M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

17 And the Lord spake to Moses, saying,

² Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and take thou rods, by their kindreds, by each kindred one rod, take thou of all the princes of the lineages twelve rods; and thou shalt write the name of each lineage upon his rod; (Speak thou to the Israelites, and take thou staffs, from their kindreds, one staff from each kindred, yea, take thou twelve staffs from all the leaders, or all the chief men, of the tribes; and thou shalt write the name of each leader on his staff;)

³ soothly the name of Aaron shall be written in the lineage of Levi, and one rod shall contain all the families of Levi. (and Aaron’s name shall be written on the staff of Levi; yea, one staff shall be for the head of each family.)

⁴ And thou shalt put those rods in the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, before the witnessing, where I shall speak with thee; (And thou shalt put those staffs in the Tabernacle of the Covenant, before the Ark of the Witnessing, that is, the Box containing the tablets of the Law, where I speak with thee;)

⁵ the rod of him shall burgeon, whom I shall choose of them to the office of priesthood; and I shall thereby refrain, or quench, from me the complainings, or grouchings, of the sons of Israel, by which they grouch against you. (and the staff of him shall sprout, whom I shall choose out of them for the office, or for the duties, of the priesthood; and I shall thereby quench the complaints, or the grumblings, of the Israelites, by which they grumble against you.)

⁶ And Moses spake to the sons of Israel; and all the princes gave to him rods, by all their lineages; and the rods were twelve, without the rod of Aaron. (And Moses spoke to the Israelites; and each leader from each tribe gave him a staff; and so there were twelve staffs, and Aaron’s staff was among them.)

⁷ And when Moses had put those rods before the Lord, in the tabernacle of witnessing, (And when Moses had put those staffs before the Lord, in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing,)

⁸ he went again in the day following, and found that the rod of Aaron, in the house of Levi, had burgeoned; and when [the] knops were great, the blossoms had broken out, which were alarged in (the) leaves, and were formed into almonds. (he went back on the following day, and found that Aaron’s staff, for the house of Levi, had sprouted; and first the buds grew great, and then the blossoms broke out, and enlarged themselves amid the leaves, and then they were formed into almonds.)

⁹ Therefore Moses brought forth all the rods from the sight of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they saw, and received each his rod. (And so Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites; and they looked at all of them, and then each man received back his own staff.)

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, Bear thou again the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of witnessing, that it be kept there into a token of the rebel sons of Israel, and that their complainings, or grouchings, cease from me, lest they die. (And the Lord said to Moses, Bring thou back Aaron’s staff into the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, so that it can be kept there as a sign, or as a warning, to all the rebellious Israelites, so that their complaints, or their grumblings, cease, or else they shall die.)

¹¹ And Moses did, as the Lord commanded.

¹² Soothly the sons of Israel said to Moses, Lo! we be wasted, all we have perished; (And the Israelites said to Moses, Lo! we be destroyed, and we all shall perish;)

¹³ whoever nigheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth; whether we shall all be done away unto the death? (whoever cometh near to the Tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth; we all shall be done away unto death!)

18 And the Lord said to Aaron, Thou, and thy sons, and the house of thy father with thee, shall bear the wickedness of the saintuary; and thou and thy sons together shall suffer the sins of your priesthood (but only thou and thy sons shall bear the sins of your priesthood).

² But also take thou with thee thy brethren of the lineage of Levi, and the sceptre, or power, of thy father, and be they ready, that they minister to thee. Forsooth thou and thy sons shall minister in the tabernacle of witnessing; (And also take with thee thy brothers from the tribe of Levi, thy father’s tribe, and be they ready to serve thee. But thou and thy sons shall minister in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing;)

³ and the deacons shall (stand) watch at thy commandments, and at all the works of the tabernacle; so only that they nigh not to the vessels of the saintuary, and to the altar, lest both they die, and ye, and (you all) perish together. (and the Levites shall do thy commands, and all their work in the Tabernacle; but they must not go near the vessels of the sanctuary, lest both they and ye die, and all of you perish together.)

