M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules About Skin Diseases
13 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Someone might have a swelling on his skin. Or he might have a scab or a bright spot on his skin. If the sore looks like a harmful skin disease, the person must be brought to Aaron the priest. Or he must be brought to one of Aaron’s sons, the priests. 3 The priest must look at the sore on the person’s skin. The hair in the sore may have become white. And the sore may seem deeper than the person’s skin. If so, it is a harmful skin disease. When he has finished looking at the person, the priest must announce that the person is unclean.
4 “Sometimes there is a white spot on a person’s skin, but the spot does not seem deeper than the skin. If that is true, and if the hair from the spot has not turned white, the priest must separate that person from other people for seven days. 5 On the seventh day the priest must look at the person again. He may see that the sore has not changed. It might not have spread on the skin. Then the priest must keep the person separated for seven more days. 6 On the seventh day the priest must look at the person again. The sore may have faded. And it may not have spread on the skin. If that is true, the priest must announce that the person is clean. The sore is only a rash. The person must wash his clothes. Then he will become clean again.
7 “But the sore may have spread again after the priest has announced him clean. Then the person must come again to the priest. 8 The priest must look at him. If the rash has spread on the skin, the priest must announce that person is unclean. It is a harmful skin disease.
9 “If a person has a harmful skin disease, he must be brought to the priest. 10 The priest must look at him. There might be a white swelling in the skin. And the hair may have become white. And the skin may look raw in the swelling. 11 If these things are true, it is a harmful skin disease. It is one that he has had for a long time. The priest must announce that the person is unclean. He will not need to separate that person from other people. This is because everyone already knows that the person is unclean.
12 “Sometimes skin disease spreads all over a person’s body. The disease covers that person’s skin from his head to his feet, as far as the priest can see. Then the priest must look at the person’s whole body. 13 The priest might see that the disease covers the whole body. It might have turned all of the person’s skin white. Then the priest must announce that the person is clean.
14 “But when the person has an open sore, he is not clean. 15 When the priest sees the open sore, he must announce that the person is unclean. The open sore is not clean. It is a harmful skin disease. 16 If the open sore becomes white again, the person must come to the priest. 17 The priest must look at him. If the sores have become white, the priest must announce that the person with the sores is clean. Then he will be clean.
18 “Someone may have a boil on his skin, but it is healed. 19 In the place where the boil was, there might be a white swelling. Or there might be a bright red spot. This place on the skin must be shown to the priest. 20 And the priest must look at it. The spot might seem deeper than the skin. And the hair on it might have become white. If these things are true, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. The spot is a harmful skin disease. It has broken out from inside the boil. 21 But the priest must look at the spot. There might be no white hairs in it. The spot may not be deeper than the skin. And it may have faded. Then the priest must separate the person from other people for seven days. 22 If the spot spreads on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is a disease that will spread. 23 But the bright spot might not spread or change. Then it is only the scar from the old boil. Then the priest must announce that the person is clean.
24 “A person might get a burn on his skin. If the open sore becomes white or red, 25 the priest must look at it. The white spot might seem deeper than the skin. And the hair at that spot might have become white. If these things are true, it is a harmful skin disease. The disease has broken out in the burn. Then the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is a harmful skin disease. 26 But the priest must look at the spot. There might be no white hair in the bright spot. And the spot may be no deeper than the skin. It may have faded. Then the priest must separate the person from other people for seven days. 27 On the seventh day the priest must look at him again. If the spot has spread on the skin, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is a harmful skin disease. 28 But the bright spot may not have spread on the skin. It may have faded. Then it is the swelling from the burn. And the priest must announce that the person is clean. The spot is only a scar from the burn.
