M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

21 And the Lord said to Moses, Speak thou to [the] priests, the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say to them, A priest be not defouled in the dead men of his citizens (A priest shall not be defiled with the dead among his fellow citizens),

² no but only in his kinsmen, and nigh of blood, that is, on father, and mother, and son, and daughter, and brother, (only with his own relatives, and next of kin, that is, with his father, and mother, and son, and daughter, and brother,)

³ and sister, (who is) a virgin, that is not wedded to man;

⁴ but neither he shall be defouled in the prince of his people. (but he shall not be defiled even with the ruler of his people.)

⁵ Priests shall not shave their head, neither beard, neither they shall make (any) carvings in their fleshes;

⁶ they shall be holy to their God, and they shall not defoul his name; for they offer incense of the Lord, and the loaves of their God, and therefore they shall be holy. (they shall be holy to their God, and they shall not defile his name; for they offer incense to the Lord, and the loaves to their God, and so they shall be holy.)

⁷ A priest shall not wed (for) a wife a corrupt woman, and a foul whore, neither he shall wed her that is forsaken of the husband, for he is hallowed to his God, (A priest shall not wed for a wife any corrupt woman, or a foul whore, nor shall he wed she who is forsaken by her husband, for he is holy to his God,)

⁸ and offereth the loaves of setting forth; therefore be he holy, for I am the holy Lord that halloweth you. (and offereth the loaves of proposition; and so regard him as holy, for I am holy, the Lord who maketh you holy.)

⁹ If the daughter of a priest is taken in defouling of virginity, and defouleth the name of her father, she shall be burnt in fire. (If a priest’s daughter is caught in defiling her own virginity, and so defileth her father’s name, she shall be burned in the fire.)

¹⁰ The bishop, that is the most priest among his brethren, upon whose head the oil of anointing is poured, and whose hands be (made) sacred in priesthood, and he is clothed in holy clothes, shall not discover his head, he shall not tear his clothes, (The High Priest, who is the highest priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, who is consecrated in priesthood, and who is clothed in holy clothes, shall not uncover his head, and he shall not tear his clothes,)

¹¹ and utterly he shall not enter [in] to any dead man; and he shall not be defouled on his father, and mother (yea, he shall not even be defiled for his father, or his mother),

¹² neither he shall go out of [the] holy places, lest he defoul the saintuary of the Lord, for the oil of holy anointing of his God is on him; I am the Lord. (nor shall he go out of the holy place, lest he defile the Lord’s sanctuary, for the holiness of the anointing oil of his God is upon him; I am the Lord.)

¹³ He shall wed to wife a virgin; (He shall wed a virgin for his wife;)

¹⁴ he shall not take a widow, and a forsaken woman, and a foul woman, and (a) whore, but a virgin of his people; (he shall not wed a widow, or a forsaken woman, or a defiled woman, or a whore, but only a virgin out of his people;)

¹⁵ meddle he not the generation of his kin to the common people of his folk, for I am the Lord, that halloweth him. (and so he shall not mix together, or dishonour, any of the generation of his kin among the common people, for I am the Lord, who maketh him holy.)

¹⁶ And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

¹⁷ Speak thou to Aaron; a man of thy seed, by families, that hath a wem, that is, a notable foulness, shall not offer bread to his God, (Say thou to Aaron, A man of thy seed, among thy families, who hath a blemish, that is, a notable foulness, shall not offer the bread, or the loaves, to his God,)

¹⁸ neither shall nigh to his service; (nor,) if he is blind; if he is crooked; if he is either of little, either of great, or wrong nose; (nor shall he come to do his service; nor, as well, if he is blind, or lame; or too small, or too big;)

¹⁹ if he is of broken foot, either hand; (if he hath a crippled, or deformed, hand or foot;)

²⁰ if he hath a botch, or a bulge, on his back; either if he is bleary-eyed; if he hath white colour, or a pearl, in his eye, that hindereth his sight; if he hath (a) continual scab; if he hath a dry scab in his body (if he hath a dry scab on his body); either if he be bruised in (the) privy members.