⁴ Soothly be they with thee, and (stand) watch they in the keepings of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. An alien shall not be meddled with you. (Yea, be they with thee, and do their duties in the Tabernacle, and at all of its ceremonies. But do not let a foreigner, or a stranger, be mixed in with you.)

⁵ (Stand) Watch ye in the keeping of the saintuary, and in the service of the altar, lest indignation rise upon the sons of Israel. (Do ye all your duties in the sanctuary, and in the service of the altar, lest indignation rise upon the Israelites.)

⁶ Lo! I have given to you your brethren, the deacons, from the midst of the sons of Israel, and I have given you them (as) a free gift to the Lord, that they serve in the services of the tabernacle. (Lo! I have given you your brothers, the Levites, from among the Israelites, and I have given them to you as a free gift for the Lord, in their service to the Tabernacle.)

⁷ Soothly thou and thy sons, keep your priesthood; and all things that pertain to the adorning of the altar, and be within the veil, shall be ministered by [the] priests; if any stranger nigheth thereto, he shall be slain. (Thou and thy sons, do your priestly duties; and all the things in the service of the altar, and that be within the Veil, shall be the priests’ responsibility; if any stranger nigheth thereto, he shall be put to death.)

⁸ The Lord spake to Aaron, Lo! I have given to thee the keeping of my first fruits; I have given to thee, and to thy sons, all things that be hallowed of the sons of Israel, for [the] priest’s office (to be) everlasting lawful things. (And the Lord spoke to Aaron, and said, Lo! I give thee the special contributions given to me, for thy own use; I give thee, and thy sons, all the things that be hallowed by the Israelites, by an everlasting law, for the office, or the use, of the priest.)

⁹ Therefore thou shalt take these things of those things that be hallowed, and be offered to the Lord; each offering, and sacrifice, and whatever thing is yielded, (or offered,) to me for sin and for trespass, and cometh into (the) holy of holy things, shall be thine and thy sons (shall be for thee and thy sons).

¹⁰ Thou shalt eat it in the saintuary; males only shall eat thereof, for it is hallowed to the Lord. (Thou shalt eat it in the sanctuary; only males can eat it, for it is dedicated, or consecrated, to the Lord.)

¹¹ Soothly I have given to thee, and to thy sons and thy daughters, by everlasting right, the first fruits which the sons of Israel avow and offer; he that is clean in thine house(hold), shall eat those things. (And I have also given to thee, and to thy sons and thy daughters, by an everlasting right, the first fruits which the Israelites vow and offer; anyone who is clean in thy family, can eat those things.)

¹² I have given to thee all the marrow, or the best, of (the) oil, and of (the) wine, and of (the) wheat, whatever thing of the first fruits (that) they shall offer to the Lord.

¹³ All the beginnings of fruits which the earth bringeth forth, and be brought (in) to the Lord, shall fall into thine uses; he that is clean in thine house(hold), shall eat of those (things).

¹⁴ All things that the sons of Israel yield by a vow, shall be thine. (Everything that the Israelites give by a vow, shall be yours.)

¹⁵ Whatever thing cometh first forth of the womb of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it is of men, either of beasts, it shall be of thy right; so only that thou take price for the first begotten child of man, and that thou make each beast that is unclean to be bought again; (Whatever thing of all flesh that cometh forth first from the womb, whether it is of men, or of beasts, which they offer to the Lord, shall be thy right to have; so only that thou take payment in exchange, or as redemption, for the first-born of man, and that thou make each beast that is unclean to be bought back;)

¹⁶ whose again-buying shall be after one month, for five shekels of silver, by the weight of [the] saintuary (whose redemption shall be after one month, for five shekels of silver, by the measure of the sanctuary); a shekel hath twenty halfpence.

¹⁷ Forsooth thou shalt not make the first engendered of an ox, and of sheep, and of goat, to be again-bought, for those be hallowed to the Lord; only thou shalt pour the blood of those upon the altar, and thou shalt burn the inner fatness into sweetest odour to the Lord. (But thou shalt not allow the first-born of an ox, or of a sheep, or of a goat, to be bought back, for they be holy to the Lord; thou must throw their blood against the altar, and thou shalt burn their inner fatness to make the sweetest aroma to the Lord.)

