M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
What people should do when pus, blood or semen comes out of them
15 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 ‘Say to Israel's people, “If pus is coming out of a man's body, he is unclean.” 3 The man is unclean if the pus pours. And he is unclean even if it stops pouring.
4 If the man sits on a bed, it becomes unclean. If the man sits on anything, it becomes unclean. 5 A person who touches the bed must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. 6 If anyone sits on anything that he has sat on, they will also become unclean. So they must wash their clothes and their body. They will also be unclean until evening.
7 A person who touches the unclean man must wash his clothes. He must also wash his body. He will be unclean until evening.
8 A man who is unclean might spit on another person. Then the other person must wash his clothes. He must also wash his body. He will be unclean until evening.
9 An unclean man might ride on an animal. The cloth on the back of the animal will become unclean. 10 A person who touches that cloth will be unclean until evening. If a person picks up that cloth, he must wash his clothes. He must also wash his body. He will be unclean until evening.
11 The unclean man might not wash his hands but then he touches another person. The person that he touched becomes unclean. That person must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening.
12 If the unclean man touches a clay pot, you must break it. Or he may touch a thing that someone has made from wood. If he touches it, you must wash that thing.
13 The pus may stop coming out of a person. When it does, he must count seven days. He must wash his clothes and his body with fresh water. Then the man will be clean. 14 On the eighth day, he must come in front of the Lord. He must take two birds to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They must be doves or pigeons. He must give them to the priest. 15 The priest will sacrifice them. One bird is for a sin offering and the other is for a burnt offering. They are an atonement to the Lord. Then the man will be clean.
16 When semen comes out of a man, he must wash his body. He will be unclean until evening. 17 You must wash any clothes that semen touches. They are unclean until evening. 18 A man might lie with a woman. If semen comes out of him, they are both unclean. They must wash their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.
19 A woman will bleed every month. She is unclean for seven days. A person might touch the woman when she is bleeding. That person will remain unclean until evening.
20 The woman who is bleeding might lie on a bed. The bed will become unclean. If the woman sits on something, it becomes unclean. 21 If another person touches the bed, he must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. 22 Another person might sit on the thing that she sat on. That person must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. 23 A person might touch anything that the woman sat on. If he does, he is unclean until evening.
24 A man might lie down with a woman. If her blood touches him, he is unclean for seven days. Any bed that the man lies on becomes unclean.
25 If a woman is bleeding for more than seven days, she is unclean. She is unclean all the time that she is bleeding. 26 The bed that the woman lies on becomes unclean. Anything that the woman sits on is unclean. 27 If another person touches the chair, he becomes unclean. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening. If another person touches the bed, he will also become unclean. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening.
28 When the woman stops bleeding, she must count seven days. Then she will be clean. 29 On the eighth day, she must take two birds to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They must be doves or pigeons. She must give them to the priest. He will sacrifice one bird for her sin and he will burn the other. 30 He will kill them as an atonement to the Lord. Then the woman will be clean.
31 The tabernacle is God's house. It is among Israel's people. The priests must keep the people away from anything that makes them unclean. If they are not clean, they will make the Tent of Meeting unclean. So they will die.’
32 These are the rules when pus or semen come from a man's body. 33 These are the rules for a woman when she bleeds each month. These are the rules for a man who has sex with an unclean woman.
This song is for the music leader.
The Lord's servant, David, wrote it.
David sang these words to the Lord when the Lord saved him from the power of his enemies. This was at the time when Saul was king.
Thank you, Lord![a]
18 I love you, Lord.
You make me strong.
2 The Lord keeps me safe.
He is my great rock and my strong place.
God is my high rock.[b]
I run to him to hide and be safe.
He keeps me safe like a soldier's shield.
He is the strong place where I can hide safely.
3 I praise the Lord because he deserves it!
When I called to him for help,
he saved me from my enemies.
4 Death was near enough to catch me!
Danger was like a river that poured over me.
5 Death was tying me up with ropes,
to pull me into the deep hole of the grave.
6 In my trouble, I prayed to the Lord.
I called to my God to help me.
He heard my voice from his home in heaven.
My prayer reached his ears.
7 Then the earth moved and it shook.
Even the strong mountains shook,
because God was angry.
8 He breathed out smoke from his nose.
Fire and hot coals came out from his mouth,
to destroy his enemies.
