M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 19
Ashes of the Red Heifer. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 This is the statute for the ritual which the Lord has commanded. Tell the Israelites to procure for you a red heifer without defect and free from every blemish and on which no yoke has ever been laid. 3 You will give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be led outside the camp[a] and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Eleazar the priest will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.[b] 5 Then the heifer will be burned in his sight; it will be burned with its hide and flesh, its blood and dung; 6 and the priest will take cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them into the fire in which the heifer is being burned. 7 The priest shall then wash his garments and bathe his body in water, afterward he may enter the camp. The priest remains unclean until the evening. 8 Likewise, the one who burned the heifer shall wash his garments in water, bathe his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 Then somebody who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a clean place outside the camp. There they are to be kept to prepare purification water for the Israelite community. This is a purification offering. 10 The one who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer shall also wash his garments and be unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute, both for the Israelites and for the alien residing among them.
Use of the Ashes. 11 Those who touch the corpse of any human being will be unclean for seven days; 12 they shall purify themselves with the water on the third and on the seventh day, and then be clean. But if they fail to purify themselves on the third and on the seventh day, they will not become clean. 13 (A)Those who touch the corpse of a human being who dies and who fail to purify themselves defile the tabernacle of the Lord and these persons shall be cut off from Israel. Since the purification water has not been splashed over them, they remain unclean: their uncleanness is still on them.
14 This is the ritual: When someone dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent, as well as everyone already in it, will be unclean for seven days; 15 and every open vessel with its lid unfastened will be unclean. 16 Moreover, everyone who in the open country touches a person who has been slain by the sword or who has died naturally, or who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17 For anyone who is thus unclean, ashes shall be taken from the burnt purification offering, and spring water will be poured on them from a vessel.(B) 18 Then someone who is clean will take hyssop, dip it in this water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the vessels and persons that were in it, or on the one who touched the bone, the slain person or the other corpse, or the grave. 19 The clean will sprinkle the unclean on the third and on the seventh day, and thus purify them on the seventh day. Then they will wash their garments and bathe in water, and in the evening be clean. 20 [c]Those who become unclean and fail to purify themselves—those people will be cut off from the assembly, because they defile the sanctuary of the Lord. The purification water has not been splashed over them; they remain unclean. 21 This will be a permanent statute for you.
Those who sprinkle the purification water will wash their garments, and those who come in contact with the purification water will be unclean until evening. 22 Moreover, anything that the unclean person touches becomes unclean itself, and the one who touches such a person becomes unclean until evening.
Psalm 56[a]
Trust in God
1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.[b] A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
3 My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
5 I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.(B)
What can mere flesh do to me?(C)
II
6 All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
7 They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.(D)
8 They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
9 My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,[c]
recorded in your book?(E)
10 My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
11 I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
12 In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
III
13 I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,(F)
14 For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
Psalm 57[d]
Confident Prayer for Deliverance
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[e] A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.(G)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings[f] I seek refuge
till harm pass by.(H)
3 I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
4 May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
5 I must lie down in the midst of lions
hungry for human prey.(I)
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongue, a sharpened sword.(J)
6 Be exalted over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.(K)
II
7 They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves!(L)
Selah
8 My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.(M)
9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.[g](N)
10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(O)
11 For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(P)
12 Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Chapter 8
A Son of Isaiah. 1 The Lord said to me: Take a large tablet, and inscribe on it with an ordinary stylus,[a] “belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,”(A) 2 and call reliable witnesses[b] for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah.
3 Then I went to the prophetess and she conceived and bore a son. The Lord said to me: Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for before the child learns to say, “My father, my mother,” the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria shall be carried off by the king of Assyria.
The Choice: The Lord or Assyria. 5 Again the Lord spoke to me:
6 Because this people[c] has rejected
the waters of Shiloah that flow gently,
And melts with fear at the display of Rezin and Remaliah’s son,
7 Therefore the Lord is bringing up against them
the waters of the River, great and mighty,
the king of Assyria and all his glory.
It shall rise above all its channels,
and overflow all its banks.
8 It shall roll on into Judah,
it shall rage and pass on—
up to the neck it shall reach.(B)
But his outspread wings will fill
the width of your land, Emmanuel!
9 Band together, O peoples, but be shattered!
Give ear, all you distant lands!
Arm yourselves, but be shattered! Arm yourselves, but be shattered!
10 Form a plan, it shall be thwarted;
make a resolve, it shall not be carried out,
for “With us is God!”[d](C)
Disciples of Isaiah. 11 For thus said the Lord—his hand strong upon me—warning me not to walk in the way of this people:
12 [e]Do not call conspiracy what this people calls conspiracy,
nor fear what they fear, nor feel dread.
13 But conspire with the Lord of hosts;
he shall be your fear, he shall be your dread.(D)
14 He shall be a snare,
a stone for injury,
A rock for stumbling
to both the houses of Israel,
A trap and a snare
to those who dwell in Jerusalem;(E)
15 And many among them shall stumble;
fallen and broken;
snared and captured.(F)
16 Bind up my testimony, seal the instruction with my disciples.[f] 17 I will trust in the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob; yes, I will wait for him. 18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me: we are signs[g] and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(G)
19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of ghosts and soothsayers who chirp and mutter;[h](H) should not a people inquire of their gods, consulting the dead on behalf of the living, 20 for instruction and testimony?” Surely, those who speak like this are the ones for whom there is no dawn.[i]
21 He will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry,
and when hungry, shall become enraged,
and curse king and gods.
He will look upward,
22 and will gaze at the earth,
But will see only distress and darkness,
oppressive gloom,
murky, without light.[j]
The Promise of Salvation Under a New Davidic King.[k] 23 There is no gloom where there had been distress. Where once he degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, now he has glorified the way of the Sea, the land across the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations.[l]
Chapter 9
1 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
Upon those who lived in a land of gloom
a light has shone.(I)
2 You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing;
They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest,
as they exult when dividing the spoils.
3 For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
The rod of their taskmaster,
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.[m](J)
4 For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for fire.(K)
5 For a child[n] is born to us, a son is given to us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,(L)
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
6 His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
Upon David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice,
both now and forever.(M)
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!
Judgment on the Northern Kingdom[o]
7 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it falls upon Israel;
Chapter 2
Sin of Partiality.[a] 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?[b]
5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor[c] in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?(A) 6 But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?(B) 8 However, if you fulfill the royal[d] law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.(C) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.(D) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it.(E) 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not kill.”(F) Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 (G)So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom.[e] 13 For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(H)
Faith and Works.[f] 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?(I) 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?(J) 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?(K) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”(L) 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?(M) 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.