M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Laws about a Bad Skin Disease

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “When a man has a sore spot on his skin, an open sore or a bright spot, and it becomes a bad skin disease, he should be brought to the religious leader, to Aaron or one of his sons. ³ The religious leader will look at the mark on his skin of the body. If the hair in the spot has become white and the disease looks deeper than his skin, it is a bad skin disease. The religious leader will look at him, and will say that he is unclean. ⁴ But the spot may be white on his skin, and not seem to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it not white. Then the religious leader will keep the sick man away from other people for seven days. ⁵ The religious leader will look at him on the seventh day. If he finds that the disease has not changed and has not spread on the skin, the religious leader will keep him away from other people for seven more days. ⁶ The religious leader will look at him again on the seventh day. If the spot is not as bright and has not spread on the skin, the religious leader will say he is clean. It is only what is left of a sore. He will wash his clothes and be clean.

⁷ “But if what is left of the sore spreads farther on the skin, after he has been seen by the religious leader as being clean, he must show himself to the religious leader again. ⁸ And the religious leader will look, and if the sore has spread on the skin, the religious leader will say that he is unclean. It is a bad skin disease.

⁹ “When a man has a bad skin disease, he will be brought to the religious leader. ¹⁰ The religious leader will look at it. If there is a white sore on the skin that has made the hair white, and there are open sores growing on the flesh, ¹¹ it is an old and deep skin disease on his body. The religious leader will say he is unclean. He will not keep him away from others, for he already is unclean. ¹² But the disease may spread farther on the skin, and cover all the skin of him who has the disease from head to foot, everywhere the religious leader looks. ¹³ If the religious leader sees that the skin disease has covered all his body, he will say he is clean from the disease, because the skin has all become white and he is clean. ¹⁴ But when open sores in the flesh show on him, he will be unclean. ¹⁵ The religious leader will look at the open sores in the flesh, and he will say he is unclean. The open sores in the flesh are unclean. It is a bad skin disease. ¹⁶ If the flesh with open sores changes again and becomes white, he will come to the religious leader. ¹⁷ If the religious leader sees that the disease has become white, the religious leader will say that he who had the disease is clean; he is clean.

¹⁸ “When there is a sore on the skin of the body that has been healed, ¹⁹ and in the place of the sore there is a white, growing spot or a light-red, bright spot, it must be shown to the religious leader. ²⁰ If the religious leader finds that it is under the skin and that the hair on it has become white, the religious leader will say he is unclean. It is the bad skin disease. It has broken out in the sore. ²¹ But the religious leader may find there are no white hairs in it, and that it is not under the skin and not as dark. Then the religious leader will keep him away from other people for seven days. ²² If it spreads farther on the skin, the religious leader will say he is unclean. It is a spreading disease. ²³ But if the bright spot stays in one place and does not spread, it is only what is left of the sore. The religious leader will say he is clean.

²⁴ “If the body has a burn on its skin, and the open sore of the burned flesh becomes a bright spot, light-red or white, ²⁵ the religious leader must look at it. If the hair in the bright spot has become white and it shows to be deeper than the skin, it is a bad skin disease. It has broken out in the burn. So the religious leader will say he is unclean. It is a bad skin disease. ²⁶ But the religious leader may find there is no white hair in the bright spot, and that it is not under the skin and not as dark. Then the religious leader will keep him away from other people for seven days. ²⁷ On the seventh day the religious leader will look at him. If it has spread farther in the skin, the religious leader will say he is unclean. It is a bad skin disease. ²⁸ But if the bright spot stays in one place and has not spread in the skin and is not as dark, it is only what is left of the burn. The religious leader will say he is clean. For it is what is left of the burn.

