M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Rules for Nazirites
6 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the people of Israel:
If any of you want to dedicate yourself to me by vowing to become a Nazirite, 3 (A) you must no longer drink any wine or beer or use any kind of vinegar. Don't drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins— 4 not even the seeds or skins.
5 The hair of a Nazirite is sacred to me, and as long as you are a Nazirite, you must never cut your hair.
6 During the time that you are a Nazirite, you must never go close to a dead body, 7-8 not even that of your father, mother, brother, or sister. That would make you unclean. Your hair is the sign that you are dedicated to me, so remain holy.
9 If someone suddenly dies near you, your hair is no longer sacred, and you must shave it seven days later during the ceremony to make you clean. 10 Then on the next day, bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the sacred tent. 11 He will offer one of the birds as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me.[a] You will then be forgiven for being too near a dead body, and your hair will again become sacred. 12 But the dead body made you unacceptable, so you must make another vow to become a Nazirite and be dedicated once more. Finally, a year-old ram must be offered as the sacrifice to make things right.
13 (B) When you have completed your promised time of being a Nazirite, go to the sacred tent 14 and offer three animals that have nothing wrong with them: a year-old ram as a sacrifice to please me, a year-old female lamb as a sacrifice for sin, and a full-grown ram as a sacrifice to ask my blessing.[b] 15 Wine offerings and grain sacrifices must also be brought with these animals. Finally, you are to bring a basket of bread made with your finest flour and olive oil, but without yeast. Also bring some thin wafers brushed with oil.
16 The priest will take these gifts to my altar and offer them, so that I will be pleased and will forgive you. 17 Then he will sacrifice the ram and offer the wine, grain, and bread.
18 After that, you will stand at the entrance to the sacred tent, shave your head, and put the hair in the fire where the priest has offered the sacrifice to ask my blessing.
19 Once the meat from the ram's shoulder has been boiled, the priest will take it, along with one loaf of bread and one wafer brushed with oil, and give them to you. 20 You will hand them back to the priest, who will lift them up[c] in dedication to me. Then he can eat the meat from the ram's shoulder, its choice ribs, and its hind leg, because this is his share of the sacrifice. After this, you will no longer be a Nazirite, and you will be free to drink wine.
21 These are the requirements for Nazirites. However, if you can afford to offer more, you must do so.
The Blessing for the People
22 The Lord told Moses, 23 “When Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel, they must say:
24 I pray that the Lord
will bless and protect you,
25 and that he will show you mercy
and kindness.
26 May the Lord be good to you
and give you peace.”
27 Then the Lord said, “If Aaron and his sons ask me to bless the Israelites, I will give them my blessing.”
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
A Prayer for Help
1 I patiently waited, Lord,
for you to hear my prayer.
You listened 2 and pulled me
from a lonely pit
full of mud and mire.
You let me stand on a rock
with my feet firm,
3 and you gave me a new song,
a song of praise to you.
Many will see this,
and they will honor and trust
you, the Lord God.
4 You bless all of those
who trust you, Lord,
and refuse to worship idols
or follow false gods.
5 You, Lord God, have done
many wonderful things,
and you have planned
marvelous things for us.
No one is like you!
I would never be able to tell
all you have done.
6 (A) Sacrifices and offerings
are not what please you;
gifts and payment for sin
are not what you demand.
But you made me willing
to listen and obey.
7 And so, I said, “I am here
to do what is written
about me in the book,
where it says,
8 ‘I enjoy pleasing you.
Your Law is in my heart.’ ”
9 When your people worshiped,
you know I told them,
“Our Lord always helps!”
10 When all your people met,
I did not keep silent.
I said, “Our Lord is kind.
He is faithful and caring,
and he saves us.”
11 You, Lord, never fail
to have pity on me;
your love and faithfulness
always keep me secure.
12 I have more troubles
than I can count.
My sins are all around me,
and I can't find my way.
My sins outnumber
the hairs on my head,
and I feel weak.
13 Please show that you care
and come to my rescue.
Hurry and help me!
14 Disgrace and confuse
all who want me dead;
turn away and disgrace
all who want to hurt me.
15 Embarrass and shame
everyone who says,
“Just look at you now!”
