M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 19
Behavior Pleasing to the Lord.1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the assembly of the children of Israel and say: Be holy, for I am holy. I am the Lord, your God. 3 Every man shall honor his father and his mother, and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord, your God.
4 “Do not worship idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am the Lord, your God. 5 When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, you shall do it so that it will be acceptable. 6 You shall eat it either on the same day or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day should be burned in fire. 7 If you were to eat it on the third day, it would be an abomination. It would not be accepted. 8 Therefore, everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he shall have profaned something holy to the Lord. That person shall be cut off from among his people.
9 [a]“When you gather the harvest of your land, do not reap the corners of your field nor gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather all the grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord, your God.
11 “You are not to steal, nor should you deceive nor lie to one another. 12 Nor shall you swear a false oath by my name, nor shall you profane my name. I am your God, the Lord.
13 “You shall not defraud your neighbor, nor shall you rob him. You shall not keep the wages of the person you have hired all night, until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor shall you put a stumbling block before the blind, for you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
15 “You shall not commit any injustice in judging the poor, nor shall you show partiality to the mighty. You shall judge your neighbor with righteousness. 16 You are not to spread slander among your people, nor shall you act against the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, nor shall you rebuke your brother in any way, lest you bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not seek vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[b] I am the Lord.
19 “Obey my ordinances. Do not keep one type of cattle with another. Do not sow a field with seed that is mixed. Do not wear clothes made both of wool and linen.
20 “If a man has sex with a slave girl who is betrothed and belongs to another man, and she has not been redeemed nor has she been given her freedom, she shall be scourged, but they shall not be put to death for she was not free. 21 He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram as a guilt offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, for the sin he has committed, with the ram of the guilt offering. He shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 “When you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees, you shall leave its fruit unharvested[c] for three years. It is not to be eaten. 24 But the fourth year all of its fruit will be holy, a praise offering to the Lord. 25 In the fifth year you can eat its fruit. Thus, it will yield more richly for you. I am the Lord, your God.
26 “You must not eat anything with blood in it. You must not practice magic or cast spells. 27 [d]You must not trim the hair on the side of your head, nor must you clip the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not slash your skin to mourn the dead, nor shall you have any tattoos. I am the Lord.
29 “Do not prostitute your daughter, forcing her to commit fornication, lest the land become adulterous and the land be full of lewdness. 30 You will observe my Sabbaths and respect my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
31 “Do not consult mediums or seek after wizards, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord, your God.
32 “You will stand up in the presence of those with gray hair, and honor the presence of those who are old, and you will fear your God. I am the Lord.
33 “If an alien dwells in your land, you will not harass him. 34 You will treat the alien who dwells among you just as you would the person who was born among you. You shall love him as yourself, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.
35 “You shall not cheat in measuring lengths or weights or volumes. 36 You will use honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.[e] I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 Therefore, you will observe all of my statutes and my decrees, and follow them. I am the Lord.”
Psalm 23[a]
Prayer to the Good Shepherd
1 A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall lack.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;[b]
he leads me to tranquil streams.
3 He restores my soul,[c]
guiding me in paths of righteousness
so that his name may be glorified.
4 Even though I wander
through the valley of the shadow of death,[d]
I will fear no evil,
for you are at my side,
with your rod and your staff
that comfort me.
5 [e]You spread a table for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;[f]
my cup overflows.
6 Only goodness and kindness[g] will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever and ever.
Psalm 24[h]
The Lord’s Solemn Entry into Jerusalem
1 [i]A psalm of David.
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,
the world and all who live in it.[j]
2 For he founded it on the seas
and established[k] it on the rivers.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 One who has clean hands and a pure heart,[l]
who does not turn his mind to vanities
or swear an oath in order to deceive.
5 He will receive a blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God, his Savior.
6 This is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
7 [m]Lift up your arches, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,[n]
so that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, valiant in battle.
