M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Regulations Concerning Priests
21 Then[a] Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, 2 except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, 3 and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband[b]—for her he may defile himself. 4 He must not make himself unclean as a kinsman by marriage,[c] defiling himself.
5 “‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire to[d] Yahweh—their God’s food—and they shall be holy.
7 “‘They shall not marry[e] a woman who is a prostitute and defiled, nor shall they marry[f] a woman divorced from her husband, because each priest[g] is holy for his God. 8 And you shall consecrate him, because he is bringing near your God’s food; he shall be holy to you, since I, Yahweh, who consecrates you, am holy.
9 “‘As for[h] the daughter of any priest, if she is defiled by prostituting, she is disgracing her father—she shall be burned in the fire.
10 “‘As for[i] the priest who is higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and he was ordained[j] to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments. 11 And he shall not go near any dead person, nor shall he make himself unclean for his father or[k] for his mother. 12 And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane his God’s sanctuary, because the dedication of his God’s oil of anointment is on him; I am Yahweh.
13 “‘And he himself must take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or[l] a divorced woman or[m] a defiled woman, a prostitute—these he must not take; he shall take only[n] a virgin from his people as wife. 15 And he shall not profane his offspring among his people, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates him.’”
16 Then[o] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘A man from your offspring throughout their generations, in whom is a physical defect, shall not come near to present your God’s food. 18 Indeed,[p] any man in whom is a physical defect shall not come near: a blind man or lame or disfigured or deformed, 19 or a man in whom is a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf, or a spot in his eye or a skin disorder or a skin eruption or a crushed testicle. 21 Any man from Aaron the priest’s offspring in whom is a physical defect shall not come near to present offerings made by fire to[q] Yahweh; a physical defect is in him; he shall not come near to present his God’s food. 22 He may eat his God’s food, from the most holy things[r] and from the holy things. 23 But he must not enter the curtain, and he must not come near to the altar, because a physical defect is in him, and he must not profane my sanctuary, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.’”
24 Thus[s] Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.[t]
A Prayer for Vindication
Of David.[a]
26 Judge me, O Yahweh, because I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted Yahweh and not wavered.
2 Prove me, O Yahweh, and test me.
Try my innermost being[b] and my mind.[c]
3 Because your loyal love is before my eyes,
and I walk about in your faithfulness.
4 I do not sit with deceitful people,
nor will I go about with hypocrites.
5 I hate the crowd of evildoers,
and with the wicked I will not sit.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence,
and I will walk about your altar, O Yahweh,
7 to declare with a voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all your wondrous deeds.
8 O Yahweh, I love the dwelling of your house,[d]
and the place where your glory abides.[e]
9 Do not destroy me[f] with the sinners,
nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10 in whose hands is an evil plan,
and whose right hand is full of bribes.[g]
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground.
In assemblies I will bless Yahweh.
A Declaration of Trust
Of David.[h]
27 Yahweh is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the refuge of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers drew near against me to eat my flesh—
my adversaries and my enemies who drew near to me—
they themselves stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear.
Though war arise against me,
even in this I will remain confident.
4 One thing I have asked from Yahweh;
it I will seek:
that I may dwell in the house[i] of Yahweh all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of Yahweh,
and to consider[j] his temple.
5 Because he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.
He will conceal me in the hiding place of his tent.
He will set me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head will be high over my enemies round about me.
And I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy.
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.
7 Hear, O Yahweh, my voice when I call,
and be gracious to me and answer me.
8 On your behalf my heart says, “Seek my face.”
Your face, O Yahweh, I do seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help; do not abandon nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 If my father or my mother forsake me,
then Yahweh will receive me.
11 Teach me, O Yahweh, your way,
and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me over to the desire of my enemies,
because false witnesses have arisen against me,
and each breathing out violence.[k]
13 Surely[l] I believe that I will see the goodness of Yahweh
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong and let your heart show strength,
and wait for Yahweh.
The Existence of Oppression in the World Makes Human Existence Miserable
4 I looked again, and I saw all the oppression that occurs under the sun.
I saw the tears of the oppressed—
no one comforts them!
Those who oppress them are powerful—
no one can comfort them![a]
2 So I deemed the dead who have already died
more fortunate than the living who are still alive.
3 But better off than both of them is the one who has not yet been born
and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
People Need Balance in Their Approach to Labor
4 I also realized that all of the toil and all of the skillful work that is done—it is envy between one man and another.[b] This also is vanity and chasing wind!
5 The fool refuses to work with his hands,
so he has nothing to eat except his own skin![c]
6 Better is one handful with peace
than two fists full with toil and chasing wind.
Wealth without Someone with Which to Enjoy It is Futile
7 I turned again and saw another vanity under the sun. 8 Sometimes a man is all alone with no companion; he also has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. He laments, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself[d] of pleasure?” This also is vanity—it is an unhappy business!
Friends and Family Can Help One Another in Life
9 Two are better than the one, for they enjoy a better reward for their toil. 10 For if one falls, his companion may help him up. But pity the one who falls and there is no one[e] to help him up. 11 Also if two lie together, they can keep each other warm.[f] But how can one person be warm? 12 Although an assailant may overpower one person, two may withstand him.[g] A threefold cord is not easily broken![h]
One Must Be Willing to Listen to Counsel
13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.[i] 14 For he came out of the prison house to reign, since he was born poor in his kingdom.[j] 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun with the youth; the second who will stand in his place. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before him. Yet the later generation will not rejoice in him, for this also is vanity and chasing wind!
Slaves and Masters
6 All those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, lest the name of God and the teaching be slandered. 2 And those who have believing masters must not look down on them because they are brothers, but rather they must serve, because those who benefit by their service are believers and dearly loved.
False Teachers and the Love of Money
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a morbid interest concerning controversies and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 constant wrangling by people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who consider godliness to be a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is a great means of gain. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so that neither can we bring anything out. 8 But if we[a] have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge those people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all evil, by which some, because they[b] desire it, have gone astray from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Renewed Charge to Timothy
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patient endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I command you, in the sight of God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you observe the commandment without fault, irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make known in his own time, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, 16 the one who alone possesses immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no human being has seen nor is able to see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Instructions to the Rich
17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be proud and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in God, who provides us all things richly for enjoyment, 18 to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, sharing freely, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, in order that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Final Charge and Benediction
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless empty talk and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some, by[c] professing it, have deviated concerning the faith. Grace be with you all.
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