M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Detailed Stipulations: Purity and Unity
12 “These are the rules and the regulations that you must diligently observe[a] in the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[b] has given to you to take possession of it, during all the days that you are living on the land.
2 You must completely demolish all of the places there where they served their gods, that is, the nations whom you are about to dispossess, on the high mountains, and on the hills and under each leafy green tree.[c] 3 And you shall break down their altars, and you shall smash their stone pillars, and their Asherah poles you must burn with fire, and the images of their gods you shall hew down, and you shall blot out their names from that place. 4 You shall not worship Yahweh your God like this. 5 But only[d] to the place that Yahweh your God will choose from all of your tribes to place his name there as his dwelling shall you seek, and there you shall go. 6 And you shall bring there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and your donations[e] and your votive gifts and your freewill offerings and the firstling of your herd and your flock. 7 And you shall eat there before[f] Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors,[g] you and your family in which Yahweh your God has blessed you.
8 “You must not do just as we are doing here today,[h] each according to all that is right in his eyes.[i] 9 For you have not come up to now to the resting place and to the inheritance that Yahweh your God is giving to you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan, and you will settle in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give rest to you from all your enemies from all around, and you will live securely, 11 and then[j] at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there, there you shall bring all the things I am commanding you, your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations,[k] and all of the choice things, your votive gifts that you vow to Yahweh. 12 And you shall rejoice before[l] Yahweh your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your slaves and your slave women and the Levite who is in your towns,[m] because there is not for him a plot of ground and an inheritance with you.
13 “Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at just any place that you happen to see, 14 but only[n] at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all the things that I am commanding you.
15 “But whenever you desire[o] you may slaughter, and you may eat meat according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you in all of your towns;[p] the unclean and the clean may eat it just as they would the gazelle and as the deer. 16 Only the blood you must not eat, but on the ground you must pour it like water. 17 You are not allowed to eat in your towns[q] the tithe of your grain and your wine and your olive oil and the firstborn of your herd and your flock and all of your votive gifts that you vowed and your freewill offering and your donations.[r] 18 But only before[s] Yahweh your God you shall eat it, at the place that Yahweh your God will choose,[t] you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite who is in your towns,[u] and you must rejoice before[v] your God in all your undertakings.[w] 19 Take care[x] so that you do not neglect the Levite all of your days on your land.
20 “When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he has promised[y] to you, and you say ‘I want to eat some meat,’ because you want it,[z] whenever you desire[aa] you may eat meat. 21 If the place that[ab] Yahweh your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, and you slaughter any of your herd and any of your flock that Yahweh has given to you just as I have commanded you, then you may eat whenever you desire in your towns.[ac] 22 Surely just as the gazelle and the deer is eaten, so both the unclean and the clean together may eat it. 23 Only, be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat. 24 You shall not eat it, but on the ground you shall pour it out like water. 25 You shall not eat it, so that it will go well[ad] for you and your children after you, because then you will be doing what is[ae] right in the eyes of Yahweh. 26 Only your holy objects that are yours[af] and your votive gifts you must carry and you must bring to the place that Yahweh will choose. 27 And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood on the altar of Yahweh your God, and the blood of your sacrifices you shall pour out on the altar of Yahweh your God, but the meat you may eat. 28 Be careful to obey[ag] all these things that I am commanding you, so that it will go well[ah] for you and for your children after you forever,[ai] because then you will be doing what is[aj] good and right[ak] in the eyes of Yahweh your God.
29 “When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whom you are about to go to,[al] to dispossess them before you,[am] and you have dispossessed them, and you live in their land, 30 take care[an] so that you are not ensnared into imitating them[ao] after their being destroyed from before you,[ap] and so that you not enquire concerning their gods, saying,[aq] ‘How did these nations serve their gods, and thus I myself[ar] want to do also.’ 31 You must not do so toward Yahweh your God, because of every detestable thing they have done for their gods Yahweh hates, for even their sons and their daughters they would burn in the fire to their gods. 32 [as] All of the things[at] that I am commanding you, you must diligently observe;[au] you shall not add to it, and you shall not take away from it.”
Yahweh’s Glorious Reign
97 Yahweh is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let many coastlands be glad.
2 Cloud and thick darkness are surrounding him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and devours his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings light the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 Let all who serve an image be ashamed,
those who boast about idols.[a]
Worship him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Yahweh.
