M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Death of Miriam
20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the (A)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 (B)There was no water for the congregation, (C)and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3 (D)The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “(E)If only we had perished (F)when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 (G)Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die [a]here? 5 Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? (H)It is not a place of [b]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and (I)fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
The Water of Meribah
8 “Take (J)the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”
9 So Moses took the rod (K)from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “(L)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and (M)water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “(N)Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were the waters of [c](O)Meribah, [d]because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.
14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to (P)the king of Edom: “Thus your brother Israel has said, ‘You (Q)know all the hardship that has befallen us; 15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16 But (R)when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent (S)an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please (T)let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”
18 (U)Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through [e]us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” 19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if I and (V)my livestock do drink any of your water, (W)then I will [f]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, [g]nothing else.” 20 But he said, “(X)You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy [h]force and with a strong hand. 21 (Y)Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; (Z)so Israel turned away from him.
22 Now when they set out from (AA)Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.
Death of Aaron
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at (AB)Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Aaron will be (AC)gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because (AD)you rebelled against My [i]command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son (AE)Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be (AF)gathered to his people, and will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and (AG)put them on his son Eleazar, (AH)Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty (AI)days.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [c]speak righteousness, O [d]gods?
Do you (A)judge [e]uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (B)work unrighteousness;
On earth you (C)weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (D)from the womb;
These who speak lies (E)go astray from [f]birth.
4 They have venom like the (F)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (G)does not hear the voice of [g](H)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (I)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them (J)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [h](K)aims his arrows, let them be as [i]headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which [j]melts away as it goes along,
Like the (L)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your (M)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (N)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [k]green and the burning alike.
10 The (O)righteous will rejoice when he (P)sees the vengeance;
He will (Q)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And men will say, “Surely there is a [l](R)reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who (S)judges [m]on earth!”
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.
For the choir director; set to [n]Al-tashheth. A [o]Mikhtam of David, [p]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.
59 (T)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
[q](U)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from (V)those who do iniquity
And save me from (W)men of bloodshed.
3 For behold, they (X)have [r]set an ambush for my [s]life;
[t]Fierce men [u](Y)launch an attack against me,
(Z)Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord,
4 [v](AA)For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
(AB)Arouse Yourself to [w]help me, and see!
5 You, (AC)O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to [x](AD)punish all the nations;
(AE)Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. [y]Selah.
6 They (AF)return at evening, they howl like a (AG)dog,
And go around the city.
7 Behold, they (AH)belch forth with their mouth;
(AI)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “(AJ)Who hears?”
8 But You, O Lord, (AK)laugh at them;
You (AL)scoff at all the nations.
9 Because of [z]his (AM)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my (AN)stronghold.
10 [aa]My God (AO)in His lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me (AP)look triumphantly upon [ab]my foes.
11 Do not slay them, (AQ)or my people will forget;
[ac](AR)Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, (AS)our shield.
12 [ad]On account of the (AT)sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be (AU)caught in their pride,
And on account of (AV)curses and [ae]lies which they utter.
13 [af](AW)Destroy them in wrath, [ag]destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may (AX)know that God [ah]rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 They (AY)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
15 They (AZ)wander about [ai]for food
And [aj]growl if they are not satisfied.
16 But as for me, I shall (BA)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall (BB)joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the (BC)morning,
For You have been my (BD)stronghold
And a (BE)refuge in the day of my distress.
17 (BF)O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my (BG)stronghold, the [ak]God who shows me lovingkindness.
God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance
8 The Lord sends a [a]message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people know it,
That is, (A)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in (B)arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will (C)rebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from (D)Rezin
And spurs their enemies on,
12 The Arameans on the east and the (E)Philistines on the west;
And they (F)devour Israel with [b]gaping jaws.
(G)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
13 Yet the people (H)do not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they (I)seek the Lord of hosts.
14 So the Lord cuts off (J)head and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush (K)in a single day.
15 The head is (L)the elder and honorable man,
And the prophet who teaches (M)falsehood is the tail.
16 (N)For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are [c]brought to confusion.
17 Therefore the Lord does (O)not take pleasure in their young men,
(P)Nor does He have pity on their [d]orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is (Q)godless and an (R)evildoer,
And every (S)mouth is speaking foolishness.
(T)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
18 (U)For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the (V)fury of the Lord of hosts the (W)land is burned up,
And the (X)people are like fuel for the fire;
No (Y)man spares his brother.
20 [e]They slice off what is on the right hand but still are (Z)hungry,
And [f]they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the (AA)flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
(AB)And together they are against Judah.
(AC)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
Assyria Is God’s Instrument
10 Woe to those who (AD)enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record [g]unjust decisions,
2 So as (AE)to [h]deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of their rights,
So (AF)that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the [i]orphans.
3 Now (AG)what will you do in the (AH)day of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come (AI)from afar?
(AJ)To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your [j]wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch [k]among the (AK)captives
Or fall [l]among the (AL)slain.
(AM)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
The Tongue Is a Fire
3 (A)Let not many of you become teachers, (B)my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all (C)stumble in many ways. (D)If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a (E)perfect man, able to (F)bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now (G)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it (H)boasts of great things.
(I)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And (J)the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which (K)defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our [c]life, and is set on fire by [d](L)hell. 7 For every [e]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [f]race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of (M)deadly poison. 9 With it we bless (N)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, (O)who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both [g]fresh and bitter water? 12 (P)Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce [h]fresh.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? (Q)Let him show by his (R)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter (S)jealousy and [i]selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against (T)the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down (U)from above, but is (V)earthly, [j](W)natural, (X)demonic. 16 For where (Y)jealousy and [k]selfish ambition exist, [l]there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom (Z)from above is first (AA)pure, then (AB)peaceable, (AC)gentle, [m]reasonable, (AD)full of mercy and good fruits, (AE)unwavering, without (AF)hypocrisy. 18 And the [n](AG)seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace [o]by those who make peace.
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