M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
How Israel Is to Deal with False Prophets
13 [a]One of your people, claiming to be a prophet or to have prophetic dreams, may predict a miraculous sign or an amazing thing. 2 What he predicts may even take place. But don’t listen to that prophet or dreamer[b] if he says, “Let’s worship and serve other gods.” (Those gods may be gods you’ve never heard of.) 3 Yahweh your Elohim is testing you to find out if you really love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Worship Yahweh your Elohim, fear him, obey his commands, listen to what he says, serve him, and be loyal to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because he preached rebellion against Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery. He was trying to lead you away from following the directions Yahweh your Elohim gave you. You must get rid of this evil.
6 Your own brother, son, or daughter, the wife you love, or your best friend may secretly tempt you, saying, “Let’s go worship other gods.” (Those gods may be gods that you and your ancestors never knew. 7 They may be the gods of the people around you, who live near or far, from one end of the land to the other.) 8 Don’t be influenced by any of these people or listen to them. Have no pity on them. Don’t feel sorry for them or protect them. 9 You must put them to death. You must start the execution. Then all the other people will join you in putting them to death. 10 Stone them to death because they were trying to lead you away from Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. 11 All Israel will hear about it and be afraid. Then no one among you will ever do such a wicked thing again.
12 You may hear that the residents in one of the cities which Yahweh your Elohim is giving you to live in 13 have been led away from the Lord your God by worthless people. You may hear that these people have been saying, “Let’s worship other gods.” (Those gods may be gods you’ve never heard of.) 14 Then make a thorough investigation. If it is true, and you can prove that this disgusting thing has been done among you, 15 you must kill the residents of that city with swords and destroy that city and everyone in it, including the animals, because they are claimed by God. 16 Gather their goods into the middle of the city square. Then burn their city and all their goods as a burnt offering to Yahweh your Elohim. It must remain a mound of ruins and never be rebuilt. 17 Don’t ever take any of the things claimed for destruction. Then Yahweh will stop being angry and will show you mercy. In his mercy he will make your population increase, as he swore to your ancestors. 18 Yahweh your Elohim will do this if you listen to him, obey all the commands that I’m giving you today, and do what Yahweh your Elohim considers right.
Religious Practices(A)
14 You are the children of Yahweh your Elohim. So when someone dies, don’t mourn by cutting yourselves or shaving bald spots on your head. 2 You are people who are holy to Yahweh your Elohim. Out of all the people who live on earth, Yahweh has chosen you to be his own special possession.
3 Never eat anything that is disgusting to the Lord. 4 Here are the kinds of animals you may eat: oxen, sheep, goats, 5 deer, gazelles, fallow deer,[c] wild goats, mountain goats, antelope, and mountain sheep. 6 You may eat all animals that have completely divided hoofs and that also chew their cud. 7 But some animals chew their cud, while others have completely divided hoofs. You may not eat these kinds of animals. They include camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. (Although they chew their cud, they don’t have divided hoofs. They are unclean[d] for you.) 8 Also, you may not eat pigs. (Although their hoofs are divided, they don’t chew their cud.) Never eat their meat or touch their dead bodies.
9 Here’s what you may eat of every creature that lives in the water: You may eat any creature that has fins and scales. 10 But never eat anything that doesn’t have fins and scales. It is unclean for you.
11 You may eat any clean bird. 12 But here are the birds that you should never eat: eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures, 13 buzzards, all types of kites, 14 all types of crows, 15 ostriches, nighthawks, seagulls, all types of falcons, 16 little owls, great owls, barn owls, 17 pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, 18 storks, all types of herons, hoopoes, and bats.
19 Every swarming, winged insect is also unclean for you. They must never be eaten. 20 However, you may eat any other kind of flying creature that is clean.
21 Never eat any creature that dies naturally. You may give it to the foreigners who live in your cities, and they may eat it. You may also sell it to foreigners who are visiting. But you are people who are holy to Yahweh your Elohim.
Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Giving God One-Tenth of Everything
22 Every year be sure to save a tenth of the crops harvested from whatever you plant in your fields. 23 Eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, and eat the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim in the place he will choose to put his name. Then you will learn to fear Yahweh your Elohim as long as you live.
24 But the place Yahweh your Elohim will choose to put his name may be too far away. Yahweh your Elohim may bless you with so much that you can’t carry a tenth of your income that far. 25 If so, exchange the tenth part of your income for silver. Take the silver with you, and go to the place Yahweh your Elohim will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, liquor—whatever you choose. Then you and your family will eat and enjoy yourselves there in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim. 27 Never forget to take care of the Levites who live in your cities. They have no land of their own as you have.
28 At the end of every third year bring a tenth of that year’s crop, and store it in your cities. 29 Foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your cities may come to eat all they want. The Levites may also come because they have no land of their own as you have. Then Yahweh your Elohim will bless you in whatever work you do.
Psalm 99
1 Yahweh rules as king.
Let the people tremble.
He is enthroned over the angels.[a]
Let the earth quake.
2 Yahweh is mighty in Zion.
He is high above all people.
3 Let them give thanks to your great and fearful name.
He is holy!
4 The king’s strength is that he loves justice.
You have established fairness.
You have done what is fair and right for Jacob.
5 Highly honor Yahweh our Elohim.
Bow down at his footstool.
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
Samuel was among those who prayed to him.
They called to Yahweh, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from a column of smoke.
They obeyed his written instructions and the laws that he gave them.
8 O Yahweh, our Elohim, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving El
and that you are an El who punishes their sinful deeds.
9 Highly honor Yahweh our Elohim.
Bow at his holy mountain.
Yahweh our Elohim is holy!
Psalm 100
A psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Shout happily to Yahweh, all the earth.
2 Serve Yahweh cheerfully.
Come into his presence with a joyful song.
3 Realize that Yahweh alone is Elohim.
He made us, and we are his.[b]
We are his people and the sheep in his care.
4 Enter his gates with a song of thanksgiving.
Come into his courtyards with a song of praise.
Give thanks to him; praise his name.
5 Yahweh is good.
His mercy endures forever.
His faithfulness endures throughout every generation.
Psalm 101
A psalm by David.
1 I will sing about mercy and justice.
O Yahweh, I will make music to praise you.
2 I want to understand the path to integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will live in my own home with integrity.
3 I will not put anything wicked in front of my eyes.
I hate what unfaithful people do.
I want no part of it.
4 I will keep far away from devious minds.
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor.
I will not tolerate anyone with a conceited look or arrogant heart.
6 My eyes will be watching the faithful people in the land
so that they may live with me.
The person who lives with integrity will serve me.
7 The one who does deceitful things will not stay in my home.
The one who tells lies will not remain in my presence.
8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land
to rid Yahweh’s city of all troublemakers.
The Nations Chose Idols, but the Lord Chose Israel
41 “Be silent and listen to me, you coastlands.
Let the people gain new strength.
Let them come near and speak.
Let us come together for judgment.
2 “Who has raised up from the east
someone to whom Yahweh gives victory with every step he takes?
Nations are handed over to him.
He defeats kings.
With his sword he turns them into dust.
With his bow he turns them into straw blown by the wind.
3 He chases them, marching by safely
on a path his feet have never traveled before.
4 Who has accomplished this?
Who has determined the course of history from the beginning?
I, Yahweh, was there first, and I will be there to the end.
I am the one!”
5 The coastlands have seen him and are afraid.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They have come near and gathered together.
6 People help their neighbors
and say to their relatives, “Be brave!”
7 Craftsmen encourage goldsmiths.
Metalsmiths encourage blacksmiths who work at their anvils.
They say that their soldering is good.
And they fasten things with nails so they won’t move.
8 “But you are my servant Israel,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the descendant of Abraham, my dear friend.
9 I have taken you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its most distant places.
I said to you, ‘You are my servant.
I’ve chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.’
10 Don’t be afraid, because I am with you.
Don’t be intimidated; I am your Elohim.
I will strengthen you.
I will help you.
I will support you with my victorious right hand.
11 “Everyone who is angry with you
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who oppose you
will be reduced to nothing and disappear.
12 You will search for your enemies,
but you will not find them.
Those who are at war with you
will be reduced to nothing and no longer exist.
13 I, Yahweh your Elohim, hold your right hand
and say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid; I will help you.’
14 Don’t be afraid, Jacob, you worm.
You people of Israel, I will help you,”
declares Yahweh, your Go’el, Qedosh Yisrael.
15 “I am going to make you into a new threshing[a] sledge
with sharp, double-edged teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them to dust.
You will turn the hills into straw.
16 You will winnow[b] them.
The wind will carry them away.
The windstorm will scatter them.
But you will find joy in Yahweh
and praise Qedosh Yisrael.
17 “The poor and needy are looking for water, but there is none.
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, Yahweh, will answer them.
I, the Elohim of Israel, will not abandon them.
18 I will make rivers flow on bare hilltops.
I will make springs flow through valleys.
I will turn deserts into lakes.
I will turn dry land into springs.
19 I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and wild olive trees in the desert.
I will place cedar, fir, and cypress trees together in the wilderness.
20 People will see and know.
Together they will consider and understand
that Yahweh’s power has done this,
that Qedosh Yisrael has created it.
21 “Present your case,” says Yahweh.
“Bring forward your best arguments,” says Jacob’s Melek.
22 “Bring your idols so they can tell us what’s going to happen.
Explain past events that your idols told you about
so that we may consider them
and know what their outcome will be.
Tell us about future events.
23 Tell us what’s going to happen
so that we may know that you are gods.
Yes, do something, good or evil,
to intimidate us and make us afraid.
24 You are nothing!
You can’t do anything!
Whoever chooses you is disgusting.
25 “I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come.
He will call on my name from the east.
He will attack rulers as if they were mud,
as if he were treading on clay like a potter.
26 Who revealed this from the beginning so that we could know it?
Who revealed this from the past so that we could say that he was right?
No one revealed it.
No one announced it.
No one heard your words.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are.’
I gave Jerusalem a messenger with the good news.
28 When I look, there is no one.
There is no one to advise them.
When I ask them a question,
will they give an answer?
29 All of them are nothing.[c]
They can’t do anything.
Their statues are nothing but air.”
God’s Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a stick like a measuring stick. I was told, “Stand up and measure the temple of God and the altar. Count those who worship there. 2 But do not measure the temple courtyard. Leave that out, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months. 3 I will allow my two witnesses who wear sackcloth to speak what God has revealed. They will speak for 1,260 days.”
4 These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of the witnesses’ mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed the same way. 6 These witnesses have authority to shut the sky in order to keep rain from falling during the time they speak what God has revealed. They have authority to turn water into blood and to strike the earth with any plague as often as they want.
7 When the witnesses finish their testimony, the beast which comes from the bottomless pit will fight them, conquer them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the important city where their Lord was crucified. The spiritual names of that city are Sodom and Egypt. 9 For 3½ days some members of the people, tribes, languages, and nations will look at the witnesses’ dead bodies and will not allow anyone to bury them. 10 Those living on earth will gloat over the witnesses’ death. They will celebrate and send gifts to each other because these two prophets had tormented those living on earth.
11 After 3½ days the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who watched them. 12 The witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven calling to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 At that moment a powerful earthquake struck. One-tenth of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second catastrophe is over. The third catastrophe will soon be here.
15 When the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will rule as king forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 leaders, who were sitting on their thrones in God’s presence, immediately bowed, worshiped God, 17 and said,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun ruling as king.
18 “The nations were angry, but your anger has come.
The time has come for the dead to be judged:
to reward your servants, the prophets,
your holy people,
and those who fear your name,
no matter if they are important or unimportant,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his promise was seen inside his temple. There was lightning, noise, thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.