M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 20

Penalties for Various Sins. ^1 [a]The Lord said to Moses: ² Tell the Israelites: Anyone, whether an Israelite or an alien residing in Israel, who gives offspring to Molech shall be put to death.^(A) The people of the land shall stone that person. ^3 (B)I myself will turn against and cut off^(C) that individual from among the people; for in the giving of offspring to Molech, my sanctuary was defiled^(D) and my holy name was profaned. ⁴ If the people of the land condone the giving of offspring to Molech, by failing to put the wrongdoer to death, ⁵ I myself will turn against that individual and his or her family, and I will cut off from their people both the wrongdoer and all who follow this person by prostituting themselves with Molech.

⁶ Should anyone turn to ghosts and spirits and prostitute oneself with them,^(E) I will turn against that person and cut such a one off from among the people. ⁷ Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God,^(F) am holy. ⁸ Be careful, therefore, to observe my statutes. I, the Lord, make you holy.

⁹ Anyone who curses father or mother shall be put to death;^[b](G) and having cursed father or mother, such a one will bear the bloodguilt.^{[c] 10 [d]}If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife,^(H) both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. ¹¹ If a man disgraces his father by lying with his father’s wife,^(I) the two of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. ¹² If a man lies with his daughter-in-law,^(J) both of them shall be put to death; they have done what is perverse; their bloodguilt is upon them. ¹³ If a man lies with a male as with a woman,^(K) they have committed an abomination; the two of them shall be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. ¹⁴ If a man marries a woman and her mother also,^(L) that is shameful conduct; the man and the two women as well shall be burned to death, so that shamefulness may not be found among you. ¹⁵ If a man has sexual relations with an animal,^(M) the man shall be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. ¹⁶ If a woman goes up to any animal to mate with it,^(N) you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall both be put to death; their bloodguilt is upon them. ¹⁷ If a man marries his sister,^(O) his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and they have intercourse with each other, that is disgraceful; they shall be publicly cut off^[e] from the people; the man shall bear the penalty of having had intercourse with his own sister. ¹⁸ If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and has intercourse with her, he has laid bare the source of her flow and she has uncovered it.^(P) The two of them shall be cut off from the people. ¹⁹ You shall not have intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister,^(Q) because that dishonors one’s own flesh; they shall bear their penalty. ²⁰ If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he disgraces his uncle;^(R) they shall bear the penalty; they shall die childless. ²¹ If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is severe defilement and he has disgraced his brother;^(S) they shall be childless.

²² Be careful to observe all my statutes and all my decrees; otherwise the land where I am bringing you to dwell will vomit you out.^{(T) 23} Do not conform, therefore, to the customs of the nations^(U) whom I am driving out of your way, because all these things that they have done have filled me with disgust for them. ²⁴ But to you I have said:^(V) You shall take possession of their land. I am giving it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I, the Lord, am your God, who have set you apart from other peoples. ^25 (W)You, too, must set apart, then, the clean animals from the unclean, and the clean birds from the unclean, so that you do not make yourselves detestable through any beast or bird or any creature which creeps on the ground that I have set apart for you as unclean. ²⁶ To me, therefore, you shall be holy; for I, the Lord, am holy,^(X) and I have set you apart from other peoples to be my own.

²⁷ A man or a woman who acts as a medium or clairvoyant^(Y) shall be put to death. They shall be stoned to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.

Psalm 25^[a]

Confident Prayer for Forgiveness and Guidance

¹ Of David.

I

II

III

Chapter 3

No One Can Determine the Right Time to Act

^9 (A)What profit have workers from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the business that God has given to mortals to be busied about. ^11 (B)God has made everything appropriate to its time, but has put the timeless^[b] into their hearts so they cannot find out, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. ^12 (C)I recognized that there is nothing better than to rejoice and to do well during life. ¹³ Moreover, that all can eat and drink and enjoy the good of all their toil—this is a gift of God. ¹⁴ I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever; there is no adding to it, or taking from it. Thus has God done that he may be revered. ^15 [c](D)What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by.

The Problem of Retribution. ^16 (E)And still under the sun in the judgment place I saw wickedness, and wickedness also in the seat of justice. ^17 (F)I said in my heart, both the just and the wicked God will judge, since a time is set for every affair and for every work.^{[d] 18} I said in my heart: As for human beings, it is God’s way of testing them and of showing that they are in themselves like beasts. ¹⁹ For the lot of mortals and the lot of beasts is the same lot: The one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life breath. Human beings have no advantage over beasts, but all is vanity. ^20 (G)Both go to the same place; both were made from the dust, and to the dust they both return. ²¹ Who knows^[e] if the life breath of mortals goes upward and the life breath of beasts goes earthward? ^22 (H)And I saw that there is nothing better for mortals than to rejoice in their work; for this is their lot. Who will let them see what is to come after them?^(I)

IV. Duties Toward Others

Chapter 5

^1 [a]Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as a father. Treat younger men as brothers,^{(A) 2} older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters with complete purity.

Rules for Widows. ³ Honor widows who are truly widows. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let these first learn to perform their religious duty to their own family and to make recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing to God. ⁵ The real widow, who is all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.^{(B) 6} But the one who is self-indulgent is dead while she lives. ⁷ Command this, so that they may be irreproachable. ⁸ And whoever does not provide for relatives and especially family members has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years old, married only once, ¹⁰ with a reputation for good works, namely, that she has raised children, practiced hospitality, washed the feet of the holy ones, helped those in distress, involved herself in every good work.^{(C) 11} But exclude younger widows, for when their sensuality estranges them from Christ, they want to marry ¹² and will incur condemnation for breaking their first pledge. ¹³ And furthermore, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers but gossips and busybodies as well, talking about things that ought not to be mentioned.^{(D) 14} So I would like younger widows to marry, have children, and manage a home, so as to give the adversary no pretext for maligning us.^{(E) 15} For some have already turned away to follow Satan. ¹⁶ If any woman believer^[b] has widowed relatives, she must assist them; the church is not to be burdened, so that it will be able to help those who are truly widows.

Rules for Presbyters.^{[c] 17} Presbyters who preside well deserve double honor, especially those who toil in preaching and teaching.^{(F) 18} For the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is threshing,” and, “A worker deserves his pay.”^{(G) 19} Do not accept an accusation against a presbyter unless it is supported by two or three witnesses.^{(H) 20} Reprimand publicly those who do sin, so that the rest also will be afraid.^{(I) 21} I charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to keep these rules without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism. ²² Do not lay hands too readily on anyone, and do not share in another’s sins. Keep yourself pure.^{(J) 23} Stop drinking only water, but have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

²⁴ Some people’s sins are public, preceding them to judgment; but other people are followed by their sins. ²⁵ Similarly, good works are also public; and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.