9 God caused the sky to bend as he came down.
Dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He sat on a cherub and he flew.
The wind carried him as he travelled.
11 God covered himself with darkness.
He hid himself in dark clouds that held rain.
12 Bright light went in front of him.
Hail and lightning fell from the clouds.
13 The Lord sent thunder from the sky.
People everywhere heard the voice of the Most High God.
14 The Lord shot his arrows of lightning.
He caused his enemies to run away.
15 When you shouted against your enemies, Lord,
even the bottom of the deep sea appeared.
People could see the foundations of the earth,
when you breathed out in anger.
16 The Lord reached down to me from above.
He took hold of me and he pulled me up out of the deep water.
17 Yes, he saved me from my powerful enemies.
The people who hated me were too strong for me,
but the Lord saved me from their power.
18 They attacked me when I was in trouble,
but the Lord helped me.
19 He led me out to a place where I would be safe.
He saved me because I made him happy.
20 The Lord was kind to me
because I do things that please him.
He blesses me
because I am not guilty of bad things.
21 I have obeyed the Lord's commands.
I have not turned against my God.
22 I understand all his rules,
and I do not refuse to obey them.
23 He knows that I have done nothing that is wrong.
I kept away from any sin.
24 The Lord has been kind to me,
because I did good things.
He sees that I am not guilty.
25 Lord, if people are faithful to you,
then you are faithful to them.
If people do nothing that is bad,
they can trust you to do nothing bad to them.
26 If people always do what is right,
they can trust you to be kind to them.
But if people are wicked,
you turn against them.
27 You save people who are humble.
But if people are proud, you bring them down very low.
28 Lord, you make my lamp burn brightly.
My God is my light in the dark.
29 You make me strong,
so that I can attack a whole army!
With the help of my God,
I can climb over any high wall.[c]
30 God's way is perfect.
Yes, the Lord's promises are always true.
He keeps safe everyone who goes to him for help,
like a shield that keeps a soldier safe.
31 We know that the Lord is God,
and no one else.
Only our God can keep us safe,
like a strong rock!
32 It is God who makes me strong.
He shows me the safe way through my life.
33 He makes my feet stand strongly on the ground.
Like a deer,
I can stand on high mountains and not fall.
34 He teaches me how to fight in war.
He makes my arms strong
to shoot arrows from a metal bow.[d]
35 Lord, your power has helped me to be strong.
You have kept me safe, like a shield.
Your kind help has made me great.
36 You have helped me to move safely,
so that my feet do not slip.
37 I ran after my enemies and I caught them.
I did not turn back until I had killed them.
38 I knocked them down to the ground.
They could not get up again.
They fell under my feet.
39 You have made me strong to fight battles,
so that I win against my enemies.
40 You cause my enemies to turn around,
and they run away from me.
I can destroy those who hate me.
41 They call out for help,
but nobody is there to help them.
They call to the Lord,
but he does not answer them.
42 I beat them into dust
that the wind blows away.
I walk over them,
like dirt that lies on the streets.
43 You have saved me from people who attacked me.
You made me a ruler of other nations.
People that I did not know before
now serve me as their ruler.
44 When foreign people hear about me,
they choose to obey me.
They cannot stand against me
because they are afraid.
45 They are not brave enough to fight me.
They shake with fear,
as they come out of their strong cities.
46 The Lord is alive! He is my strong Rock!
Everyone should praise him!
He rules as king!
He is the God who saves me.
47 He is the true God who punishes my enemies.
He makes the nations obey me.
48 He is the one who saves me from my enemies.
Yes, God, you give me power
to win against those who attack me.
You keep me safe from angry and cruel men.
49 Lord, I will thank you,
so that all the nations know about you.
I will sing to praise your name.
50 Yes, the Lord gives power to me, David, his king.
He gives me great strength to win against my enemies.
I am the special king that he has chosen.[e]
He will continue to be kind to me
and to my descendants for ever.
29 You may warn a proud person many times, but he will not listen to you.
Trouble will suddenly happen to him and he will not escape.
2 When righteous people are doing well, everyone is happy.
But when wicked people rule, everyone is sad.
3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father happy.
But anyone who is a friend of prostitutes is wasting his father's money.
4 A king who rules with justice makes his country strong.
But a king who takes lots of taxes destroys his country.
