M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Various Laws
24 This is what you must do if a husband writes out a certificate of divorce, gives it to his wife, and makes her leave his house. (He divorced her because he found out something indecent about her and she no longer pleased him.) 2 She might marry another man after she leaves his house. 3 If her second husband doesn’t love her and divorces her, or if he dies, 4 her first husband is not allowed to marry her again. She has become unclean.[a] This would be disgusting in Yahweh’s presence. Don’t pollute with sin the land that Yahweh your Elohim is giving you as your property.
5 A man who has recently been married will be free from military duty or any other public service. For one year he is free to stay at home and make his new wife happy.
6 Never let a family’s handmill for grinding flour—or even part of a handmill—be taken to guarantee a loan. The family wouldn’t be able to prepare food in order to stay alive.
7 Whoever kidnaps another Israelite must die. The kidnapper must die, whether he treated the other person like a slave[b] or sold him. You must get rid of this evil.
8 Guard against outbreaks of serious skin diseases. Be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical priests instruct you. Make sure you do what I commanded them. 9 Remember what Yahweh your Elohim did to Miriam on your trip from Egypt.
10 When you make a loan to your neighbor, don’t go into his house to take a security deposit. 11 Wait outside, and the person to whom you’re making the loan will bring the deposit out to you. 12 If the person is poor, don’t keep the coat you took as a deposit overnight. 13 Make sure you bring it back to him at sunset. When he wears his coat to bed that night, he’ll bless you. You will have done the right thing in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim.
14 Don’t withhold pay from hired workers who are poor and needy, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your cities. 15 Pay them each day before sunset because they are poor and need their pay. Otherwise, they will complain to Yahweh about you, and you will be condemned for your sin.
16 Parents must never be put to death for the crimes of their children, and children must never be put to death for the crimes of their parents. Each person must be put to death for his own crime.
17 Never deprive foreigners and orphans of justice. And never take widows’ clothes to guarantee a loan. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and Yahweh your Elohim freed you from slavery. So I’m commanding you to do this.
19 This is what you must do when you’re harvesting wheat in your field. If you forget to bring in one of the bundles of wheat, don’t go back to get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then Yahweh your Elohim will bless you in everything you do.
20 When you harvest olives from your trees, never knock down all of them. Leave some for foreigners, orphans, and widows.
21 When you pick the grapes in your vineyard, don’t pick all of them. Leave some for foreigners, orphans, and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. So I’m commanding you to do this.
Psalm 114
1 When Israel left Egypt,
when Jacob’s family left people who spoke a foreign language,
2 Judah became his holy place and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea looked at this and ran away.
The Jordan River turned back.
4 The mountains jumped like rams.
The hills jumped like lambs.
5 Red Sea, why did you run away?
Jordan River, what made you turn back?
6 Mountains, what made you jump like rams?
Hills, what made you jump like lambs?
7 Earth, tremble in the presence of the Lord,
in the presence of the Elohim of Jacob.
8 He turns a rock into a pool filled with water
and turns flint into a spring flowing with water.
Psalm 115
1 Don’t give glory to us, O Yahweh.
Don’t give glory to us.
Instead, give glory to your name
because of your mercy and faithfulness.
2 Why should other nations say, “Where is their Elohim?”
3 Our Elohim is in heaven.
He does whatever he wants.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold.
They were made by human hands.[a]
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
They cannot even make a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make idols end up like them.
So does everyone who trusts them.
9 Israel, trust Yahweh.
He is your helper and your Magen.
10 Descendants of Aaron, trust Yahweh.
He is your helper and your Magen.
11 If you fear Yahweh, trust Yahweh.
He is your helper and your Magen.
12 Yahweh, who is always thinking about us, will bless us.
He will bless the descendants of Israel.
He will bless the descendants of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear Yahweh,
from the least important to the most important.
14 May Yahweh continue to bless you and your children.
15 You will be blessed by Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth.
16 The highest heaven belongs to Yahweh,
but he has given the earth to the descendants of Adam.
17 Those who are dead do not praise Yah,
nor do those who go into the silence of the grave.
18 But we will thank Yah now and forever.
Hallelujah!
The Lord Will Save His People
51 Listen to me, you people who pursue what is right and seek Yahweh.
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham, your ancestor,
and to Sarah, from whom you are descended.
When I called Abraham, he was childless.
I blessed him and gave him many descendants.
3 So Yahweh will comfort Zion.
He will comfort all those who live among its ruins.
He will make its desert like Eden.
He will make its wilderness like the garden of Yahweh.
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
4 Pay attention to me, my people.
Open your ears to hear me, my nation.
