M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules About Sexual Relations
18 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: I am the Lord your God. 3 You must not follow the customs of Egypt where you lived, and you must not follow the customs of the Canaanites where I am leading you. You must not live the way they do. 4 You must obey my rules and follow my laws. Be sure to follow my rules because I am the Lord your God. 5 You must obey my rules and my laws, because whoever obeys them will live. I am the Lord.
6 “You must never have sexual relations with[a] your close relatives. I am the Lord.
7 “You must never have sexual relations with your father or mother. She is your mother, so you must not have sexual relations with her. 8 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife, even if she is not your mother, because that is like having sexual relations with your father.[b]
9 “You must not have sexual relations with your sister. It doesn’t matter if she is the daughter of your father or your mother. And it doesn’t matter if your sister was born in your house[c] or at some other place.
10 “You must not have sexual relations with your granddaughter. It doesn’t matter whether she is the daughter of your son or the daughter of your daughter—they are all a part of you!
11 “If your father and his wife[d] have a daughter, she is your sister. You must not have sexual relations with her.
12 “You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister. She is your father’s close relative. 13 You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister. She is your mother’s close relative. 14 You must not have sexual relations with the wife of your father’s brother. You must not go near your uncle’s wife for sexual relations. She is your aunt.
15 “You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife, so you must not have sexual relations with her.
16 “You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife. That would be like having sexual relations with your brother.[e]
17 “You must not have sexual relations with a mother and her daughter or her granddaughter. It doesn’t matter if this granddaughter is the daughter of this woman’s son or daughter. Her granddaughters are her close relatives. It is wrong to do this.
18 “While your wife is still living, you must not take her sister as another wife. This will make the sisters become enemies. You must not have sexual relations with your wife’s sister.
19 “You must not go near a woman to have sexual relations with her during her monthly time of bleeding. She is unclean during this time.
20 “You must not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife. This will only make you filthy.[f]
21 “You must not give any of your children through the fire to Molech. If you do this, you will show that you don’t respect the name of your God. I am the Lord.
22 “Men, you must not have sexual relations with another man as with a woman. That is a terrible sin!
23 “Men, you must not have sexual relations with any animal. This will make you filthy. And women, you must not have sexual relations with any animal. It is against nature!
24 “Don’t make yourself unclean by doing any of these wrong things! I am throwing nations off their land and giving it to you because they did those terrible sins. 25 They made the land filthy. Now the land is sick of those things, and it will vomit out the people who live there.
26 “So you must obey my laws and rules. You must not do any of these terrible sins. These rules are for the citizens of Israel and the people living among you. 27 Those who lived in the land before you have done all these terrible things. So the land became filthy. 28 If you do these things, you will make the land filthy. And it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were there before you. 29 Whoever does any of these terrible sins must be separated from their people! 30 Other people have done these terrible sins, but you must obey my laws. You must not do any of these terrible sins. Do not make yourself filthy with these terrible sins. I am the Lord your God.”
To the director: To the tune “The Deer of Dawn.”[a] A song of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you left me?
You seem too far away to save me,
too far to hear my cries for help!
2 My God, I kept calling by day,
and I was not silent at night.
But you did not answer me.
3 God, you are the Holy One.
You sit as King upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
Yes, they trusted you, and you saved them.
5 They called to you for help and escaped their enemies.
They trusted you and were not disappointed!
6 But I feel like a worm, less than human!
People insult me and look down on me.
7 Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.
They shake their heads and stick out their tongues at me.
8 They say, “Call to the Lord for help.
Maybe he will save you.
If he likes you so much, surely he will rescue you!”
9 God, the truth is, you are the one who brought me into this world.
You made me feel safe while I was still at my mother’s breasts.
10 You have been my God since the day I was born.
I was thrown into your arms as I came from my mother’s womb.
11 So don’t leave me!
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help me.
12 My enemies surround me like angry bulls.
They are like the powerful bulls of Bashan, and they are all around me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide,
like a lion roaring and tearing at its prey.
14 My strength is gone,
like water poured out on the ground.
My bones have separated.
My courage is gone.[b]
15 My mouth[c] is as dry as a piece of baked pottery.
My tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth.
You have left me dying in the dust.
16 The “dogs” are all around me—
a pack[d] of evil people has trapped me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.[e]
17 I can see each one of my bones.
My enemies are looking at me;
they just keep staring.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves,
and they throw lots for what I am wearing.
19 Lord, don’t leave me!
You are my strength—hurry and help me!
20 Save me from the sword.
Save my precious life from these dogs.
