M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 18

¹ The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, where they set up the tent of meeting; and the land was subdued before them.^(A)

The Seven Remaining Portions. ² There remained seven tribes among the Israelites that had not yet received their heritage. ³ Joshua therefore said to the Israelites, “How much longer will you put off taking steps to possess the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? ⁴ Choose three representatives from each of your tribes; I will send them to go throughout the land and describe it for purposes of acquiring their heritage. When they return to me ⁵ you shall divide it into seven parts. Judah is to retain its territory in the south,^(B) and the house of Joseph its territory in the north. ⁶ You shall bring to me here the description of the land in seven sections. I will then cast lots for you here before the Lord, our God. ⁷ For the Levites have no share among you,^(C) because the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage; while Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received the heritage east of the Jordan which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave them.”

⁸ When those who were to describe the land were ready for their journey, Joshua commanded them, “Go throughout the land and describe it; return to me and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ So they went through the land, described its cities in writing in seven sections, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Joshua then cast lots for them before the Lord in Shiloh, and divided up the land for the Israelites into their separate shares.

Benjamin. ¹¹ One lot fell to the tribe of Benjaminites by their clans. The territory allotted them lay between the descendants of Judah and those of Joseph. ^12 (D)Their northern boundary^[a] began at the Jordan and went over the northern flank of Jericho, up westward into the mountains, until it reached the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ From there it crossed over to the southern flank of Luz (that is, Bethel). Then it ran down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountaintop south of Lower Beth-horon.^{(E) 14} For the western border, the boundary line swung south from the mountaintop opposite Beth-horon until it reached Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim; this city belonged to the Judahites). This was the western boundary. ¹⁵ The southern boundary began at the limits of Kiriath-jearim and projected to the spring at Nephtoah. ^16 (F)It went down to the edge of the mountain on the north of the Valley of Rephaim, where it faces the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and continuing down the Valley of Hinnom along the southern flank of the Jebusites, reached En-rogel. ¹⁷ Inclining to the north, it extended to En-shemesh, and thence to Geliloth, opposite the pass of Adummim. Then it dropped to Eben-Bohan-ben-Reuben, ¹⁸ across the northern flank of the Arabah overlook, down into the Arabah. ¹⁹ From there the boundary continued across the northern flank of Beth-hoglah and extended northward to the tongue of the Salt Sea, toward the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary. ²⁰ The Jordan bounded it on the east. This was how the heritage of the Benjaminites by their clans was bounded on all sides.

²¹ Now the cities belonging to the tribe of the Benjaminites by their clans were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophra, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities and their villages. ²⁵ Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath; fourteen cities and their villages. This was the heritage of the clans of Benjaminites.

Chapter 19

Simeon. ¹ The second lot fell to Simeon. The heritage of the tribe of Simeonites by their clans lay within that of the Judahites. ^2 (G)For their heritage they received Beer-sheba, Shema, Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Bethmar-caboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages. ⁷ Also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages, ⁸ besides all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer (that is, Ramoth-negeb). This was the heritage of the tribe of the Simeonites by their clans. ⁹ This heritage of the Simeonites was within the confines of the Judahites; for since the portion of the latter was too large for them, the Simeonites obtained their heritage within it.

Zebulun. ^10 [b]The third lot fell to the Zebulunites by their clans. The boundary of their heritage was at Sarid. ¹¹ Their boundary went up west and through Mareal, reaching Dabbesheth and the wadi that is near Jokneam. ¹² From Sarid eastward it ran to the district of Chisloth-tabor, on to Daberath, and up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it continued eastward to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin, extended to Rimmon, and turned to Neah. ¹⁴ Skirting north of Hannathon, the boundary ended at the valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ Thus, with Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem, there were twelve cities and their villages. ¹⁶ This was the heritage of the Zebulunites by their clans, these cities and their villages.

Issachar. ^17 [c]The fourth lot fell to Issachar. The territory of the Issacharites by their clans ¹⁸ included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. ²² The boundary reached Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan: sixteen cities and their villages. ²³ This was the heritage of the Issacharites by their clans, these cities and their villages.

