M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Rules About Skin Diseases

13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ² “Someone might have a swelling on their skin, or it may be a rash or a bright spot. If the sore looks like the disease of leprosy, the person must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. ³ The priest must look at the sore on the person’s skin. If the hair in the sore has become white, and if the sore seems deeper than the person’s skin, it is leprosy. When the priest has finished looking at the person, he must announce that the person is unclean.

⁴ “Sometimes there is a white spot on a person’s skin that does not seem deeper than the skin. If that is true, the priest must separate that person from other people for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day the priest must look at the person again. If the priest sees that the sore has not changed and has not spread on the skin, he must separate the person for seven more days. ⁶ Seven days later the priest must look at the person again. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is clean. The sore is only a rash. After washing the clothes, that person will be clean again.

⁷ “But if the rash spreads over the skin after the person has shown himself to the priest to be made clean again, that person must come again to the priest. ⁸ The priest must look, and if the rash has spread, he must announce that the person is unclean. The disease is leprosy.

⁹ “Whoever has leprosy must be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ He must look at that person. If there is a white swelling on the skin, if the hair has become white, and if the skin looks raw in the swelling, ¹¹ it is leprosy that has been there for a long time. The priest must announce that the person is unclean. He does not have to wait until after a period of separation, because he already knows that the person is unclean.

¹² “Sometimes a skin disease will spread all over a person’s body, covering the skin from head to foot. The priest must look at that person’s whole body. ¹³ If the priest sees that the skin disease covers the whole body and that it has turned all the skin white, the priest must announce that the person is clean. ¹⁴ But if the skin is raw, that person is not clean. ¹⁵ When the priest sees the raw skin, he must announce that the person is unclean. The raw skin is not clean. It is leprosy.

¹⁶ “If the raw skin changes and becomes white, the person must come to the priest. ¹⁷ The priest must look at the person. If the skin has become white, the person who had the infection is clean, and the priest must announce this.

¹⁸ “Someone might get a boil on their skin that heals over. ¹⁹ Then that boil might become a white swelling or a bright, white spot with red streaks in it. If this happens, the person must show that spot to the priest. ²⁰ The priest must look at it. If the swelling is deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has become white, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. The spot is leprosy that has broken out from inside the boil. ²¹ But if the priest looks at the spot, and there are no white hairs in it, and the spot is not deeper than the skin but is faded, the priest must separate the person for seven days. ²² If the spot spreads on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean; it is an infection. ²³ But if the bright spot stays in its place and does not spread, it is only the scar from the old boil. The priest must announce that the person is clean.

^24-25 “Someone might get a burn on the skin. If the raw skin becomes a white spot or a white spot with red streaks in it, the priest must look at it. If that white spot seems to be deeper than the skin, and the hair at that spot has become white, it is leprosy that has broken out in the burn. The priest must announce that the person is unclean. ²⁶ But if the priest looks at the spot, and there is no white hair in the bright spot, and the spot is not deeper than the skin but is faded, the priest must separate the person for seven days. ²⁷ On the seventh day, the priest must look at the person again. If the spot has spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is leprosy. ²⁸ But if the bright spot has not spread on the skin but has faded, it is only a scar from the burn. The priest must announce that the person is clean.

²⁹ “Someone might get an infection on the scalp^[a] or beard. ³⁰ A priest must look at the infection. If the infection seems to be deeper than the skin, and if the hair around it is thin and yellow, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is a serious skin disease.^{[b] 31} If the disease does not seem deeper than the skin, but there is no dark hair in it, the priest must separate that person for seven days. ³² On the seventh day, the priest must look at it again. If the disease has not spread, and there are no yellow hairs growing in it, and the disease does not seem deeper than the skin, ³³ the person must shave. But the diseased area should not be shaved. The priest must separate that person for seven more days. ³⁴ On the seventh day, the priest must look at it again. If the disease has not spread, and it does not seem deeper than the skin, the priest must announce that the person is clean. After washing those clothes, that person will be clean. ³⁵ But if the disease spreads on the skin after the person has become clean, ³⁶ then the priest must look at the person again. If the disease has spread, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair. The person is unclean. ³⁷ But if the priest thinks that the disease has stopped, and black hair is growing in it, the disease has healed. The person is clean, and the priest must announce this.

³⁸ “If anyone has white spots on the skin, ³⁹ a priest must look at them. If the spots on that person’s skin are dull white, the disease is only a harmless rash. That person is clean.

⁴⁰ “A man might begin to lose the hair on his head. It is only baldness, so he is clean. ⁴¹ A man might lose hair from the sides of his head. He is clean. It is only another kind of baldness. ⁴² But if there is a red and white infection on his scalp, it is a skin disease. ⁴³ A priest must look at him. If the swelling of the infection is red and white and looks like the leprosy on other parts of his body, ⁴⁴ then he has leprosy on his scalp. The person is unclean. The priest must announce that he is unclean.

⁴⁵ “People with leprosy must warn other people. They must shout, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ They must tear their clothes at the seams. They must let their hair grow wild,^[c] and they must cover their mouth. ⁴⁶ They are unclean the whole time that they have the infection. They are unclean and must live outside the camp.

