M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
20 “When you go to war and see before you vast numbers of horses and chariots, an army far greater than yours, don’t be frightened! The Lord your God is with you—the same God who brought you safely out of Egypt! 2 Before you begin the battle, a priest shall stand before the Israeli army and say,
3 “‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Don’t be afraid as you go out to fight today! 4 For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you the victory!’
5 “Then the officers of the army shall address the men in this manner: ‘Has anyone just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, go home! For you might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate it! 6 Has anyone just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, go home! You might die in battle and someone else would eat it! 7 Has anyone just become engaged? Well, go home and get married! For you might die in the battle, and someone else would marry your fiancée. 8 And now, is anyone afraid? If you are, go home before you frighten the rest of us!’ 9 When the officers have finished saying this to their men, they will announce the names of the battalion leaders.
10 “As you approach a city to fight against it, first offer it a truce. 11 If it accepts the truce and opens its gates to you, then all its people shall become your servants. 12 But if it refuses and won’t make peace with you, you must besiege it. 13 When the Lord your God has given it to you, kill every male in the city; 14 but you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, cattle, and booty. 15 These instructions apply only to distant cities, not to those in the Promised Land itself.[a]
16 “For in the cities within the boundaries of the Promised Land you are to save no one; destroy every living thing. 17 Utterly destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. This is the commandment of the Lord your God. 18 The purpose of this command is to prevent the people of the land from luring you into idol worship and into participation in their loathsome customs, thus sinning deeply against the Lord your God.
19 “When you besiege a city, don’t destroy the fruit trees. Eat all the fruit you wish; just don’t cut down the trees. They aren’t enemies who need to be slaughtered! 20 But you may cut down trees that aren’t valuable for food. Use them for the siege to make ladders, portable towers, and battering rams.[b]
107 Say thank you to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. 2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.
3 He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. 4 They were wandering homeless in the desert, 5 hungry and thirsty and faint. 6 “Lord, help!” they cried, and he did! 7 He led them straight to safety and a place to live. 8 Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds! 9 For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good.
10 Who are these who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, crushed by misery and slavery? 11 They rebelled against the Lord, scorning him who is the God above all gods. 12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell and none could help them rise again. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them! 14 He led them from the darkness and shadow of death and snapped their chains. 15 Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! 16 For he broke down their prison gates of brass and cut apart their iron bars.
17 Others, the fools, were ill because of their sinful ways. 18 Their appetites were gone, and death was near. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he helped them and delivered them. 20 He spoke, and they were healed—snatched from the door of death. 21 Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! 22 Let them tell him thank you as their sacrifice and sing about his glorious deeds.
23 And then there are the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. 24 They, too, observe the power of God in action. 25 He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high. 26 Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. 27 They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit’s end. 28 Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. 29 He calms the storm and stills the waves. 30 What a blessing is that stillness as he brings them safely into harbor! 31 Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! 32 Let them praise him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.
33 He dries up rivers 34 and turns the good land of the wicked into deserts of salt. 35 Again, he turns deserts into fertile, watered valleys. 36 He brings the hungry to settle there and build their cities, 37 to sow their fields and plant their vineyards, and reap their bumper crops! 38 How he blesses them! They raise big families there and many cattle.
39 But others become poor through oppression, trouble, and sorrow. 40 For God pours contempt upon the haughty and causes princes to wander among ruins; 41 but he rescues the poor who are godly and gives them many children and much prosperity. 42 Good men everywhere will see it and be glad, while evil men are stricken silent.
43 Listen, if you are wise, to what I am saying. Think about the loving-kindness of the Lord!
47 “O Babylon, the unconquered, come sit in the dust; for your days of glory, pomp, and honor are ended. O daughter of Chaldea, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. 2 Take heavy millstones and grind the corn; remove your veil;[a] strip off your robe; expose yourself to public view. 3 You shall be in nakedness and shame. I will take vengeance upon you and will not repent.”
4 So speaks our Redeemer, who will save Israel from Babylon’s mighty power; the Lord Almighty is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit in darkness and silence, O Babylon; never again will you be called “The Queen of Kingdoms.” 6 For I was angry with my people Israel and began to punish them a little by letting them fall into your hands, O Babylon. But you showed them no mercy. You have made even the old folks carry heavy burdens. 7 You thought your reign would never end, Queen Kingdom of the world. You didn’t care a whit about my people or think about the fate of those who do them harm.
8 O pleasure-mad kingdom, living at ease, bragging as the greatest in the world—listen to the sentence of my court upon your sins. You say, “I alone am God! I’ll never be a widow; I’ll never lose my children.” 9 Well, those two things shall come upon you in one moment, in full measure in one day: widowhood and the loss of your children, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
10 You felt secure in all your wickedness. “No one sees me,” you said. Your “wisdom” and “knowledge” have caused you to turn away from me and claim that you yourself are Jehovah. 11 That is why disaster shall overtake you suddenly—so suddenly that you won’t know where it comes from. And there will be no atonement then to cleanse away your sins.
12 Call out the demon hordes you’ve worshiped all these years. Call on them to help you strike deep terror into many hearts again. 13 You have advisors by the ton—your astrologers and stargazers, who try to tell you what the future holds. 14 But they are as useless as dried grass burning in the fire. They cannot even deliver themselves! You’ll get no help from them at all. Theirs is no fire to sit beside to make you warm! 15 And all your friends of childhood days shall slip away and disappear, unable to help.
17 One of the seven angels who had poured out the plagues came over and talked with me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you what is going to happen to the Notorious Prostitute, who sits upon the many waters of the world. 2 The kings of the world have had immoral relations with her, and the people of the earth have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”
3 So the angel took me in spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet animal that had seven heads and ten horns,[a] written all over with blasphemies against God. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls, and held in her hand a golden goblet full of obscenities:
5 A mysterious caption was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of Prostitutes and of Idol Worship Everywhere around the World.”
6 I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus she had killed. I stared at her in horror.
7 “Why are you so surprised?” the angel asked. “I’ll tell you who she is and what the animal she is riding represents. 8 He was alive but isn’t now. And yet, soon he will come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction;[b] and the people of earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life before the world began, will be dumbfounded at his reappearance after being dead.
9 “And now think hard: his seven heads represent a certain city[c] built on seven hills where this woman has her residence. 10 They also represent seven kings. Five have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. 11 The scarlet animal that died is the eighth king, having reigned before as one of the seven; after his second reign, he too, will go to his doom. 12 His ten horns are ten kings who have not yet risen to power; they will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment, to reign with him. 13 They will all sign a treaty giving their power and strength to him. 14 Together they will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them; for he is Lord over all lords, and King of kings, and his people are the called and chosen and faithful ones.
15 “The oceans, lakes, and rivers that the woman is sitting on represent masses of people of every race and nation.
16 “The scarlet animal and his ten horns—which represent ten kings who will reign with him—all hate the woman, and will attack her and leave her naked and ravaged by fire. 17 For God will put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes: They will mutually agree to give their authority to the scarlet animal so that the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.