M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Laws concerning the Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you and you have dispossessed them and settled in their towns and in their houses,(A) 2 you shall set apart three cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.(B) 3 You shall calculate the distances[a] and divide into three regions the land that the Lord your God gives you as a possession, so that any homicide can flee to one of them.
4 “Now this is the case of a homicide who might flee there and live, that is, someone who has killed another person unintentionally when the two had not been at enmity before.(C) 5 Suppose someone goes into the forest with another to cut wood, and when one of them swings the ax to cut down a tree, the head slips from the handle and strikes the other person, who then dies; the killer may flee to one of these cities and live. 6 But if the distance is too great, the avenger of blood in hot anger might pursue and overtake and put the killer to death, although a death sentence was not deserved, since the two had not been at enmity before.(D) 7 Therefore I command you: You shall set apart three cities.
8 “If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors—and he will give you all the land that he promised your ancestors to give you, 9 provided you diligently observe this entire commandment that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God and walking always in his ways—then you shall add three more cities to these three,(E) 10 so that the blood of an innocent person may not be shed in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.(F)
11 “But if someone at enmity with another lies in wait and attacks and takes the life of that person and flees into one of these cities, 12 then the elders of the killer’s city shall send to have the culprit taken from there and handed over to the avenger of blood to be put to death. 13 Show no pity; you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may go well with you.(G)
Property Boundaries
14 “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, set up by former generations, on the property that will be allotted to you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.(H)
Law concerning Witnesses
15 “A single witness shall not suffice to convict a person of any crime or wrongdoing in connection with any offense that may be committed. Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be sustained.(I) 16 If a malicious witness comes forward to accuse someone of wrongdoing,(J) 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days,(K) 18 and the judges shall make a thorough inquiry. If the witness is a false witness, having testified falsely against another, 19 then you shall do to the false witness just as the false witness had meant to do to the other. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.(L) 20 The rest shall hear and be afraid, and a crime such as this shall never again be committed among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.(M)
Psalm 106
A Confession of Israel’s Sins
1 Praise the Lord!
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord
or declare all his praise?(B)
3 Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.(C)
4 Remember us,[a] O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help us[b] when you deliver them,(D)
5 that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that we may glory in your heritage.(E)
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.(F)
7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love
but rebelled against the Most High[c] at the Red Sea.[d](G)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
so that he might make known his mighty power.(H)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it became dry;
he led them through the deep as through a desert.(I)
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.(J)
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.(K)
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.(L)
13 But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.(M)
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness
and put God to the test in the desert;(N)
15 he gave them what they asked
but sent a wasting disease among them.(O)
16 They were jealous of Moses in the camp
and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.(P)
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
and covered the faction of Abiram.(Q)
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.(R)
19 They made a calf at Horeb
and worshiped a cast image.(S)
20 They exchanged the glory of God[f]
for the image of an ox that eats grass.(T)
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,(U)
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[g](V)
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.(W)
24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.(X)
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.(Y)
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness(Z)
27 and would disperse[h] their descendants among the nations,
scattering them over the lands.(AA)
28 Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;(AB)
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
and the plague was stopped.(AC)
31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.(AD)
32 They angered the Lord[i] at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,(AE)
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke words that were rash.(AF)
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord had commanded them,(AG)
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned to do as they did.(AH)
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.(AI)
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;(AJ)
38 they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.(AK)
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts
and prostituted themselves in their doings.(AL)
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;(AM)
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.(AN)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.(AO)
44 Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
when he heard their cry.(AP)
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.(AQ)
46 He caused them to be pitied
by all who held them captive.(AR)
47 Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.(AS)
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the Lord!(AT)
46 Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and cattle;
these things you carry are loaded
as burdens on weary animals.(A)
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden
but themselves go into captivity.(B)
3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb;(C)
4 even to your old age I am he;
even when you turn gray I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.(D)
5 To whom will you liken me and make me equal
and compare me, as though we were alike?(E)
6 Those who lavish gold from the purse
and weigh out silver in the scales—
they hire a goldsmith, who makes it into a god;
then they fall down and worship!(F)
7 They lift it to their shoulders; they carry it;
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
it cannot move from its place.
If one cries out to it, it does not answer
or save anyone from trouble.(G)
8 Remember this and consider;[a]
recall it to mind, you transgressors;(H)
9 remember the former things of old,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like me,(I)
10 declaring the outcome from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My purpose shall stand,
and I will fulfill my intention,”(J)
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man for my purpose from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have planned, and I will do it.(K)
The Bowls of God’s Wrath
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”(A)
2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and a foul and painful sore came on those who had the brand of the beast and who worshiped its image.(B)
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.(C)
4 The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.(D) 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say,
“You are just, O Holy One, who are and were,
for you have judged these things;(E)
6 because they shed the blood of saints and prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar respond,
“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
your judgments are true and just!”(F)
8 The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire; 9 they were scorched by the fierce heat, but they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.(G)
10 The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony(H) 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.
12 The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great River Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east.(I) 13 And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.(J) 14 These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.(K) 15 (“See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed,[a] not going about naked and exposed to shame.”)(L) 16 And the demonic spirits[b] assembled the kings[c] at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.
17 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake.(M) 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine cup of the fury of his wrath.(N) 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found, 21 and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[d] dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.(O)
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.