M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Nazirites
6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites: ‘A man or a woman might want to promise to belong to the Lord in a special way. This person will be called a Nazirite. 3 During this time, he must not drink wine or beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or beer. He must not even drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 While he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine. He must not even eat the seeds or the skin.
5 “‘During the time he promised to belong to the Lord, he must not cut his hair. He must be holy until this special time is over. He must let his hair grow long. 6 During his special time of belonging to the Lord, a Nazirite must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if his own father, mother, brother or sister dies, he must not touch them. This would make him unclean. He must still keep his promise to belong to God in a special way. 8 While he is a Nazirite, he belongs to the Lord.
9 “‘If he is next to someone who dies suddenly, his hair has been made unclean. It was part of his promise. So he must shave his head seven days later to be clean. 10 Then on the eighth day, he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest. The priest will be at the entrance to the Holy Tent. 11 The priest will offer one as a sin offering. He will offer the other as a burnt offering. This removes sin so the man will belong to God. He had sinned because he was near a dead body. That same day he will again promise to let his hair grow for the Lord. 12 He must give himself to the Lord for another special time. He must bring a male lamb a year old. It will be a penalty offering. The days of the special time before don’t count. This is because he became unclean during his first special time.
13 “‘This is the teaching for a Nazirite. When the promised time is over, he must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 14 There he will give his offerings to the Lord. He must offer a year-old male lamb as a burnt offering. It must have nothing wrong with it. He must also offer a year-old female lamb as a sin offering. There must be nothing wrong with it. And he must bring a male sheep for a fellowship offering. There must be nothing wrong with it. 15 He must also bring the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with them. And he must bring a basket of bread made without yeast. There must be loaves made with fine flour mixed with oil. And there must be wafers made without yeast spread with oil.
16 “‘The priest will give these offerings to the Lord. He will make the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 Then he will kill the male sheep as a fellowship offering to the Lord. Along with it, he will present the basket of bread. He will also make the grain offering and the drink offering along with it.
18 “‘The Nazirite must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. There he must shave off his hair that he grew for his promise. The hair will be put in the fire that is under the sacrifice on the fellowship offering.
19 “‘After the Nazirite cuts off his hair, the priest will give him a boiled shoulder from the male sheep. From the basket he will also give him a loaf and a wafer. Both are made without yeast. 20 Then the priest will present them to the Lord. This is an offering presented before the Lord. They are holy and belong to the priest. Also, he is to present the breast and the thigh from the male sheep to the Lord. They also belong to the priest. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
21 “‘This is the teaching for the Nazirite promise. If a person makes the Nazirite promise, he must give all of these gifts to the Lord. If he promised to do more, he must keep his promise. That is also the teaching of the Nazirite promise.’”
The Priests’ Blessings
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you should bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “May the Lord bless you and keep you.
25 May the Lord show you his kindness.
May he have mercy on you.
26 May the Lord watch over you
and give you peace.”’
27 “So Aaron and his sons will bless the Israelites with my name. And I will bless them.”
Praise and Prayer for Help
For the director of music. A song of David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of destruction,
out of the sticky mud.
He stood me on a rock.
He made my feet steady.
3 He put a new song in my mouth.
It was a song of praise to our God.
Many people will see this and worship him.
Then they will trust the Lord.
4 Happy is the person
who trusts the Lord.
He doesn’t turn to those who are proud,
to those who worship false gods.
5 Lord our God, you have done many miracles.
Your plans for us are many.
If I tried to tell them all,
there would be too many to count.
6 You do not want sacrifices and offerings.
But you have made a hole in my ear
to show that my body and life are yours.
You do not ask for burnt offerings
and offerings to take away sins.
7 Then I said, “Look, I have come.
It is written about me in the book.
8 My God, I want to do what you want.
Your teachings are in my heart.”
9 I will tell about your goodness in the great meeting of your people.
Lord, you know my lips are not silent.
10 I do not hide your goodness in my heart.
I speak about your loyalty and salvation.
I do not hide your love and truth
from the people in the great meeting.
11 Lord, do not hold back your mercy from me.
Let your love and truth always protect me.
12 Troubles have gathered around me.
There are too many to count.
My sins have caught me.
I cannot see a way to escape.
I have more sins than hairs on my head.
I have lost my courage.
