M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
18 The entire community of the people of Isra’el assembled themselves together at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there, after the land had been subdued before them. 2 There still remained among the people of Isra’el seven tribes that had not yet received their inheritance. 3 Y’hoshua said to the people of Isra’el, “How long will you delay going in to take possession of the land which Adonai the God of your ancestors has given you? 4 Appoint three men for each tribe; I will commission them; and they are to set out, go through the land and describe it according to their inheritance; then they are to come back to me. 5 They are to divide it into seven portions, with Y’hudah remaining in its territory to the south and the house of Yosef in their territory to the north. 6 You will describe seven portions of land and bring the descriptions here to me; then I will cast lots for you here before Adonai our God. 7 But the L’vi’im have no share with you, because the office of cohen to Adonai is their inheritance; and Gad and Re’uven and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have received their inheritance beyond the Yarden to the east, which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave them.”
8 So the men got up and went. Y’hoshua gave them this commission as they left to describe the land: “Go; walk through the land; and describe it; then come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before Adonai in Shiloh.” 9 The men went and passed through the land, surveying it by cities, dividing it into seven regions and writing the results on a scroll. Then they came to Y’hoshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Y’hoshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Adonai, and there Y’hoshua divided the land among the people of Isra’el according to their regions.
11 The lot for the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin came up according to their families. The border of their territory chosen by lot was between the descendants of Y’hudah and the descendants of Yosef.
12 On the north side, their border began at the Yarden, went up alongside Yericho on the north, continued up through the hills westward and arrived at the Beit-Aven Desert. 13 From there the border passed on to Luz, to the south side of Luz (that is, Beit-El); then the border went down to ‘Atrot-Adar, by the hill on the south side of Lower Beit-Horon.
14 The border was delineated as turning at the western corner and heading southward, from the hill located in front of Beit-Horon on the south; and it ended at Kiryat-Ba‘al (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim), a city belonging to the descendants of Y’hudah; this was the west side.
15 On the south the border extended westward from the most distant part of Kiryat-Ye‘arim, going out to the source of the Neftoach Spring. 16 Then the border went down to the farthest part of the hill located in front of the Ben-Hinnom Valley, north of the Refa’im Valley, south of the Y’vusi; and continued down to ‘Ein-Rogel, 17 where it was drawn to the north; then it went on to ‘Ein-Shemesh; continued to G’lilot, which is across from Ma‘alei-Adumim; went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Re’uven; 18 passed alongside the ‘Aravah, heading north; and went down to the ‘Aravah. 19 Then the border passed alongside Beit-Hoglah, heading north; and the border ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea, at the south end of the Yarden; this was the south border.
20 The Yarden was to be its border on the east side.
This was the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin, defined by its surrounding borders, according to their families.
21 The cities of the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families were: Yericho, Beit-Hoglah, ‘Emek-K’tzitz, 22 Beit-‘Aravah, Tz’marayim, Beit-El, 23 ‘Avim, Parah, ‘Ofrah, 24 K’far-Ha‘amonah, ‘Ofni and Geva — twelve cities, together with their villages. 25 Giv‘on, Ramah, Be’erot, 26 Mitzpeh, K’firah, Motzah, 27 Rekem, Yirpe’el, Tar’alah, 28 Tzela, Elef, Y’vusi (that is, Yerushalayim), Giv‘at and Kiryat — fourteen cities, together with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families.
19 The second lot came out for Shim‘on, for the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on according to their families. Their inheritance was inside the inheritance of the descendants of Y’hudah. 2 For their inheritance they had Be’er-Sheva, Sheva, Moladah, 3 Hatzar-Shu‘al, Balah, ‘Etzem, 4 El-Tolad, B’tul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beit-Markavot, Hatzar-Susah, 6 Beit-L’va’ot and Sharuchen — thirteen cities, together with their villages; 7 ‘Ayin, Rimmon, ‘Eter and ‘Ashan — four cities, together with their villages; 8 and all the villages surrounding these cities, as far as Ba‘alat-Be’er, Ramah of the Negev. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on according to their families. 9 The inheritance of the descendants of Shim‘on was taken out of the allotment for the descendants of Y’hudah, because the portion given to the descendants of Y’hudah was too much for them, so the descendants of Shim‘on had an inheritance inside the descendants of Y’hudah.
10 The third lot came up for the descendants of Z’vulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance began at Sarid. 11 Then their border went up westward to Mar‘alah, extended to Dabeshet and on to the vadi fronting Yokne‘am. 12 Also from Sarid it turned toward the sunrise to the east to the border of Kislot-Tavor, went on to Dovrat and up to Yafia. 13 From there it passed eastward to Gat-Hefer, on to ‘Et-Katzin, went out at Rimmon and reached to Ne‘ah. 14 Then the border turned on the north side to Hanaton, ending in the Yiftach’el Valley. 15 Also Katat, Nahalal, Shimron, Yid’alah and Beit-Lechem — twelve cities, together with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the descendants of Z’vulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
17 The fourth lot came out for Yissakhar, for the descendants of Yissakhar according to their families. 18 Their territory included Yizre‘el, K’sulot, Shunem, 19 Hafarayim, Shi’on, Anacharat, 20 Rabit, Kishyon, Evetz, 21 Remet, ‘Ein-Ganim, ‘Ein-Hadah and Beit-Patzetz. 22 Their territory extended to Tavor, Shachatzimah and Beit-Shemesh; and their territory ended at the Yarden — sixteen cities, together with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Yissakhar according to their families, the cities, with their villages.