²⁹ “When a man or woman has a sore on the head or in the hair of the face, ³⁰ the religious leader will look at the sore. If it looks like it is under the skin, with yellow, fine hair in it, the religious leader will say he is unclean. It is a bad skin disease of the head or hair of the face. ³¹ But the religious leader may find that the skin disease is not under the skin and there is no black hair in it. Then the religious leader will keep the person with the disease away from other people for seven days. ³² On the seventh day the religious leader will look at the disease. If the sore has not spread, and no yellow hair has grown in it, and it does not look like it is under the skin, ³³ then the sick man will cut off his hair. But he will not cut the hair from the sore. The religious leader will keep the person with the disease away from other people seven more days. ³⁴ On the seventh day the religious leader will look at the disease. If the disease has not spread and looks like it is not under the skin, the religious leader will say he is clean. And he will wash his clothes and be clean. ³⁵ But if the disease spreads farther in the skin after he was to have been clean, ³⁶ then the religious leader will look at him. If the disease has spread in the skin, the religious leader does not need to look for yellow hair. He is unclean. ³⁷ But if he finds that the disease has stayed in one place and black hair has grown in it, the disease has healed. He is clean. And the religious leader will say he is clean.

³⁸ “When a man or woman has very white spots on the skin of their body, ³⁹ then the religious leader will look at them. If the white spots on the skin are not very bright, it is not a bad disease that has broken out on the skin. He is clean.

⁴⁰ “If a man’s hair has fallen out and he has no hair on his head, he is clean. ⁴¹ If the hair has fallen from the front part of his head so that he has no hair there, he is clean. ⁴² But if a red and white sore is on the head where there is no hair, it is a bad skin disease breaking out on his head. ⁴³ Then the religious leader will look at him. If the sore is red and white on the head where there is no hair, looking like a bad disease in the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he is a man with a bad skin disease. He is unclean. The religious leader will say he is unclean. His disease is on his head.

Laws about Clothing

⁴⁵ “The person who has the bad skin disease will wear torn clothes and not cover the hair of his head. He will cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ He will be unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He will live alone. His home will be away from the tents. ⁴⁷ When a mark of a bad skin disease is in a piece of clothing, wool or linen, ⁴⁸ in the cloth of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather, ⁴⁹ if the mark is green or red in the clothing or leather, in the cloth or in anything made of leather, it is the mark of a bad skin disease. It will be shown to the religious leader. ⁵⁰ The religious leader will look at the mark, and will keep the piece of clothing away from people for seven days. ⁵¹ He will look at the mark again on the seventh day. If the mark has spread in the clothing, in the cloth or leather or anything made of leather, the mark is a bad disease. It is unclean. ⁵² So he will burn the clothing if the disease is in the cloth, in wool or linen or in anything made of leather, for it is a very bad disease. It will be burned in the fire.

⁵³ “But the religious leader may look and find that the mark has not spread in the clothing, in the cloth or anything made of leather. ⁵⁴ Then the religious leader will tell them to wash the thing that has the mark of disease. And he will keep it away from people for seven more days. ⁵⁵ After the piece of cloth or leather with the mark has been washed, the religious leader will look at it again. If the mark has not changed, even if the mark has not spread, it is unclean. You will burn it in the fire, if the mark of disease is on the back or the front.

⁵⁶ “But the religious leader may find that the mark is not as easy to see after it is washed. Then he will tear it out of the clothing, leather or cloth. ⁵⁷ If it is seen again in the clothing, in cloth or anything made of leather, it is spreading. The thing that has the mark will be burned in the fire. ⁵⁸ But if the clothing, cloth or anything made of leather, had the mark washed out of it, it will then be washed a second time. And it will be clean.”

⁵⁹ This is the law for the mark of a very bad disease in clothing of wool or linen, in cloth or in anything made of leather, for deciding if it is clean or not.

Good Men

15 O Lord, who may live in Your tent? Who may live on Your holy hill? ² He who walks without blame and does what is right and good, and speaks the truth in his heart. ³ He does not hurt others with his tongue, or do wrong to his neighbor, or bring shame to his friend. ⁴ He looks down upon a sinful person, but honors those who fear the Lord. He keeps his promises even if it may hurt him. ⁵ He gives money to be used without being paid for its use. And he does not take money to hurt those who are not guilty. He who does these things will never be shaken.

