M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
17 “You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep that has a physical defect[a] of anything seriously wrong,[b] for that is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. 2 If there is found in one of your towns[c] that Yahweh your God is giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant 3 and by going and serving other gods and so he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of heaven which I have forbidden,[d] 4 and it is reported to you or you hear about it and you enquire about it thoroughly and, indeed,[e] the trustworthiness of the deed[f] has been established, it has occurred,[g] this detestable thing, in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has[h] done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones to death.[i] 6 On the evidence of[j] two or three witnesses the person shall be put to death.[k] The person[l] shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person[m] to kill the person,[n] and afterward the hands[o] of all the people, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “If a matter is too difficult for you,[p] for example disputes between blood and blood,[q] between legal claim and legal claim[r] and between assault and assault[s] and between matters of discernment in your towns,[t] then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose; 9 then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be in office in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you the verdict.[u]
10 “And you shall carry out exactly the decision[v] that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and you shall diligently observe[w] according to all that they instruct you. 11 And so according to the instruction of the law[x] that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or to the left. 12 And the man who treats with contempt[y] so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people will hear and will be afraid, and they will not behave presumptuously again.
14 “When you have come to that land that Yahweh your God is giving to you and you have taken possession of it and you have settled in it, and you say, ‘I will set over me a king like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 indeed, you may set a king over you whom Yahweh your God will choose, from the midst of your countrymen[z] you must set a king over you; you are not allowed to appoint over you a man, a foreigner, who is not your countryman.[aa] 16 Except, he may not make numerous[ab] for himself horses, and he may not allow the people to to go to Egypt in order to increase horses,[ac] for Yahweh has said to you that you may never return.[ad] 17 And he must not acquire many[ae] wives for himself, so that his heart would turn aside; and he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively.[af]
18 “And then[ag] when he is sitting[ah] on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll before[ai] the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it[aj] all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere Yahweh your God by diligently observing[ak] all the word of this law and these rules, 20 so as not to exalt his heart above his countrymen[al] and not to turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that he may reign long over his kingdom,[am] he and his children in the midst of Israel.”
Praise to Yahweh for His Creation and Providence
104 Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
O Yahweh my God, you are very great.
You clothe yourself with splendor and majesty,
2 you who cover yourself with light as with a garment,
who stretch out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3 the one who sets beams in the waters for his upper chambers,
who makes clouds his chariot,
who rides[a] on the wings of the wind,
4 who makes his messengers the winds,
his attendants a flame of fire.
5 He established the earth on her foundations,
so that it will not be moved forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment.
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they ran off.
8 They ascended the mountains and drained though the valleys
to the place that you established[b] for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not cross over,
so that they would not return to cover the earth.
10 You are the one who sends forth springs into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They give drink for every beast of the field.
The wild donkeys quench[c] their thirst.
12 Along them the birds of the heavens abide.
From among the branches they sing.[d]
13 You are the one who waters[e] the mountains
from his upper chambers.
The earth is full[f] with the fruit of your labors:
14 who causes grass to grow for the cattle
and herbs for the service of humankind,
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine that makes glad the heart of man,
so that their faces shine from oil,
and bread that strengthens the heart of man.
16 The trees of Yahweh drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where birds make their nest.
The stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon for appointed times;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when[g] all the animals of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions are roaring for the prey
and seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together
and lie down in their dens.
23 Humankind goes out to its work,
and to its labor until evening.
24 How many are your works, O Yahweh;
all of them you have done in wisdom.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 This is the great and wide[h] sea,
in which are moving animals without number,
living things small and great.
26 There the ships sail.
Leviathan is there that you formed to play with.[i]
27 They all wait for you
to give them their food at the proper time.[j]
28 You give to them; they gather it.
You open your hand, they are filled with what is good.
29 You hide your face, they are terrified.
You take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 You send forth your Spirit,[k] they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of Yahweh endure forever.
May Yahweh be glad in his works,
32 the one who looks at the earth and it quakes,
and touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh throughout my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I remain alive.[l]
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him.
I will be glad in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners perish completely from the earth,
and the wicked not remain alive.[m]
Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
Praise Yah.[n]
Yahweh Blesses Chosen Israel
44 “But now hear, Jacob my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says Yahweh, who made you,
and who formed you in[a] the womb and will help you:
you must not fear, my servant Jacob,
and Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour out water on a thirsty land
and streams on dry ground.
I will pour my spirit out on your descendants[b]
and my blessing on your offspring.
4 And they shall sprout among[c] the grass
like willows by a watercourse of water.
