M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
First census
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert in the meeting tent on the first day of the second month,[a] in the second year after they left the land of Egypt: 2 Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their households, recording the name of every male, 3 20 years old and above, who is eligible for military service in Israel. These you and Aaron will enlist in their military units. 4 Take with you one man from each tribe who is the head of his household. 5 These are the names of the men who will assist you:
from Reuben, Elizur, Shedeur’s son;
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel, Zurishaddai’s son;
7 from Judah, Nahshon, Amminadab’s son;
8 from Issachar, Nethanel, Zuar’s son;
9 from Zebulun, Eliab, Helon’s son;
10 from Joseph’s sons:
from Ephraim, Elishama, Ammihud’s son;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel, Pedahzur’s son;
11 from Benjamin, Abidan, Gideoni’s son;
12 from Dan, Ahiezer, Ammishaddai’s son;
13 from Asher, Pagiel, Ochran’s son;
14 from Gad, Eliasaph, Deuel’s son;
15 from Naphtali, Ahira, Enan’s son.
16 These are the ones appointed from the community, chiefs of their ancestral tribes and leaders of the divisions of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who were selected by name 18 and they assembled the entire community on the first day of the second month. They registered them by their clans and their households, recording the name of each male 20 years old and above. 19 Moses enlisted them in the Sinai desert just as the Lord commanded him.
20 There were the descendants of Reuben, Israel’s oldest, registered by their clans and their households. Every man 20 years old and above eligible for military service was individually recorded by name. 21 Those enlisted from the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.
22 There were the descendants of Simeon, registered by their clans and their households. Every male 20 years old and above eligible for military service was individually recorded by name. 23 Those enlisted from the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.
24 There were the descendants of Gad, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 25 Those enlisted from the tribe of Gad were 45,650.
26 There were the descendants of Judah, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 27 Those enlisted from the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
28 There were the descendants of Issachar, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 29 Those enlisted from the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.
30 There were the descendants of Zebulun, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 31 Those enlisted from the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.
32 From Joseph’s descendants there were the descendants of Ephraim, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 33 Those enlisted from the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.
34 There were the descendants of Manasseh, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 35 Those enlisted from the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.
36 There were the descendants of Benjamin, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 37 Those enlisted from the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.
38 There were the descendants of Dan, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 39 Those enlisted from the tribe of Dan were 62,700.
40 There were the descendants of Asher, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 41 Those enlisted from the tribe of Asher were 41,500.
42 There were the descendants of Naphtali, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. 43 Those enlisted from the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.
44 These are the ones who were enlisted by Moses, Aaron, and the twelve chiefs of Israel, each from his own household. 45 All the Israelites 20 years old and above eligible for military service in Israel were enlisted by their households. 46 All those enlisted were 603,550. 47 But the Levites, belonging to their own ancestral tribe, weren’t enlisted along with them.
The Levites’ exclusion from the census
48 The Lord spoke to Moses: 49 You must not enlist the tribe of Levi, nor should you take their census along with the Israelites. 50 Rather, assign the Levites to the covenant dwelling, to all its equipment, and to everything that belongs to it. They will carry the dwelling and all its equipment, perform its religious ceremonies, and camp around the dwelling. 51 When it’s time to break camp, the Levites will take down the dwelling; and when it’s time to make camp, the Levites will set up the dwelling. Any other person who approaches will be put to death. 52 The Israelites will camp each in their own place under the banner of their own military unit. 53 But the Levites will camp around the covenant dwelling so that God’s anger will not strike the Israelite community. The Levites will guard the covenant dwelling.
54 The Israelites did everything exactly as the Lord commanded Moses.
Psalm 35
Of David.
35 Lord, argue with those who argue with me;
fight with those who fight against me!
2 Grab a shield and armor;
stand up and help me!
3 Use your spear and ax[a]
against those who are out to get me!
Say to me:[b] “I’m your salvation!”
4 Let those who want me dead
be humiliated and put to shame.
Let those who intend to hurt me
be thoroughly frustrated and disgraced.
5 Let them be like dust on the wind—
and let the Lord’s messenger be the one who does the blowing!
6 Let their path be dark and slippery—
and let the Lord’s messenger be the one who does the chasing!
7 Because they hid their net for me for no reason,
they dug a pit for me for no reason.
8 Let disaster come to them when they don’t suspect it.
Let the net they hid catch them instead!
Let them fall into it—to their disaster!
