M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Punishment for Those Who Do Not Obey the Law

20 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Any man of Israel or of the strangers living in Israel, who gives any of his children to the false god Molech, must be put to death. The people of the land will kill him with stones. ³ I Myself will go against that man and he will not be numbered among God’s people, because he has given some of his children to Molech, making My holy place sinful and bringing shame on My holy name. ⁴ If the people of the land close their eyes when a man gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, ⁵ then I Myself will go against that man and his family. They will not be numbered among God’s people, and all who follow him to sell themselves to Molech.

⁶ ‘I will go against the person who turns to those who speak with bad spirits and talk to the dead. In doing this, he sells himself to them. He will not be numbered among God’s people. ⁷ So you should set yourselves apart and be holy. For I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep My Laws and live by them. I am the Lord Who sets you apart.

⁹ ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or mother, he will for sure be put to death. Because he has cursed his father or mother, his blood will be on his own head.

¹⁰ ‘If a man does sex sins with another man’s wife, even his friend’s wife, both the sinful man and woman must be put to death. ¹¹ If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has put his father to shame. Both of the guilty ones must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin. ¹² If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have done a bad sex sin. They will suffer for their own sin. ¹³ If a man lies with a male as if he were a woman, both of them have done a very sinful act. They must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin. ¹⁴ If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is sin. Both he and they will be burned with fire, so this kind of sin will not be among you. ¹⁵ If a man lies with an animal, he must be put to death. Kill the animal also. ¹⁶ If a woman goes near any animal to have sex with it, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin.

¹⁷ ‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s or mother’s daughter, and he sees her without clothes on and she sees him, it is a shame. They will be punished in front of their people. He has taken off his sister’s clothes. He will suffer for his own sin. ¹⁸ If a man lies with a woman who has a flow of blood, and takes her clothes off, he has made her flow to show. And she has shown the flow of her blood. So both of them will not be numbered among God’s people. ¹⁹ Do not take the clothes off your mother’s sister or father’s sister. For that is putting to shame one of your own family. They will suffer for their own sin. ²⁰ If a man lies with the wife of his father’s or mother’s brother, he has put to shame his father’s or mother’s brother. They will suffer for their own sin. They will die without children. ²¹ If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is sin. He has put his brother to shame. They will have no children.

²² ‘Keep all My Laws and do what I tell you, so the land where I am bringing you to live will not spit you out. ²³ Do not follow the ways of the nation which I am driving out before you. For they did all these things, and so I hated them. ²⁴ But I have said to you, “Their land will belong to you. I Myself will give it to you for your own, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, Who has set you apart from all other peoples. ²⁵ You are to know the difference between the clean animal and the animal that is unclean, and between the clean bird and the bird that is unclean. Do not make yourselves a sinful people with animal or bird or anything that moves on the ground, which I have set apart from you as being unclean. ²⁶ Be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy. I have divided you from the nations, so you belong to Me.

²⁷ ‘A man or woman who speaks with bad spirits or who talks to the dead must be put to death. They will be killed with stones. They will suffer for their own sin.’”

Prayer to Be Kept Safe from Enemies

25 I lift up my soul to You, O Lord. ² O my God, I trust in You. Do not let me be ashamed. Do not let those who fight against me win. ³ Yes, let no one who hopes in You be put to shame. But put to shame those who hurt others without a reason.

⁴ Show me Your ways, O Lord. Teach me Your paths. ⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God Who saves me. I wait for You all day long. ⁶ Remember Your loving-pity and Your loving-kindness, O Lord. For they have been from old. ⁷ Do not remember my sins from when I was young, or my sinful ways. By Your loving-kindness remember me for You are good, O Lord.

⁸ Good and right is the Lord. So He teaches sinners in His ways. ⁹ He leads those without pride into what is right, and teaches them His way. ¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are loving and true for those who keep His agreement and keep His Laws. ¹¹ For the good of Your name, O Lord, forgive my sin, even as big as it is.

¹² Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will teach him in the way he should choose. ¹³ His soul will live a rich life. And his children will be given the land. ¹⁴ The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him. And He will make them know His agreement. ¹⁵ My eyes are always on the Lord. For He will take my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn to me and show me Your loving-kindness. For I am alone and in trouble. ¹⁷ The troubles of my heart have grown. Bring me out of my suffering. ¹⁸ Look upon my troubles and my pain, and forgive all my sins. ¹⁹ Look upon those who hate me, for they are many. And how very much they hate me! ²⁰ Keep me safe, Lord, and set me free. Do not let me be put to shame for I put my trust in You. ²¹ Let what is good and what is right keep me safe, because I wait for You. ²² O God, make Israel free from all their troubles.