24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the descendants of Asher according to their families. 25 Their territory included Helkat, Hali, Beten, Akhshaf, 26 Alamelekh, ‘Am‘ad and Mish’al. It extended to the Karmel on the west and to Shichor-Livnat. 27 The border turned eastward to Beit-Dagon, reached to Z’vulun and the Yiftach’el Valley on its north, then Beit-‘Emek and Ne‘i’el, went out to Kavul on the left, 28 then ‘Evron, Rechov, Hamon, Kanah and on to greater Tzidon. 29 The border turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tzor; next the border turned to Hosah; and it ended at the sea from Hevel to Akhziv. 30 Also included were ‘Umah, Afek and Rechov — twenty cities, together with their villages. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
32 The sixth lot came out for the descendants of Naftali, for the descendants of Naftali according to their families. 33 Their border went from Helef and the oak in Tza‘ananim, included Adami-Nekev and Yavne’el, went on to Lakum and ended at the Yarden. 34 Westward the border turned to Aznot-Tavor and went out from there to Hukok, reaching to Z’vulun on the south, Asher on the west and Y’hudah at the Yarden toward the east. 35 The fortified cities were Tzidim, Tzer, Hamat, Rakat, Kinneret, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hatzor, 37 Kedesh, Edre‘i, ‘Ein-Hatzor, 38 Yir’on, Migdal-El, Horem, Beit-‘Anat and Beit-Shemesh — nineteen cities, together with their villages. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Naftali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the descendants of Dan according to their families. 41 The territory of their inheritance included Tzor‘ah, Eshta’ol, ‘Ir-Shemesh, 42 Sha‘alabin, Ayalon, Yitlah, 43 Eilon, Timnah, ‘Ekron, 44 Elt’keh, Gib’ton, Ba‘alat, 45 Y’hud, B’nei-Brak, Gat-Rimmon, 46 Yarkon Springs and Rakon, with the border fronting Yafo. 47 The territory of the descendants of Dan was too small for them, so the descendants of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, defeated it by the sword, took possession of it and lived there, calling Leshem “Dan” after Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
49 When they had finished distributing the land for inheritance according to its borders, the people of Isra’el gave an inheritance within their territory to Y’hoshua the son of Nun. 50 According to Adonai’s order they gave him the city he had asked for, Timnat-Serach in the hills of Efrayim; so he built up the city and lived in it.
51 These are the inheritances which El‘azar the cohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra’el distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Adonai at the door of the tent of meeting. Thus they finished dividing up the land.
149 Halleluyah!
Sing to Adonai a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Isra’el rejoice in their maker,
let Tziyon’s children take joy in their king.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
make melody to him with tambourine and lyre;
4 for Adonai takes delight in his people,
he crowns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the faithful exult gloriously,
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
but a two-edged sword in their hands
7 to carry out vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and put their nobles in irons,
9 to execute the judgments decreed for them;
for this will glorify all his faithful.
Halleluyah!
150 Halleluyah!
Praise God in his holy place!
Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds!
Praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast on the shofar!
Praise him with lute and lyre!
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with flutes and strings!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals!
Praise him with loud crashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise Adonai!
Halleluyah!
9 (2) I wish I were out in the desert,
in some travelers’ lodge —
then I could get away from my people
and distance myself from them!
“Indeed they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors is what they are.
2 (3) They bend their tongues, their ‘bow’ of falsehood,
and hold sway in the land, but not for truth.
For they go from evil to evil,
and me they do not know,”
says Adonai.
3 (4) Everyone, be on guard against your neighbor,
don’t trust even a brother;
for every brother is out to trick you,
and every neighbor goes around gossiping.
4 (5) Everyone deceives his neighbor,
no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to lie,
they wear themselves out with sinning.
5 (6) “You inhabit a world of deceit;
deceitfully they refuse to know me,”
says Adonai.
6 (7) “Therefore,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot,
“I will refine them and test them.
What else can I do with the daughter of my people?
7 (8) Their tongues are sharpened arrows;
with their mouths they speak deceit —
they say nice words to their neighbors,
while inwardly plotting against them.
8 (9) Should I not punish them for these things?” asks Adonai.
“Should I not take vengeance on such a nation?”
9 (10) I weep and wail for the mountains
and lament over the desert pastures,
because they have been burned up;
no one passes through;
they no longer hear the sound of cattle;
the birds and wild animals have fled, are gone.
