
They have come to destroy
the city and all the people who live there.”
17 “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes to attack you.
These snakes cannot be charmed.
They will bite you,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Sadness
18 God, you are my comfort when I am very sad.
You are my comfort when I’m afraid.
19 Listen to my people!
They are crying for help from a faraway land.
They say, “Is the Lord still in Jerusalem?
Is Jerusalem’s king still there?”
But God says, “Why did the people make me angry by worshiping idols?
They worshiped their useless foreign idols.”
20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over.
Summer has ended.
And we have not been saved.”
21 My people are crushed. So I am crushed.
I cry loudly, and I am afraid for them.
22 Surely there is a balm in the land of Gilead.
Surely there is a doctor there.
So why aren’t the hurts of my people healed?
A Story About a Wedding Feast
22 Jesus used stories to tell other things to the people. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3 The king invited some people to the feast. When the feast was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the feast.
4 “Then the king sent other servants. He said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
5 “But the people refused to listen to the servants. They went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. 6 Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7 The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill the people who had killed his servants. And the army burned their city.
8 “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ 10 So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “Then the king came in to see all the guests. He saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. 12 The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.’ But the man said nothing. 13 So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness. In that place, people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’
14 “Yes, many are invited. But only a few are chosen.”
The Pharisees Try to Trap Jesus
15 Then the Pharisees left the place where Jesus was teaching. They made plans to trap Jesus with a question. 16 They sent some of their own followers and some men from the group called Herodians.[a] These men said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. We know that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” The men showed him a silver coin.[b] 20 Then Jesus asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?”
21 The men answered, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. And give to God the things that are God’s.”
22 The men heard what Jesus said, and they were amazed. They left him and went away.
Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
23 That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. 24 They said, “Teacher, Moses told us that a married man might die without having children. Then his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25 There were seven brothers among us. The first one married but died. He had no children. So his brother married the widow. 26 Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. 27 The woman was last to die. 28 But all seven men had married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”
29 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know about the power of God. 30 When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31 Surely you have read what God said to you about the rising from death? 32 God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[c] God is the God of living people, not dead people.”
33 All the people heard this. They were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
The Most Important Command
34 The Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them. So the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee was an expert in the law of Moses. That Pharisee asked Jesus a question to test him. 36 The Pharisee asked, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.’[d] 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’[e] 40 All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them a question. 42 He asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
The Pharisees answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43 Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit. David said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.’ Psalm 110:1
45 David calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
46 None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.