M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
3 (iv) These are the descendants of Aharon and Moshe as of the day when Adonai spoke with Moshe on Mount Sinai. 2 The names of the sons of Aharon are: Nadav the firstborn, Avihu, El‘azar and Itamar. 3 These were the names of the sons of Aharon the cohen, whom he anointed and ordained as cohanim. 4 But Nadav and Avihu died in the presence of Adonai when they offered unauthorized fire before Adonai in the Sinai Desert, and they had no children; El‘azar and Itamar served as cohanim in the presence of Aharon their father.
5 Adonai said to Moshe, 6 “Summon the tribe of Levi, and assign them to Aharon the cohen, so that they can help him. 7 They are to carry out his duties and the duties of the whole community before the tent of meeting in performing the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and to carry out all the duties of the people of Isra’el connected with the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the L’vi’im to Aharon and his sons; their one responsibility in regard to the people of Isra’el is to serve him. 10 You are to appoint Aharon and his sons to carry out the duties of cohanim; anyone else who involves himself is to be put to death.”
11 Adonai said to Moshe, 12 “I have taken the L’vi’im from among the people of Isra’el in lieu of every firstborn male that is first from the womb among the people of Isra’el; the L’vi’im are to be mine. 13 All the firstborn males belong to me, because on the day that I killed all the firstborn males in the land of Egypt, I separated for myself all the firstborn males in Isra’el, both human and animal. They are mine; I am Adonai.”
(v) 14 Adonai said to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, 15 “Take a census of the tribe of Levi by clans and families. Count every male a month old or over.” 16 Moshe counted them in the manner Adonai had said, as he had been ordered. 17 The names of the sons of Levi were Gershon, K’hat and M’rari. 18 The names of the sons of Gershon were Livni and Shim‘i; they fathered their respective clans; 19 likewise the sons of K’hat — ‘Amram,Yitz’har, Hevron and ‘Uzi’el — 20 and the sons of M’rari — Machli and Mushi. These fathered the clans of the L’vi’im.
21 Gershon fathered the clans of Livni and Shim‘i; these were the Gershon clans. 22 Of them, 7,500 males a month old and over were counted. 23 The Gershon clans were to camp behind the tabernacle, toward the west. 24 The chief of the Gershon clan was Elyasaf, the son of La’el. 25 In connection with the tent of meeting, the descendants of Gershon were to be in charge of the following: the tabernacle itself, its inner and outer coverings, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains surrounding the courtyard, the screen for the entrance of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and the altar, all the fixtures and ropes for these items, and their maintenance.
27 K’hat fathered the clans of ‘Amram, Yitz’har, Hevron and ‘Uzi’el; these were the K’hat clans. 28 Of them, 8,600 males a month old and over were counted; they were in charge of the Holy Place. 29 The K’hat clans were to camp next to the tabernacle, toward the south. 30 The chief of the K’hat clan was Elitzafan the son of ‘Uzi’el. 31 They were responsible for the ark, the table, the menorah, the altars, the utensils the cohanim use when they serve in the Holy Place, the curtain, and everything involved with the maintenance of these things. 32 El‘azar the son of Aharon the cohen was first among the chiefs of the L’vi’im and supervised those in charge of the Holy Place.
33 M’rari fathered the clans of Machli and Mushi; these were the M’rari clans. 34 Of them, 6,200 males a month old and over were counted. 35 The chief of the M’rari clan was Tzuri’el the son of Avichayil. They were to camp next to the tabernacle, toward the north. 36 The M’rari clans were assigned responsibility for the frames of the tabernacle, along with its crossbars, posts, sockets and fittings, together with their maintenance; 37 also the posts of the surrounding courtyard, with their sockets, pegs and ropes.
38 Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moshe, Aharon and his sons who were in charge of the Holy Place. They carried out their responsibility on behalf of the people of Isra’el, and anyone else who involved himself was to be put to death.
39 The total number of L’vi’im whom Moshe and Aharon counted by their clans, all the males a month old and over, was 22,000.
(vi) 40 Adonai said to Moshe, “Register all the firstborn males of the people of Isra’el a month old and over, and determine how many there are. 41 Then you are to take the L’vi’im for me, Adonai, in place of all the firstborn among the people of Isra’el, and the cattle of the L’vi’im in place of the firstborn of the cattle belonging to the people of Isra’el.” 42 Moshe counted, as Adonai had ordered him, all the firstborn among the people of Isra’el. 43 The total number of firstborn males registered, a month old and over, of those who were counted, was 22,273.
44 Adonai said to Moshe, 45 “Take the L’vi’im in place of all the firstborn among the people of Isra’el, and the cattle of the L’vi’im in place of their cattle; the L’vi’im are to belong to me, Adonai. 46 Since there were 273 more firstborn males from Isra’el than male L’vi’im, in order to redeem them, 47 you are to take five shekels [two ounces] for each of these (use the sanctuary shekel, which is equal to twenty gerahs). 48 Give the redemption money for these extra people to Aharon and his sons.” 49 Moshe took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the L’vi’im; 50 the amount of money he took from the firstborn of the people of Isra’el was 1,365 shekels, using the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moshe gave the redemption-money to Aharon and his sons, in keeping with what Adonai had said, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
37 (0) By David:
(1) Don’t be upset by evildoers
or envious of those who do wrong,
2 for soon they will wither like grass
and fade like the green in the fields.
