M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules About Cleanliness
5 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from camp anyone with a harmful skin disease. Send away anyone who gives off body fluid. And send away anyone who has touched a dead body. 3 Send both men and women away from camp. Then they won’t spread the disease there. I am living among you.” 4 So Israel obeyed God’s command. They sent those people outside the camp as the Lord had told Moses.
Paying for Doing Wrong
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman does something wrong to another person, that is really sinning against God. That person is guilty. 7 He must tell what he has done wrong. And he must fully pay for the wrong he has done. Then he must add one-fifth to it. And he must give it to the person he wronged. 8 But that person may be dead. That person may not have any close relatives to receive the payment. Then the one who did wrong owes the Lord. That person must pay the priest. The priest must sacrifice a male sheep to remove the wrong so that person will belong to God. 9 When an Israelite brings a holy gift, he should give it to the priest. 10 No one has to give these holy gifts. But if someone does give them, they belong to the priest.’”
Suspicious Husbands
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Tell the Israelites: ‘A man’s wife might be unfaithful to him. 13 She might commit adultery with another man. Her sin might be kept hidden from her husband. Her husband might not know about the wrong thing she did. Perhaps no one saw it, and she wasn’t caught. 14 But her husband might have feelings of jealousy whether she has sinned or not. 15 He then should take her to the priest. The husband must also take an offering for her. This offering will be two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it. This is a grain offering for jealousy. It is to find out if she is guilty.
16 “‘The priest will bring in the woman and make her stand before the Lord. 17 He will take some holy water in a clay jar. Then he will put some dirt from the floor of the Holy Tent into the water. 18 The priest will make the woman stand before the Lord. Then he will loosen her hair. And he will hand her the grain offering for jealousy. He will hold the bitter water that brings a curse on her. 19 The priest will tell her what the oath says will happen to her. He will ask her, “Has another man committed adultery with you? Have you been unfaithful to your husband? If you haven’t, then this water that brings a curse won’t hurt you. 20 But what if you have been unfaithful to your husband? What if you have committed adultery with a man besides your husband?” 21 The priest will tell her the curse that the oath will bring. He will say, “If you are guilty, the Lord will make the people curse you. Your stomach will get big, and you will not be able to have another baby. 22 This water that brings a curse will go inside you. Your stomach will get big, and you will not be able to have another baby.”
“‘The woman must say, “I agree.”
23 “‘The priest should write these curses on a scroll. Then he should wash the words off into the water. 24 Then he will make the woman drink the water that brings a curse. When she does, it may make her sick. 25 Then the priest will take the grain offering for jealousy from her. He will present it before the Lord. Then he will bring it to the altar. 26 Then the priest will take a handful of the grain. This is a memorial offering. He will burn it on the altar. After that he will make the woman drink the water. 27 He will make her drink it to see if she is not pure. He will know if she has sinned against her husband. When it goes into her, her stomach may get big. And she may not be able to have another baby. Her people will turn against her. 28 But if the woman has not sinned, she is pure. She is not guilty. She will be able to have more babies.
29 “‘So this is the teaching about jealousy. This is what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband. 30 It also should be done if the man gets jealous because he suspects his wife. The priest will have her stand before the Lord. Then he will do all these things. This is the teaching. 31 If the husband is right, the woman will suffer.’”
Life Is Short
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A song of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful how I act.
I will not sin by what I say.
I will be careful what I say
around wicked people.”
2 So I kept very quiet.
I didn’t even say anything good.
But I became even more upset.
3 I became very angry inside.
And the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
So I spoke:
4 “Lord, tell me when the end will come.
How long will I live?
Let me know how long I have.
5 You have given me only a short life.
My lifetime is like nothing to you.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
6 A person is like a shadow moving about.
All his work is for nothing.
He collects things, but he doesn’t know who will get them.
7 “So, Lord, what hope do I have?
You are my hope.
8 Save me from all my sins.
Don’t let wicked fools make fun of me.
9 I am quiet. I do not open my mouth.
You are the one who has done this.
10 Quit punishing me.
Your beating is about to kill me.
11 You correct and punish people for their sins.
Like a moth, you destroy what they love.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
12 “Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears.
I am like a visitor with you.
Like my ancestors, I’m only here a short time.
13 Leave me alone so I can be happy.
Soon I will leave and be no more.”
The Woman Dreams
3 At night on my bed,
I looked for the one I love.
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
2 I will get up now. I will go around the city,
in the streets and squares.
I will look for the one I love.
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
3 The watchmen found me as they patrolled the city.
I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 As soon as I had left them
I found the one I love.
I held him. I would not let him go
until I had brought him to my mother’s house.
I brought him into the room where I was born.
The Woman Speaks to the Friends
5 Women of Jerusalem, promise me
by the gazelles and the deer.
Promise not to wake love.
Don’t excite my feelings of love
until I’m ready.
6 Who is this coming out of the desert
like a cloud of smoke?
Who is this that smells like myrrh, incense
and other spices?
7 Look, it’s Solomon’s couch[a]
with 60 soldiers around it.
They are the finest soldiers of Israel.
8 These soldiers all carry swords.
They have been trained in war.
Every man wears his sword at his side.
He is ready for the dangers of the night.
9 King Solomon had a couch made for himself.
It is made of wood from Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver
and its braces of gold.
The seat was covered with purple cloth.
The women of Jerusalem wove it with love.
11 Women of Jerusalem, go out and see King Solomon.
He is wearing the crown his mother put on his head.
It was his wedding day,
when his heart was happy!
Jesus Is Greater Than Moses
3 So all of you, holy brothers, should think about Jesus. You were all called by God. God sent Jesus to us, and he is the high priest of our faith. 2 And Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was. Moses did everything God wanted him to do in God’s family. 3 A man who is the head of a family receives more honor than others in the family. It is the same with Jesus. Jesus should have more honor than Moses. 4 Every family has its head, but God is the head of everything. 5 Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant. He told what God would say in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a Son who is the head of God’s family. And we are God’s family if we hold on to our faith and are proud of the great hope we have.
We Must Continue to Follow God
7 So it is as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today listen to what he says.
8 Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.
There you tested God in the desert.
9 For 40 years in the desert your ancestors saw the things I did.
But they tested me and my patience.
10 I was angry with them.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 So I was angry and made a promise.
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”[a] Psalm 95:7-11
12 So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day. Do this while it is “today.”[b] Help each other so that none of you will become hardened because of sin and its tricks. 14 We all share in Christ. This is true if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning. 15 This is what the Scripture says:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.” Psalm 95:7-8
16 Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. 17 And whom was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. 18 And whom was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter and have his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest because they did not believe.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.