M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 22
Protecting What Is Sanctified. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his son to treat the holy things of the children of Israel with respect so that they not profane my holy name by those things that they have consecrated to me. I am the Lord.
3 “Say to them: Any of your descendants who approaches these holy things that the children of Israel have consecrated to the Lord while he is unclean, that person will be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.
4 “Any descendant who is a leper or who has a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person or who has had an emission of semen 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing that can make him unclean, or touches a man whose uncleanness he acquires, whatever the source of uncleanness, 6 if someone touches one such a person, then he shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes himself with water. 7 When the sun sets, he shall be clean. He can then eat the holy things, for it is his food. 8 He shall not eat anything that died on its own or was torn apart by wild beasts, thereby defiling himself. I am the Lord. 9 They shall therefore observe my statutes lest they become guilty and die when they profane it. I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.[a]
10 “No foreigner can eat the holy things. No guest of the priest or hired hand can eat the holy things. 11 But if the priest buys a slave, the slave can eat it, and if a slave is born to his household, he can eat his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter marries an outsider, she cannot eat an offering of the holy things. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced and she has no children, and she has returned to her father’s household as when she was young, she can eat from her father’s portion of food, but no outsider is to eat of it. 14 If someone eats some of the holy things by accident, he is to add a fifth to its value and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They must not profane the holy things of the children of Israel that they offer to the Lord 16 lest they bear the guilt of their trespass when they eat their holy things. I am the Lord, who consecrates them.”
17 Acceptable Offerings.[b]The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel saying: If anyone from the house of Israel or from among the aliens living in Israel presents a burnt offering as a votive offering or a free-will offering to the Lord, 19 it must be a male without blemish from among the cattle or the sheep or the goats, for you to be found acceptable. 20 You shall offer nothing with a defect; it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 If someone offers a peace offering as the fulfillment of a vow or as a free-will offering, whether it be from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be acceptable. It must have no defect. 22 You shall not offer anything that is blind or injured or maimed, or anything with sores or scabs or scales. You shall not use these as an offering to the Lord by fire, on the altar to the Lord. 23 You can offer a young bull or a lamb that has any parts that are in excess or lacking as a free-will offering, but it is not acceptable for a votive offering. 24 You shall not offer anything that is bruised or crushed or broken or cut to the Lord. You shall not make this type of offering in your land. 25 You shall not offer food from a foreigner’s hand to your God. All of these things have their corruption in them and their blemishes in them; they are not acceptable for you.”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a young bull or a sheep or a goat is brought as an offering, you shall leave it for seven days with its mother. On the eighth day, it shall be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 You are not to kill a cow or ewe with its young on the same day. 29 When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving[c] to the Lord, you are to do it in the correct manner. 30 You shall eat it on the day that you offer it; none of it is to be left over until the next day. I am the Lord. 31 You shall observe my commandments and obey them. I am the Lord.
32 “You shall not profane my holy name, for I am to be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who hallows you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”
Psalm 28[a]
Thanksgiving for Supplications Heard
1 Of David.
To you I call out, O Lord, my Rock;[b]
do not turn a deaf ear to my cry.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear my voice in supplication
as I plead for your help,
as I lift up my hands[c]
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Do not snatch me away with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil,
who talk of peace to their neighbors
while treachery is in their hearts.[d]
4 [e]Repay them as their deeds deserve
in accordance with the evil they inflict;
repay them for the works of their hands
and heap upon them what they justly deserve.
5 Since they have paid no heed to the deeds of the Lord
or to the works of his hands,
he will strike them down
and refuse to restore them.
6 Blessed[f] be the Lord,
for he has heard my cry of supplication.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart[g] places its trust in him.
He has helped me, and I exult;
then with my song I praise him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people,
the refuge where his anointed one[h] finds salvation.