A Time for Everything

3 There is a special time for everything. There is a time for everything that happens under heaven. ² There is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pick what is planted. ³ There is a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. ⁴ There is a time to cry, and a time to laugh; a time to have sorrow, and a time to dance. ⁵ There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing. ⁶ There is a time to try to find, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away. ⁷ There is a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be quiet, and a time to speak. ⁸ There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

The God-Given Work

⁹ What does the worker get for his work? ¹⁰ I have seen the work which God has given the sons of men to do. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put thoughts of the forever in man’s mind, yet man cannot understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end.

¹² I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and to do good as long as they live. ¹³ And I know that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his work. It is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will last forever. There is nothing to add to it, and nothing to take from it. God works so that men will honor Him with fear. ¹⁵ That which is, already has been. And that which will be, has already been. For God allows the same things to happen again.

Sin Is Everywhere

¹⁶ Also I have seen under the sun that in the place of what is right and fair there is sin. And in the place of what is right and good there is wrong-doing. ¹⁷ I said to myself, “God will judge both the man who is right and good, and the sinful man.” For there is a time for everything to be done and a time for every work. ¹⁸ I said to myself about the sons of men, “God is testing them to show them that they are like animals.” ¹⁹ For the same thing is to happen to both the sons of men and animals. As one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and to be a man is no better than to be an animal. Because all is for nothing. ²⁰ All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. ²¹ Who knows that the spirit of man goes up and the spirit of the animal goes down to the earth? ²² So I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his work, for that is all he can do. Who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Teaching About Women Whose Husbands Have Died

5 Do not speak sharp words to an older man. Talk with him as if he were a father. Talk to younger men as brothers. ² Talk to older women as mothers. Talk to younger women as sisters, keeping yourself pure. ³ Help women whose husbands have died. ⁴ If a woman whose husband has died has children or grandchildren, they are the ones to care for her. In that way, they can pay back to their parents the kindness that has been shown to them. God is pleased when this is done. ⁵ Women whose husbands have died are alone in this world. Their trust is in the Lord. They pray day and night. ⁶ But the one who lives only for the joy she can receive from this world is the same as dead even if she is alive.

⁷ Teach these things so they will do what is right. ⁸ Anyone who does not take care of his family and those in his house has turned away from the faith. He is worse than a person who has never put his trust in Christ. ⁹ A woman over sixty years old whose husband has died may receive help from the church. To receive this help, she must have been the wife of one man. ¹⁰ She must be known for doing good things for people and for being a good mother. She must be known for taking strangers into her home and for washing the feet of Christians. She must be known for helping those who suffer and for showing kindness.

¹¹ Do not write the names of younger women whose husbands have died together with the names of others who need help. They will turn away from Christ because of wanting to get married again. ¹² Then they would be thought of as guilty of breaking their first promise. ¹³ They will waste their time. They will go from house to house carrying stories. They will find fault with people and say things they should not talk about. ¹⁴ I think it is best for younger women whose husbands have died to get married. They should have children and care for their own homes. Then no one can speak against them. ¹⁵ Some of these women have already turned away to follow Satan. ¹⁶ If you have any women whose husbands have died in your family, you must care for them. The church should not have to help them. The church can help women whose husbands have died who are all alone in this world and have no one else to help them.

Teaching About Leaders

¹⁷ Leaders who do their work well should be given twice as much pay, and for sure, those who work hard preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ The Holy Writings say, “When a cow is walking on the grain to break it open, do not stop it from eating some” ^(A), and “A person who works should be paid.” ^(B)

¹⁹ Do not listen to what someone says against a church leader unless two or three persons say the same thing. ²⁰ Show those who keep on sinning where they are wrong in front of the whole church. Then others will be afraid of sinning. ²¹ I tell you from my heart that you must follow these rules without deciding before the truth is known. God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels know what I am saying. Show favors to no one. ²² Do not be in a hurry about choosing a church leader. You do not want to have any part in other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.

²³ Do not drink water only. Use a little wine because of your stomach and because you are sick so often.

²⁴ The sins of some men can be seen. Their sins go before them and make them guilty. The sins of other men will be seen later. ²⁵ In the same way, good works are easy to see now. But some that are not easy to be seen cannot always be hid.