^47-48 “Some clothing might have mildew on it. The cloth could be linen or wool, woven or knitted. Or the mildew might be on a piece of leather or on something made from leather. ⁴⁹ If the mildew is green or red, it must be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest must look at it and put it in a separate place for seven days. ^51-52 On the seventh day, he must look at it again. It doesn’t matter if the mildew is on leather or cloth or if the cloth is woven or knitted. And it doesn’t matter what the leather was used for. If the mildew has spread, the object is unclean because of the infection. The priest must burn it.

⁵³ “If the priest sees that the mildew did not spread on the object, it must be washed. It doesn’t matter if it is leather or cloth, or if the cloth is knitted or woven, it must be washed. ⁵⁴ He must order the people to wash it. Then he must separate the clothing for seven more days. ⁵⁵ After that time, the priest must look at it again. If the mildew still looks the same, the object is unclean. It doesn’t matter if the infection has not spread; you must burn that cloth or piece of leather.

⁵⁶ “But if the priest looks at that piece of leather or cloth, and the mildew has faded, he must tear the infected spot out of the piece of leather or cloth. It doesn’t matter if the cloth is woven or knitted. ⁵⁷ But the mildew might come back to that piece of leather or cloth. If that happens, the mildew is spreading, and the object must be burned. ⁵⁸ But if the mildew did not come back after washing, that piece of leather or cloth is clean, whether the cloth was woven or knitted.”

⁵⁹ These are the rules for mildew on pieces of leather or cloth, whether the cloth is woven or knitted.

A song of David.

A miktam of David.

27 Never brag about what you will do in the future; you have no idea what tomorrow will bring.

² Never praise yourself. Let others do it.

³ A stone is heavy, and sand is hard to carry, but the irritation caused by a fool is much harder to bear.

⁴ Anger is cruel and can destroy like a flood, but jealousy is much worse.

⁵ Open criticism is better than hidden love.

⁶ You can trust what your friend says, even when it hurts. But your enemies want to hurt you, even when they act nice.

⁷ When you are full, you will not even eat honey. When you are hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet.

⁸ A man away from home is like a bird away from its nest.

⁹ Perfume and incense make you feel good, and so does good advice from a friend.

¹⁰ Don’t forget your own friends or your father’s friends. If you have a problem, go to your neighbor for help. It is better to ask a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.

¹¹ My son, be wise. This will make me happy. Then I will be able to answer those who criticize me.

¹² Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to the trouble and suffer for it.

¹³ When you make a deal with a stranger, get something from him and any other foreigners with him to make sure he will pay you.

¹⁴ Don’t wake up your neighbors early in the morning with a shout of “Good morning!” They will treat it like a curse, not a blessing.

¹⁵ A complaining wife is like water that never stops dripping on a rainy day. ¹⁶ Stopping her is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold oil in your hand.

¹⁷ As one piece of iron sharpens another, so friends keep each other sharp.

¹⁸ People who take care of fig trees are allowed to eat the fruit. In the same way, people who take care of their masters will be rewarded.

¹⁹ Just as you can see your own face reflected in water, so your heart reflects the kind of person you are.

²⁰ Just as the place of death and destruction is never full, people always want more and more.

²¹ People use fire to purify gold and silver. In the same way, you are tested by the praise people give you.

²² Even if you pound fools to powder like grain in a bowl, you will never force the foolishness out of them.

²³ Learn all you can about your sheep. Take care of your goats the best you can. ²⁴ Neither wealth nor nations last forever. ²⁵ Cut the hay, and new grass will grow. Then gather the new plants that grow on the hills. ²⁶ Cut the wool from your lambs, and make your clothes. Sell some of your goats, and buy some land. ²⁷ Then there will be plenty of goat’s milk for you and your family, with enough to keep the servants healthy.

1 Greetings from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

To the church of those in Thessalonica, who are in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ We thank God for you always. And that’s what we should do, because you give us good reason to be thankful: Your faith is growing more and more. And the love that every one of you has for each other is also growing. ⁴ So we tell the other churches of God how proud we are of you. We tell them how you patiently continue to be strong and have faith, even though you are being persecuted and are suffering many troubles.

Paul Tells About God’s Judgment

⁵ This is proof that God is right in his judgment. He wants you to be worthy of his kingdom. Your suffering is for that kingdom. ⁶ God will do what is right. He will punish those who are causing you trouble. ⁷ And he will bring relief to you who are troubled. He will bring it to you and to us when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven for all to see, together with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will come with burning fire to punish those who don’t know God—those who refuse to accept the Good News about our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with a destruction that never ends. They will not be allowed to be with the Lord but will be kept away from his great power. ¹⁰ This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive honor with his holy people. He will be admired among all who have believed. And this includes you because you believed what we told you.

¹¹ That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to help you live the good way he wanted when he chose you. The goodness you have makes you want to do good. And the faith you have makes you work. We pray that with his power God will help you do these things more and more. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of you, and you will be honored because of him. This can happen only by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.