¹⁸ Soothly the flesh shall fall into thine use, as the breast hallowed and the right shoulder, shall be thine. (But their flesh shall be for thy use, like the breast for the special gift, and the right shoulder, be for thee.)

¹⁹ I have given to thee, and to thy sons and thy daughters, by everlasting right, all the first fruits of the saintuary, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord; it is (an) everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord, to thee, and to thy sons (with thee, and with thy sons).

²⁰ And the Lord said to Aaron, Ye shall not wield anything of heritage in the land of Israel, neither ye shall have part among them; I am thy part and thine heritage, in the midst of the sons of Israel. (And the Lord said to Aaron, Ye shall not possess any inheritance in the land of Israel, nor shall ye have any portion among them; for I am thy portion, and thy inheritance, among the Israelites.)

²¹ Soothly, I gave to the sons of Levi all the tithes of Israel into possession, for the service by which they serve me in the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace; (Truly, I have given to the sons of Levi all of the tithes of Israel for a possession, for the service which they do in the Tabernacle of the Covenant, that is, the Tabernacle of the Witnessing;)

²² that the sons of Israel nigh no more to the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, neither do deadly sin. (so that the Israelites no longer come near to the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and so do sin, and then must die.)

²³ To the sons alone of Levi, serving me in the tabernacle, and bearing the people’s sins, it shall be a lawful thing everlasting in your generations. (This is only for the sons of Levi, who serve me in the Tabernacle, and who bear the people’s sins; and this shall be an everlasting law in all your generations.)

²⁴ They shall wield none other thing, and they shall be satisfied with the offering of tithes, which I separated into [the] uses and necessaries of them. (They shall possess nothing else, and they shall be satisfied with the offering of the tithes which I set apart for their uses and their necessities.)

²⁵ And the Lord spake to Moses and said,

²⁶ Command thou, and announce to the deacons, When ye have taken tithes of the sons of Israel, which I gave to you, offer ye the first fruits of those to the Lord, that is, the tenth part of the tenth, (Command thou, and say to the Levites, When ye have received the tithes of the Israelites, which I gave to you, offer ye the first fruits of those tithes to the Lord, that is, a tithe of the tithe,)

²⁷ that it be areckoned to you into [the] offering of the first fruits, as well of the cornfloors, as of the presses; (so that it shall be counted for you as though it be an offering of the first fruits, yea, from the threshing floor, and from the winepress;)

²⁸ and of all things of which ye take tithes, offer ye the first fruits to the Lord, and give ye those to Aaron, the priest.

²⁹ All (the) things which ye shall offer of (the) tithes, and shall separate into the gifts of the Lord (and shall set apart for a gift to the Lord), shall be the best, and all the choice things.

³⁰ And thou shalt say to them, If ye offer to the Lord all the [more] clean and better things of tithes, it shall be areckoned to you, as if ye gave the first fruits of the cornfloor, and of the press. (And thou shalt say to them, When ye have offered to the Lord all the more clean and better things of the tithes, it shall be counted for you, like the first fruits from the threshing floor, and from the winepress.)

³¹ And ye shall eat those tithes in all your places, as well ye as your families, for it is the price for the service, for which ye serve in the tabernacle of witnessing. (And ye shall eat those tithes in all your dwelling places, ye as well as your families, or your households, for it is the payment for the service which ye do, in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing.)

³² And ye shall not do sin on this thing, and reserve [the] noble things and [the] fat to you, lest ye defoul the offerings of the sons of Israel, and ye die. (And ye shall not do sin with these things, and take the noble and the fat things for yourselves, lest ye defile the offerings of the Israelites, for then ye shall die/for then ye must be put to death.)

55 To victory in organs, the learning of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my beseeching; (To victory, on instruments, the teaching of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my plea;)

² give thou attention to me, and hear thou me. I am sorrowful in mine exercising (I am grieved by my distress);

³ and I am disturbed of the face of the enemy, and of the tribulation of the sinner. For they bowed wickednesses into me; and in ire they were dis-easeful to me. (and I am made afraid by my enemies, and by the trouble which the sinners have brought upon me. For they bowed down wickednesses upon me; and with great anger they were very hateful to me.)

⁴ Mine heart was troubled in me; and the dread of death felled on me. (My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.)

⁵ Dread and trembling came on me (Fear and trembling came upon me); and darknesses covered me.

⁶ And I said, Who shall give to me feathers, as of a culver; and I shall fly, and shall take rest? (And I said, Who shall give me wings like a dove? and then I can fly away, and get some rest.)

⁷ Lo! I went far away, and fled; and I dwelled in wilderness. (Lo! I would flee far away; and I would live in the wilderness.)

⁸ I abode him, that made me safe from the littleness, either dread, of spirit; and from tempest. (I would hasten, and make myself safe from the wind, and from the tempest.)

⁹ Lord, cast thou down, [and] part thou the tongues of them; for I saw wickedness and against-saying in the city.

¹⁰ By day and night wickedness shall (en)compass it on the walls thereof; and travail and unrightfulness be in the midst of them. (Day and night they surround the city, all along its walls; and trouble and unrighteousness be in its midst.)

¹¹ And usury and guile failed not; from the streets thereof. (And greed, and deceit, always be found in its streets.)

¹² For if mine enemy had cursed me; soothly I had suffered. And if he, that hated me, had spoken great things on me; in hap I had hid me from him. (For if my enemy had cursed me; truly I would have suffered it. And if he, who hated me, had spoken great things against me; I would have hid myself from him.)

¹³ But thou art a man of one will (with me); my leader, and my known. (But thou art a man of one mind with me; my leader, and my dear friend.)

¹⁴ Which tookest together sweet meats with me; we went with consent in(to) the house of God. (Who shared his good counsel with me; and we went together to the House of God.)

¹⁵ Death come on them; and go they down quick into hell (May death come upon them; and may they go down alive into Sheol, or the land of the dead). For waywardnesses be in the dwelling places of them; (and) in the midst of them.

¹⁶ But I cried to thee, Lord; and the Lord saved me. (But I shall cry to thee, Lord; and the Lord will save me.)

¹⁷ In the eventide, and [the] morrowtide, and in midday (and at midday), I shall tell, and show (him); and he shall hear my voice.

¹⁸ He shall again-buy my soul in peace from them, that nigh to me; for among many they were with me. (And he shall deliver my soul unto peace again, from those who come against me; for there were many against me.)

¹⁹ God shall hear; and he that is before the worlds shall make them low. For changing is not to them, and they dreaded not God; (God shall hear; and he who was before the worlds, shall humble them. For changing is not to them, and they do not fear God;)

²⁰ he holdeth forth his hand in yielding. They defouled his testament, (indeed, they put forth their hands, against those who be at peace with them. They have broken their promise, or their covenant,)

²¹ the cheers thereof were parted from ire; and his heart nighed. The words thereof were softer than oil; and they be darts. (their words were smoother than butter; but battle was in their hearts. Their words were softer than oil; but they were as sharp as darts.)

²² Cast thy care, or thought, [(or) busyness,] on the Lord, and he shall fully nourish thee; and he shall not give [into] without end fluttering to a just man. (Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he shall nourish and protect thee; yea, he shall not allow the righteous to be moved, or shaken.)

²³ But thou, God, shalt lead them forth; into the pit of death. Men-quellers and beguilers shall not have half their days; but, Lord, I shall hope in thee. (But murderers and deceivers shall not have half their days; for thou, God, shalt lead them forth, into the pit of death. But, O Lord, I shall put my trust in thee.)

7 And it was done in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, (that) Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, ascended to Jerusalem, for to fight against it; and they might not overcome it. (And it was done in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came to Jerusalem, to fight against it; but they could not overcome it.)

² And they told to the house of David, and said, Syria hath rested on Ephraim, that is, the king of Syria and the king of Israel be confederated, to come together against the realm of Judah, and the heart of him and of his people was moved together, as the trees of woods be moved of the face of the wind (and his heart and those of his people were altogether moved, or shaken, like the trees in the woods by the wind).

³ And the Lord said to Isaiah, Go thou out, and Jashub, thy son, which is left, into the meeting of Ahaz, at the last end of the water conduit of the higher cistern, in the way of the field of the fuller. (And the Lord said to Isaiah, Thou, and thy son Shearjashub, go out to meet with Ahaz, at the far end of the water conduit of the Upper Pool, on the way to the Fuller’s Field.)

⁴ And thou shalt say to him, See thou, that thou be still; do not thou dread, and thine heart be not afeared of the two tails of these brands smoking, in the wrath of the strong vengeance of Rezin, king of Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. (And thou shalt say to him, See thou, that thou stay calm; do not thou fear, and do not let thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these smoking firebrands, that is, of the anger of the strong vengeance of Rezin, the king of Syria, and that of the son of Remaliah.)

⁵ For Syria, and Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have begun evil counsel against thee, and say,

⁶ Go we up to Judah, and raise we him, and draw we him out to us; and set we a king in the midst thereof, the son of Tabeal.

⁷ The Lord God saith these things, This shall not be, and it shall not stand;

⁸ but Damascus shall be the head of Syria, and Rezin shall be the head of Damascus; and yet sixty years and five, and Ephraim shall fail to be a people (and yet within sixty-five years, Ephraim shall cease to be a nation);

⁹ and Samaria shall fail to be the head of Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah to be [the] head of Samaria. Forsooth if ye shall not believe, ye shall not (still) dwell (But if ye do not believe this, ye shall not endure).

¹⁰ And the Lord added to speak to Ahaz, and said,

¹¹ Ask thou to thee a sign of thy Lord God, into the depth of hell, either into [the] height above. (Ask thou for a sign from the Lord thy God for thee, yea, from the depths of hell/from the lowest part of Sheol, or from the heights above.)

¹² And Ahaz said, I shall not ask, and I shall not tempt the Lord.

¹³ And Isaiah said, Therefore the house of David, hear ye; whether it is (too) little to you to be dis-easeful to men, for ye be dis-easeful also to my God? (And Isaiah said, And so, hear ye, the house of David; is it not enough for you to make men weary? must ye also make my God weary as well?)

¹⁴ For this thing the Lord himself shall give a sign to you. Lo! a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son; and his name shall be called Immanuel. [Lo! a maid(en) shall conceive, and bare a son; and thou shalt call his name Immanuel.]

¹⁵ He shall eat butter and honey, that he know how to reprove evil, and choose good. (He shall eat butter and honey, and he shall know how to rebuke, or to reject, evil, and to choose good.)

¹⁶ For why before the child know how to reprove evil, and choose good, the land, which thou loathest, shall be forsaken of the face of their two kings. (And before that the child know how to rebuke, or to reject, evil, and to choose good, the lands of these two kings, whom thou fearest, shall be deserted.)

¹⁷ The Lord shall bring on thee, and on thy people, and on the house of thy father, days that came not from the days of [the] departing of Ephraim from Judah, with the king of Assyrians. (The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, such days that came not since the days of the separating of Ephraim from Judah, yea, by the hand, or by the power, of the king of Assyria.)

¹⁸ And it shall be, in that day the Lord shall hiss to a fly, which is in the last part of the floods of Egypt; and to a bee, which is in the land of Assur; (And it shall be, on that day the Lord shall whistle for the fly, which is at the ends of the rivers of Egypt; and for the bee, which is in the land of Assyria;)

¹⁹ and all those shall come, and shall rest in the strands of valleys, and in the caves of stones, and in all [the] places of bushes, and in all holes. (and they all shall come, and shall rest by the streams in the valleys, and in the caves of stone, and in all the places of bushes, and in all the holes.)

²⁰ And in that day the Lord shall shave with a sharp razor in these men, that be beyond the flood, of the king of Assyrians, the head, and the hairs of the feet, and all the beard. (And on that day the Lord shall shave with a sharp razor the hair on the heads, and on the feet, and all the beards, of your young men, by the hand, or by the power, of the king of Assyria, who is beyond the river.)

²¹ And it shall be, in that day (And it shall be, on that day), a man shall nourish a cow of oxes, and two sheep,

²² and for the plenty of milk he shall eat butter; for why each man that shall be left in the midst of the land, shall eat butter and honey.

²³ And it shall be, in that day each place where a thousand vineries shall be worth a thousand pieces of silver, and shall be into thorns and briars, (And it shall be, on that day each place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver, shall be given over to thorns and briars,)

²⁴ (and) men shall enter thither with bows and arrows; for why briars and thorns shall be in all the land.

²⁵ And all hills that shall be purged with a briar hook, the dread of thorns and of briars shall not come thither; and it shall be into pasture of oxen, and into the treading of sheep. (And on all the hills that were once planted, now for fear of thorns and briars, no one shall go there; and they shall only be used for the pasture of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.)

1 James, the servant of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve kindreds, that be in scattering abroad, health.

² My brethren, deem ye all joy [guess ye all joy], when ye fall into diverse temptations,

³ witting, that the proving of your faith worketh patience;

⁴ and patience hath a perfect work, that ye be perfect and whole, and fail in nothing. [soothly patience hath a perfect work, that ye be perfect and whole, in nothing failing.]

⁵ And if any of you needeth wisdom, ask he of God, which giveth to all men largely [that giveth to all men largely], and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to him.

⁶ But ask he in faith, and doubt nothing [nothing doubting]; for he that doubteth, is like to a wave of the sea, which is moved and borne about of the wind [the which of wind is moved and borne about].

⁷ Therefore guess not that man, that he shall take any thing of the Lord.

⁸ A man double in soul is unstable in all his ways.

⁹ And a meek brother have glory in his enhancing. [Forsooth a meek brother glory in his enhancing.]

¹⁰ and a rich man in his lowness; for as the flower of grass he shall pass.

¹¹ The sun rose up with heat, and dried the grass, and the flower of it felled down, and the fairness of his face perished; and so a rich man withereth in his ways.^[a]

¹² Blessed is the man, that suffereth temptation; for when he shall be proved, he shall receive the crown of life, which God promised to men that love him.

¹³ No man when he is tempted, say, that he is tempted of God; for why God is not a tempter of evil things, for he tempteth no man.

¹⁴ But each man is tempted, drawn and stirred of his own coveting. [Soothly each man is tempted of his own coveting, drawn from reason, and snared, or deceived.]

¹⁵ Afterward coveting [Then coveting], when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; but sin, when it is filled, engendereth death [soothly sin, when it is fulfilled, gendereth death].

¹⁶ Therefore [And so], my most dear-worthy brethren, do not ye err.

¹⁷ Each good gift, and each perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is none other changing, nor overshadowing of reward.^[b]

¹⁸ For willfully he begat us by the word of truth [Forsooth willfully he gendered us with the word of truth], that we be a beginning of his creature.

¹⁹ Know ye, my brethren most loved, be each man swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to wrath;

²⁰ for the wrath of man worketh not the rightwiseness of God.

²¹ For which thing cast ye away all uncleanness, and plenty of malice, and in mildness receive ye the word that is planted^[c], that may save your souls.

²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

²³ For if any man is an hearer of the word, and not a doer, this shall be likened to a man that beholdeth the face of his birth in a mirror [this shall be comparisoned, or likened, to a man beholding the cheer of his birth in a mirror];

²⁴ for he beheld himself, and went away, and at once he forgot which he was. [for he beheld himself, and went away, and anon he forgot what manner man he was.]

²⁵ But he that beholdeth into the law of perfect freedom, and dwelleth in it, and is not made a forgetful hearer, but a doer of work, this shall be blessed in his deed.

²⁶ And if any man guesseth himself to be religious, and refraineth not his tongue, but deceiveth his heart, the religion of him is vain.

²⁷ A clean religion, and unwemmed with God and the Father, is this, to visit fatherless and motherless children, and widows in their tribulation, and to keep himself undefouled from this world [and to keep himself undefouled from the world].