M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
11 When Yavin king of Hatzor heard of it, he informed Yovav king of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Akhshaf; 2 the kings to the north, in the hills, in the ‘Aravah south of Kinn’rot, in the Sh’felah and in the regions of Dor on the west; 3 the Kena‘ani to east and west; the Emori, Hitti, P’rizi and Y’vusi in the hills; and the Hivi at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mitzpah. 4 So they set out, they and all their armies, many people, in number like the sand at the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 All these kings met together, then came and pitched camp together at the Merom Spring, to fight Isra’el.
6 Adonai said to Y’hoshua, “Don’t be afraid on their account; because at this time tomorrow I will hand them over, all of them dead, before Isra’el. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.” 7 So Y’hoshua came against them suddenly with all his fighting men and fell on them at the Merom Spring.
8 Adonai handed them over to Isra’el — they attacked and chased them to Greater Tzidon, Misrefot-Mayim and eastward to the Mitzpeh Valley; they attacked them until none of them was left. 9 Y’hoshua did to them what Adonai had ordered — he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots. 10 Then Y’hoshua turned back and captured Hatzor, striking its king dead with the sword; for in time past Hatzor had been the head of all those kingdoms. 11 They put everyone there to death with the sword, completely destroying them; there was nothing left that breathed; and he burned Hatzor to the ground. 12 Y’hoshua captured all the cities of those kings and the kings as well; he defeated them with the sword and completely destroyed them, as Moshe the servant of Adonai had ordered. 13 But as for the cities built on their tels, Isra’el burned none of them except Hatzor; Y’hoshua did burn that one. 14 All the spoil of these cities and the livestock the people of Isra’el took as booty for themselves; but every human being they put to death with the sword, until they had destroyed them — they left no one breathing. 15 Moshe had given orders to Y’hoshua, just as Adonai had given orders to Moshe his servant, and Y’hoshua acted accordingly — he did everything Adonai had ordered Moshe.
16 So Y’hoshua captured all that land, the hills, the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the Sh’felah, the ‘Aravah and the Isra’el hills and Sh’felah, 17 from the bare mountain that goes up to Se‘ir to Ba‘al-Gad in the L’vanon Valley under Mount Hermon; and he took all their kings, struck them and put them to death. 18 Y’hoshua made war with all those kings for a long time. 19 Not one city made peace with the people of Isra’el, except for the Hivi living in Giv‘on; they took everything in battle. 20 For it was Adonai who caused them to harden their hearts and come against Isra’el in battle, so that they would be utterly destroyed, so that they would not find favor but be destroyed, in keeping with the orders Adonai had given Moshe.
21 Y’hoshua at that time came and cut off the ‘Anakim from the land — from Hevron, D’vir, ‘Anav and from all the hill-country of Y’hudah and Isra’el; Y’hoshua utterly destroyed them and their cities. 22 No ‘Anakim were left in the land of the people of Isra’el — only in ‘Azah, Gat and Ashdod did some remain. 23 Y’hoshua took the whole land, in keeping with all that Adonai had said to Moshe and to Isra’el according to their divisions into tribes. Then the land rested from war.
144 (0) By David:
(1) Blessed be Adonai, my rock,
who trains my hands for war
and my fingers for battle.
2 He shows me grace; and he is my fortress,
my stronghold, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.
3 Adonai, what are mere mortals,
that you notice them at all;
humans, that you think about them?
4 Man is like a puff of wind,
his days like a fleeting shadow.
5 Adonai, lower the heavens, and come down;
touch the mountains, make them pour out smoke.
6 Shoot out lightning, and scatter them;
send out your arrows, and rout them.
7 Reach out your hands from on high;
rescue me; save me out of deep water,
out of the power of strangers,
8 whose mouths speak worthless words
and whose right hands swear false oaths.
9 God, I will sing a new song to you;
sing praises to you with a ten-stringed harp.
10 You give kings their victories;
you save your servant David from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me, save me from the power of strangers,
whose mouths speak worthless words
and whose right hands swear false oaths.
12 Our sons in their youth will be
like full-grown saplings,
our daughters will be like sculptured pillars
fit for the corner of a palace.
13 Our barns are full with crops of every kind;
the sheep in our fields number thousands, tens of thousands.
14 our oxen are well-fed,
our city walls have no breach,
our people are not taken captive,
and there are no cries of protest in our cities’ open places.
15 How happy the people who live in such conditions!
How happy the people whose God is Adonai!
5 “Roam the streets of Yerushalayim
look around, observe and ask in its open spaces:
if you can find anyone (if there is anyone!)
who acts with justice and seeks the truth,
I will pardon her.
2 And though they say, ‘As Adonai lives,’
the fact is that they are swearing falsely.”
3 Adonai, your eyes look for truth.
You struck them, but they weren’t affected;
you [nearly] destroyed them,
but they refused correction.
They made their faces harder than rock,
refusing to repent.
4 My reaction was, “These must be the poor,
the foolish, not knowing the way of Adonai
or the rulings of their God.
