M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 16
The Joseph Tribes.[a] 1 The lot that fell to the Josephites extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho east of the wilderness; then the boundary went up from Jericho to the heights at Bethel.[b] 2 Leaving Bethel for Luz, it crossed the ridge to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, 3 and descended westward to the border of the Japhletites, to that of the Lower Beth-horon, and to Gezer, and from there to the sea.(A)
Ephraim. 4 Within the heritage of Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph, 5 the dividing line[c] for the heritage of the Ephraimites by their clans ran from east of Ataroth-addar to Upper Beth-horon(B) 6 and thence to the sea. From Michmethath(C) on the north, their boundary curved eastward around Taanath-shiloh, and continued east of it to Janoah; 7 from there it descended to Ataroth and Naarah, and reaching Jericho, it ended at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the boundary ran westward to the Wadi Kanah and ended at the sea. This was the heritage of the Ephraimites by their clans, 9 including the villages that belonged to each city set aside for the Ephraimites within the heritage of the Manassites. 10 But they did not dispossess the Canaanites living in Gezer;(D) they live within Ephraim to the present day, though they have been put to forced labor.
Chapter 17
Manasseh. 1 (E)Now as for the lot that fell to the tribe of Manasseh(F) as the firstborn of Joseph: since Manasseh’s eldest son, Machir, the father of Gilead, was a warrior, who had already obtained Gilead and Bashan, 2 the allotment was now made to the rest of the Manassites by their clans: the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida; these are the other male children of Manasseh, son of Joseph, by their clans.
3 (G)Furthermore, Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 These presented themselves to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us a heritage among our relatives.” So in accordance with the command of the Lord a heritage was given them among their father’s relatives. 5 Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan,(H) 6 since these female descendants of Manasseh received each a portion among his sons. The land of Gilead fell to the rest of the Manassites.
7 Manasseh bordered on Asher.[d] From Michmethath, near Shechem, another boundary ran southward to include the inhabitants of En-Tappuah, 8 because the district of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, although Tappuah itself was an Ephraimite city on the border of Manasseh. 9 This same boundary continued down to the Wadi Kanah.(I) The cities that belonged to Ephraim from among the cities in Manasseh were those to the south of that wadi; thus the territory of Manasseh ran north of the wadi and ended at the sea. 10 The land on the south belonged to Ephraim and that on the north to Manasseh; with the sea as their common boundary, they reached Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
11 (J)Moreover, in Issachar and in Asher Manasseh was awarded Beth-shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns (the third is Naphath-dor). 12 Since the Manassites were not able to dispossess these cities, the Canaanites continued to inhabit this region. 13 When the Israelites grew stronger they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not dispossess them.
Protest of Joseph Tribes. 14 The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share as our heritage?(K) Our people are too many, because of the extent to which the Lord has blessed us.” 15 Joshua answered them, “If you are too many, go up to the forest and clear out a place for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, since the mountain regions of Ephraim are so narrow.” 16 For the Josephites said, “Our mountain regions are not enough for us; on the other hand, the Canaanites living in the valley region all have iron chariots, in particular those in Beth-shean and its towns, and those in the valley of Jezreel.” 17 Joshua therefore said to Ephraim and Manasseh, the house of Joseph, “You are a numerous people and very strong. You shall not have merely one share, 18 for the mountain region which is now forest shall be yours when you clear it. Its adjacent land shall also be yours if, despite their strength and iron chariots, you dispossess the Canaanites.”
Psalm 148[a]
All Creation Summoned to Praise
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels;
give praise, all you his hosts.(A)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,[b]
you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them all praise the Lord’s name;
for he commanded and they were created,(B)
6 Assigned them their station forever,
set an order that will never change.
II
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all the deeps of the sea;(C)
8 Lightning and hail, snow and thick clouds,
storm wind that fulfills his command;
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;(D)
10 Animals wild and tame,
creatures that crawl and birds that fly;(E)
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all who govern on earth;
12 Young men and women too,
old and young alike.
13 Let them all praise the Lord’s name,
for his name alone is exalted,
His majesty above earth and heaven.(F)
14 [c]He has lifted high the horn of his people;
to the praise of all his faithful,
the Israelites, the people near to him.
Hallelujah!
