M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Gleaning is a right given by God to pick up anything left in the fields at harvest time, and this is a special gift for those with real need.
25 Moses: If two people have a dispute and bring it to court, the judges there will decide the case and declare which one is innocent and which one is guilty. 2 If the judges decide the guilty party should be punished with a beating, the judge will make him lie down and be beaten in front of the judge with the number of strokes appropriate to the evil offense— 3 but it can never be more than 40. This limit is to prevent excessive beatings, which would be publicly degrading.
4 Don’t muzzle the ox while it is treading out your grain.[a]
5 When two brothers are living together, sharing family property that hasn’t been divided, if one of them dies leaving a widow without sons, his widow must not be married to a man outside the family. The brother should marry his sister-in-law and try to have children with her in his brother’s name.[b]
The widow and any children she has by her second husband, by custom, lose their share in his property. When a widow and her children become the family of her brother-in-law, this is a Levirate marriage.
Moses: 6 Her firstborn son will be named after the brother who died, so that the first husband’s name will not disappear from Israel and that son will receive his share of the family inheritance. 7 If a man doesn’t want to marry his brother’s widow, she should go to the elders at the city gate and make a formal complaint: “My husband died, and his brother refuses to keep his name alive in Israel. He won’t marry me and give me children!” 8 The elders of his city will send for him and try to persuade him. He may resist and say, “I don’t want to marry her!” 9 In that case, the widow will come up to him, with the elders looking on, and pull one of his sandals off his foot, spit in his face, and then say, “If a man won’t make sure his brother’s family line continues, he deserves this kind of disgrace for not continuing his brother’s house!” 10 From then on, throughout Israel, his family will be known as “the house with the missing sandal,” and they’ll all be disgraced.
11 If two Israelites are fighting, and one man’s wife comes to help her husband because he’s getting beaten, if she grabs the other man by the genitals, she has disrespected his source of procreative power. 12 Cut her hand off; don’t show any pity!
13 Don’t keep two different weighing stones in your bag, a heavy one for when you want to weigh out full value and a light one for when you want to try to cheat someone. 14 Don’t keep two different measuring containers in your house, a large one for when you want to measure out full value and a small one for when you want to try to cheat someone. 15 Your weighing stone must be a full and fair weight, and your measuring container must be a full and fair size. That way you will live a long time on the ground the Eternal your God is giving to you, 16 because the Eternal your God is horrified by anyone who is so unjust as to cheat other people in weights or measures.
17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you as you were coming out of Egypt? 18 They found you on the road when you were all worn out, and they attacked those who had fallen behind and were isolated and defenseless. They showed no fear of God. 19 When you’re in a position to punish them for this, when all of your other enemies are defeated and you’re living peacefully in the land that the Eternal your God is giving you to live in, then wipe out every trace of the Amalekites under the sky. Don’t forget!
Psalm 116
1 I love the Eternal; for not only does He hear
my voice, my pleas for mercy,
2 But He leaned down when I was in trouble and brought His ear close to me.
So as long as I have breath, I will call on Him.
3 Once I was wound in the wrappings of death;
the terror of dying and the grave had a grip on me;
I could not get away, for I was entombed in distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Eternal:
“O Eternal One—I am begging You—save me!”
5 The Eternal is full of grace and naturally just;
our God is compassionate and merciful.
6 And the Eternal watches over the naive.
Whenever I was knocked down, He reached down and saved me.
7 O my soul! Return and relax. Come to your true rest,
for the Eternal has showered you with His favor.
8 God, You alone rescued my soul from the grips of death,
my eyes from weeping,
and my feet from slipping.
9 I will come before the Eternal
as long as I journey in the land of the living.
10 I believed Your promise; therefore I spoke,
“I am in deep trouble.”
11 In my confusion I blurted out,
“All people are liars!”
12 How will I pay back the Eternal
for all His graciousness toward me?
13 I will raise the cup of deliverance
and call out the name of the Eternal.
14 I will fulfill the promises I made to Him
here as a witness to all His people.
15 Precious in the eyes of the Eternal
are the deaths of those who follow after Him.
16 O Eternal One, You know I am Your servant.
I am Your servant, a child of Your maidservant, devoted to You;
You have cut me loose from the chains of death that bind me.
17 And I come, eager to offer a sacrifice of gratitude
and call on the name of the Eternal.
18 I will fulfill the promises I made to Him
here as a witness to all His people
19 In the courts of the Eternal’s temple,
among the people of God’s city, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Eternal!
52 Wake up, fair Zion; dress in your strength.
Put on your most elegant clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city.
Never again will outsiders—uncircumcised and the unclean—
who once abused and denigrated you move within your elect borders.
2 So brush off any dust and dirt; rise, take your place of honor, Jerusalem.
Loose the chains from your neck and raise your head in freedom, captive children of Zion.
3 For the Eternal has this to say:
Eternal One: You were taken for nothing,
and it’s nothing for Me to get you back.
4 For the Lord, the Eternal, has this to say:
Eternal One: My people willingly went to live in Egypt long ago;
but now Assyria has oppressed My people for no good reason.