9 Lift up your arches, O gates,
rise up, you ancient portals,
so that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts:[o]
he is the King of glory. Selah
Chapter 2
What Good Is It To Be Successful?[a] 1 Then I said to myself, “All right, I will pursue pleasure and the enjoyment of good things.” However, this also proved to be vanity. 2 I regarded laughter as madness and pleasure as vanity. 3 Then, while my mind was guiding me with wisdom, I sought to cheer my body with wine and the pursuit of folly, for I was determined to discover what was the best way for men to spend the few days of their life under the heavens.[b]
4 I undertook grandiose projects. I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made for myself gardens and parks and filled them with every kind of fruit tree. 6 I developed pools that would enable me to water my grove of growing trees.
7 I purchased male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. In addition, I had large herds and flocks, far more than any who had preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 I amassed for myself silver and gold and the treasures of kings and provinces. I acquired singers, both male and female, and every possible human luxury.[c] 9 In this way I became great, and I surpassed all my predecessors in Jerusalem, while my wisdom continued to strengthen me.
10 I did not deny my eyes anything that they coveted,
nor did I deprive my heart of any pleasure.
For I found delight in all my labors,
and this was the reward I had for all my efforts.
11 However, once I began to reflect on all that my hands had accomplished
and the effort I had exerted in achieving it,
I again came to the realization that everything was vanity and a chase after the wind,
and that there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
The Wise Man Must Die No Less than the Fool
12 Then my reflections focused on wisdom
as well as madness and folly,
and I came to the realization that whoever succeeds a king can do nothing,
since everything has already been done.
13 I also came to understand that more is to be gained from wisdom than from folly,[d]
just as light is more profitable than darkness.
14 The wise keep their eyes open,
whereas fools walk in darkness.
And yet at the same time I realized
that the same fate befalls them both.
15 Then I thought to myself,
“If the fate of the fool will also be my fate,
then why have I been wise?
In what way do I profit?”
And I came to the conclusion
that this too is vanity.
16 The wise man is remembered no longer than the fool,
because in the days to come both will have been forgotten.
The wise man must die no less than the fool.
17 As a result, I came to hate life,
since I loathe the work that is done under the sun;
for all is vanity and a chase after the wind.
A Chase after the Wind
18 So Many Labors with the Profit Going to Others.[e] Therefore, I have come to hate all my labor and toil under the sun because I now must bequeath its fruits to my successor.[f] 19 And I have no way of knowing in advance whether he will be wise or a fool. Either way, he will be the master of all the fruits of my work for which I toiled and employed my wisdom under the sun. This too is vanity.
20 As a result, I surrendered to feelings of despair concerning all of my labor and toil here under the sun. 21 For even though a man may labor with wisdom and knowledge and skill, he must leave everything he has to be enjoyed by another who has not toiled for it in any way. This also is vanity and a great misfortune.
22 For what does a man gain from all the toil and effort that he has expended under the sun? 23 His days are filled with pain and his labors are filled with stress. Even at night he has no peace of mind. This also is vanity.
24 The Happiness of Simple Things.[g] There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and to experience pleasure in his achievements. And I also came to realize that this too comes from God’s hand. 25 For without him who could eat or drink?
26 God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to those who please him, but to sinners he gives the task of gathering and amassing wealth that is to be given to someone who pleases him. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind.[h]
General Regulations[a]
Chapter 4
False Asceticism. 1 The Spirit clearly says that during the last times some will abandon the faith. They will run after deceitful spirits and demonic doctrines, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences have been branded as with a burning iron. 3 They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods[b] that God created to be accepted with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided that it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer.[c]
The Benefits of Godliness. 6 If you offer these instructions to the brethren, you will prove to be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself in godliness.
8 While physical training has some value, the benefits of godliness are unlimited, since it holds out promise not only for this life but also for the life to come. 9 This saying can be trusted and merits complete acceptance. 10 For this is why we toil and struggle, because we have placed our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all, especially of all those who believe.
11 Pastoral Duties. These are the things you must insist upon in your teaching. 12 Let no one regard you with contempt because of your youth, but serve as an example to the believers in your speech and conduct, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
13 Until I arrive, devote yourself to reading,[d] to exhortation, and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that was bestowed upon you when, as a result of prophecy, the elders laid their hands on you.[e]
15 Meditate on these things and put them into practice so that your progress may be evident to everyone. 16 Be conscientious about your life and your teaching. Persevere in both of these tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your listeners.
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