9 But I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will celebrate his salvation.
10 All my bones will say, “Lord, who could compare to you?
You rescue the weak from those who overpower them;
you rescue the weak and the needy from those who plunder them.”
11 Violent witnesses stand up.
They question me about things I know nothing about.
12 They pay me back evil for good,
leaving me stricken with grief.
13 But when they were sick, I wore clothes for grieving,
and I kept a strict fast.
When my prayer came back unanswered,[c]
14 I would wander around like I was grieving a friend or a brother.
I was weighed down, sad, like I was a mother in mourning.
15 But when I stumbled, they celebrated and gathered together—
they gathered together against me!
Strangers[d] I didn’t know tore me to pieces and wouldn’t quit.
16 They ridiculed me over and over again,
like godless people would do,
grinding their teeth at me.
17 How long, my Lord, will you watch this happen?
Rescue me from their attacks;
rescue my precious life from these predatory lions!
18 Then I will thank you in the great assembly;
I will praise you in a huge crowd of people.
19 Don’t let those who are my enemies
without cause celebrate over me;
don’t let those who hate me for no reason
wink at my demise.
20 They don’t speak the truth;
instead, they plot false accusations
against innocent people in the land.
21 They speak out against me,
saying, “Yes! Oh, yes! We’ve seen it with our own eyes!”
22 But you’ve seen it too, Lord.
Don’t keep quiet about it.
Please don’t be far from me, my Lord.
23 Wake up! Get up and do justice for me;
argue my case, my Lord and my God!
24 Establish justice for me
according to your righteousness, Lord, my God.
Don’t let them celebrate over me.
25 Don’t let them say to themselves,
Yes! Exactly what we wanted!
Don’t let them say, “We ate him up!”
26 Let all those who celebrate my misfortune be disgraced and put to shame!
Let those who exalt themselves over me
be dressed up in shame and dishonor!
27 But let those who want things to be set right for me
shout for joy and celebrate!
Let them constantly say, “The Lord is great—
God wants his servant to be at peace.”
28 Then my tongue will talk
all about your righteousness;
it will talk
about your praise all day long.
Take risks; life is short
11 Send your bread out on the water because, in the course of time, you may find it again. 2 Give a portion to seven people, even to eight: you don’t know what disaster may come upon the land. 3 If clouds fill up, they will empty out rain on the earth. If a tree falls, whether to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there it will lie. 4 Those who watch the wind blow will never sow, and those who observe the clouds will never reap. 5 Just as you don’t understand what the life-breath does in the fetus[a] inside a pregnant woman’s womb, so you can’t understand the work of God, who makes everything happen. 6 Scatter your seed in the morning, and in the evening don’t be idle because you don’t know which will succeed, this one or that, or whether both will be equally good.
7 Sweet is the light, and it’s pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 Even those who live many years should take pleasure in them all. But they should be mindful that there will also be many dark days. Everything that happens is pointless.
9 Rejoice, young person, while you are young! Your heart should make you happy in your prime. Follow your heart’s inclinations and whatever your eyes see, but know this: God will call you to account for all of these things. 10 Remove anxiety from your heart, banish pain from your body, because youth and the dawn of life are pointless too.
3 1 Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities. They should be obedient and ready to do every good thing. 2 They shouldn’t speak disrespectfully about anyone, but they should be peaceful, kind, and show complete courtesy toward everyone. 3 We were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, and slaves to our desires and various pleasures too. We were spending our lives in evil behavior and jealousy. We were disgusting, and we hated other people. 4 But “when God our savior’s kindness and love appeared, 5 he saved us because of his mercy, not because of righteous things we had done. He did it through the washing of new birth and the renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 which God poured out upon us generously through Jesus Christ our savior. 7 So, since we have been made righteous by his grace, we can inherit the hope for eternal life.” 8 This saying is reliable. And I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God might give careful attention to doing good. These things are good and useful for everyone.
Final instructions and greetings
9 Avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, and fights about the Law, because they are useless and worthless. 10 After a first and second warning, have nothing more to do with a person who causes conflict, 11 because you know that someone like this is twisted and sinful—so they condemn themselves.
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, try to come to me in Nicopolis, because I’ve decided to spend the winter there. 13 Help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with enthusiasm so that they won’t need anything. 14 But our people should also learn to devote themselves to doing good in order to meet pressing needs so they aren’t unproductive.
15 Everyone with me greets you; greet those who love us faithfully.
Grace be with all of you.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible