M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Holiness of the Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives,(A) 2 except for his immediate family: his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. 3 He may make himself unclean for his young unmarried sister in his immediate family. 4 He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage[a] and so defile himself.
5 “Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.(B) 6 They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God.(C) For they present the fire offerings to Yahweh, the food of their God, and they must be holy. 7 They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution.[b](D) They are not to marry one divorced(E) by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, Yahweh who sets you apart, am holy. 9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by promiscuity,[c](F) she defiles her father; she must be burned up.(G)
10 “The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained[d] to wear the garments, must not dishevel his hair[e] or tear his garments.(H) 11 He must not go near any dead person or make himself unclean even for his father or mother.(I) 12 He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him;(J) I am Yahweh.
13 “He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He is not to marry a widow,(K) a divorced woman,(L) or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he does not corrupt his bloodline[f] among his people, for I am Yahweh who sets him apart.”
Physical Defects and Priests
16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect(M) is to come near to present the food(N) of his God. 18 No man who has any defect is to come near: no man who is blind, lame, facially disfigured, or deformed; 19 no man who has a broken foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf,[g](O) or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs,(P) or a crushed testicle.(Q) 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect is to come near to present the fire offerings to the Lord. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God. 22 He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy. 23 But because he has a defect, he must not go near the curtain(R) or approach the altar. He is not to desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sets them apart.”(S) 24 Moses said this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Psalm 26
Prayer for Vindication
Davidic.
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Test me, Lord, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.(B)
3 For Your faithful love is before my eyes,
and I live by Your truth.(C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless
or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers,
and I do not sit with the wicked.(D)
6 I wash my hands[a] in innocence(E)
and go around Your altar, Lord,(F)
7 raising my voice in thanksgiving(G)
and telling about Your wonderful works.(H)
8 Lord, I love the house where You dwell,
the place where Your glory resides.(I)
9 Do not destroy me along with sinners,
or my life along with men of bloodshed(J)
10 in whose hands are evil schemes
and whose right hands are filled with bribes.(K)
11 But I live with integrity;
redeem me and be gracious to me.(L)
12 My foot stands on level ground;(M)
I will praise the Lord in the assemblies.(N)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Davidic.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(O)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom should I be afraid?(P)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(Q)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(R)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
still I am confident.(S)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(T)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(U)
and seeking Him in His temple.(V)
5 For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.(W)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(X)
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.(Y)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(Z)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(AA)
8 My heart says this about You,
“You[b] are to seek My face.”
Lord, I will seek Your face.(AB)
9 Do not hide Your face from me;(AC)
do not turn Your servant away in anger.(AD)
You have been my helper;(AE)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(AF)
4 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun.(A) Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them. 2 So I admired the dead,(B) who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed,(C) who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
The Loneliness of Wealth
4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to a man’s jealousy of his friend.(D) This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.(E)
5 The fool folds his arms(F)
and consumes his own flesh.(G)
6 Better one handful with rest
than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.(H)
7 Again, I saw futility under the sun: 8 There is a person without a companion,[a] without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches.(I) “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?(J) 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.(K) 14 For he came from prison to be king,(L) even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow[b] a second youth who succeeds him. 16 There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.(M)
Honoring Masters
6 All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters[a] to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name(A) and His teaching will not be blasphemed. 2 Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.(B)
False Doctrine and Human Greed
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord(C) Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,(D) 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words.(E) From these come envy,(F) quarreling,(G) slander,(H) evil suspicions, 5 and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness[b] is a way to material gain.[c](I) 6 But godliness with contentment is a great gain.(J)
7 For we brought nothing into the world,
and[d] we can take nothing out.(K)
8 But if we have food and clothing,[e]
we will be content with these.
9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root[f] of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith(L) and pierced themselves with many pains.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, run from these things,
and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love,(M) endurance,(N) and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight(O) for the faith;
take hold of eternal life(P)
that you were called to
and have made a good confession about
in the presence of many witnesses.
13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all,(Q) and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate,(R) I charge you 14 to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing(S) of our Lord(T) Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in His own time.(U) He is
the blessed and only(V) Sovereign,
the King of kings,(W)
and the Lord of lords,(X)
16 the only One who has immortality,
dwelling in unapproachable light;(Y)
no one has seen or can see Him,(Z)
to Him be honor and eternal might.(AA)
Amen.(AB)
Instructions to the Rich
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant(AC) or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God,[g] who richly provides us with all things(AD) to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works,(AE) to be generous, willing to share,(AF) 19 storing up for themselves a good reserve[h] for the age to come,(AG) so that they may take hold of life that is real.
Guard the Heritage
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you,(AH) avoiding(AI) irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the “knowledge” that falsely bears that name.(AJ) 21 By professing it, some(AK) people have deviated from the faith.(AL)
Grace be with all of you.
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