²¹ Each man of the seed of Aaron the priest, that hath a wem (who hath any blemish, or any fault), shall not nigh to offer sacrifices to the Lord, neither to offer loaves to his God;

²² nevertheless he shall (still) eat the loaves that be offered in the saintuary,

²³ so only that he enter not within the veil; he shall not nigh to the altar, for he hath a wem, and he shall not defoul my saintuary; I am the Lord, that hallow them. (so only that he not come within the Veil; he shall not approach the altar, for he hath a blemish, or a fault, and he shall not defile my sanctuary; I am the Lord who maketh them holy.)

²⁴ Therefore Moses spake to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all Israel, all things that were commanded to him.

26 [The psalm of David.] Lord, deem thou me, for I entered in mine innocence; and I hoping in the Lord, shall not be made unsteadfast. (The song of David. Lord, judge me, for I have gone my way in innocence; and trusting in the Lord, I have not been made unsteady, that is, I have not slipped, or stumbled.)

² Lord, prove thou me, and assay me; burn thou my reins, and mine heart (burn thou my will, and my heart).

³ For why thy mercy is before mine eyes; and I pleased in thy truth. (For thy love is always before me; and I have gone in thy faithfulness.)

⁴ I sat not with the counsel of vanity; and I shall not enter with men doing wicked things. (I sat not down with vain, that is, empty, or worthless, people; and I shall not go along with those who do wicked things.)

⁵ I hated the church of evil men; and I shall not sit with wicked men. (I hate the company of evil people; and I shall not sit with the wicked.)

⁶ I shall wash mine hands among innocents; and, Lord, I shall compass thine altar. (I shall wash my hands in innocence; and then, Lord, I shall march around thy altar.)

⁷ That I hear the voice of praising; and that I tell out all thy marvels. (And I shall sing thy praises with thanksgiving; and I shall tell of all thy marvellous deeds.)

⁸ Lord, I have loved the fairness of thine house; and the place of the dwelling of thy glory. (Lord, I love the beauty of thy House; yea, the place where thy glory dwelleth.)

⁹ God, lose thou not my soul with unfaithful men; and my life with men of bloods. (God, do not thou destroy me along with the unfaithful; and do not take away my life along with those who thirst for blood, that is, murderers.)

¹⁰ In whose hands wickednesses be; the right hand of them is full-filled with gifts. (In whose hands be wickednesses; their right hands be filled full with bribes.)

¹¹ But I entered in mine innocence; again-buy thou me, and have mercy on me. (But I went forth in innocence; so redeem thou me, and have mercy on me.)

¹² My foot stood in rightfulness; Lord, I shall bless thee in churches. (Yea, my feet standeth on firm ground; Lord, I shall bless thee in the congregations.)

27 The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my lightening, and mine health; whom shall I dread? The Lord is defender of my life; for whom shall I tremble [for whom shall I quake]? (The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my light, and my salvation, or my deliverance; who shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; for who else shall I tremble, or shake over?)

² The while noisome men nigh on me; for to eat my fleshes. Mine enemies, that troubled me; they were made sick and felled down. (All the while harmful, or dangerous, men come near to me; to eat my flesh. But my enemies, those who trouble me, were made feeble, or weak; they all fell down.)

³ Though castles stand together against me; mine heart shall not dread (Though hosts, or armies, stand together against me; my heart shall not fear). Though battle riseth against me; in this thing I shall have hope.

⁴ I asked of the Lord one thing; I shall seek this thing; that I dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I see the will of the Lord; and that I visit his temple. (I asked of the Lord only one thing; and I shall seek this thing; that I live in the House of the Lord all the days of my life. So that I can see the beauty of the Lord; and I can seek his guidance in his Temple.)

⁵ For he hid me in his tabernacle in the day of evils; he defended me in the hid place of his tabernacle. He enhanced me in a stone; (For he shall hide me in his Temple on the day of evil; he shall defend me in the hidden place of his Temple. He shall put me upon a stone;)

⁶ and now he enhanced mine head over mine enemies. I compassed, and offered in his tabernacle a sacrifice of crying [out]; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm to the Lord. (and then my head shall be lifted up over my enemies, who be all around me. And I shall offer an offering of acclamation in his Temple; yea, I shall sing a song of praise to the Lord.)

⁷ Lord, hear thou my voice, by which I cried to thee; have thou mercy on me, and hear me. (Lord, hear thou my voice, when I cry to thee; have thou mercy on me, and answer me.)

⁸ Mine heart said to thee, My face sought thee; Lord, I shall seek again thy face. (And thou saidest, Seek ye my face; and my heart said to thee, Lord, I shall seek thy face.)

⁹ Turn thou not away thy face from me; bow thou not away in wrath from thy servant. Lord, be thou mine helper, forsake thou not me; and, God, mine health, despise thou not me (Lord, be thou my helper, abandon thou me not; and, O God, my salvation, or my deliverance, despise thou me not).

¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me; but the Lord hath taken me (up). (For even if my father and my mother desert me; the Lord shall still take care of me.)

¹¹ Lord, set thou a law to me in thy way; and (ad)dress thou me in a rightful path, for mine enemies. (Lord, show thou me thy way; and direct thou me on the right path, for I have many enemies./Lord, teach thou me thy way; and direct thou me on the right path, safe from my enemies.)

¹² Betake thou not me into the souls of them, that trouble me; for wicked witnesses have risen against me, and wickedness lied to itself. (Deliver thou me not unto those who trouble me; for wicked witnesses have risen up against me, and the wicked lie even to themselves!)

¹³ I believe to see the goods of the Lord; in the land of living men. (I know that I shall see the goodness of the Lord; in the land of the living.)

¹⁴ Abide thou the Lord, do thou manly; and thine heart be comforted, and suffer thou the Lord. (Wait thou for the Lord, be thou encouraged; let thy heart be strengthened, and wait thou for the Lord.)

4 I turned me to other things, and I saw false challenges, that be done under the sun (and I saw much oppression, that is done under the sun), and the tears of the guiltless, and (that) no man (was a) comforter; and that they destitute, either forsaken, of the help of all men, may not against-stand the violence of them.

² And I praised more dead men than living men; (And I praised the dead more than the living;)

³ and I deemed him, that was not born yet, and saw not the evils that be done under the sun, to be more blessed than ever either. (and I judged him, who was not yet born, and saw not the evils that be done under the sun, to be more blessed than either the living or the dead.)

⁴ Again I beheld all the travails of men, and busynesses; and I perceived that those be open to [the] envy of the neighbour; and therefore in this is vanity (and so this is emptiness and futility), and superfluous busyness.

⁵ A fool foldeth together his hands, and eateth his flesh (and eateth his meat),

⁶ and saith, Better is an handful, with rest, than ever either hand full, with travail and torment of soul.

⁷ I beheld and found also another vanity under the sun; (I looked and found more emptiness and futility under the sun;)

⁸ one there is, and he hath not a second; neither a son, nor a brother; and nevertheless he ceaseth not to travail, neither his eyes be (ful)filled with riches; neither he bethinketh (to) him(self), and saith, To whom travail I, and deceive my soul in goods? In this also is vanity, and the worst torment. (one is alone, and he hath not a second, or someone with him; neither a son, nor a brother; and yet he ceaseth not to labour, and his eyes be not fulfilled with his riches; nor he thinketh to himself, and saith, For whom do I labour, and deprive myself of the enjoyment of good things? This is also empty and futile, and the worst torment.)

⁹ Therefore it is better, that two be together than one; for they have profit of their fellowship. (And so it is better, that two be together, rather than that they be alone; for they shall have profit, or shall benefit, from their fellowship.)

¹⁰ If one falleth down, he shall be underset of the tother; woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to raise him up. (If one falleth down, he shall be helped up by the other; woe to him who is alone, for when he falleth, he hath no one to raise him up again.)

¹¹ And if twain sleep together, they shall be nourished together; (but) how shall one be made hot?

¹² And if any man hath [the] mastery against one, twain against-stand him; a threefold cord is broken of hard (a threefold cord is much harder to break).

¹³ A poor man and wise is better than an eld king and fool(ish), that cannot before-see into time to coming. (A poor person who is wise, is better than an old king who is foolish, and who cannot foresee into the time to come, or who will not listen to good advice.)

¹⁴ For sometime a man goeth out, both from prison and chains, to a realm (and becometh a king); and another, born into a realm, is wasted by neediness.

¹⁵ I saw all men living that go under the sun, with the second young waxing man, that shall rise (up) for him. (I saw all the living who go under the sun, and yet for each, someone young shall rise up, and shall take their place.)

¹⁶ The number of people, of all that were before him, is great without measure, and they that shall come afterward, shall not be glad in him; but also this is vanity and torment of the spirit. (The number of all the people, who be under him, is great without measure, and yet they who shall come after, shall not be grateful to him; but this is also empty and futile, like chasing the wind.)

6 Whatever servants be under yoke, deem they their lords worthy all honour, lest the name of the Lord and the doctrine be blasphemed^[a].

² And they that have faithful lords, despise them not, for they be brethren; but more serve they, for they be faithful and loved, which be partners of beneficence. Teach thou these things, and admonish thou these things.^[b]

³ If any man teach otherwise, and accordeth not to the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to that teaching that is by piety [and to the teaching that is after piety],

⁴ he is proud, and knoweth nothing, but languisheth about questions and strivings of words [nothing knowing, but languishing about questions and fightings of words], of the which be brought forth envies, strives, blasphemies, evil suspicions,

⁵ fightings of men, that be corrupt in soul, and that be deprived from truth, that deem winning to be piety. [fightings of men corrupt in soul, or reason, and that be deprived from truth, deeming winning to be piety.]

⁶ But a great winning is piety, with sufficience.

⁷ For we brought in nothing into this world, and no doubt, that we be not able to bear any thing away. [Forsooth we brought nothing into this world, no doubt, for we may not bear away any thing.]

⁸ But we having foods, and with what things we shall be covered, be we satisfied with these things. [Forsooth having foods, and with what things we shall be clothed, with these things be we satisfied.]

⁹ For they that will be made rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable desires and harmful, which drown men into death and perdition.

¹⁰ For the root of all evils is covetousness, which some men coveting erred from the faith, and besetted them(selves) with many sorrows [and beset them with many sorrows].

¹¹ But, thou, man of God, flee these things; but follow thou rightwiseness [soothly follow thou rightwiseness], piety, faith, charity, patience, mildness.

¹² Strive thou a good strife of faith, catch everlasting life, into which thou art called, and hast acknowledged a good acknowledging before many witnesses.

¹³ I command to thee before God, that quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, that yielded a witnessing under Pilate of Pontii, a good confession,

¹⁴ that thou keep the commandment without wem, without reproof [irreprehensible], [till] into the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;

¹⁵ whom the blessed and alone almighty king of kings and Lord of lords shall show in his times.

¹⁶ Which alone hath undeadliness [The which alone hath immortality], and dwelleth in light, to which light no man may come; whom no man saw, neither may see; to whom glory, and honour, and empire be without end [to whom glory, and honour, and empire into without end]. Amen.

¹⁷ Command thou to the rich men of this world, that they understand not highly, neither that they hope in uncertainty of riches^[c], but in the living God, that giveth to us all things plenteously to use;

¹⁸ to do well, to be made rich in good works, lightly to give, to commune,

¹⁹ to treasure to themselves a good foundament into time to coming [into time to come], that they catch everlasting life.

²⁰ Thou Timothy, keep the thing betaken to thee [Thou Timothy, keep the deposit, or thing betaken to thee], eschewing cursed novelties of voices, and opinions of false name of knowing;

²¹ which some men promising, about the faith fell down^[d]. The grace of God be with thee. Amen.