Asher. ^24 [d]The fifth lot fell to the Asherites by their clans. ²⁵ Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal, and reached Carmel on the west, and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ In the other direction, it ran eastward of Beth-dagon, reached Zebulun and the valley of Iphtahel; then north of Beth-emek and Neiel, it extended northward to Cabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob,^(H) Hammon, and Kanah, near Greater Sidon. ²⁹ Then the boundary turned back to Ramah and to the fortress city of Tyre; thence it cut back to Hosah and ended at the sea. Thus, with Mahalab, Achzib, ³⁰ Ummah, Acco, Aphek, and Rehob, there were twenty-two cities and their villages. ³¹ This was the heritage of the tribe of the Asherites by their clans, these cities and their villages.

Naphtali. ^32 [e]The sixth lot fell to the Naphtalites. ³³ Their boundary extended from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, to Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ In the opposite direction, westerly, it ran through Aznoth-tabor and from there extended to Hukkok; it reached Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan on the east. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh;^(I) nineteen cities and their villages. ³⁹ This was the heritage of the tribe of the Naphtalites by their clans, these cities and their villages.

Dan. ^40 [f]The seventh lot fell to the tribe of Danites by their clans. ⁴¹ Their heritage was the territory of Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,^{(J) 43} Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekoh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the coast at Joppa. ^47 (K)But the territory of the Danites was too small for them; so the Danites marched up and attacked Leshem,^[g] which they captured and put to the sword. Once they had taken possession of Leshem, they dwelt there and named it after their ancestor Dan. ⁴⁸ This was the heritage of the tribe of the Danites by their clans, these cities and their villages.

Joshua’s City. ⁴⁹ When the last of them had received the portions of the land they were to inherit, the Israelites assigned a heritage in their midst to Joshua, son of Nun. ⁵⁰ According to the command of the Lord, they gave him the city he requested, Timnah-serah^(L) in the mountain region of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and made it his home.

⁵¹ These are the heritages which Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites apportioned by lot in the presence of the Lord, at the door of the tent of meeting in Shiloh. Thus they finished dividing the land.

Psalm 149^[a]

Praise God with Song and Sword

¹ Hallelujah!

Psalm 150^[e]

Final Doxology

¹ Hallelujah!

Chapter 9

The Corruption of the People

Dirge over the Ravaged Land

¹¹ Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken? Let him declare it!

¹² The Lord said: Because they have abandoned my law, which I set before them, and did not listen to me or follow it, ¹³ but followed instead their stubborn hearts and the Baals, as their ancestors had taught them,^{(G) 14} therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: See now, I will give this people wormwood to eat and poisoned water to drink.^{(H) 15} I will scatter them among nations whom neither they nor their ancestors have known; I will send the sword to pursue them until I have completely destroyed them.^(I)

True Glory

False Circumcision. ²⁴ See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will demand an account of all those circumcised in the foreskin:^{(M) 25} Egypt and Judah, Edom and the Ammonites, Moab, and those who live in the wilderness and shave their temples.^[b] For all the nations are uncircumcised, even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised at heart.

Chapter 23^[a]

Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees. ^1 (A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 [b]saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. ³ Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. ^4 (B)They tie up heavy burdens^[c] [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. ^5 [d](C)All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. ^6 [e](D)They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, ⁷ greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ ^8 [f]As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. ^11 (E)The greatest among you must be your servant. ^12 (F)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

^13 [g](G)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven^[h] before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. [¹⁴ ]^[i]

^15 [j]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.

^16 [k](H)“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’ ¹⁷ Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ^20 (I)One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; ²¹ one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; ²² one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.

^23 (J)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes^[l] of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the others. ^24 [m](K)Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

^25 [n](L)“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.

^27 [o]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. ^28 (M)Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

^29 [p]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,^[q] you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, ^30 (N)and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ ^31 (O)Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; ³² now fill up what your ancestors measured out! ^33 (P)You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna? ^34 [r](Q)Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

The Lament over Jerusalem.^{[s] 37 (R)}“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!^{(S) 38 (T)}Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate. ^39 (U)I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”