My teachings will go out from me.
My justice will become a light for the people.
5 My righteousness is near.
My salvation is on the way.
I will bring justice to people.
The coastlands put their hope in me,
and they wait eagerly for me.
6 Look at the sky.
Look at the earth below.
The sky will vanish like smoke.
The earth will wear out like clothing,
and those who live there will die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
and my righteousness will never fail.
7 Listen to me, you people who know righteousness,
you people who have my teachings in your hearts.
Don’t be afraid of being insulted by people.
Don’t be discouraged by their ridicule.
8 Moths will eat them like clothing.
Worms will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
and my salvation will last throughout every generation.
9 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Yahweh!
Wake up as you did in days long past, as in generations long ago.
Didn’t you cut Rahab[a] into pieces and stab the serpent?
10 Didn’t you dry up the sea, the water of the great ocean?
You made a road in the depths of the sea
so that the people reclaimed by the Lord
might pass through it.
11 The people ransomed by Yahweh will return.
They will come to Zion singing with joy.
Everlasting happiness will be on their heads as a crown.
They will be glad and joyful.
They will have no sorrow or grief.
12 I alone am the one who comforts you.
Why, then, are you afraid of mortals, who must die,
of humans, who are like grass?
13 Why have you forgotten Yahweh, your Creator?
He stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.
Why should you live in constant fear of the fury
of those who oppress you,
of those who are ready to destroy you?
Where is the fury of those who oppress you?
14 Chained prisoners will be set free.
They will not die in prison.
They will not go without food.
15 I am Yahweh your Elohim who stirs up the sea
and makes its waves roar.
My name is Yahweh Tsebaoth.
16 I put my words in your mouth
and sheltered you in the palm of my hand.
I stretched out the heavens,
laid the foundations of the earth,
and said to Zion, “You are my people.”
Wake Up, Jerusalem
17 Wake up! Wake up!
Stand up, Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup in Yahweh’s hand.
That cup was filled with his anger.
You drank from the bowl, the cup that makes people stagger,
and you drained it!
18 From all the children she gave birth to,
there was no one to guide her.
From all the children she raised,
there was no one to take her by the hand.
19 Twice as many disasters have happened to you.
Who will feel sorry for you?
Violence, destruction, famine, and war have happened to you.
Who will comfort you?
20 Your children have fainted.
They lie sleeping at every street corner.
They are like an antelope caught in a net.
They experience the anger of Yahweh,
the fury of your Elohim.
21 Listen to this, you humble people
who are drunk but not from wine.
22 Yahweh your Elohim defends his people.
This is what your Adonay says:
I’m taking from your hand the cup that makes people stagger,
the bowl, the cup of my fury.
You will never drink from it again.
23 I will put it in the hands of those who made you suffer.
They said to you, “Lie down so that we can walk over you.”
So you made your back like the ground
and like a street for them to cross.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and earth had disappeared, and the sea was gone. 2 Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be any more death. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.”
5 The one sitting on the throne said, “I am making everything new.” He said, “Write this: ‘These words are faithful and true.’” 6 He said to me, “It has happened! I am the A and the Z,[a] the beginning and the end. I will give a drink from the fountain filled with the water of life to anyone who is thirsty. It won’t cost anything. 7 Everyone who wins the victory will inherit these things. I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But cowardly, unfaithful, and detestable people, murderers, sexual sinners, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
A New Jerusalem
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the last seven plagues came to me and said, “Come! I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.” 10 He carried me by his power away to a large, high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. 11 It had the glory of God. Its light was like a valuable gem, like gray quartz, as clear as crystal. 12 It had a large, high wall with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates. The names of the 12 tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The wall of the city had 12 foundations. The 12 names of the 12 apostles of the lamb were written on them.
15 The angel who was talking to me had a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city was square. It was as wide as it was long. He measured the city with the stick. It was 12,000 stadia[b] long. Its length, width, and height were the same. 17 He measured its wall. According to human measurement, which the angel was using, it was 144 cubits.[c] 18 Its wall was made of gray quartz. The city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were beautifully decorated with all kinds of gems: The first foundation was gray quartz, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth red quartz, the seventh yellow quartz, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth green quartz, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each gate was made of one pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass.
22 I did not see any temple in it, because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its temple. 23 The city doesn’t need any sun or moon to give it light because the glory of God gave it light. The lamb was its lamp. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will be open all day. They will never close because there won’t be any night there. 26 They will bring the glory and wealth of the nations into the holy city. 27 Nothing unclean,[d] no one who does anything detestable, and no liars will ever enter it. Only those whose names are written in the lamb’s Book of Life will enter it.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.