M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Protecting the Holiness of the Priests
21 The Lord told Moses to speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them this:
No one shall make himself unclean for a dead person among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives. He may do it for his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, or his brother, 3 and also for his virgin sister, who is close to him because she does not have a husband—for her he may make himself unclean. 4 But he shall not make himself unclean for his relatives by marriage and so defile himself.
5 The priests shall not cut a bald patch on to their heads or cut off the edges of their beards or gash their bodies. 6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not defile the name of their God. Because they present offerings made by fire,[a] the food of their God, they are to be set apart as holy.
7 They shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or is defiled. Neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for each priest is holy to his God. 8 So you shall treat him as holy. Since he presents the food of your God, he shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord, who sets you apart as holy, am holy.
9 When the daughter of a man who is a priest defiles herself through prostitution, she is defiling her father. She shall be burned in fire.
10 The high priest, who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been ordained to wear the holy garments, shall not dishevel his hair nor tear his garments. 11 He shall not enter any place where there is a dead person. He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother. 12 He shall not leave the sanctuary, so that he will not defile the sanctuary of his God, for the mark of consecration with the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.
13 The high priest shall marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 A widow or a divorcée or a woman defiled because of prostitution—these he shall not marry. Instead, he shall take a virgin from his own people as a wife, 15 so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord, who sets him apart as holy.
Disqualification From Priestly Service
16 The Lord told Moses 17 to tell Aaron this:
Any man from your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may not approach to present the food of his God. 18 Indeed, any man who has a defect shall not approach—a man who is blind or lame, or who has a limb that is too short or too long, 19 or a man who has a crippled foot or a crippled hand, 20 or who is deformed or abnormally small, or who has a growth in his eye, or a festering boil, or some other disfiguring skin condition,[b] or a damaged testicle. 21 Any man among the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall not draw near to present the gifts of the Lord. He has a defect, so he shall not draw near to present the food of his God.
22 But he may eat the food of his God from the most holy things and from the holy things. 23 Nevertheless, he shall not go in front of the veil and shall not approach the altar because he has a defect, so that he does not defile my holy things, for I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.
24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Psalm 26
Vindicate Me, O Lord
Heading
By David.
Affirmation of Innocence and Plea for Judgment
1 Judge me favorably, O Lord,
because I have walked in my integrity.
In the Lord I have trusted. I have not wavered.
2 Test me, O Lord, and examine me.
Refine my thoughts and my emotions,
3 for your mercy is in front of my eyes,
and I keep walking in your truth.
Separation From Evil
4 I do not sit with deceivers.
I do not associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of evildoers.
I do not sit with the wicked.
Affirmation of Innocence and Love for God
6 I wash my hands from sin,
so I can march around your altar, O Lord,
7 to shout thanks to you
and to proclaim all your wonderful deeds.
8 Lord, I love the house where you reside,
the place where your glory dwells.
Separation From Evil
9 Do not snatch my soul away along with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 who grasp wicked schemes in their hands,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
Affirmation of Innocence and Prayer for Redemption
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground.
In the assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 27
The Stronghold of My Life
Heading
By David.
Safe in God’s Stronghold
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
3 If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.
Happy in God’s Temple
4 One thing I ask from the Lord. This is what I seek:
that I live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and to seek him in his temple.[a]
5 Yes, he will hide me in his shelter on the day of trouble.
He will hide me in his tent.
He will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Confident in Prayer
7 Hear me, O Lord. With my voice I call.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
8 When you say, “Seek my face,” my heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me.
10 If my father and my mother abandoned me,
the Lord would take me in.
Walking in God’s Path
11 Lord, teach me your way,
and lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not give me up to the desire of my foes,
because false witnesses rise up against me,
and so do those who breathe out violence.
At Home in God’s Land
13 Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living—[b]
14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart,
and wait for the Lord!
4 I looked again, and I saw all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Just look at the tears of the oppressed, who have no one to comfort them! Their violent oppressors had the upper hand, and there was no one to comfort them.
2 So I congratulate the dead, who already have died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil done under the sun.
4 I also saw that all hard work and all accomplishment are the result of a person’s envy of his neighbor. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.
5 The fool idly folds his hands and eats his own flesh. 6 Better one handful with relaxation, than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.
7 I looked again and saw another example of meaningless vapor under the sun: 8 There was a single person all alone, without even a son or a brother, and there was no end to all his hard work. His eyes also were not satisfied with wealth. “So for whom am I working so hard,” he asks, “and depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is vapor and a miserable task.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. 10 If one of them falls, his companion can lift him up. Pity the person who falls and has no one else to lift him up. 11 What’s more, if two lie down, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm alone? 12 Though an attacker can overpower one person, two people together can stand up against him. A rope with three strands is not quickly snapped.
13 Better a poor but wise child than an old but foolish king, who no longer knows enough to pay attention to a warning, 14 for he came out of prison to rule as king, even though he had been born poor in the land that became his kingdom.[a] 15 I saw that all the living, all those people walking under the sun, sided with the king’s successor, the child who took his place. 16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. Yet people who come later will not be pleased with him. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.
Dealing With Slaves
6 All who are under a yoke of slavery should consider their own masters worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and his teaching may not be blasphemed. 2 And those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful toward them because they are brothers. Instead, they should serve them even better, because those who benefit from their good service are believers and dear to them.
False Teachers and Their Greed
Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone teaches different doctrines and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. Instead, he has a morbid craving for controversies and battles over words, things that produce envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant frictions among people whose minds are depraved, who have lost hold of the truth, imagining that their godliness is a means of financial gain. Separate yourselves from such people.[a]
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly[b] cannot take anything out. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied.
9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into complete destruction and utter ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils. By striving for money, some have wandered away from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life, to which you were called and about which you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made a good confession as a witness before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this command without spot and without fault, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make known at the proper time—the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or is able to see. To him be honor and power forever! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but rather in God, who richly supplies us with all things for our enjoyment. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they are storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.[c]
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from godless, empty talk and the contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge.” 21 By professing it, some have veered away from the faith. Grace be with you.[d] Amen.[e]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.