The Lord—Our Safe Place in Life and Covering in Death

16 Keep me, O God, for I am safe in You. ² I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. All the good things I have come from You.” ³ As for those in the land who belong to You, they are the great ones in whom is all my joy. ⁴ Those who have traded for another god bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their altar gifts of blood. And I will not take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is all that I am to receive, and my cup. My future is in Your hands. ⁶ The land given to me is good. Yes, my share is beautiful to me.

⁷ I will give honor and thanks to the Lord, Who has told me what to do. Yes, even at night my mind teaches me. ⁸ I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. ⁹ And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear. ¹⁰ For You will not give me over to the grave. And You will not allow Your Holy One to return to dust. ¹¹ You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.

27 Do not talk much about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring.

² Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth. Let a stranger, and not your own lips.

³ A stone is heavy, and sand is heavy, but to be made angry by a fool weighs more than both of them.

⁴ Anger causes trouble and a bad temper is like a flood, but who can stand when there is jealousy?

⁵ Sharp words spoken in the open are better than love that is hidden.

⁶ The pains given by a friend are faithful, but the kisses of one who hates you are false.

⁷ He who is full hates honey, but any bitter thing is sweet to a hungry man.

⁸ Like a bird that goes away from her nest, so is a man who goes away from his home.

⁹ Oil and perfume make the heart glad, so are a man’s words sweet to his friend.

¹⁰ Do not leave your own friend or your father’s friend alone, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your trouble. A neighbor who is near is better than a brother who is far away.

¹¹ Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, so I may answer him who puts me to shame.

¹² A wise man sees sin and hides himself, but the fool goes on and suffers for it.

¹³ Take the man’s coat who has given himself as trust for what a stranger owes. And hold him to his promise who has given it as trust for a sinful woman.

¹⁴ He who praises his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning will be thought of as saying bad things against him.

¹⁵ An arguing woman is like water falling drop by drop on a day it is raining. ¹⁶ To try to stop her is like trying to stop the wind, or like trying to catch oil in his right hand.

¹⁷ Iron is made sharp with iron, and one man is made sharp by a friend.

¹⁸ He who cares for the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for the one he works for will be honored.

¹⁹ As water acts as a mirror to a face, so the heart of man acts as a mirror to a man.

²⁰ The place of the dead is never filled, and the eyes of man are never filled.

²¹ The melting-pot is for silver and the fire for gold, and a man is tested by the praise he receives.

²² Even if you crush a fool in a pot used for crushing grain, his foolish way will not leave him.

²³ Know well how your flocks are doing, and keep your mind on your cattle. ²⁴ Riches do not last forever, and a crown does not pass from family to family. ²⁵ When the grass is gone, the new plants are seen, and the plants of the mountains are gathered in. ²⁶ The lambs will be for your clothes, and the goats will bring the price of a field. ²⁷ There will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of all your house, and a living for your young women.

1 This letter is from Paul and Silas and Timothy. It is to the church in the city of Thessalonica that belongs to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ² May you have loving-favor and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ We must give thanks to God for you always, Christian brothers. It is the right thing to do because your faith is growing so much. Your love for each other is stronger all the time. ⁴ We are proud of you and tell the other churches about you. We tell them how your faith stays so strong even when people make it hard for you and make you suffer. ⁵ God wants you to prove yourselves to be worth being in His holy nation by suffering for Him. ⁶ He does what is right and will allow trouble to come to those who are making it hard for you. ⁷ He will help you and us who are suffering. This will happen when the Lord Jesus comes down from heaven with His powerful angels in a bright fire. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ They will be punished forever and taken away from the Lord and from the shining-greatness of His power. ¹⁰ On the day He comes, His shining-greatness will be seen in those who belong to Him. On that day, He will receive honor from all those who put their trust in Him. You believed what we had to say to you. ¹¹ For this reason, we always pray for you. We pray that our God will make you worth being chosen. We pray that His power will help you do the good things you want to do. We pray that your work of faith will be complete. ¹² In this way, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be honored by you and you will be honored by Him. It is through the loving-favor of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.