5 I will go to the prominent men,
and I will speak to them;
for they know the way of Adonai
and the rulings of their God.”
But these had completely broken the yoke
and torn the harness off.
6 This is why a forest lion kills them,
why a desert wolf can plunder them,
why a leopard guards their cities —
all who leave are torn to pieces —
because their crimes are many,
their backslidings keep increasing.
7 “Why should I forgive you?
Your people have abandoned me
and sworn by non-gods.
When I fed them to the full,
they committed adultery,
thronging to the brothels.
8 They have become like well-fed horses,
lusty stallions, each one neighing
after his neighbor’s wife.
9 Should I not punish for this?” asks Adonai.
“Should I not be avenged on a nation like this?”
10 Go through her rows [of vines], and destroy them
(but don’t destroy them completely):
strip away her branches,
they do not belong to Adonai.
11 “For the house of Isra’el
and the house of Y’hudah
have thoroughly betrayed me,” says Adonai.
12 They have denied Adonai,
they have said, “He won’t do anything,
calamity will not strike us,
we will see neither sword nor famine.
13 The prophets are merely wind,
they do not have the word;
the things that they are predicting
will happen only to them.”
14 Therefore Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot says:
“Because you people speak this way,
I will make my words fire in your mouth, [Yirmeyahu,]
and this people wood;
so that it will devour them.
15 I will bring on you, house of Isra’el,
a distant nation,” says Adonai,
“an enduring nation, an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know —
you will not understand what they are saying.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave,
they are all mighty warriors.
17 They will eat up your harvest and your bread,
they will eat up your sons and your daughters,
they will eat up your flocks and your herds,
they will eat up your vines and your fig trees;
with the sword they will beat down
your fortified cities, in which you trust.
18 But even in those days,” says Adonai,
“I will not completely destroy you.
19 And when your people ask, ‘Why has Adonai
our God done all these things to us?’
you are to give them this answer:
‘Just as you abandoned me
and served strange gods in your own land,
so likewise you will serve strangers
in a land that is not your own.’
20 Announce this in the house of Ya‘akov,
proclaim it in Y’hudah; say:
21 ‘Hear this, stupid, brainless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear:
22 Don’t you fear me? — says Adonai.
Won’t you tremble at my presence?
I made the shore the limit for the sea;
by eternal decree it cannot pass.
Its waves may toss, but to no avail;
although they roar, they cannot cross it.
23 But this people has a rebellious, defiant heart;
they have rebelled and gone!
24 They don’t say to themselves,
“Let’s fear Adonai our God,
who gives the fall and spring rains in season,
who reserves us the weeks assigned for harvest.”
25 Your crimes have overturned nature’s rules,
your sins have kept back good from you.’
26 “For among my people there are wicked men,
who, like fowlers, lie in wait and set traps
to catch their fellow human beings.
27 Their houses are as full of fraud
as a cage full of birds.
They grow rich and great, 28 sleek and bloated;
they excel in acts of wickedness
but do not plead on behalf of the orphan,
thus enabling his cause to succeed;
nor do they judge in favor of the poor.
29 “Should I not punish for this?” asks Adonai.
“Should I not be avenged on a nation like this?
30 A shocking and horrifying thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the cohanim obey the prophets,
and my people love it that way.
But what will you do at the end of it all?
19 When Yeshua had finished talking about these things, he left the Galil and traveled down the east side of the Yarden River until he passed the border of Y’hudah. 2 Great crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some P’rushim came and tried to trap him by asking, “Is it permitted for a man to divorce his wife on any ground whatever?” 4 He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,[a] 5 and that he said, ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’?[b] 6 Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together.”
7 They said to him, “Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?”[c] 8 He answered, “Moshe allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are so hardened. But this is not how it was at the beginning. 9 Now what I say to you is that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery!”
10 The talmidim said to him, “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it would be better not to marry!” 11 He said to them, “Not everyone grasps this teaching, only those for whom it is meant. 12 For there are different reasons why men do not marry — some because they were born without the desire, some because they have been castrated, and some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can grasp this, let him do so.”
13 Then children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray for them, but the talmidim rebuked the people bringing them. 14 However, Yeshua said, “Let the children come to me, don’t stop them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 Then, after laying his hands on them, he went on his way.
16 A man approached Yeshua and said, “Rabbi, what good thing should I do in order to have eternal life?” He said to him, 17 “Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot.” 18 The man asked him, “Which ones?” and Yeshua said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony [d] 19 honor father and mother [e] and love your neighbor as yourself.”[f] 20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; where do I still fall short?” 21 Yeshua said to him, “If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was wealthy.
23 Then Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Yes. I tell you that it will be very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 Furthermore, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” 25 When the talmidim heard this they were utterly amazed. “Then who,” they asked, “can be saved?” 26 Yeshua looked at them and said, “Humanly, this is impossible; but with God everything is possible.” 27 Kefa replied, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we have?” 28 Yeshua said to them, “Yes. I tell you that in the regenerated world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Isra’el. 29 Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.