M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
How Priests Must Behave
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person. 2 But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he may touch him. The priest may make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, son or daughter, brother or 3 unmarried sister who is close to him because she has no husband. The priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies. 4 But a priest must not make himself unclean if the dead person was only related to him by marriage.
5 “‘Priests must not shave their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God and show respect for God’s name, because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord, which is the food of their God. So they must be holy.
7 “‘A priest must not marry an unclean prostitute or a divorced woman, because he is holy to his God. 8 Treat him as holy, because he offers up the food of your God. Think of him as holy; I am the Lord who makes you holy, and I am holy.
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter makes herself unclean by becoming a prostitute, she shames her father. She must be burned with fire.
10 “‘The high priest, who was chosen from among his brothers, had the special olive oil poured on his head. He was also appointed to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not show his sadness by letting his hair go uncombed or tearing his clothes. 11 He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even if it is for his own father or mother. 12 The high priest must not go out of the Holy Place, because if he does and becomes unclean, he will make God’s Holy Place unclean. The special oil used in appointing priests was poured on his head to separate him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.
13 “‘The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute. He must marry a virgin from his own people 15 so the people will respect his children as his own. I am the Lord. I have set the high priest apart for his special job.’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Tell Aaron: ‘If any of your descendants have something wrong with them, they must never come near to offer the special food of their God. 18 Anyone who has something wrong with him must not come near: blind men, crippled men, men with damaged faces, deformed men, 19 men with a crippled foot or hand, 20 hunchbacks, dwarfs, men who have something wrong with their eyes, men who have an itching disease or a skin disease, or men who have damaged sex glands.
21 “‘If one of Aaron’s descendants has something wrong with him, he cannot come near to make the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has something wrong with him; he cannot offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food and also the holy food. 23 But he may not go through the curtain into the Most Holy Place, and he may not go near the altar, because he has something wrong with him. He must not make my Holy Place unfit. I am the Lord who makes these places holy.’”
24 So Moses told these things to Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and all the people of Israel.
The Prayer of an Innocent Believer
Of David.
26 Lord, defend me because I have lived an innocent life.
I have trusted the Lord and never doubted.
2 Lord, try me and test me;
look closely into my heart and mind.
3 I see your love,
and I live by your truth.
4 I do not spend time with liars,
nor do I make friends with those who hide their sin.
5 I hate the company of evil people,
and I won’t sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands to show I am innocent,
and I come to your altar, Lord.
7 I raise my voice in praise
and tell of all the miracles you have done.
8 Lord, I love the Temple where you live,
where your glory is.
9 Do not kill me with those sinners
or take my life with those murderers.
10 Evil is in their hands,
and they do wrong for money.
11 But I have lived an innocent life,
so save me and have mercy on me.
12 I stand in a safe place.
Lord, I praise you in the great meeting.
A Song of Trust in God
Of David.
27 The Lord is my light and the one who saves me.
So why should I fear anyone?
The Lord protects my life.
So why should I be afraid?
2 Evil people may try to destroy my body.
My enemies and those who hate me attack me,
but they are overwhelmed and defeated.
3 If an army surrounds me,
I will not be afraid.
If war breaks out,
I will trust the Lord.
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I want:
Let me live in the Lord’s house
all my life.
Let me see the Lord’s beauty
and look with my own eyes at his Temple.
5 During danger he will keep me safe in his shelter.
He will hide me in his Holy Tent,
or he will keep me safe on a high mountain.
6 My head is higher than my enemies around me.
I will offer joyful sacrifices in his Holy Tent.
I will sing and praise the Lord.
7 Lord, hear me when I call;
have mercy and answer me.
8 My heart said of you, “Go, worship him.”
So I come to worship you, Lord.
9 Do not turn away from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have helped me.
Do not push me away or leave me alone,
God, my Savior.
10 If my father and mother leave me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and guide me to do what is right
because I have enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to my enemies,
because they tell lies about me
and say they will hurt me.
13 I truly believe
I will live to see the Lord’s goodness.
14 Wait for the Lord’s help.
Be strong and brave,
and wait for the Lord’s help.
Is It Better to Be Dead?
4 Again I saw all the people who were mistreated here on earth.
I saw their tears
and that they had no one to comfort them.
Cruel people had all the power,
and there was no one to comfort those they hurt.
2 I decided that the dead
are better off than the living.
3 But those who have never been born
are better off still;
they have not seen the evil
that is done here on earth.
Why Work So Hard?
4 I realized the reason people work hard and try to succeed: They are jealous of each other. This, too, is useless, like chasing the wind.
5 Some say it is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing,
because you will starve to death.
6 Maybe so, but I say it is better to be content
with what little you have.
Otherwise, you will always be struggling for more,
and that is like chasing the wind.
7 Again I saw something here on earth that was useless:
8 I saw a man who had no family,
no son or brother.
He always worked hard
but was never satisfied with what he had.
He never asked himself, “For whom am I working so hard?
Why don’t I let myself enjoy life?”
This also is very sad and useless.
Friends and Family Give Strength
9 Two people are better than one,
because they get more done by working together.
10 If one falls down,
the other can help him up.
But it is bad for the person who is alone and falls,
because no one is there to help.
11 If two lie down together, they will be warm,
but a person alone will not be warm.
12 An enemy might defeat one person,
but two people together can defend themselves;
a rope that is woven of three strings is hard to break.
Fame and Power Are Useless
13 A poor but wise boy is better than a foolish but old king who doesn’t listen to advice. 14 A boy became king. He had been born poor in the kingdom and had even gone to prison before becoming king. 15 I watched all the people who live on earth follow him and make him their king. 16 Many followed him at first, but later, they did not like him, either. So fame and power are useless, like chasing the wind.
6 All who are slaves under a yoke should show full respect to their masters so no one will speak against God’s name and our teaching. 2 The slaves whose masters are believers should not show their masters any less respect because they are believers. They should serve their masters even better, because they are helping believers they love.
You must teach and preach these things.
False Teaching and True Riches
3 Anyone who has a different teaching does not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that shows the true way to serve God. 4 This person is full of pride and understands nothing, but is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. This brings jealousy, fighting, speaking against others, evil mistrust, 5 and constant quarrels from those who have evil minds and have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich.
6 Serving God does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have. 7 We brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out. 8 But, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. 9 Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves and are caught in a trap. They want many foolish and harmful things that ruin and destroy people. 10 The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.
Some Things to Remember
11 But you, man of God, run away from all those things. Instead, live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, grabbing hold of the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life when you confessed the good confession before many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, I give you a command. Christ Jesus made the good confession when he stood before Pontius Pilate. 14 Do what you were commanded to do without wrong or blame until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 15 God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. 16 He is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright no one can go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich with things of this world not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not in their uncertain riches. God richly gives us everything to enjoy. 18 Tell the rich people to do good, to be rich in doing good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. 19 By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves as a strong foundation for the future. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.
20 Timothy, guard what God has trusted to you. Stay away from foolish, useless talk and from the arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge.” 21 By saying they have that “knowledge,” some have missed the true faith.
Grace be with you.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.