21 Rescue me from the lion’s mouth.
Protect me from the horns of the bulls.[f]
22 I will tell my people about you.
I will praise you in the great assembly.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who worship him!
Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
Fear and respect him, all you people of Israel!
24 He does not ignore those who need help.
He does not hate them.
He does not turn away from them.
He listens when they cry for help.
25 Lord, because of you I offer praise in the great assembly.
In front of all these worshipers I will do all that I promised.
26 Poor people, come eat and be satisfied.[g]
You who have come looking for the Lord, praise him!
May your hearts be happy[h] forever.
27 May those in faraway countries remember the Lord and come back to him.
May those in distant lands worship him,
28 because the Lord is the King.
He rules all nations.
29 The people have eaten all they wanted
and bowed down to worship him.
Yes, everyone will bow down to him—
all who are on the way to the grave, unable to hold on to life.
30 Our descendants will serve him.
Those who are not yet born will be told about him.
31 Each generation will tell their children
about the good things the Lord has done.
1 These are the words from the Teacher, a son of David and king of Jerusalem.
2 Everything is so meaningless. The Teacher says that it is all a waste of time![a] 3 Do people really gain anything from all the hard work they do in this life[b]?
Things Never Change
4 People live and people die, but the earth continues forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun goes down, and then it hurries to rise again in the same place.
6 The wind blows to the south, and the wind blows to the north. The wind blows around and around. Then it turns and blows back to the place it began.
7 All rivers flow again and again to the same place. They all flow to the sea, but the sea never becomes full.
8 Words cannot fully explain things,[c] but people continue speaking.[d] Words come again and again to our ears, but our ears don’t become full. And our eyes don’t become full of what we see.
Nothing Is New
9 All things continue the way they have been since the beginning. The same things will be done that have always been done. There is nothing new in this life.
10 Someone might say, “Look, this is new,” but that thing has always been here. It was here before we were.
11 People don’t remember what happened long ago. In the future, they will not remember what is happening now. And later, other people will not remember what the people before them did.
Does Wisdom Bring Happiness?
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I decided to study and to use my wisdom to learn about everything that is done in this life. I learned that it is a very hard thing that God has given us to do. 14 I looked at everything done on earth, and I saw that it is all a waste of time. It is like trying to catch the wind.[e] 15 If something is crooked, you cannot say it is straight. And if something is missing, you cannot say it is there.
16 I said to myself, “I am very wise. I am wiser than all the kings who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are.”
17 I decided to learn how wisdom and knowledge are better than thinking foolish thoughts. But I learned that trying to become wise is like trying to catch the wind. 18 With much wisdom comes frustration. The one who gains more wisdom also gains more sorrow.
Leaders in the Church
3 It is a true statement that anyone whose goal is to serve as an elder[a] has his heart set on a good work. 2 An elder[b] must be such a good man that no one can rightly criticize him. He must be faithful to his wife.[c] He must have self-control and be wise. He must be respected by others. He must be ready to help people by welcoming them into his home. He must be a good teacher. 3 He must not drink too much, and he must not be someone who likes to fight. He must be gentle and peaceful. He must not be someone who loves money. 4 He must be a good leader of his own family. This means that his children obey him with full respect. 5 If a man does not know how to lead his own family, he will not be able to take care of God’s church.
6 An elder must not be a new believer. It might make him too proud of himself. Then he would be condemned for his pride the same as the devil was. 7 An elder must also have the respect of people who are not part of the church. Then he will not be criticized by others and be caught in the devil’s trap.
Special Servants
8 In the same way, the men who are chosen to be special servants must have the respect of others. They must not be men who say things they don’t mean or who spend their time drinking too much. They must not be men who will do almost anything for money. 9 They must follow the true faith that God has now made known to us and always do what they know is right. 10 You should test them first. Then, if you find that they have done nothing wrong, they can be special servants.
11 In the same way, the women[d] must have the respect of others. They must not be women who speak evil about other people. They must have self-control and be women who can be trusted in everything.
12 The men who are special servants must be faithful in marriage.[e] They must be good leaders of children and their own families. 13 Those who do well as special servants are making an honorable place for themselves. And they will feel very sure of their faith in Christ Jesus.
The Secret of Our Life
14 I hope I can come to you soon. But I am writing this to you now, 15 so that, even if I cannot come soon, you will know how people should live in the family[f] of God. That family is the church of the living God. And God’s church is the support and foundation of the truth. 16 Without a doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great:
Christ[g] was shown to us in human form;
the Spirit proved that he was right;
he was seen by angels.
The message about him was told to the nations;
people in the world believed in him;
he was taken up to heaven in glory.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International