Chapter 8
1 At that time—oracle of the Lord—the bones of the kings and princes of Judah, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves(A) 2 and spread out before the sun, the moon, and the whole host of heaven,[a] which they loved and served, which they followed, consulted, and worshiped. They will not be gathered up for burial, but will lie like dung upon the ground.(B) 3 Death will be preferred to life by all the survivors of this wicked people who remain in any of the places to which I banish them—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
Israel’s Conduct Incomprehensible
4 Tell them: Thus says the Lord:
When someone falls, do they not rise again?
if they turn away, do they not turn back?
5 Why then do these people resist
with persistent rebellion?
Why do they cling to deception,
refuse to turn back?(C)
6 I have listened closely:
they speak what is not true;
No one regrets wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Everyone keeps on running their course,
like a horse dashing into battle.(D)
7 Even the stork in the sky
knows its seasons;
Turtledove, swift, and thrush
observe the time of their return,
But my people do not know
the order of the Lord.(E)
8 How can you say, “We are wise,(F)
we have the law of the Lord”?
See, that has been changed into falsehood
by the lying pen of the scribes![b]
9 The wise are put to shame,
terrified, and trapped;
Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what sort of wisdom do they have?(G)
Shameless in Their Crimes
10 Therefore, I will give their wives to other men,
their fields to new owners.
Small and great alike, all are greedy for gain,
prophet and priest, all practice fraud.(H)
11 They have treated lightly
the injury to the daughter of my people:[c]
“Peace, peace!” they say,
though there is no peace.(I)
12 They have acted shamefully; they have done abominable things,
yet they are not at all ashamed,
they do not know how to blush.
Hence they shall be among those who fall;
in their time of punishment they shall stumble,
says the Lord.(J)
Threats of Punishment
13 I will gather them all in—oracle of the Lord:
no grapes on the vine,
No figs on the fig trees,
foliage withered!
Whatever I have given them is gone.
14 Why do we remain here?
Let us assemble and flee to the fortified cities,
where we will meet our doom;
For the Lord our God has doomed us,
he has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.(K)
15 We wait for peace to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.(L)
16 From Dan is heard
the snorting of horses;
The neighing of stallions
shakes the whole land.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and its inhabitants.
17 Yes, I will send against you
poisonous snakes.
Against them no charm will work
when they bite you—oracle of the Lord.(M)
The Prophet’s Grief over the People’s Suffering
18 My joy is gone,
grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.
19 Listen! the cry of the daughter of my people,
far and wide in the land!
“Is the Lord no longer in Zion,
is her King no longer in her midst?”
Why do they provoke me with their idols,
with their foreign nonentities?(N)
20 “The harvest is over, the summer ended,
but we have not yet been saved!”
21 I am broken by the injury of the daughter of my people.
I am in mourning; horror has seized me.(O)
22 Is there no balm in Gilead,[d]
no healer there?
Why does new flesh not grow
over the wound of the daughter of my people?(P)
23 Oh, that my head were a spring of water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
over the slain from the daughter of my people!
Chapter 22
The Parable of the Wedding Feast.[a] 1 (A)Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast[b] for his son. 3 [c]He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. 4 A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ 5 Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 (B)The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 [d]The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. 9 Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ 10 The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,[e] and the hall was filled with guests. 11 [f]But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. 12 He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. 13 [g](C)Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ 14 Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Paying Taxes to the Emperor.[h] 15 (D)Then the Pharisees[i] went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. 16 They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,[j] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. 17 [k]Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 [l]Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20 He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” 21 (E)They replied, “Caesar’s.”[m] At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 22 When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.
The Question About the Resurrection.[n] 23 (F)On that day Sadducees approached him, saying that there is no resurrection.[o] They put this question to him, 24 (G)saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies[p] without children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died and, having no descendants, left his wife to his brother. 26 The same happened with the second and the third, through all seven. 27 Finally the woman died. 28 Now at the resurrection, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had been married to her.” 29 [q]Jesus said to them in reply, “You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. 31 And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you[r] by God, 32 (H)‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment.[s] 34 (I)When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them [a scholar of the law][t] tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher,[u] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 (J)He said to him,[v] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 (K)The second is like it:[w] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 [x](L)The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Question About David’s Son.[y] 41 (M)While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them,[z] 42 [aa]saying, “What is your opinion about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “David’s.” 43 He said to them, “How, then, does David, inspired by the Spirit, call him ‘lord,’ saying:
44 (N)‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet”’?
45 [ab]If David calls him ‘lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 (O)No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.