9 For you, O Yahweh, are most high over all the earth.
You are highly[b] exalted above all gods.
10 You who love Yahweh, hate evil.
He protects the lives of his faithful;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name.[c]
Praise to Yahweh for His Salvation and Judgment
A psalm.[d]
98 Sing to[e] Yahweh a new song, for he has done wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm have secured his victory.
2 Yahweh has made known his salvation;[f]
to the eyes of the nations he has revealed his righteousness.
3 He has remembered his loyal love and his faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation[g] of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth.
Be cheerful[h] and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to Yahweh with lyre,
with lyre and melodious sound.
6 With trumpets and sound of horn,
shout joyfully before the king, Yahweh.
7 Let the sea with[i] its fullness roar,
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the hills sing joyfully together
9 before Yahweh, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
Comfort for God’s People
40 “Comfort; comfort my people,” says your God.
2 “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her,
that her compulsory labor is fulfilled, that her sin is paid for,
that she has received[a] from the hand of Yahweh double for all her sins.”
3 A voice is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh!
Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God!
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill shall become low,
And the rough ground shall be like a plain,
and the rugged ground like a valley-plain.
5 And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed,
and all humankind[b] together shall see it,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6 A voice is saying, “Call!”
And he said, “What shall I call?”
All humankind[c] are grass,
and all his loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
7 Grass withers; the flower withers
when the breath of Yahweh blows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8 Grass withers; the flower withers,
but[d] the word of our God will stand forever.
9 Get yourself[e] up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news!
Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news!
Lift it up; you must not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10 Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with strength,[f]
and his arm rules for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his recompense in his presence.[g]
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arm,
and he will carry them in his bosom;
he will lead those who nurse.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
comprehended the dust of the earth in a third of a measure
and weighed out the mountains in the scales,[h] and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured up the spirit of Yahweh
or informed him as his counselor[i]?
14 With whom has he consulted, that[j] he enlightened him[k]
and taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and made the way of understanding known to him?
15 Look! The nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and they are counted like dust of the balances!
Look! He weighs the islands like a thin covering.
16 And Lebanon is not enough to light a fire,
and its animals[l] not enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are like nothing before him;
they are counted by him as[m] nothing and emptiness.
18 And to whom will you liken God?
And to what likeness will you compare him?
19 A craftsman pours out the idol,
and a goldsmith[n] overlays it with gold,
and he smelts chains of silver.
20 The one who is too impoverished for a gift chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks a skillful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?[o]
Have you not understood from the foundation of the earth?
22 He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil
and spreads them out like a tent to live in,
23 the one who brings[p] princes to nothing;
he makes rulers of the earth like nothing.
24 Indeed, hardly are they planted; indeed, hardly are they sown;
indeed, hardly has their shoot taken root in the earth
when[q] he blows on them and they wither,
and the tempest carries them like stubble.
25 “And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?” says the holy one.
26 Lift your eyes up on high, and see! Who created these?
The one who brings out their host by number.
He calls all them by name.
Because he is great of power
and mighty of power, no man is missing.
27 Why[r] do you say, Jacob,
and you speak, Israel,
“My way is hidden from Yahweh,
and my judgment is passed over by my God?”
28 Have you not known,
or have you not heard?
Yahweh is the God of eternity,
the creator of the ends of the earth!
He is not faint, and he does not grow weary!
There is no searching his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weary,
and he increases power for the powerless.[s]
30 Even[t] young people will be faint and grow weary,
and the young will stumble, exhausted.
31 But[u] those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength.
They shall go up with wings[v] like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary;
they shall walk and not be faint.
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 And I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, and a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire,[a] 2 and holding in his hand a little scroll that was opened. And he put his right foot on the sea and his[b] left on the land. 3 And he cried out with a loud voice like a lion roars, and when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded[c] their own voices. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke,[d] I was about to write, and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders spoke, and do not write them!”
5 And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by the one who lives forever and ever[e], who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, whenever he is about to blow the trumpet, then[f] the mystery of God is completed, as he announced to his own slaves the prophets.”
8 And the voice that I had heard from heaven was speaking with me again and saying, “Go, take the opened scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 And I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll, and he said to me, “Take and eat it up, and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it up, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth, and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 11 And they said to me, “It is necessary for you to prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
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