5 So what now? Babylon has assumed it can simply take My people away
with no recompense and no respect.
Their tyrannical rulers jeer and cheer
and continually deride My name.
6 Well, it’s not over. My people will know My name.
At the time that I determine,
My people will see again who I am.
I will tell them, “I am here. And I am ready.”
7 Ah, how beautiful the feet of those on the mountain
who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation,[a]
The voice that calls to Zion, that chosen place for God’s promise people,
announcing to them “Your God rules!”
8 Listen! The ones who watch and wait are crying out and laughing for joy:
Look now, for everyone will see the Eternal One coming back to Zion.
9 Let the rock and rubble of Jerusalem erupt in joyful song
for the Eternal has brought comfort to His people and redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Eternal has flexed His muscles, bared His holy arm
for the world to see His power;
Every nation, every person, every place on earth
will witness the victory of our God.
The prophet urges God’s exiled people to leave Babylon, trusting in God and bringing with them the sacred vessels necessary to restore the priestly service of the temple.
11 Servants of God, turn away from that place;
As for those who carry the vessels for the Eternal’s temple,
go, without touching any of Babylon’s impurity, and make yourselves pure.
12 Go in confidence and grace—no rushing, no frantic escape.
There’s no need to be anxious—the Eternal One goes before and behind you.
The God of Israel paves the way with assurance and strength.
He watches your back.
13 Eternal One: See here! My servant will succeed.
He will grow in character and reputation, achieving high standing and status.
14 Just as people used to be shocked by you,
even so his appearance was disfigured;
His form—once glorious—was marred until it hardly seemed human.
15 Now many nations will be astonished at his prominence;
world rulers will be speechless in his presence,
For they will see what they’ve never been told;
they will understand what they’ve never heard.[b]
John had never seen a city without a temple. In fact, every city John ever entered had many temples dedicated to many gods—all, of course, except Jerusalem, which only had one temple. But now in his vision, he sees a different kind of city, the holy city, the new Jerusalem. As he looks around its streets of gold and magnificent buildings, he sees no temple reaching into the sky. No temple is needed in this city because God and the Lamb live with them, constantly in view. Their throne sits prominently in the city. Their light forever illumines its streets and citizens.
22 My heavenly guide brought me to the river of pure living waters, shimmering as brilliantly as crystal. It flowed out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 flowing down the middle and dividing the street of the holy city. On each bank of the river stood the tree of life, firmly planted, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and producing its sweet crop every month throughout the year. And the soothing leaves that grew on the tree of life provided precious healing for the nations.
Fed by a crystal clear river is the tree of life. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were prevented from eating from the tree once they were expelled from the garden of Eden. Divine creatures and a flaming sword then stood guard at the entrance to the garden (Genesis 3:24). Now the tree of life returns to the story, a single tree situated on both sides of the river. No one is denied access to its luscious fruit and healing leaves.
3 No one or nothing will labor under any curse any longer. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will sit prominently in the city. God’s servants will continually serve and worship Him. 4 They will be able to look upon His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. 5 Darkness will never again fall on this city. They will not require the light of a lamp or of the sun because the Lord God will be their illumination. By His light, they will reign throughout the ages.
Guide (speaking to me): 6 These words are faithful and true.
And the Lord, the God who inspired the prophets, has sent His heavenly messenger to show to His servants what must soon take place.
The Anointed One: 7 Look now, I am coming soon! The one who remains true to the prophetic words contained in this book will truly be blessed.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and witnessed these visions. And when I heard and witnessed them, I fell prostrate at the feet of the heavenly guide who showed them to me. 9 But he refused.
Guide: You must not do that! I am a servant with you, with your brothers and sisters the prophets, and with those who keep the words contained in this book. Worship God instead!
10 (continuing) Do not seal up the prophetic words contained in this book for another day, for the finale is near. 11 Let the one given to evil continue down evil’s path and the one addicted to filth continue to be its servant. But let the one who is righteous journey along the righteous road, and let the holy continue in holy ways.
The Anointed One: 12 See, I am coming soon, and I will bring My reward with Me. I will pay back every person according to the deeds he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and Omega, the First One and the Last One, the beginning and the end.
14 Blessed are those who wash their garments. In the end, they have rightful access to the tree of life and will enter the city through its gates. 15 The dogs, the sorcerers, those who commit immoral acts, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception must remain outside the gates for all eternity.
Jesus: 16 I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.
The Spirit and the Bride: 17 Come.
And let everyone who hears these words say, “Come.”
And let those who thirst come.
All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life.
John closes his book with a warning to safeguard the integrity of his prophecy.
18 Beware, everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book. Know this for certain: if anyone adds to these words, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone subtracts from the prophetic words of this book, God will remove that person’s access to the tree of life and to the holy city which are described in this book.
20 The One who testifies to these realities makes this promise:
The Anointed One: Yes. I am coming soon.
To which we say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus [the Anointed One][a] be with all [the saints].[b] Amen.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.