29 “Someone might get a sore on his scalp or on his chin. 30 A priest must look at the sore. It may seem to be deeper than the skin. And the hair around it may be thin and yellow. If these things are true, the priest must announce that the person is unclean. It is an itch, a harmful skin disease of the head or chin. 31 But when the priest looks at it, the sore might not seem deeper than the skin. There might not be any black hair in it. If that is true, the priest must separate the person from other people for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest must look at the sore. It may not have spread. There may be no yellow hairs growing in it. And the sore may not seem deeper than the skin. 33 If these things are true, the person must shave himself. But he must not shave the sore place. The priest must separate that person from other people for seven more days. 34 On the seventh day the priest must look at the sore. The sore may not have spread on the skin. And it may not seem deeper than the skin. If that is true, the priest must announce that the person is clean. So the person must wash his clothes and become clean. 35 But the sore might spread on the skin after the person has become clean. 36 Then the priest must look at him again. If the sore has spread on the skin, the priest doesn’t need to look for the yellowish hair. The person is unclean. 37 But the priest might think the sore has stopped spreading. And black hair may be growing in it. Then the sore has healed. The person is clean. And the priest must announce that he is clean.
38 “When a person has white spots on his skin, 39 a priest must look at them. If the spots on his skin are dull white, the disease is only a harmless rash. That person is clean.
40 “A man might lose hair from his head and be bald. He is clean. 41 He might lose hair from the front of his head and have a bald forehead. He is clean. 42 But if there is a red-white sore on his scalp, it is a skin disease. 43 A priest must look at that person. The swelling of the sore might be red-white. It might look like a skin disease that spreads. 44 Then that person has a skin disease. He is unclean. And the priest must announce that the person is unclean because of the sore on his head.
45 “If a person has a skin disease that spreads, he must warn other people. He must shout, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ His clothes must be torn at the seams. He must let his hair stay uncombed. And he must cover his mouth. 46 That person will be unclean the whole time he has the disease. He is unclean. He must live alone outside the camp.
Rules About Mildew
47 “Some clothing might have mildew on it. The cloth might be linen or wool. 48 It might be woven or knitted. The mildew might be on a piece of leather or on something made from leather. 49 The mildew might be in the clothing, leather or woven or knitted material. If the mildew is green or red, it is a spreading mildew. Then it must be shown to the priest. 50 The priest must look at the mildew. And he must put that thing in a separate place for seven days. 51 On the seventh day he must look at the mildew. It doesn’t matter if the mildew is on leather or cloth. It doesn’t matter if the cloth is woven or knitted. It doesn’t matter what it was used for. If the mildew has spread, it is a mildew that destroys. 52 The priest must burn it. It does not matter if it is woven or knitted, wool or linen or a leather article. The mildew is spreading. The thing must be burned.
53 “If the priest sees that the mildew has not spread, the cloth or leather must be washed. It does not matter if it is leather or cloth, knitted or woven. It must be washed. 54 The priest must order the people to wash that piece of leather or cloth. Then he must separate the clothing for seven more days. 55 After that time the priest must look at it again. If the mildew still looks the same, that thing is unclean. It does not matter if the mildew has not spread. You must burn that cloth or piece of leather.
56 “But when the priest looks at that piece of leather or cloth, the mildew might have faded. Then the priest must tear the mildew out of the piece of leather or cloth. It does not matter if the cloth is woven or knitted. 57 But the mildew might come back to that piece of leather or cloth. If that happens, the mildew is spreading. And that piece of leather or cloth must be burned. 58 The cloth, the woven or knitted material, or the leather may be washed. The mildew may then be gone. It must be washed again. Then it will be clean.
59 “These are the teachings about mildew on pieces of leather or cloth. It doesn’t matter if the cloth is woven or knitted.”
What God Demands
A song of David.
15 Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 Only a person who is innocent
and who does what is right.
He must speak the truth from his heart.
3 He must not tell lies about others.
He must do no wrong to his neighbors.
He must not gossip.
4 He must not respect hateful people.
He must honor those who honor the Lord.
He must keep his promises to his neighbor,
even when it hurts.
5 He must not charge interest on money he lends.
And he must not take money to hurt innocent people.
Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.
The Lord Takes Care of His People
A miktam of David.
16 Protect me, God,
because I trust in you.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 There are godly people in the world.
I enjoy them.
