M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 18
Laws Concerning Sexual Behavior. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I, the Lord, am your God.[a] 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you once lived, nor shall you do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; do not conform to their customs.(A) 4 My decrees you shall carry out, and my statutes you shall take care to follow. I, the Lord, am your God. 5 Keep, then, my statutes and decrees, for the person who carries them out will find life[b] through them. I am the Lord.(B)
6 [c]None of you shall approach a close relative[d] to have sexual intercourse. I am the Lord. 7 [e]You shall not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother.(C) She is your own mother; you shall not have intercourse with her. 8 You shall not have intercourse with your father’s wife, for that would be a disgrace to your father. 9 You shall not have intercourse with your sister,[f](D) your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in your own household or born elsewhere. 10 You shall not have intercourse with your son’s daughter or with your daughter’s daughter,[g] for that would be a disgrace to you. 11 You shall not have intercourse with the daughter whom your father’s wife bore to him in his household,(E) since she, too, is your sister. 12 You shall not have intercourse with your father’s sister,(F) since she is your father’s relative. 13 You shall not have intercourse with your mother’s sister, since she is your mother’s relative. 14 You shall not disgrace your father’s brother by having sexual relations with his wife,(G) since she, too, is your aunt. 15 You shall not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law;[h](H) she is your son’s wife; you shall not have intercourse with her. 16 You shall not have intercourse with your brother’s wife;[i](I) that would be a disgrace to your brother. 17 You shall not have intercourse with a woman and also with her daughter, nor shall you marry and have intercourse with her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter;(J) they are related to her. This would be shameful. 18 While your wife is still living you shall not marry her sister as her rival and have intercourse with her.(K)
19 You shall not approach a woman to have intercourse with her while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.(L) 20 You shall not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife,[j](M) defiling yourself with her. 21 (N)You shall not offer any of your offspring for immolation to Molech,[k] thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman;(O) such a thing is an abomination. 23 You shall not have sexual relations with an animal, defiling yourself with it; nor shall a woman set herself in front of an animal to mate with it; that is perverse.(P)
24 Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, because by them the nations whom I am driving out of your way have defiled themselves. 25 And so the land has become defiled, and I have punished it for its wickedness, and the land has vomited out its inhabitants.(Q) 26 You, however, must keep my statutes and decrees, avoiding all these abominations, both the natives and the aliens resident among you— 27 because the previous inhabitants did all these abominations and the land became defiled; 28 otherwise the land will vomit you out also for having defiled it, just as it vomited out the nations before you. 29 For whoever does any of these abominations shall be cut off from the people. 30 Heed my charge, then, not to observe the abominable customs that have been observed before your time, and thus become impure by them.(R) I, the Lord, am your God.
Psalm 22[a]
The Prayer of an Innocent Person
1 For the leader; according to “The deer of the dawn.”[b] A psalm of David.
I
2 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from my call for help,
from my cries of anguish?(A)
3 My God, I call by day, but you do not answer;
by night, but I have no relief.(B)
4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the glory of Israel.(C)
5 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted and you rescued them.
6 To you they cried out and they escaped;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.(D)
7 [c]But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by men, despised by the people.(E)
8 All who see me mock me;
they curl their lips and jeer;
they shake their heads at me:(F)
9 “He relied on the Lord—let him deliver him;
if he loves him, let him rescue him.”(G)
10 For you drew me forth from the womb,
made me safe at my mother’s breasts.
11 Upon you I was thrust from the womb;
since my mother bore me you are my God.(H)
12 Do not stay far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.(I)
II
13 Many bulls[d] surround me;
fierce bulls of Bashan encircle me.
14 They open their mouths against me,
lions that rend and roar.(J)
15 Like water my life drains away;
all my bones are disjointed.
My heart has become like wax,
it melts away within me.
16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat;
my tongue cleaves to my palate;
you lay me in the dust of death.[e]
17 Dogs surround me;
a pack of evildoers closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet
18 I can count all my bones.(K)
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them;
for my clothing they cast lots.(L)
20 But you, Lord, do not stay far off;
my strength, come quickly to help me.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the grip of the dog.
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth,
my poor life from the horns of wild bulls.(M)
III
23 Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the assembly I will praise you:[f](N)
24 “You who fear the Lord, give praise!
All descendants of Jacob, give honor;
show reverence, all descendants of Israel!
25 For he has not spurned or disdained
the misery of this poor wretch,
Did not turn away[g] from me,
but heard me when I cried out.
26 I will offer praise in the great assembly;
my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.
27 The poor[h] will eat their fill;
those who seek the Lord will offer praise.
May your hearts enjoy life forever!”(O)
IV
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord;
All the families of nations
will bow low before him.(P)
29 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
the ruler over the nations.(Q)
30 [i]All who sleep in the earth
will bow low before God;
All who have gone down into the dust
will kneel in homage.
31 And I will live for the Lord;
my descendants will serve you.
32 The generation to come will be told of the Lord,
that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance you have brought.(R)
Chapter 1
1 The words of David’s son, Qoheleth, king in Jerusalem:[a](A)
Vanity of Human Toil
3 What profit have we from all the toil
which we toil at under the sun?[c](C)
4 One generation departs and another generation comes,
but the world forever stays.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
6 Shifting south, then north,
back and forth shifts the wind, constantly shifting its course.
7 All rivers flow to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they flow,
the rivers continue to flow.
8 All things are wearisome,[d]
too wearisome for words.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
nor has the ear enough of hearing.(D)
9 What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!(E) 10 Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us.(F) 11 There is no remembrance of past generations;(G) nor will future generations be remembered by those who come after them.[e]
I. Qoheleth’s Investigation of Life
Twofold Introduction. 12 I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 and I applied my mind to search and investigate in wisdom all things that are done under the sun.(H)
A bad business God has given
to human beings to be busied with.
14 I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after wind.[f](I)
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and you cannot count what is not there.[g]
16 (J)Though I said to myself, “See, I have greatly increased my wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has broad experience of wisdom and knowledge,” 17 yet when I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I learned that this also is a chase after wind.(K)
18 For in much wisdom there is much sorrow;
whoever increases knowledge increases grief.[h]
Chapter 3
Qualifications of Various Ministers. 1 [a]This saying is trustworthy:[b] whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.(A) 2 Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money.(B) 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity; 5 for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church of God? 6 He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil’s punishment.[c] 7 He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil’s trap.(C)
8 [d]Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, 9 holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 Women,[e] similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything.(D) 12 Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well. 13 Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Our Religion.[f] 14 I am writing you about these matters, although I hope to visit you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.(E) 16 Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion,
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.