3 Trust in Adonai, and do good;
settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.
4 Then you will delight yourself in Adonai,
and he will give you your heart’s desire.
5 Commit your way to Adonai;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your vindication shine forth like light,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before Adonai;
wait patiently till he comes.
Don’t be upset by those whose way
succeeds because of their wicked plans.
8 Stop being angry, put aside rage,
and don’t be upset — it leads to evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those hoping in Adonai will inherit the land.
10 Soon the wicked will be no more;
you will look for his place, and he won’t be there.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous
and grinds his teeth at him;
13 but Adonai laughs at the wicked,
knowing his day will come.
14 The wicked have unsheathed their swords,
they have strung their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slaughter those whose way is upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous has
than the wealth of all the wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but Adonai upholds the righteous.
18 Adonai knows what the wholehearted suffer,
but their inheritance lasts forever.
19 They will not be distressed when times are hard;
when famine comes, they will have plenty.
20 For the wicked will perish;
Adonai’s enemies will be like sheep fat,
ending up as smoke, finished.
21 The wicked borrows and doesn’t repay,
but the righteous is generous and gives.
22 For those blessed by [Adonai] will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be cut off.
23 Adonai directs a person’s steps,
and he delights in his way.
24 He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong,
for Adonai holds him by the hand.
25 I have been young; now I am old;
yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned
or his descendants begging for bread.
26 All day long he is generous and lends,
and his descendants are blessed.
27 If you turn from evil and do good,
you will live safely forever.
28 For Adonai loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful;
they are preserved forever.
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and live in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous articulates wisdom,
his tongue speaks justice.
31 The Torah of his God is in his heart;
his footsteps do not falter.
32 The wicked keeps his eye on the righteous,
seeking a chance to kill him.
33 But Adonai will not leave him in his power
or let him be condemned when judged.
34 Put your hope in Adonai, keep to his way,
and he will raise you up to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked man wielding great power,
flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.
36 But I passed by again, and he was no longer there;
I looked for him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the pure person, consider the upright;
for the peaceful person will have posterity.
38 But transgressors will all be destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
39 Adonai is the one who saves the righteous;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 Adonai helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and saves them;
because they take refuge in him.
1 The Ultimate Song, by Shlomo:
[She]
2 Let him smother me with kisses from his mouth,
for your love is better than wine.
3 Your anointing oils have a wonderful fragrance;
your name is like anointing oil poured out.
This is why young women love you —
4 “Take me with you. We will run after you.”
The king has brought me into his rooms.
[Chorus]
We will be glad and rejoice for you.
We will praise your love more than wine.
How right it is for them to love you!
[She]
5 I am dark tan but beautiful,
you daughters of Yerushalayim,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Shlomo.
6 Don’t stare at me because I’m dark;
it’s the sun that tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me look after the vineyards.
But I haven’t cared for my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, my love, where you pasture your flock,
where you have them rest at noon;
for why should I veil myself [like a whore]
beside the flocks of your friends?
[Chorus]
8 If you do not know,
you most beautiful of women,
then follow the footprints of the flock
and let your kids graze by the shepherds’ tents.
[He]
9 My love, I compare you with my mare,
pulling one of Pharaoh’s chariots —
10 your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with its strings of beads;
11 we will make you ornaments
of gold, studded with silver.
[She]
12 As the king reclines at table,
my nard gives forth its perfume:
13 to me the man I love is a sachet of myrrh
lodged between my breasts;
14 to me the man I love is a spray of henna flowers
in the vineyards of ‘Ein-Gedi.
[He]
15 Look at you, my love! How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves —
[She]
16 — Look at you!
So handsome, so pleasing, my darling!
Our bed is the greenery;
17 cedars are the beams of our houses,
cypresses the rafters.
1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets. 2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe. 3 This Son is the radiance of the Sh’khinah, the very expression of God’s essence, upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of HaG’dulah BaM’romim.[a]
4 So he has become much better than angels, and the name God has given him is superior to theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”?[b]
Also, God never said of any angel,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”[c]
6 And again, when God brings his Firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[d]
7 Indeed, when speaking of angels, he says,
“. . . who makes his angels winds
and his servants fiery flames”;[e]
8 but to the Son, he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever;
you rule your Kingdom with a scepter of equity;
9 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you
with the oil of joy in preference to your companions”;[f]
10 and,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth;
heaven is the work of your hands.
11 They will vanish, but you will remain;
like clothing, they will all grow old;
12 and you will fold them up like a coat.
Yes, they will be changed like clothing,
but you remain the same,
your years will never end.”[g]
13 Moreover, to which of the angels has he ever said,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?[h]
14 Aren’t they all merely spirits who serve, sent out to help those whom God will deliver?
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.