4 But those who turn to idols will have much pain.
I will not offer blood to those idols.
I won’t even speak their names.
5 No, the Lord is all I need.
He takes care of me.
6 My share in life has been pleasant.
My part has been beautiful.
7 I praise the Lord because he guides me.
Even at night, I feel his leading.
8 I keep the Lord before me always.
Because he is close by my side
I will not be hurt.
9 So I rejoice, and I am glad.
Even my body has hope.
10 This is because you will not leave me in the grave.
You will not let your holy one rot.
11 You will teach me God’s way to live.
Being with you will fill me with joy.
At your right hand I will find pleasure forever.
27 Don’t brag about what will happen tomorrow.
You don’t really know what will happen then.
2 Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.
Let the praise come from a stranger and not from your own mouth.
3 Stone is heavy, and sand is hard to carry.
But the complaining of a foolish person causes more trouble than either.
4 Anger is cruel. It destroys like a flood.
But who can put up with jealousy!
5 It is better to correct someone openly
than to love him and not show it.
6 The slap of a friend can be trusted to help you.
But the kisses of an enemy are nothing but lies.
7 When someone is full, not even honey tastes good.
But when he is hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet.
8 A man who leaves his home
is like a bird that leaves its nest.
9 Perfume and oils make you happy.
And good advice from a friend is sweet.
10 Don’t forget your friend or your father’s friend.
Don’t always go to your brother for help when trouble comes.
A neighbor close by is better than a brother far away.
11 Be wise, my child, and you will make me happy.
Then I can respond to any insult.
12 When a wise person sees danger ahead, he avoids it.
But a foolish person keeps going and gets into trouble.
13 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay what a stranger owes.
Keep it until he pays the stranger’s bills.
14 Don’t greet your neighbor loudly early in the morning.
He will think of it as a curse.
15 A quarreling wife is as bothersome
as a continual dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her is like stopping the wind.
It’s like trying to grab oil in your hand.
17 Iron can sharpen iron.
In the same way, people can help each other.
18 The person who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit.
And the person who takes care of his master will be honored.
19 As water shows you your face,
so your mind shows you what kind of person you are.
20 People will never stop dying and being destroyed.
In the same way, people will never stop wanting more than they have.
21 A hot furnace tests silver and gold.
And people are tested by the praise they receive.
22 Even if you ground up a foolish person like grain in a bowl,
you couldn’t remove his foolishness.
23 Be sure you know how your sheep are doing.
Pay close attention to the condition of your cattle.
24 Riches will not continue forever.
Nor do governments continue forever.
25 Bring in the hay. Let the new grass appear.
Gather the grass from the hills.
26 Make clothes from the lambs’ wool.
Sell some goats to buy a field.
27 There will be plenty of goat milk
to feed you and your family.
It will make your servant girls healthy.
The Problems of New Christians
1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
To the church in Thessalonica in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Talks About God’s Judgment
3 We must always thank God for you. And we should do this because it is right. It is right because your faith is growing more and more. And the love that every one of you has for each other is also growing. 4 So we brag about you to the other churches of God. We tell them about the way you continue to be strong and have faith. You are being treated badly and are suffering many troubles, but you continue with strength and faith.
5 This is proof that God is right in his judgment. God wants you to be worthy of his kingdom. Your suffering is for that kingdom. 6 And God will do what is right. He will give trouble to those who trouble you. 7 And he will give peace to you people who are troubled and to us also. God will give us this help when the Lord Jesus is shown to us from heaven with his powerful angels. 8 He will come from heaven with burning fire to punish those who do not know God. He will punish those who do not obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 Those people will be punished with a destruction that continues forever. They will not be allowed to be with the Lord, and they will be kept away from his great power. 10 This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive glory with his holy people. And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group of believers because you believed what we told you.
11 That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to help you live the good way that he called you to live. The goodness you have makes you want to do good, and the faith you have makes you work. We pray that with his power God will help you do these things more and more. 12 We pray all this so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ can have glory in you. And you can have glory in him. That glory comes from the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.