M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
31 The Lord said to Moses,
2 Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your [departed] people.
3 And Moses said to the people, Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian and execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel].(A)
4 From each of the tribes of Israel you shall send 1,000 to the war.
5 So there were provided out of the thousands of Israel 1,000 from each tribe, 12,000 armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them to the war, 1,000 from each tribe, together with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, with the [sacred] vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets to blow the alarm in his hand.
7 They fought with Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and slew every male,
8 Including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba; also Balaam son of Beor they slew with the sword.(B)
9 And the Israelites took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and all their cattle, their flocks, and their goods as booty.
10 They burned all the cities in which they dwelt, and all their encampments.
11 And they took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast.
12 Then they brought the captives, the prey, and the spoil to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the Israelites at the camp on the plains of Moab by Jordan at Jericho.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes or leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.
14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, who served in the war.
15 And Moses said to them, Have you let all the women live?
16 Behold, these caused the Israelites by the counsel of Balaam to trespass and act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so a [smiting] plague came among the congregation of the Lord.(C)
17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who is not a virgin.
18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
19 Encamp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20 You shall purify every garment, all that is made of skins, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of wood.
21 And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses:
22 Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 Everything that can stand fire, you shall make go through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless it shall also be purified with the water of impurity; and all that cannot stand fire [such as fabrics] you shall pass through water.
24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and you shall be clean; then you shall come into the camp.
25 And the Lord said to Moses,
26 Take the count of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation.
27 Divide the booty into two [equal] parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.
28 And levy a tribute to the Lord from the warriors who went to battle, one out of every 500 of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, and the flocks.
29 Take [this tribute] from the warriors’ half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord.
30 And from the Israelites’ half [of the booty] you shall take one out of every fifty of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, the flocks, and of all livestock, and give them to the Levites who have charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 The prey, besides the booty which the men of war took, was 675,000 sheep,
33 And 72,000 cattle,
34 And 61,000 donkeys,
35 And 32,000 persons in all, of the women who were virgins.
36 And the half share, the portion of those who went to war, was: 337,500 sheep,
37 And the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was 675;
38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 72;
39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61;
40 The persons were 16,000, of whom the Lord’s tribute was 32 persons.
41 And Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
42 And the Israelites’ half Moses separated from that of the warriors’—
43 Now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep,
44 And 36,000 cattle,
45 And 30,500 donkeys,
46 And 16,000 persons—
47 Even of the Israelites’ half, Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites, who had charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
48 And the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, came to Moses.
49 They told [him], Your servants have counted the warriors under our command, and not one man of us is missing.
50 We have brought as the Lord’s offering what each man obtained—articles of gold, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, neck ornaments—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.
51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all the wrought articles.
52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds was 16,750 shekels.
53 For the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.
Psalm 75
To the Chief Musician; [set to the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 We give praise and thanks to You, O God, we praise and give thanks; Your wondrous works declare that Your [a]Name is near and they who invoke Your Name rehearse Your wonders.
2 When the proper time has come [for executing My judgments], I will judge uprightly [says the Lord].
3 When the earth totters, and all the inhabitants of it, it is I Who will poise and keep steady its pillars. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
4 I said to the arrogant and boastful, Deal not arrogantly [do not boast]; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn [of personal aggrandizement].
5 Lift not up your [aggressive] horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck and insolent arrogance.
6 For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up.(A)
7 But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup [of His wrath], and the wine foams and is red, well mixed; and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink its dregs.(B)
9 But I will declare and rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the ungodly also will I cut off [says the Lord], but the horns of the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be exalted.
Psalm 76
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 In Judah God is known and renowned; His name is highly praised and is great in Israel.
2 In [Jeru]Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place is in Zion.
3 There He broke the bow’s flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
4 Glorious and excellent are You from the mountains of prey [splendid and majestic, more than the everlasting mountains].
5 The stouthearted are stripped of their spoil, they have slept the sleep [of death]; and none of the men of might could raise their hands.
6 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both chariot [rider] and horse are cast into a dead sleep [of death].(C)
7 You, even You, are to be feared [with awe and reverence]! Who may stand in Your presence when once Your anger is roused?
8 You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still—
9 When God arose to [establish] judgment, to save all the meek and oppressed of the earth. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; the remainder of wrath shall You restrain and gird and arm Yourself with it.
11 Vow and pay to the Lord your God; let all who are round about Him bring presents to Him Who ought to be [reverently] feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit [of pride and fury] of princes; He is terrible to the [ungodly] kings of the earth.
23 The mournful, inspired prediction (a burden to be lifted up) concerning Tyre: Wail, you ships of [Tyre returning from trading with] Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, so that there is no house, no harbor; from the land of Kittim (Cyprus) they learn of it.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you merchants of Sidon, [a]your messengers passing over the sea have replenished you [with wealth and industry],
3 And were on great waters. The seed or grain of the Shihor, the harvest [due to the overflow] of the Nile River, was [Tyre’s] revenue, and she became the merchandise of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now a widow bereaved of her children], for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have neither travailed nor brought forth children; I have neither nourished and reared young men nor brought up virgins.
5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be sorely pained over the report about Tyre.
6 Pass over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles]! Wail, you inhabitants of the [Tyre] coast!
7 Is this your jubilant city, whose origin dates back into antiquity, whose own feet are accustomed to carry her far off to settle [daughter cities]?
8 Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it [in accordance with a fixed principle of His government], to defile the pride of all glory and to bring into dishonor and contempt all the honored of the earth.
10 Overflow your land like [the overflow of] the Nile River, O Daughter of Tarshish; there is no girdle of restraint [on you] any more [to make you pay tribute or customs or duties to Tyre].
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; the Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and fortresses [Tyre, Sidon, etc.].
12 And He said, You shall no more exult, you oppressed and crushed one, O Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim (Cyprus); but even there you will have no rest.
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans! That people and not the Assyrians designed and assigned [Tyre] for the wild beasts and those who [previously] dwelt in the wilderness. They set up their siege works, they overthrew its palaces, they made it a ruin!
14 Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold [of Tyre] is laid waste [your strength has been destroyed].
15 And in that day Tyre will be in obscurity and forgotten for seventy years, according to the days of one dynasty. After the end of seventy years will Tyre sing as a harlot [who has been forgotten but again attracts her lovers].
16 Take a harp, go about the city, forgotten harlot; play skillfully and make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
17 And after the end of seventy years the Lord will remember Tyre; and she will return to her hire and will play the harlot [resume her commerce] with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
18 But her gain and her hire [the profits of Tyre’s new prosperity] will be [b]dedicated to the Lord [eventually]; it will not be treasured or stored up, for her gain will be used for those who dwell in the presence of the Lord [the ministers], that they may eat sufficiently and have durable and stately clothing [suitable for those who minister at God’s altar].
1 [We are writing] about the Word of Life [[a]in] Him Who existed from the beginning, Whom we have heard, Whom we have seen with our [own] eyes, Whom we have gazed upon [for ourselves] and have touched with our [own] hands.
2 And the Life [[b]an aspect of His being] was revealed (made manifest, demonstrated), and we saw [as eyewitnesses] and are testifying to and declare to you the Life, the eternal Life [[c]in Him] Who already existed with the Father and Who [actually] was made visible (was revealed) to us [His followers].
3 What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may [d]realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a [e]distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
4 And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be full [and [f]your joy may be complete].
5 And this is the message [the message of [g]promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [[h]no, not in any way].
6 [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents].
7 But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts].
9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
10 If we say (claim) we have not sinned, we contradict His Word and make Him out to be false and a liar, and His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts].
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation