M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
26 After the deaths of so many Israelites from the plague, the Eternal commissioned another census through Moses and Eleazar (Priest Aaron’s son).
Eternal One: 2 Add up exactly how many Israelites there are, those who are 20 years and older who are able to go to war. Identify them by their extended families.
3 So Moses and Priest Eleazar got everyone together in the Moabite flatlands next to the Jordan River, east of Jericho.
Moses and Eleazar: 4 Add up the people 20 years old and older, just as the Eternal One commanded Moses.
This is the record of the twelve Israelite families, the clans within them (according to the names of their founders) who actually enter the land.
The total number of the Israelites who had left Egypt were:
5-9 From Reuben (the eldest of Israel’s twelve sons)—the clans of Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; the clans of Reuben number 43,730. Within this extended family, Pallu had Eliab, who had three sons—Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Those last two are the same Dathan and Abiram, who (along with Korah) led that revolt against Moses and Aaron and the Eternal One. 10 They are the ones who (along with Korah) were swallowed up by the earth when so many people died and 250 were burned to death, too, as a future warning to the people. 11 (Korah’s sons were not killed in that episode, however.)
12-14 From Simeon—the clans of Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul; the clans of Simeon number 22,200.
15-18 From Gad—the clans of Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli; the clans of Gad number 40,500.
19-22 From Judah (remember that Judah also had Er and Onan, the sons who died in Canaan)[a]—the clans of Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Within this extended family, Perez had Hezron and Hamul; the clans of Judah number 76,500.
23-25 From Issachar—the clans of Tola, Puvah (they’re called Punites), Jashub, and Shimron; the clans of Issachar number 64,300.
26-27 From Zebulun—the clans of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel; the clans of Zebulun number 60,500.
28 From Joseph—the clans of Manasseh and Ephraim. 29 Within this extended family, Manasseh had Machir, who generated his own clan and fathered Gilead, who also generated a clan. 30-32 Gilead’s descendants also became clans—Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. 33 (Hepher is the one whose son, Zelophehad, didn’t himself have any sons. His daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.)[b] 34 The clans of Manasseh number 52,700. 35-37 Also within Joseph’s extended family, Ephraim had Shuthelah, Becher, and Tahan. From Shuthelah came the clan of Eranites. The clans of Ephraim number 32,500. So the total number from Joseph’s descendants, Manasseh plus Ephraim and counted by clans, was 85,200.
38-41 From Benjamin—the clans of Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham. Bela had two sons, Ard and Naaman, each of which became a clan; the clans of Benjamin number 45,600.
42-43 From Dan—the clans of Shuham; the clans of Dan number 64,400.
44-47 From Asher—the clans of Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Beriah gave rise also to the clans of Heber and Malchiel. Asher’s daughter was Serah. The clans of Asher number 53,400.
48-50 From Naphtali—the clans of Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem; the clans of Naphtali number 45,400.
51 The grand total of Israelites organized was 601,730.
52 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
God has promised the children of Abraham from the very beginning until this day that they will inherit this land. Now it is time.
Eternal One: 53 The land shall be divided up following the number of ancestral families—twelve. 54 If one clan has a lot of people in it, then it should receive a large amount of land; if the clan is small, then assign it a smaller plot. Every extended family will be allotted land in proportion to its size, and that particular land will be considered its inheritance. 55 Nevertheless, the assignments will be based on lots, and the assigned land will be inherited only within the clan. 56 Among the large and small clans, property will be divided by lots.
In this system, Levi is an exception. Because of their priestly status, they don’t serve in the military and don’t get a portion of land.
57 So the Levites were listed according to their clans of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 58 The clans of Levi include Libnites, Hebronites, Mahlites, Mushites, and Korahites. 59 For the record, when Levi was still in Egypt, he had a daughter, Jochebed. She married Amram, the son of Kohath. Jochebed bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. 60 Aaron fathered Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 Nadab and Abihu died when they presumed to offer a strange fire to the Eternal One. 62 The total number of Levite men, one month and older, was 23,000. They were not counted along with the rest of the people of Israel since they did not have a land inheritance.
63 These are the people and their numbers that Moses and his nephew, Eleazar the priest, organized into armies when they stood on the plains of Moab, just across the Jordan River, east of Jericho. 64 Not a single one of the people organized this time by Moses and Priest Aaron were among those so many years ago, when they added up the Israelites in the Sinai Wilderness. 65 The Eternal One had declared that the previous generation had to die in the wilderness. No one was remaining from that generation except for Caleb (Jephunneh’s son) and Joshua (Nun’s son).
Psalm 69
For the worship leader. A song of David to the tune “Lilies.”[a]
This Davidic lament complains to God of enemies, false witnesses, insults, abandonment by friends and family, and even poisoning. Early Christians interpreted this psalm prophetically in order to understand Jesus’ experience in His suffering and death on the cross.
1 Reach down for me, True God; deliver me.
The waters have risen to my neck; I am going down!
2 My feet are swallowed in this murky bog;
I am sinking—there is no sturdy ground.
I am in the deep;
the floods are crashing in!
3 I am weary of howling;
my throat is scratched dry.
I still look for my God
even though my eyes fail.
4 My enemies despise me without any cause;
they outnumber the hairs on my head.
They torment me with their power;
they have absolutely no reason to hate me.
Now I am set to pay for crimes
I have never committed!
5 O True God, my foolish ways are plain before You;
my mistakes—no, nothing can be hidden from You.
6 Don’t let Your hopeful followers face disgrace because of me,
O Lord, Eternal One, Commander of heaven’s armies;
Don’t let Your seekers be shamed on account of me,
O True God of Israel.
7 I have been mocked when I stood up for You;
I cower, shamefaced.
8 You know my brothers and sisters?
They now reject me—they act as if I never existed.
I’m like a stranger to my own family.
9 And here’s why: I am consumed with You, completely devoted to protecting Your house;
when they insult You, they insult me.
10 When I mourn and discipline my soul by fasting,
they deride me.
11 And when I put on sackcloth,
they mock me.
12 Those who sit at the gate gossip about me;
I am shamed by the slurred songs of drunkards.
13 But, Eternal One, I just pray the time is right
that You would hear me. And, True God,
because You are enduring love, that You would answer.
In Your faithfulness, please, save me.
14 Pluck me from this murky bog;
don’t let it pull me down!
Pull me from this rising water;
take me away from my enemies to dry land.
15 Don’t let the flood take me under
or let me, Your servant, be swallowed into the deep
or let the yawning pit seal me in!
16 O Eternal One, hear me. Answer me. For Your enduring love is good comfort;
in Your great mercy, turn toward me.
17 Yes, shine Your face upon me, Your servant;
put an end to my anguish—don’t wait another minute.
18 Come near; rescue me!
Set me free from my enemies.
19 You know all my opponents;
You see them, see the way they treat me—
humiliating me with insults, trying to disgrace me.
20 All this ridicule has broken my heart,
killed my spirit.
I searched for sympathy, and I came up empty.
I looked for supporters, but there was no one.
21 Even more, they gave me poison for my food
and offered me only sour vinegar to drink.
22 Let them be ambushed at the dinner table,
caught in a trap when they least expect it.
23 Cloud their vision so they cannot see;
make their bodies shake, their knees knock in terror.
24 Pour out Your fiery wrath upon them!
Make a clean sweep; engulf them with Your flaming fury.
25 May their camps be bleak
with not one left in any tent.
26 Because they have persecuted the one You have struck,
add insult to those whom You have wounded.
27 Compound their sins; don’t let them off the hook!
Keep them from entering into Your mercy.
28 Blot out their names from Your book of life
so they will not be recorded alongside those who are upright before You.
29 I am living in pain; I’m suffering,
so save me, True God, and keep me safe in troubled times!
30 The name of the True God will be my song,
an uplifting tune of praise and thanksgiving!
31 My praise will please the Eternal more than if I were to sacrifice an ox
or the finest bull. (Horns, hooves, and all!)
32 Those who humbly serve will see and rejoice!
All you seekers-after-God will revive your souls!
33 The Eternal listens to the prayers of the poor
and has regard for His people held in bondage.
34 All God’s creation: join together in His praise! All heaven, all earth,
all seas, all creatures of the ocean deep!
35 The True God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah
So that His servants may own it and live there once again.
36 Their children and children’s children shall have it as their inheritance,
and those who love His name will live in it.
16 A Refugee (to the Moabites): Bring tender lambs to the ruler of the land.
From Sela through the desert
to the beautiful mountain called Zion, maybe they’ll let us in.
2 And indeed like birds whose homes were demolished,
like baby birds torn from their nests,
Moab’s daughters, scattered and fluttering, arrive at the fords,
ready to cross the Arnon River.
3 (to Jerusalem) Give us your best advice and do what is right.
When the day is at its fiercest, hide us in your cool shade.
Shield the trammeled and abused.
Keep your mouth shut when our enemy comes looking, seeking us out.
4 Let these refugees of Moab come in and stay.
Protect these tempest-tossed; be their hiding place,
a shelter safe from the destroyer.
See, when the one who has squeezed and oppressed you is gone
and the forces of crushing violence wane in the land,
5 Then God will establish a royal throne, in loyal love—
the One who rules there will be utterly reliable,
With absolute integrity under the auspices of David.
