M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Sexual Relations with Relatives Prohibited
18 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelis that I am the Lord your God. 3 You are not to do what you used to do in the land of Egypt where you lived. You are not to do what Canaan does, where I’m about to bring you, so that you live according to their statutes. 4 Obey[a] my ordinances and keep my statutes by living by them. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my statutes and my ordinances, which a person[b] is to obey in order to live in them. I am the Lord.
6 “A person is not to approach a near blood relative for sexual relations.[c] I am the Lord.
7 “Neither your father’s nakedness nor your mother’s nakedness is to be exposed. She’s your mother, so you are not to have sexual relations with her.
8 “You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s wife. It’s your own father’s nakedness.
9 “You are not to have sexual relations with your sister, whether she’s your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she’s born in your home or outside your home. You are not to have sexual relations with her.
10 “You are not to have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter. You are not to have sexual relations with them, because their nakedness is your own nakedness.
11 “You are not to have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife. Born of your father, she’s your sister, so you are not to have sexual relations with her.
12 “You are not to have sexual relations with your father’s sister. She’s your father’s near blood relative.
13 “You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister. She’s your mother’s near blood relative.
14 “You are not to expose the nakedness of your father’s brother by having sexual relations with his wife. She’s your aunt.
15 “You are not to expose the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She’s the wife of your son. You are not to have sexual relations with her.
16 “You are not to have sexual relations with your brother’s wife. She’s the nakedness of your brother.
17 “You are not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter.
“You are not to have sexual relations with her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter. They’re near blood relatives. It’s wickedness.
18 “You are not to marry a woman and then have sexual relations with her sister as a rival when your wife[d] is still alive.
19 “You are not to approach a menstruating woman to have sexual relations with her.[e]
20 “You are not to have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and thereby become ceremonially unclean with her.”
Child Sacrifice Prohibited
21 “You are not to present any of your children to Molech as a sacrifice.[f] That way, you won’t defile the name of your God.”
Same Sex Unions Prohibited
“I am the Lord. 22 You are not to have sexual relations[g] with a male as you would with a woman. It’s detestable.”
Sexual Relations with Animals Prohibited
23 “You are not to present yourself to an animal in order to have sexual relations with it and by doing so to defile yourself. A woman is not to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it. It’s detestable.
24 “You are not to defile yourselves by doing any of these things, since all of these nations that I’m casting out before you have defiled themselves this way. 25 The land has been defiled, so I brought the punishment of its iniquity to it. As a result, the land is vomiting out its inhabitants.
26 “Therefore, keep my statutes and ordinances. You are not to do any of these detestable things—this applies to the native born and the resident alien who lives among you— 27 because the inhabitants[h] of the land did all of these detestable things and by doing so defiled the land before you. 28 So you are not to let the land vomit you up because of your uncleanness as it is vomiting the nations that were here before you. 29 Anyone who does any of these detestable things—whoever the person[i] may be—is to be eliminated from contact with his people.[j] 30 Therefore, keep my injunctions so that you won’t practice these detestable things that have been done before you, and so that you won’t be defiled in them. I am the Lord.”
To the Director: To the tune of[a] “Doe of the Dawn”.
A Davidic Psalm.
God Delivers His Suffering Servant
22 My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from delivering me—
from my groaning words?
2 My God, I cry out to you throughout the day,
but you do not answer;
and throughout the night,
but I have no rest.[b]
3 You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried out to you and escaped;
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
6 But as for me,
I am only a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by people.
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they gape at me with open mouths
and shake their heads at me.
8 They say,[c] “Commit yourself to the Lord;
perhaps the Lord[d] will deliver him,
perhaps he will cause him to escape,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet, you are the one who took me from the womb,
and kept me safe on my mother’s breasts.
10 I was dependent on you from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be so distant from me,
for trouble is at hand;
indeed, there is no deliverer.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me;
the vicious bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide toward me,
like roaring and attacking lions.
14 I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax, melting within me.
15 My strength is dried up like broken pottery;
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth,[e]
and you have brought me down to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of those who practice evil has encircled me.
They gouged[f] my hands and my[g] feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They look at me;
they stare at me.
18 They divide my clothing among themselves;
they cast lots for my clothing!
19 But as for you, Lord, do not be far away from me;
My Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword;
my precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Deliver me from the mouth of the lion,
from the horns of the wild oxen.
You have answered me.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you, saying,[h]
23 “All who fear the Lord, praise him!
All the seed of Jacob, glorify him!
All the seed of Israel, fear him!
24 For he does not despise nor detest the afflicted person;
he does not hide his face from him,
but he hears him when he cries out to him.”
25 My praise in the great congregation is because of you;
I will pay my vows before those who fear you.[i]
26 The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him,
“May you[j] live forever!”
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord;
all the families of the nations will bow in submission to the Lord.
28 Indeed, the kingdom belongs to the Lord;
he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous people will eat and bow down in submission.
All those who are about to go down to the grave[k]
will bow down in submission,
along with the one who can no longer keep himself alive.
30 Our[l] descendants will serve him,
and that generation will be told about the Lord.
31 They will come and declare his righteousness
to a people yet to be born;
indeed, he has accomplished it!
The Theme
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Utterly pointless,”[b]
says the Teacher.
“Absolutely pointless;
everything is pointless.”
3 What does a man gain
from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?[c]
The Predictability of Life
4 A generation goes,
a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises,
the sun sets,
then rushes back to where it arose.
6 The wind blows southward,
then northward, constantly circulating,
and the wind comes back again in its courses.
7 All the rivers flow toward the sea,
but the sea is never full;
then rivers return to the headwaters[d] where they began.
8 Everything is wearisome,
more than man is able to express.
The eye is never satisfied by seeing,
nor the ear by hearing.
9 Whatever has happened, will happen again;
whatever has been done, will be done again.
There is nothing new on earth.
10 Does anything exist about which someone might say,
“Look at this! Is this new?”
It happened ages ago;
it existed before we did.
11 No one remembers those in the past,
nor will they be remembered
by those who come after them.
A Testimony to an Unwise Search
12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven.[e] God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.[f] 14 I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight;
what is not there cannot be counted.
16 I told myself, “I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom there is much sorrow;
the more someone adds to knowledge,
the more someone adds to grief.
Qualifications for Leaders in the Church
3 This is a trustworthy saying:[a]
The one who would an elder be,
a noble task desires he.
2 Therefore, an elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife,[b] stable, sensible, respectable, hospitable to strangers, and teachable.[c] 3 He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but instead be gentle. He must not be argumentative or love money. 4 He must manage his own family well and have children who are submissive and respectful in every way. 5 For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, so that he won’t become arrogant and fall into the Devil’s condemnation. 7 He must be well thought of by outsiders, so he doesn’t[d] fall into disgrace and the trap set for him by[e] the Devil.
8 Deacons,[f] too, must be serious. They must not be two-faced,[g] addicted to wine, or greedy for money. 9 They must hold firmly to the secret of the faith with clear consciences. 10 But they must first be tested. Then, if they prove to be blameless, let them serve in ministry.[h] 11 Their wives[i] must also be serious. They must not be gossips, but instead be stable and trustworthy in everything. 12 Deacons[j] must be husbands of one wife[k] and must manage their children and their families well. 13 Those who serve well in ministry[l] gain an excellent reputation for themselves and will have great assurance by their faith in the Messiah[m] Jesus.
14 I hope to come to you soon. However, I’m writing this to you 15 in case I am delayed, so that you may know how to behave in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great:[n]
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