M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Concerning Bodily Discharges
15 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
“When any man has a discharge from his member,[a] his discharge makes him unclean.(A) 3 The uncleanness of his discharge is this: whether his member[b] flows with its discharge or is stopped from discharging, he is unclean during the entire period his member[c] flows or is stopped from discharging; this is his uncleanness.[d] 4 Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 6 All who sit on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 7 All who touch the body of the one with the discharge shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(B) 8 If the one with the discharge spits on persons who are clean, then they shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 9 Any saddle on which the one with the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 All who touch anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening, and all who carry such a thing shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(C) 11 All those whom the one with the discharge touches without his having rinsed his hands in water shall wash their clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 12 Any clay vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.(D)
13 “When the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count seven days for his cleansing; he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean.(E) 14 On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest.(F) 15 The priest shall offer them, one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord for his discharge.(G)
16 “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening.(H) 17 Everything made of cloth or of leather on which the semen falls shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(I)
19 “When a woman has a discharge of blood that is a menstrual discharge from her body, she shall be in her impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.(J) 20 Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean; everything also upon which she sits shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(K) 22 Whoever touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; 23 whether it is the bed or anything upon which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening. 24 If any man lies with her and her impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.(L)
25 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her menstrual impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean.(M) 26 Every bed on which she lies during all the days of her discharge shall be treated as the bed of her impurity, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches these things shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.(N) 28 If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting.(O) 30 The priest shall offer one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord for her unclean discharge.
31 “Thus you shall keep the Israelites separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.(P)
32 “This is the rule for those who have a discharge: for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby;(Q) 33 for her who is in the infirmity of her menstrual period; for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge; and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.”(R)
Psalm 18
Royal Thanksgiving for Victory
To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.(A)
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.(B)
4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;(C)
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(D)
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.(E)
7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and reeled because he was angry.(F)
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.(G)
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.(H)
11 He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.(I)
12 Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.(J)
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice.[a](K)
14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.(L)
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.(M)
16 He reached down from on high; he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.(N)
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.(O)
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me because he delighted in me.(P)
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.(Q)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.(R)
22 For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.(S)
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.(T)
25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself blameless;(U)
26 with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.(V)
27 For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.(W)
28 It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.(X)
29 By you I can outrun a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.(Y)
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.(Z)
31 For who is God except the Lord?
And who is a rock besides our God?(AA)
32 The God who has girded me with strength
and made my way safe.[b]
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.(AB)
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(AC)
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand has supported me;
your help[c] has made me great.
36 You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them
and did not turn back until they were consumed.(AD)
38 I struck them down so that they were unable to rise;
they fell under my feet.(AE)
39 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.(AF)
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.(AG)
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.(AH)
42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.(AI)
43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples;[d]
you made me head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.(AJ)
44 As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their strongholds.(AK)
29 One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn,
will suddenly be broken beyond healing.(A)
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice,
but when the wicked rule, the people groan.(B)
3 A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad,
but a companion of prostitutes destroys wealth.(C)
4 By justice a king gives stability to the land,
but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it.
5 Whoever flatters a neighbor
is spreading a net for the neighbor’s feet.
6 In the transgression of the evil there is a snare,
but the righteous sing and rejoice.
7 The righteous know the rights of the poor;
the wicked have no such understanding.(D)
8 Scoffers set a city aflame,
but the wise turn away wrath.(E)
9 If the wise go to law with fools,
there is ranting and ridicule without relief.
10 The bloodthirsty hate the blameless,
and they seek the life of the upright.(F)
11 A fool gives full vent to anger,
but the wise quietly holds it back.(G)
12 If a ruler listens to falsehood,
all his officials will be wicked.
13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.(H)
14 If a king judges the poor with equity,
his throne will be established forever.(I)
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a mother is disgraced by a neglected child.(J)
16 When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases,
but the righteous will look upon their downfall.(K)
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you rest;
they will give delight to your heart.(L)
18 Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint,
but happy are those who keep the law.(M)
19 By mere words slaves are not disciplined,
for though they understand, they will not give heed.
20 Do you see someone who is hasty in speech?
There is more hope for a fool than for anyone like that.(N)
21 A slave pampered from childhood
will come to a bad end.[a]
22 One given to anger stirs up strife,
and the hothead causes much transgression.(O)
23 A person’s pride will bring humiliation,
but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.(P)
24 To be a partner of a thief is to hate one’s own life;
one hears the victim’s curse but discloses nothing.[b](Q)
25 The fear of others[c] lays a snare,
but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.(R)
26 Many seek the favor of a ruler,
but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.(S)
27 The unjust are an abomination to the righteous,
but the upright are an abomination to the wicked.
Request for Prayer
3 Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you,(A) 2 and that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.[a](B) 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will go on doing the things that we command.(C) 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Warning against Idleness
6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister living irresponsibly and not according to the tradition that they[b] received from us.(D) 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not irresponsible when we were with you,(E) 8 and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you.(F) 9 This was not because we do not have that right but in order to give you an example to imitate.(G) 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living irresponsibly, mere busybodies, not doing any work.(H) 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.(I) 13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
14 Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed.(J) 15 Do not regard them as enemies, but admonish them as brothers and sisters.
Final Greetings and Benediction
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.
17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.[c]
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.