M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Special Promises
30 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of Israel. He said, “Here is what the Lord commands. 2 Suppose a man makes a special promise to the Lord. Or suppose he gives his word to do something. Then he must keep his promise. He must do everything he said he would do.
3 “Suppose a young woman is still living in her father’s house. She makes a special promise to the Lord. Or she gives her word to do something. 4 Suppose her father hears about her promise. And he doesn’t say anything to her about it. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do. 5 But suppose her father doesn’t allow her to keep her promises when he hears about them. Then she doesn’t have to do what she promised or agreed to do. The Lord will set her free. He’ll do it because her father hasn’t allowed her to keep her promises.
6 “Suppose she gets married after she makes a special promise. Or she gets married after agreeing to do something without thinking it through. 7 Suppose her husband hears about what she did. And he doesn’t say anything to her about it. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do. 8 But suppose her husband doesn’t allow her to keep her promises when he hears about them. Then she doesn’t have to do what she promised. She doesn’t have to do what she agreed to do without thinking it through. The Lord will set her free.
9 “Suppose a widow makes a special promise. Or suppose she gives her word to do something. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do. The same rules apply to a woman who has been divorced.
10 “Suppose a woman living with her husband makes a special promise. Or she gives her word to do something. 11 Suppose her husband hears about what she did. He doesn’t say anything to her about it. And he doesn’t try to stop her from keeping her promises. Then she must keep all of them. She must do what she agreed to do. 12 But suppose her husband doesn’t allow her to keep her promises when he hears about them. Then she doesn’t have to do what she promised. She doesn’t have to do what she agreed to do. Her husband has kept her from doing what she said she would do. The Lord will set her free. 13 Her husband can let her keep any special promise she makes. Or he can refuse to let her keep it. Suppose she gives her word not to eat anything. Then her husband can let her keep her promise. Or he can refuse to let her keep it. 14 But suppose day after day her husband doesn’t say anything to her about what she did. Then he lets her keep all her promises. He lets her do everything she agreed to do. That’s because he didn’t say anything to her when he heard about what she had done. 15 But suppose some time after he hears about her promises he doesn’t let her keep them. Then she will be guilty. But he will bear the consequences for her guilt.”
16 These are the rules the Lord gave Moses about a man and his wife. And these are the rules the Lord gave about a father and his young daughter still living at home.
A maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have you turned your back on us for so long?
Why are you so angry with us? We are your very own sheep.
2 Remember the nation that you chose as your own so long ago.
Remember that you set us free from slavery to be your very own people.
Remember Mount Zion, where you lived.
3 Walk through this place that has been torn down beyond repair.
See how completely your enemies have destroyed the temple!
4 In the place where you used to meet with us,
your enemies have shouted, “We’ve won the battle!”
They have set up their flags to show they have beaten us.
5 They acted like people cutting down a forest with axes.
6 They smashed all the beautiful wooden walls
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your temple to the ground.
They polluted the place where your Name is.
8 They had said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where you were worshiped in the land.
9 We don’t get signs from God anymore.
There aren’t any prophets left.
None of us knows how long that will last.
10 God, how long will your enemies make fun of you?
Will they attack you with their words forever?
11 Why don’t you help us? Why do you hold back your power?
Use your strong power to destroy your enemies!
12 God, you have been my king for a long time.
You are the only God who can save anyone on earth.
13 You parted the waters of the Red Sea by your power.
You broke the heads of that sea monster in Egypt.
14 You crushed the heads of the sea monster Leviathan.
You fed it to the creatures of the desert.
15 You opened up streams and springs.
You dried up rivers that flow all year long.
16 You rule over the day and the night.
You created the sun and the moon.
17 You decided where the borders of the earth would be.
You made both summer and winter.
18 Lord, remember how your enemies have made fun of you.
Remember how foolish people have attacked you with their words.
19 Don’t hand over Israel, your dove, to those wild animals.
Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
20 Honor the covenant you made with us.
Horrible things are happening in every dark corner of the land.
21 Don’t let your suffering people be put to shame.
May those who are poor and needy praise you.
22 God, rise up. Stand up for your cause.
Remember how foolish people make fun of you all day long.
23 Pay close attention to the shouts of your enemies.
The trouble they cause never stops.
A Prophecy Against Jerusalem
22 Here is a prophecy against Jerusalem that the Lord gave me. Jerusalem is also known as the Valley of Vision.
People of Jerusalem, what’s the matter with you?
Why have all of you gone up on the roofs of your houses?
2 Why is your town so full of noise?
Why is your city so full of the sound of wild parties?
Those among you who died weren’t killed by swords.
They didn’t die in battle.
3 All your leaders have run away.
They’ve been captured without a single arrow being shot.
All you who were caught were taken away as prisoners.