9 Save your people and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd[i] and sustain them forever.
Psalm 29[j]
God’s Majesty in the Storm
1 A psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,[k]
ascribe to the Lord glory and might.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name;[l]
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord[m] echoes over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is filled with majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord shatters the cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.[n]
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion[o] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth
with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.[p]
9 The voice of the Lord batters the oaks
and strips the forests bare,
while in his temple all cry out, “Glory!”[q]
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood;[r]
the Lord is enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord grant strength to his people.
May the Lord bless his people with peace.
Chapter 5
1 Never be in a hurry to speak
or hastily make a promise to God,
for God is in heaven
and you are on earth;
therefore, let your words be few.
2 As dreams come when there are many cares,
so does the speech of a fool when there are many words.[a]
3 When you make a vow[b] to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill the vow you have made. 4 It is preferable not to make a vow than to make it and fail to fulfill it.
5 Do not allow your mouth to lead you into sin and then plead before God’s messenger[c] that it was all a mistake. Otherwise God will become angered at your words and destroy the work of your hands. 6 A profusion of dreams leads to excessive vanity. Therefore, fear God.
Under the Pretext of General Interests. 7 If in some part of the realm you witness the oppression of the poor and the violation of rights and justice, do not be surprised; for every high official is supervised by one who is higher in rank, and the one who has the highest rank keeps watch over them all. 8 A country is best served when a king is in charge of the fertile fields.[d]
Money: An Insatiable Desire
9 One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money,
nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain.
This too is vanity.
10 When riches increase,
so do those who are eager to accumulate them,
and those who have accumulated them must remain content
simply to feast their eyes on them.
11 Sleep is sweet to the laborer,
whether he has much or little to eat,
but the vast riches of a wealthy man
do not allow him to sleep.
12 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun:
Riches are hoarded by their owner to his disadvantage,
13 or riches are lost by some misfortune,
so that he has nothing remaining to leave to his son.
14 Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb,
so shall he depart, naked as he came,
with nothing remaining from his labor
that he can carry away in his hands.
15 This too is a grievous evil:
Just as he came, so must he go,
and what profit can he have after toiling for the wind?
16 All of his days are spent in darkness
with great anxiety, sickness, and resentment.
17 The Happiness Suitable for Humans. This is the conclusion I have reached: it is fitting for a man to eat and drink and find satisfaction in the results of his labors under the sun during the brief span of life that God has allotted him. 18 Moreover, the one to whom God grants wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his toil receives a gift from God. 19 For it is unlikely that he will brood about the passing years inasmuch as God keeps his heart filled with joy.[e]
Chapter 1
Salutation[a]
Address. 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, whose promise of life is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, 2 to Timothy, my beloved child: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanksgiving and Prayer. 3 I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clean conscience as did my ancestors—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I recall your tears,[b] I long to see you again so that my joy may be complete. 5 I also remember your sincere faith, a faith that first came to life in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced also dwells in you.[c]
The Endurance of a Man of God[d]
Revive the Gift of God. For this reason, I remind you to stir up the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.[e] 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but rather a spirit of power and of love and of wisdom. 8 Therefore, you should never be ashamed of bearing witness to our Lord, nor of me because I am imprisoned for his sake. Rather, you should utilize the strength that comes from God to share in my hardships for the sake of the gospel.9 God saved us and called us to a life of holiness, not because of our works but according to his own purpose and the grace that has been bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.[f] 10 That grace has now been revealed by the appearance[g] of our Savior Jesus Christ. He has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I have been appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.[h]
12 Guard the Treasure Entrusted to Us. That is the reason why I am undergoing my present sufferings. However, I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have placed my trust, and I am confident that he is able to guard until that Day[i] what he has entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of sound teaching that you heard from me, with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, guard the treasure that has been entrusted to us.
15 Comfort Those in Suffering. As you are well aware, everyone in Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.[j] 16 May the Lord be merciful to the household of Onesiphorus,[k] because he has often been a comfort to me in my troubles, and he has never been ashamed of my chains. 17 When he arrived in Rome, he concentrated on searching for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord[l] on that Day. He also helped me in many ways at Ephesus, as you are well aware.
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