With a passion for justice, He will be quick to decide and do what is right.
God’s answer to Moab’s plea for help is none other than the Messiah. One day David’s son will take the throne and rule with absolute justice.
6 Oh yes, we’ve heard of Moab, how much they think of themselves—
so important, so valuable, so hot-tempered;
But we know it’s just idle boasts.
7 Let them bemoan their destruction and fall—every last one of them.
Go ahead, mourn, all you who were struck down;
Cry for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.
8 The productive fields of Heshbon are withering in the heat;
the choice vines of Sibmah are decimated.
The rulers of the nations are wreaking havoc across the land,
crushing its grape clusters and leveling its old stout vines.
Moab’s tender shoots spread from Jazer to the desert,
then right down to the sea[a] and even across it.
9 This is why I cry salty tears over Jazer,
over the vines of Sibmah and over the fields of Heshbon.
And God’s-Ascent, Elealeh, I weep for you—over your branches,
once so green and strong, now broken and brown with death.
No one rejoices anymore over your fruits and harvest.
10 What joy these fields and orchards brought, what pleasure and delight,
with their beauty, with their bounty.
But no more cheerful shouts accompany the harvest of the vineyards.
No one is left to press the grapes into wine.
I have silenced all your joyous shouting.
11 My heart hums like a harp with grief for you, Moab.
I ache with soul-sadness for Kir-hareseth.
12 When the people of Moab present themselves to their gods, when they weary themselves with frequent journeys to their high places, when they enter their sanctuary to pray, then they will find none of their gods are able to help them. 13 This is the message the Eternal gave Isaiah earlier about Moab. 14 But now He has another message.
Eternal One: In just three years—as a hired hand might count them—the power and prestige of Moab will come to an end. Its population will be killed and scattered; only a few, the poor and powerless, will survive the onslaught.
4 Since the Anointed suffered in the flesh, prepare yourselves to do the same—anyone who has suffered in the flesh for the Lord is no longer in the grip of sin— 2 so that you may live the rest of your life on earth controlled not by earthly desires but by the will of God.
The reality of suffering in the world causes many to question the existence of an all-powerful and all-loving God. A God of power and love is expected to be both able and willing to remove suffering from our lives. Ultimately, God will make all things new and end suffering, but for now God allows it and calls us to rejoice in the midst of it. Though we may not understand it, pain and suffering have a purpose in God’s plan, and our Creator is not immune to it. Through Jesus God enters into our suffering; now we are called to enter into His.
3 You have already wasted enough time living like those outsiders in the society around you: losing yourselves in sex, in addictions and desires, in drinking and lawless idolatry, in giving your time and allegiance to things that are not godly. 4 When you don’t play the same games they do, they notice that you are living by different rules. That’s why they say such terrible things about you. 5 Someday they, too, will have to give an account of themselves to the One who judges the living and the dead. 6 (This is why the good news had to be brought to those who are dead so that although they are judged in the flesh, they might live in the spirit in the way that pleases God.)
7 We are coming to the end of all things, so be serious and keep your wits about you in order to pray more forcefully. 8 Most of all, love each other steadily and unselfishly, because love makes up for many faults. 9 Show hospitality to each other without complaint. 10 Use whatever gift you’ve received for the good of one another so that you can show yourselves to be good stewards of God’s grace in all its varieties. 11 If you’re called upon to talk, speak as though God put the words in your mouth; if you’re called upon to serve others, serve as though you had the strength of God behind you. In these ways, God may be glorified in all you do through Jesus the Anointed, to whom belongs glory and power, now and forever. Amen.
12 Dear ones, don’t be surprised when you experience your trial by fire. It is not something strange and unusual, 13 but it is something you should rejoice in. In it you share the Anointed’s sufferings, and you will be that much more joyful when His glory is revealed. 14 If anyone condemns you for following Jesus as the Anointed One, consider yourself blessed. The glorious Spirit of God rests on you. 15 But none of you should ever merit suffering like those who have murdered or stolen, meddled in the affairs of others or done evil things. 16 But if you should suffer for being a Christian, don’t think of it as a disgrace, as it would be if you had done wrong. Praise God that you’re permitted to carry this name.
People often suffer because of poor decisions that result in shame, but the people of God face persecution for their faithfulness that leads to honor and glory.
17 For the time for judgment has come, and it is beginning with the household of God. If it is starting with us, what will happen to those who have rejected God’s good news? 18 It is written in Proverbs,
If it is hard for the righteous ones to be saved,
what will happen to the ungodly and the sinners?[a]
19 So even if you should suffer now for doing God’s will, continue doing good and trust your futures to the judgment and mercy of a faithful Creator.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.