M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 18[a]
Sexual Conduct. 1 The Lord spoke again to Moses saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘I am the Lord, your God.[b] 3 You shall not do things like they did in Egypt, where you dwelt, nor shall you do things like they do in Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not do these things, nor shall you follow their ordinances.[c] 4 You shall observe my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, walking in them. I am the Lord, your God. 5 You shall keep my ordinances and my statutes. He who obeys them shall live by them. I am the Lord, your God.
6 “ ‘None of you is to be intimate with any of your close relatives, to uncover their nakedness. I am the Lord. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father or your mother. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife, for her nakedness is like your father’s own nakedness. 9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, whether she be the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether she be born in your household or elsewhere. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter nor shall you uncover the nakedness of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is like your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, the daughter born of your father. She is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister. She is your father’s close relation. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister. She is your mother’s close relation. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not be intimate with his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. Her nakedness is like your brother’s nakedness.[d] 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter. Nor shall you uncover the nakedness of her son’s daughter nor her daughter’s daughter. They are her close relations. It would be shameful. 18 You shall not take the sister of your wife while she is still alive, uncovering her nakedness. They would be rivals.
19 “ ‘You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity. 20 You shall not have sex with your neighbor’s wife, defiling both her and yourself. 21 You shall not offer any of your children to Molech.[e] You shall not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. 22 You shall not have sex with a man as you would with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you have sex with any animal, defiling yourself. Nor shall any woman have sex with an animal. It is perverse.
24 “ ‘You shall not defile yourself by doing any of these things, for the pagans have defiled themselves by all of these things. I am casting them out before you. 25 Because of this the land is defiled, and I will punish its iniquity. The land will vomit out its inhabitants. 26 Therefore, you shall observe my statutes and my ordinances. You shall not commit any abominations, neither anyone from your own nation nor any aliens who dwell among you. 27 The men of the land that lies before you have committed all of these abominations, and the land is defiled. 28 Otherwise the land will vomit you out, too, when you defile it, like it vomited out the pagans before you. 29 Whoever commits any of these abominations shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore, you shall keep my ordinances, and you shall not do any of these abominable things, such as the things that were done before you, lest you defile yourself. I am the Lord, your God.’ ”
Psalm 22[a]
Suffering and Triumph of the Messiah
1 For the director.[b] According to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David.
2 [c]My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why have you paid no heed to my call for help,
to my cries of anguish?
3 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I am afforded no relief.[d]
4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
5 Our ancestors placed their trust in you;
they trusted, and you gave them deliverance.
6 They cried out to you and were saved,
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
7 But I am a worm and not human,[e]
scorned by people and despised by my kinsmen.
8 All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer in mockery and toss their heads:[f]
9 “He relied on the Lord;
let the Lord set him free.
Let the Lord deliver him,
if he loves him.”[g]
10 [h]Yet you brought me out of the womb
and made me feel secure
upon my mother’s breast.
11 I was entrusted to your care at my birth;
from my mother’s womb, you have been my God.
12 Do not remain aloof from me,
for trouble is near
and no one can help me.
13 [i]Many bulls[j] are encircling me;
fierce bulls of Bashan are closing in on me.
14 They open wide their mouths against me
like ravening and roaring lions.
15 My strength is trickling away like water,
and all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[k] has turned to wax
and melts within me.
16 My mouth is as dry as clayware,
and my tongue sticks to my jaw;[l]
you have laid me down in the dust of death.
17 A pack of dogs surrounds me;
a band of evildoers is closing in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet;[m]
18 I can count all my bones.[n]
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.[o]
20 [p]But you, O Lord, do not remain aloof from me.
O my Strength, come quickly to my aid.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the grasp of the dogs.
22 Save me[q] from the lion’s mouth
and from the horns of wild oxen.
23 [r]I will proclaim your name to my family;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:[s]
24 “You who fear the Lord, praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob,[t] give him glory.
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.
25 For he has not scorned or disregarded
the wretched man in his suffering;
he has not hidden his face[u] from him
but has heeded his call for help.”
26 I will offer my praise to you in the great assembly;
in the presence of those who fear him, I will fulfill my vows.[v]
27 [w]The poor[x] will eat and be filled;
those who seek the Lord will praise him:
“May your hearts live forever.”
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow low before him.
29 For kingly power belongs to the Lord;
he is the ruler of all the nations.
30 All those who prosper on the earth will bow down before him;
all those who lie in the grave will kneel in homage.
31 [y]But I will live for the Lord,
and my descendants will serve him.
32 Future generations will be told about the Lord
so that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance he has accomplished.
Editor’s Note[a]
Chapter 1
1 The words of Qoheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity[b] of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! Everything is vanity.
3 What profit does anyone gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?[c]
Introductory Poem[d]
There Is Nothing New under the Sun
4 One generation passes away and another generation succeeds it,
but the earth stands firm forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
then it returns to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows southward and then veers to the north,
constantly turning as it repeats its course.
7 All the rivers go to the sea,
and yet the sea never overflows,
for the rivers continue to return
to their place of origin.
8 All things[e] are wearisome
and very difficult to express.
The eyes are not satisfied with seeing
and the ears do not have their fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be so again,
and what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Whatever is perceived to be new
has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Those people who died in ages past
are no longer remembered,
and the people yet to be born
will not be remembered by those who come after them.
The Impossible Happiness[f]
12 Much Wisdom, Much Anguish.[g] When I, Qoheleth, ruled as king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 I applied the wisdom I possessed to study and explore everything that is done under the sun, a thankless task that God has given to men to keep us occupied. 14 I have seen everything that has been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after the wind.[h]
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I thought to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, far surpassing all those who preceded me in Jerusalem. My mind has mastered every facet of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 However, as I applied my mind to gain a complete understanding of wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I came to realize that this too is a chase after the wind.
18 For much wisdom can result in much sorrow,
and those who increase their knowledge also increase their grief.[i]
Chapter 3[a]
Qualifications of Bishops. This saying can be trusted: Whoever wants to be a bishop desires a noble task. 2 Therefore, a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of only one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and a good teacher. 3 He must not be a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not prone to quarreling, not greedy.4 He must manage his own household well and ensure that his children are submissive and respectful in every way. 5 For if someone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the Church of God? 6 He should not be a recent convert so that he will not become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. 7 He must also enjoy a good reputation among outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s snare.
Qualifications of Deacons. 8 Similarly, deacons must exhibit a sense of dignity, not indulging in double-talk or excessive consumption of wine, and not being greedy. 9 They must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 Let them first be tested. They can be appointed as deacons only if they are beyond reproach.
11 Women[b] must likewise exhibit a sense of dignity and not be given to spreading slander. They must be temperate and faithful in all things.
12 Deacons must have only one wife and be able to manage their children and their own households. 13 Those deacons whose work is exemplary will achieve a high standing and gain great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
14 Greatness of the Divine Majesty. While I am hoping to come to you soon, I am writing to you about these matters 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how to regulate your conduct in God’s household—that is, in the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. 16 Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great:
He was made visible in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,[c]
seen by angels,
proclaimed to the Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory.
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