M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year after they came out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 Take a census of all the males of the congregation of the Israelites by families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head.
3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war you and Aaron shall number, company by company.
4 And with you there shall be a man [to assist you] from each tribe, each being the head of his father’s house.
5 And these are the names of the men who shall attend you: Of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 Of Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 Of Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 Of Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 Of Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
10 Of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 Of Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 Of Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 Of Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran;
14 Of Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 Of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.
16 These were those chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, heads of thousands [the highest class of officers] in Israel.
17 And Moses and Aaron took these men who have been named,
18 And assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they declared their ancestry after their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head,
19 As the Lord commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.
20 The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
21 Those of the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
22 Of the sons of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those numbered of them according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
23 Those of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
24 Of the sons of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:
25 Those of the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
26 Of the sons of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
27 Those of the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
28 Of the sons of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
29 Those of the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
30 Of the sons of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
31 Those of the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
32 Of the sons of Joseph: the sons of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
33 Those of the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.
34 Of the sons of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
35 Those of the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
36 Of the sons of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
37 Those of the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
38 Of the sons of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
39 Those of the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
40 Of the sons of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
41 Those of the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
42 Of the sons of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, all able to go to war:
43 Those of the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
44 These were numbered by Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his father’s house.
45 So all those numbered of the Israelites, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, able to go to war in Israel,
46 All who were numbered were 603,550.
47 But the Levites by their fathers’ tribe were not numbered with them.
48 For the Lord had said to Moses,
49 Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number in the census of the Israelites.
50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its vessels and furnishings and all things that belong to it. They shall carry the tabernacle [when journeying] and all its furnishings, and they shall minister to it and encamp around it.
51 When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And the excluded [any not of the tribe of Levi] who approach the tabernacle shall be put to death.
52 The Israelites shall pitch their tents by their companies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own [tribal] standard.
53 But the Levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath upon the congregation of the Israelites; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.
54 Thus did the Israelites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they did.
Psalm 35
[A Psalm] of David.
1 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help!
3 Draw out also the spear and javelin and close up the way of those who pursue and persecute me. Say to me, I am your deliverance!
4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek and require my life; let them be turned back and confounded who plan my hurt!
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, with the [a]Angel of the Lord driving them on!
6 Let their way be through dark and slippery places, with the Angel of the Lord pursuing and afflicting them.
7 For without cause they hid for me their net; a pit of destruction without cause they dug for my life.
8 Let destruction befall [my foe] unawares; let the net he hid for me catch him; let him fall into that very destruction.
9 Then I shall be joyful in the Lord; I shall rejoice in His deliverance.
10 All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like You, You Who deliver the poor and the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who snatches away his goods?
11 Malicious and unrighteous witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I know not.
12 They reward me evil for good to my personal bereavement.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting, and I prayed with head bowed on my breast.
14 I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother; I bowed down in sorrow, as one who bewails his mother.
15 But in my stumbling and limping they rejoiced and gathered together [against me]; the smiters (slanderers and revilers) gathered against me, and I knew them not; they ceased not to slander and revile me.
16 Like profane mockers at feasts [making sport for the price of a cake] they gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long will You look on [without action]? Rescue my life from their destructions, my dear and only life from the lions!
18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among a mighty throng.
19 Let not those who are wrongfully my foes rejoice over me; neither let them wink with the eye who hate me without cause.(A)
20 For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against those who are quiet in the land.
21 Yes, they open their mouths wide against me; they say, Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it!
22 You have seen this, O Lord; keep not silence! O Lord, be not far from me!
23 Arouse Yourself, awake to the justice due me, even to my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Judge and vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness (Your rightness and justice); and let [my foes] not rejoice over me!
25 Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, that is what we wanted! Let them not say, We have swallowed him up and utterly destroyed him.
26 Let them be put to shame and confusion together who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify and exalt themselves over me!
27 Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.
28 And my tongue shall talk of Your righteousness, rightness, and justice, and of [my reasons for] Your praise all the day long.
11 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even [divide it] to eight, for you know not what evil may come upon the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you know not what is the way of the wind, or how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you know not the work of God, Who does all.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hands, for you know not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.
8 Yes, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him [seriously] remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is vanity (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility)!
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your adolescence, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your [full-grown] youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove [the lusts that end in] sorrow and vexation from your heart and mind and put away evil from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity [transitory, idle, empty, and devoid of truth].(A)
3 Remind people to be submissive to [their] magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work,
2 To slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle, and conciliatory), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody.
3 For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another.
4 But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared,
5 He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 Which He poured out [so] richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
7 [And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope.
8 This message is most trustworthy, and concerning these things I want you to insist steadfastly, so that those who have believed in (trusted in, relied on) God may be careful to apply themselves to honorable occupations and to doing good, for such things are [not only] excellent and right [in themselves], but [they are] good and profitable for the people.
9 But avoid stupid and foolish controversies and genealogies and dissensions and wrangling about the Law, for they are unprofitable and futile.
10 [As for] a man who is factious [a heretical sectarian and cause of divisions], after admonishing him a first and second time, reject [him from your fellowship and have nothing more to do with him],
11 Well aware that such a person has utterly changed (is perverted and corrupted); he goes on sinning [though he] is convicted of guilt and self-condemned.
12 When I send Artemas or [perhaps] Tychicus to you, lose no time but make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.
13 Do your utmost to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they want for (lack) nothing.
14 And let our own [people really] learn to apply themselves to good deeds (to honest labor and honorable employment), so that they may be able to meet necessary demands [a]whenever the occasion may require and not be living idle and uncultivated and unfruitful lives.
15 All who are with me wish to be remembered to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace (God’s favor and blessing) be with you all. Amen (so be it).
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation