M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Appointed Festivals
23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: These are the appointed festivals of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed festivals.(A)
The Sabbath, Passover, and Unleavened Bread
3 “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a Sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements.(B)
4 “These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, the holy convocations, that you shall celebrate at the time appointed for them.(C) 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight,[a] there shall be a Passover offering to the Lord,(D) 6 and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations.(E) 8 For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire;[b] on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall not work at your occupations.”
The Offering of First Fruits
9 The Lord spoke to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.(F) 11 He shall raise the sheaf before the Lord, that you may find acceptance; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall raise it. 12 On the day when you raise the sheaf, you shall offer a lamb a year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 And the grain offering with it shall be two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire[c] of pleasing odor to the Lord, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.(G) 14 You shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your settlements.
The Festival of Weeks
15 “And from the day after the Sabbath, from the day on which you bring the sheaf of the elevation offering, you shall count seven full weeks.(H) 16 You shall count until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days; then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord.(I) 17 You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering, each made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of choice flour, baked with leaven, as first fruits to the Lord.(J) 18 You shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, one bull of the herd, and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, along with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire[d] of pleasing odor to the Lord. 19 You shall also offer one male goat for a purification offering and two lambs a year old as a sacrifice of well-being.(K) 20 The priest shall raise them with the bread of the first fruits as an elevation offering before the Lord, together with the two lambs; they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you shall make proclamation; you shall hold a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a statute forever in all your settlements throughout your generations.(L)
22 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.”(M)
The Festival of Trumpets
23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the Israelites, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts.(N) 25 You shall not work at your occupations, and you shall present the Lord’s offering by fire.”[e]
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you shall humble yourselves[f] and present the Lord’s offering by fire,[g](O) 28 and you shall do no work during that entire day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. 29 For those who do not humble themselves[h] during that entire day shall be cut off from the people.(P) 30 And anyone who does any work during that entire day, such a one I will destroy from the midst of the people.(Q) 31 You shall do no work. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your settlements. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall humble yourselves;[i] on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath.”
The Festival of Booths
33 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the Israelites, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and lasting seven days, there shall be the Festival of Booths[j] to the Lord.(R) 35 The first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. 36 Seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire;[k] on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lord’s offerings by fire;[l] it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.(S)
37 “These are the appointed festivals of the Lord that you shall celebrate as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord offerings by fire[m]—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day(T)— 38 apart from the Sabbaths of the Lord and apart from your gifts and apart from all your votive offerings and apart from all your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.
39 “Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord, lasting seven days, a complete rest on the first day and a complete rest on the eighth day.(U) 40 On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic[n] trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.(V) 41 You shall keep it as a festival to the Lord lasting seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute forever throughout your generations. 42 You shall live in booths for seven days; all who are native-born in Israel shall live in booths,(W) 43 so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
44 Thus Moses declared to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.(X)
Psalm 30
Thanksgiving for Recovery from Grave Illness
A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.
1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.(A)
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.(B)
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.[a](C)
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.(D)
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.(E)
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.(F)
The Frustration of Desires
6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind:(A) 2 those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill.(B) 3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life’s good things or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.(C) 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; 5 moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over yet enjoy no good—do not all go to one place?
7 All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied.(D) 8 For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living?(E) 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.(F)
10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what humans are and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger.(G) 11 The more words, the more vanity, so how is one the better? 12 For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?(H)
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
2 You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.(A) 3 Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. 5 And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules.(B) 6 It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.(C) 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.(D) 11 The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;(E)
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
he[a] cannot deny himself.(F)
A Worker Approved by God
14 Remind them of this, and warn them before the Lord[b] that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.(G) 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. 16 Avoid profane chatter, for it will lead people[c] into more and more impiety,(H) 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,(I) 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying resurrection[d] has already occurred. They are upsetting the faith of some.(J) 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.”(K)
20 In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special[e] use, some for ordinary.[f](L) 21 All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned[g] will become special[h] utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work.(M) 22 Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.(N) 23 Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.(O) 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient,(P) 25 correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth(Q) 26 and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.[i]
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.