10 (11) “I will make Yerushalayim a heap of ruins,
turn it into a lair for jackals,
and make the cities of Y’hudah desolate,
with no one living there.”
11 (12) Who is wise enough to understand this?
To whom has the mouth of Adonai spoken,
so that he can proclaim it?
Why has the land perished
and been laid waste like a desert,
so that no one passes through?
12 (13) Adonai answers:
“Because they abandoned my Torah,
which I set before them,
and neither listened to what I said
nor lived accordingly,
13 (14) but have lived by their own hearts’ stubbornness
and by the ba‘alim, as their ancestors taught them —
14 (15) therefore,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot,
the God of Isra’el:
“I will feed this people bitter wormwood
and give them poisonous water to drink.
15 (16) I will scatter them among nations
that neither they nor their ancestors have known.
I will send the sword after them
until I have wiped them out.”
16 (17) Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot:
“Mark this, then summon the mourning women,
so that they will come;
send for those who are best [at mourning],
so that they will come:
17 (18) ‘Have them hurry and wail for us,
so our eyes will be wet from crying,
and our eyelids gush with tears.’
18 (19) For the sound of wailing is heard from Tziyon:
‘We are utterly ruined,
we are completely ashamed,
because we have left the land,
and our homes have been torn down!’”
19 (20) You women, hear the word of Adonai!
Let your ears receive the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to wail,
have each teach her friend how to lament:
20 (21) “Death has come up through our windows,
it has entered our palaces,
it has cut down children in the streets
and young people in the public places.”
21 (22) Say: “Here is what Adonai says:
‘The corpses of people are scattered
like dung in an open field,
like sheaves left behind by the reaper
with no one to gather them.’”
22 (23) Here is what Adonai says:
“The wise man should not boast of his wisdom,
the powerful should not boast of his power,
the wealthy should not boast of his wealth;
23 (24) instead, let the boaster boast about this:
that he understands and knows me —
that I am Adonai, practicing grace,
justice and righteousness in the land;
for in these things I take pleasure,” says Adonai.
24 (25) “The days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will punish all those who have been circumcised in their uncircumcision — 25 (26) Egypt, Y’hudah, Edom, the people of ‘Amon and Mo’av, and all those living in the desert who cut the edges [of their beard]:
“For although all the Goyim are uncircumcised,
all the house of Isra’el have uncircumcised hearts.”
23 Then Yeshua addressed the crowds and his talmidim: 2 “The Torah-teachers and the P’rushim,” he said, “sit in the seat of Moshe. 3 So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don’t do what they do, because they talk but don’t act! 4 They tie heavy loads onto people’s shoulders but won’t lift a finger to help carry them. 5 Everything they do is done to be seen by others; for they make their t’fillin broad and their tzitziyot long, 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and they love being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces and being called ‘Rabbi.’
8 “But you are not to let yourselves be called ‘Rabbi’; because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each other’s brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘Father.’ because you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to let yourselves be called ‘leaders,’ because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah! 11 The greatest among you must be your servant, 12 for whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted.
13 “But woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! For you are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces, neither entering yourselves nor allowing those who wish to enter to do so. 14 [a]
15 “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You go about over land and sea to make one proselyte; and when you succeed, you make him twice as fit for Gei-Hinnom as you are!
16 “Woe to you, you blind guides! You say, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is more important? the gold? or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18 And you say, ‘If someone swears by the altar, he is not bound by his oath; but if he swears by the offering on the altar, he is bound.’ 19 Blind men! Which is more important? the sacrifice? or the altar which makes the sacrifice holy? 20 So someone who swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it. 21 And someone who swears by the Temple swears by it and the One who lives in it. 22 And someone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and the One who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You pay your tithes of mint, dill and cumin; but you have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah — justice, mercy, trust. These are the things you should have attended to — without neglecting the others! 24 Blind guides! — straining out a gnat, meanwhile swallowing a camel!
25 “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Parush! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may be clean too.
27 “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of rottenness. 28 Likewise, you appear to people from the outside to be good and honest, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and far from Torah.
29 “Woe to you hypocritical Torah-teachers and P’rushim! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the tzaddikim, 30 and you say, ‘Had we lived when our fathers did, we would never have taken part in killing the prophets.’ 31 In this you testify against yourselves that you are worthy descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead then, finish what your fathers started!
33 “You snakes! Sons of snakes! How can you escape being condemned to Gei-Hinnom? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and Torah-teachers — some of them you will kill, indeed, you will have them executed on stakes as criminals; some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so, on you will fall the guilt for all the innocent blood that has ever been shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Hevel to the blood of Z’kharyah Ben-Berekhyah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. 36 Yes! I tell you that all this will fall on this generation!
37 “Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! 38 Look! God is abandoning your house to you, leaving it desolate.[b] 39 For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.’”[c]
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.