16 Our Lord, let your worshipers
rejoice and be glad.
They love you for saving them,
so let them always say,
“The Lord is wonderful!”
17 I am poor and needy,
but, Lord God,
you care about me,
and you come to my rescue.
Please hurry and help.
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
1 You, Lord God, bless everyone
who cares for the poor,
and you rescue those people
in times of trouble.
2 You protect them
and keep them alive.
You make them happy here
in this land,
and you don't hand them over
to their enemies.
3 You always heal them
and restore their strength
when they are sick.
4 I prayed, “Have pity, Lord!
Heal me, though I have sinned
against you.”
5 My vicious enemies ask me,
“When will you die
and be forgotten?”
6 When visitors come,
all they ever bring
are worthless words,
and when they leave,
they spread gossip.
7 My enemies whisper about me.
They think the worst,
8 and they say,
“You have some fatal disease!
You'll never get well.”
9 (B) My most trusted friend
has turned against me,
though he ate at my table.
10 Have pity, Lord! Heal me,
so I can pay them back.
11 Then my enemies
won't defeat me,
and I will know
that you really care.
12 You have helped me
because I am innocent,
and you will always
be close to my side.
13 (C) You, the Lord God of Israel,
will be praised forever!
Amen and amen.
What a Beautiful Bride
He Speaks:
4 My darling, you are lovely,
so very lovely—
as you look through your veil,
your eyes are those of a dove.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
coming down from Gilead.
2 Your teeth are whiter
than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
not one is missing.
3 Your lips are crimson cords,
your mouth is shapely;
behind your veil are hidden
beautiful rosy cheeks.[a]
4 Your neck is more graceful
than the tower of David,
decorated with thousands
of warriors' shields.
5 Your breasts are perfect;
they are twin deer
feeding among lilies.
6 I will hasten to those hills
sprinkled with sweet perfume
and stay there till sunrise.
7 My darling, you are lovely
in every way.
8 My bride, together
we will leave Lebanon!
We will say goodbye
to the peaks of Mount Amana,
Senir, and Hermon,
where lions and leopards
live in the caves.
9 My bride, my very own,
you have stolen my heart!
With one glance from your eyes
and the glow of your necklace,
you have stolen my heart.
10 Your love is sweeter than wine;
the smell of your perfume
is more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are a honeycomb;
milk and honey
flow from your tongue.
Your dress has the aroma
of cedar trees from Lebanon.
12 My bride, my very own,
you are a garden, a fountain
closed off to all others.
13 Your arms[b] are vines,
covered with delicious fruits
and all sorts of spices—
henna, nard, 14 saffron,
calamus, cinnamon,
frankincense, myrrh, and aloes
—all the finest spices.
15 You are a spring in the garden,
a fountain of pure water,
and a refreshing stream
from Mount Lebanon.
She Speaks:
16 Let the north wind blow,
the south wind too!
Let them spread the aroma
of my garden,
so the one I love
may enter and taste
its delicious fruits.
4 The promise to enter the place of rest is still good, and we must take care that none of you miss out. 2 We have heard the message, just as they did. But they failed to believe what they heard, and the message did not do them any good. 3 (A) Only people who have faith will enter the place of rest. It is just as the Scriptures say,
“God became angry
and told the people,
‘You will never enter
my place of rest!’ ”
God said this, even though everything has been ready from the time of creation. 4 (B) In fact, somewhere the Scriptures say that by the seventh day, God had finished his work, and so he rested. 5 (C) We also read that he later said, “You people will never enter my place of rest!” 6 This means that the promise to enter is still good, because those who first heard about it disobeyed and did not enter. 7 (D) Much later God told David to make the promise again, just as I have already said,
“If you hear his voice today,
don't be stubborn!”
8 (E) If Joshua had really given the people rest, there would not be any need for God to talk about another day of rest. 9 But God has promised us a Sabbath when we will rest, even though it has not yet come. 10 (F) On that day God's people will rest from their work, just as God rested from his work.
11 We should do our best to enter the place of rest, so none of us will disobey and miss going there, as they did. 12 God's word is alive and powerful! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. 13 (G) Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth.
Jesus Is the Great High Priest
14 We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. This is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. 15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.
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