You ran off while your enemies were still far away.
4 So I said, “Leave me alone.
Let me weep bitter tears.
Don’t try to comfort me.
My people have been destroyed.”
5 The Lord who rules over all sent the noise of battle against you.
The Lord brought disorder and terror
to the Valley of Vision.
The walls of the city were knocked down.
Cries for help were heard in the mountains.
6 Soldiers from Elam came armed with bows and arrows.
They came with their chariots and horses.
Soldiers from Kir got their shields ready.
7 Your rich valleys filled up with chariots.
Horsemen took up their battle positions at your city gates.
8 The Lord made Judah a place where it wasn’t safe to live anymore.
At that time, you depended
on the weapons in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through in many places.
You stored up water
in the Lower Pool.
10 You picked out the weaker buildings in Jerusalem.
You tore them down and used their stones
to strengthen the city walls against attack.
11 You built a pool between the two walls.
You used it to save the water
that was running down from the Old Pool.
But you didn’t look to the God who made it all possible.
You didn’t pay any attention to the God
who planned everything long ago.
12 The Lord who rules over all
called out to you at that time.
The Lord told you to weep and cry.
He told you to tear your hair out.
And he told you to put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad.
13 Instead, you are enjoying yourselves at wild parties!
You are killing cattle and sheep.
You are eating their meat and drinking wine.
You are saying, “Let’s eat and drink,
because tomorrow we’ll die.”
14 I heard the Lord who rules over all speaking. “Your sin can never be paid for as long as you live,” says the Lord.
15 The Lord who rules over all speaks. The Lord says,
“Go and speak to Shebna, the head servant.
He is in charge of the palace. Tell him,
16 ‘What are you doing here outside the city?
Who allowed you to cut out a tomb for yourself here?
Who said you could carve out your grave on the hillside?
Who allowed you to cut out your resting place in the rock?
17 “ ‘Watch out, you mighty man!
The Lord is about to grab you.
He is about to throw you away.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball.
He will throw you into a very large country.
There you will die.
And that’s where the chariots you were so proud of will be.
Those chariots will then bring nothing but shame on your master’s family!
19 The Lord will remove you from your job.
You will be brought down from your high position.
20 “ ‘At that time he will send for his servant Eliakim. He is the son of Hilkiah. 21 The Lord will put your robe on Eliakim. He will tie your belt around him. He will hand your authority over to him. Eliakim will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. 22 The Lord will give Eliakim the key of authority in David’s royal house. No one can shut what he opens. And no one can open what he shuts. 23 The Lord will set him firmly in place like a peg driven into a wall. He will hold a position of honor in his family. 24 The good name of his whole family will depend on him. They will be like bowls and jars hanging on a peg.
25 “ ‘But a new day is coming,’ ” announces the Lord who rules over all. “ ‘At that time the peg that was driven into the wall will give way. It will break off and fall down. And the heavy load hanging on it will also fall.’ ” The Lord has spoken.
The Day of the Lord
3 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders. I want to encourage you to think in a way that is pure. 2 I want you to remember the words the holy prophets spoke in the past. Remember the command our Lord and Savior gave through your apostles.
3 Most of all, here is what you must understand. In the last days people will make fun of the truth. They will laugh at it. They will follow their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘return’ he promised? Everything goes on in the same way it has since our people of long ago died. In fact, it has continued this way since God first created everything.” 5 Long ago, God’s word brought the heavens into being. His word separated the earth from the waters. And the waters surrounded it. But these people forget things like that on purpose. 6 The waters also flooded the world of that time. And so they destroyed the world. 7 By God’s word the heavens and earth of today are being reserved for fire. They are being kept for the day when God will judge. Then ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 Dear friends, here is one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. Instead, he is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. Fire will destroy everything in them. God will judge the earth and everything done in it.
11 So everything will be destroyed in this way. And what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives. 12 Live like this as you look forward to the day of God. Living like this will make the day come more quickly. On that day fire will destroy the heavens. Its heat will melt everything in them. 13 But we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. Godliness will live there. All this is in keeping with God’s promise.
14 Dear friends, I know you are looking forward to this. So try your best to be found pure and without blame. Be at peace with God. 15 Remember that while our Lord is waiting patiently to return, people are being saved. Our dear brother Paul also wrote to you about this. God made him wise to write as he did. 16 Paul writes the same way in all his letters. He speaks about what I have just told you. His letters include some things that are hard to understand. People who don’t know better and aren’t firm in the faith twist what he says. They twist the other Scriptures too. So they will be destroyed.
17 Dear friends, you have already been warned about this. So be on your guard. Then you won’t be led astray by people who don’t obey the law. Instead, you will remain safe. 18 Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Glory belongs to him both now and forever. Amen.
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