5 If you always praise your friends with sweet words,
that will be a trap that you walk into yourself.
6 The sin of an evil person becomes a trap that catches him.
But a righteous person sings with joy.
7 Righteous people want poor people to receive justice.
But wicked people do not understand things like that.
8 People who insult their friends bring trouble to a city.
But wise people stop arguments.
9 If a wise person accuses a foolish person in court,
there will be no agreement.
The fool will only laugh or he will become angry.
10 Murderers hate honest people.
They try to kill any good person.
11 Foolish people cannot control their anger.
But wise people are patient.
12 When a ruler listens to lies,
all his officers will be wicked.
13 The Lord gives light to all people so that they can see.
He does that for poor people and also those who are cruel to them.
14 If a king judges poor people in a true way,
he will always have the power to rule.
15 If you want your children to be wise,
warn them and punish them when they do wrong things.
If you let them do anything that they want to do,
they will make their mother ashamed.
16 When wicked people receive more power, there is also more sin.
But those wicked people will fall while righteous people watch.
17 Warn your children when they do wrong things,
so that you have peace in your mind.
They will make you very happy.
18 If people do not hear God's message,
there is no law to control them.
But if someone obeys God's law,
he is in a happy place.
19 You must use more than words to show a servant what is right.
Even if he understands what you say, he will not obey you.
20 Do you know anyone who speaks before he thinks?
A foolish person is more likely to become wise than that person.
21 You may give a servant everything that he wants from his birth.
But if you do that, he will be useless in the end.
22 An angry person causes arguments.
When he is angry, he causes many sins to happen.
23 A person's pride will bring shame to him.
But a humble person will receive honour.
24 If you help a robber, you are bringing punishment on yourself.
If you tell the truth in court, or if you keep quiet,
you will receive your punishment.[a]
25 If you are afraid of what people think about you,
you will never feel safe.
But if you trust in the Lord,
he will keep you safe.
26 Many people want the king to be their friend.
But only the Lord can give you true justice.
27 Righteous people hate wicked people.
Wicked people also hate people who live in a good way.
Paul asks the Christians to pray for him and for his friends
3 Now, friends, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that more and more people will soon hear the Lord's message. Pray that people will receive the message well and accept it as true. That is how you received it. 2 Pray also that God will not let bad people cause trouble for us. Not everyone believes the message about our Lord. 3 But the Lord always does what he has promised. So he will help you to be strong inside yourselves. He will keep you safe when Satan attacks you.
4 Because you belong to the Lord, he makes us sure about you. We know that you are doing the things that we tell you to do. And we know that you will continue to do those things. 5 We pray that the Lord will lead you in your thoughts. Then you will understand God's love better and better. And you will be patient and strong, as Christ is.
Believers must not refuse to work
6 Our friends, you must stay away from every believer who is living in a lazy way. We tell you this with the authority that the Lord Jesus Christ gives to us. Lazy people like that are not living in the way that we taught you. 7 You yourselves know that you ought to copy our example. You know that we were not lazy when we lived among you. 8 We always paid for the food that anyone gave to us. We worked hard all the time, during the day and at night. We did that so that we would not make trouble for any of you. 9 We could have told you to give us what we needed. We have authority to do that. But we wanted to show you how to live properly. Then you could copy our example. 10 Even when we were there with you, we told you this rule: ‘If anyone refuses to work, you should not give food to him.’[a]
11 We say this because someone has told us news about you. They have told us that some people among you are living in a lazy way.[b] Those people do not work at their own jobs. Instead, they cause trouble to other people who are working. 12 We have something to say to people who are lazy like that. We warn them with the authority that the Lord Jesus Christ gives to us. They must stop causing trouble. They must work properly, so that they get their own food to eat.
13 But you must never stop doing what is right, our Christian friends, even when it causes trouble for you. 14 Maybe someone among you will not obey the message that we have written in this letter. Make sure that everyone knows about someone like that. Do not be friends with him, so that he may become ashamed. 15 But remember that he is a believer, as you are. So warn him carefully.
Paul finishes his letter
16 The Lord helps us to have peace in our minds. I pray that the Lord himself will give that peace to you at all times, whatever happens. I pray that the Lord will be with all of you.
17 I, Paul, am writing these words at the end of my letter with my own hand. I say ‘hello’ to you. That is how I write in every letter that comes from me.
18 I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to all of you.
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