13 Please, Lord, save me.
Hurry, Lord, to help me.
14 People are trying to kill me.
Shame them and disgrace them.
People want to hurt me.
Let them run away in disgrace.
15 People are making fun of me.
Let them be shamed into silence.
16 But let those who follow you
be happy and glad.
They love you for saving them.
May they always say, “Praise the Lord!”
17 Lord, I am poor and helpless.
But please remember me.
You are my helper and savior.
My God, do not wait.
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A song of David.
41 Happy is the person who thinks about the poor.
When trouble comes, the Lord will save him.
2 The Lord will protect him and spare his life.
The Lord will bless him in the land.
The Lord will not let his enemies take him.
3 The Lord will give him strength when he is sick.
The Lord will make him well again.
4 I said, “Lord, be kind to me.
Heal me because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad things about me.
They say, “When will he die and be forgotten?”
6 Some people come to see me.
But they lie.
They just come to get bad news.
Then they go and gossip.
7 All my enemies whisper about me.
They think the worst about me.
8 They say, “He has a terrible disease.
He will never get out of bed again.”
9 My best and truest friend ate at my table.
Now even he has turned against me.
10 Lord, have mercy on me.
Give me strength so I can pay them back.
11 My enemies do not defeat me.
That’s how I know you are pleased with me.
12 Because I am innocent, you support me.
You will let me be with you forever.
13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He has always been,
and he will always be.
Amen and amen.
The Man Speaks to the Woman
4 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, you are beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are like doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.
2 Your teeth are white like newly-sheared sheep
just coming from their bath.
Each one has a twin.
None of them is alone.
3 Your lips are like red silk thread.
Your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks behind your veil
are like slices of a pomegranate.
4 Your neck looks like David’s tower.
The tower was built with rows of stones.
A thousand shields hang on its walls.
Each shield belongs to a strong soldier.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns.
They are like twins of a gazelle,
eating among the lilies.
6 Until the day dawns
and the shadows disappear,
I will go to that mountain of myrrh.
And I will go to that hill of incense.
7 My darling, everything about you is beautiful.
There is nothing at all wrong with you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
Come with me from Lebanon.
Come from the top of Mount Amana,
from the tops of Mount Senir and Mount Hermon.
Come from the lions’ dens
and from the leopards’ hills.
9 My sister, my bride,
you have thrilled my heart.
You have thrilled my heart
with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel from your necklace.
10 Your love is so sweet, my sister, my bride!
Your love is better than wine.
Your perfume smells better than any spice.
11 My bride, your lips drip honey.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes smell like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 My sister, my bride, you are like a garden locked up.
You are like a spring with a wall around it, a fountain that is closed.
13 Your limbs are like an orchard
of pomegranates and all the best fruit.
It is filled with flowers and nard.
14 It also has saffron, calamus and cinnamon.
It is filled with trees of incense, myrrh and aloes—
all the best spices.
15 You are like a garden fountain—
a well of fresh water
flowing down from the mountains of Lebanon.
The Woman Speaks
16 Awake, north wind!
Come, you south wind!
Blow on my garden.
Let its sweet smells flow out.
Let my lover enter the garden.
And let him eat its best fruits.
4 Now God has left us that promise that we may enter and have his rest. Let us be very careful, then, so that none of you will fail to get that rest. 2 The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them. They heard it but did not accept it with faith.[a] 3 We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. As God has said,
“So I was angry and made a promise.
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’” Psalm 95:11
But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. 4 Somewhere in the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.”[b] 5 And again in the Scripture God said, “They will never enter my land of rest.”
6 It is still true that some people will enter and have God’s rest. But those who first heard the way to be saved did not enter. They did not enter because they did not obey. 7 So God planned another day, called “today.” He spoke about that day through David a long time later. It is the same Scripture used before:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn.” Psalm 95:7-8
8 We know that Joshua[c] did not lead the people into that rest. We know this because God spoke later about another day. 9 This shows that the seventh-day rest[d] for God’s people is still coming. 10 For anyone who enters and has God’s rest will rest from his work as God did. 11 So let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest. We must try hard so that no one will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey.
12 God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than a sword sharpened on both sides. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined. It cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. And God’s word judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. 13 Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and lies open before him. And to him we must explain the way we have lived.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, feel free to come before God’s throne. Here there is grace. And we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.