5 This one will say, ‘I belong to Yahweh!’
And that one will be called by the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand ‘Yahweh’s’
and take the name[d] of Israel.”
Yahweh the Only God
6 Thus says Yahweh, the king of Israel,
and its redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:
“I am the first, and I am the last,
and there is no god besides me.
7 And who is like me? Let him proclaim[e] it!
And let him declare it and set it in order for me
since I established an eternal people[f] and things that are to come,
and let them tell them the things that are coming.
8 You must not tremble,[g]
and you must not be paralyzed with fear.
Have I not made you hear from of old[h]
and declared it, and you are my witnesses?
Is there a god besides me?
And there is no rock! I know none!”
Idolatry Is Ridiculous
9 All those who form an idol are nothing,
and their delightful things do not profit.
And their witnesses do not see or know,
so they will be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god
and cast an image of which he cannot profit?
11 Look! all his companions shall be ashamed,
and the artisans are human!
Let all of them assemble;
let them stand up.
They shall tremble;[i]
they shall be ashamed together.
12 The ironsmith[j] works in the coals with his tool
and forms it with hammers.
And he makes it with his strong arm;[k]
indeed, he becomes hungry, and he lacks[l] strength;
he does not drink water, and he is faint.
13 The woodworker[m] stretches out a line;
he makes an outline of it with a marker.
He makes it with a knife
and makes an outline of it with a compass.
He makes it like the image of a man,
like the beauty of a human, to dwell in a temple.[n]
14 Cutting down cedars for himself,
he chooses[o] a holm tree and an oak,
and he lets it grow strong for him among the trees of the forest.
He plants a cedar, and the rain makes it grow.
15 And it becomes fuel for a human,[p]
and he takes some of it and grows warm;
also, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Also, he makes a god and bows in worship;
he makes himself an image and bows down to it!
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
he eats meat over half of it;
he roasts a roast and is satisfied.
Also he grows warm and says, “Ah!
I am warm! I see the fire!”
17 And he makes the remainder of it into a god!
He bows down to his idol,
and he bows in worship and prays to him,
and he says, “Save me, for you are my god!”
18 They do not know,
and they do not understand,
for their eyes are besmeared so that they cannot see,[q]
their minds[r] so that they have no insight.[s]
19 And no one takes it to heart,[t] and there is no knowledge
and no understanding to say, “I burned half of it in the fire
and also I baked bread on its coals;
I roasted meat, and I have eaten.
And I shall make the rest of it into an abomination!
I shall bow down to a block of wood!”
20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived mind[u] misleads him.
And he cannot save himself,[v] and he cannot say,
“Is this not an illusion in my right hand?”
Yahweh Remembers Israel
21 “Remember these things, Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant:
I formed you; you are my servant;
Israel, you will not be forgotten by me!
22 I have wiped your transgressions out like a cloud
and your sins like mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you!”
23 Sing for joy, heavens, for Yahweh has done it!
Shout, depths of the earth!
Break forth, mountains, in rejoicing,
forest and every tree in it,
for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob,
and he will show his glory in Israel!
Jerusalem Restored through Cyrus
24 Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer,
and he who formed you in[w] the womb:
“I am Yahweh, who made everything,
who stretched out the heavens alone,
who spread out the earth—who was with me?—
25 who frustrates[x] the signs of oracle priests
and makes a fool of diviners,
who drives the wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 who keeps[y] the word of his servant
and carries out the plan of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,
and I will restore its ruins’;
27 who says to the deep, ‘Dry up!
And I will cause your rivers to dry up’;
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd,’
and he shall carry out all my wishes[z];
and saying of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be rebuilt,’
and the temple, ‘It shall be founded.’”
The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion
14 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the sound that I heard was like harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they were singing something like a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been bought from the earth.
4 These are those who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were bought from humanity as first fruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth a lie was not found; they are blameless.
The Three Angels and Their Messages
6 And I saw another angel flying directly overhead[a], having an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who reside on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people, 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water!”
8 And another second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who caused all the nations to drink from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself also will drink of the wine of the anger of God that has been mixed full strength in the cup of his wrath, and will be tortured with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torture went up forever and ever[b], and those who worshiped the beast and his image did not have rest day and night, along with anyone who received[c] the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write:
‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.”
The Earth is Harvested
14 And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud was seated one like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Send out your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe!” 16 And the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 And another angel came out of the temple that is in heaven; he also had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel who had authority over the fire went out from the altar, and he called out with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send out your sharp sickle and harvest the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are at their prime!” 19 And the angel swung his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and threw the grapes[d] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood went out from the winepress up to the bridles of the horses, about one thousand six hundred stadia.[e]
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