M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 15[a]
Personal Uncleanness. 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, that discharge is unclean. 3 This bodily discharge shall make him unclean whether it is running or it has stopped. His discharge shall make him unclean. 4 Every bed upon which he lies when he has a discharge shall be unclean, as shall everything upon which he is sitting. 5 Whoever touches his bed will wash his clothes and bathe in water and he shall be unclean until the evening. 6 Whoever sits on anything upon which the man with the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening. 7 Whoever touches a man who has had a discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening. 8 If someone who has a discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening. 9 Everything that a man who has a discharge rides upon shall be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries those things must wash his clothes and bathe in water and he shall be unclean until the evening. 11 Whoever is touched by a man with a discharge who has not rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening. 12 Any clay vessel that is touched by someone with a discharge shall be broken, and any wooden utensil shall be washed.
13 “ ‘When a man has been cleansed[b] from his discharge, he shall count off seven days from his cleansing. He shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in running water, and he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and he shall give them to the priest. 15 The priest shall then offer them, one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering. The priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord for his discharge.
16 “ ‘If any man has an emission of semen, he shall wash his whole body with water and he shall be unclean until the evening. 17 If any semen falls on any garment or on any skin, it is to be washed with water and it shall be unclean until the evening.
18 “ ‘When a woman lies with a man and they have sex, they shall both bathe with water and they shall be unclean until the evening.
19 “ ‘If a woman has a discharge and the discharge from her body is blood, then she shall be impure for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. 20 Everything upon which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything upon which she sits shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening. 22 Whoever touches anything upon which she sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening. 23 Whoever touches anything that was on her bed or on something upon which she sat shall be unclean until the evening. 24 If any man lies with her so that her impurity is upon him, he shall be unclean for seven days and any bed upon which he lies shall be unclean.
25 “ ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days outside of the normal time of her impurity, or if it runs beyond the time of her impurity, then all the days when she has an unclean discharge shall be the same as the days of her menstrual impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed upon which she lies all during the time of her discharge shall be for her like the bed of her impurity. Everything upon which she sits shall be unclean, just like the uncleanness of her time of menstrual impurity. 27 Whoever touches these things shall be unclean. He shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be unclean until the evening.
28 “ ‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall wait for seven days, and she shall then be clean. 29 On the eighth day, she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and she shall bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. The priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her impure discharge.
31 “ ‘Thus you will keep the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die[c] in their uncleanness when they defile my tabernacle that is in their midst. 32 This is the law for anyone who has a discharge or who has an emission of semen and is therefore unclean 33 and for the woman who is having her menstrual discharge, and for someone having a discharge, whether man or woman, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.’ ”
Psalm 18[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Help
1 For the director.[b] Of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song after the Lord had rescued him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
I love you, O Lord, my strength,
3 O Lord, my rock,[c] my fortress, my deliverer.
My God is my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy of all praise;
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 The cords of death encompassed me,
and the torrents of destruction assailed me.
6 The cords of the netherworld ensnared me,
and the snares of death[d] rose up before me.
7 In my anguish I cried out to the Lord
and called to my God for help.
From his temple[e] he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
8 [f]The earth swayed and rocked;
the foundations of the mountains shook,
rocking because of his blazing anger.
9 Smoke poured forth from his nostrils,
while a scorching fire blazed out of his mouth
and kindled coals into flame.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds lay under his feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub,[g]
soaring swiftly on the wings of the wind.
12 He used the darkness as his covering,
and dense thunderclouds as his canopy.
13 From the radiance before him thick clouds emerged,
spewing hail and flashes of fire.
14 The Lord thundered from the heavens,
and the Most High let his voice be heard.
15 He shot his arrows[h] and scattered them,
hurled his lightning bolts and routed them.
16 Then the depths of the sea were exposed,
and the earth’s foundations were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,[i]
at the blast of wind from his nostrils.
17 He reached down from on high and snatched me up;
he drew me out of the watery depths.[j]
18 He delivered me from my powerful enemy,
and from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They assailed me in the day of my misfortune,
but the Lord came forward to uphold me.
20 He led me forth into the open field;
he set me free because he was pleased with me.
21 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;[k]
because my hands were pure, he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord[l]
and refused to turn away from my God.
23 His laws are clearly known to me,
and I have not failed to observe his decrees.
24 I was blameless in his sight,
and I kept myself free of sin.
25 Therefore, the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
because of the cleanness of my hands in his eyes.
26 To the loyal, you show yourself to be loyal;
to the blameless, you show yourself to be blameless;
27 to the pure, you show yourself to be pure;
but to the perverse,[m] you show yourself to be shrewd.
28 For you save the humble,
but you bring down the haughty.
29 You, O Lord, are light for my lamp;[n]
O my God, you make my darkness turn to light.
30 With your help I can storm a rampart;
with my God to aid me, I can scale any wall.
31 The way of God is blameless,
and the Lord’s promise proves true;
he is a shield to all
who flee to him for safety.
32 Indeed, who is God except the Lord?
Who is the Rock besides our God?
33 It is God who clothes me with strength
and makes my way blameless.
34 He gives me the swift feet of a deer
and places me securely on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war
and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.[o]
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your right hand sustains me,
and your goodness makes me great.
37 You broadened the path beneath me
so that my feet have never stumbled.
38 I went after my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were defeated.
39 When I knocked them down, they were unable to rise;
they fell down at my feet.
40 You clothed me with strength for the battle
and cast down my adversaries beneath me.
41 You made my enemies retreat before me,
so that I could scatter those who hated me.
42 They called for help, but there was no one to deliver them;
they called to the Lord, but no answer came.
43 I crushed them like fine dust before the wind;
I trod on them like mud in the streets.
44 You delivered me from a people in rebellion,
and you placed me in charge of the nations;
people I did not know have become my subjects.
45 As soon as they heard me, they obeyed;
foreigners groveled before me.
46 Then they became disheartened
and came forth trembling from their strongholds.
47 The Lord lives! Blessed[p] be my Rock!
Exalted be God, my Savior!
48 O God, you obtained vindication for me,
subjected nations under me,
49 and freed me from my enemies.
You exalted me over my adversaries
and delivered me from the violent.
50 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations
and sing praise to your name.[q]
51 You have bestowed great victories on your king,
and you have shown kindness to your anointed,[r]
to David and his descendants forever.
Chapter 29
1 One who remains stubborn despite frequent reproof
will suddenly be crushed beyond hope of repair.
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice,
but they groan when the wicked ascend to power.
3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad,
but a patron of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
4 By ruling justly a king gives stability to his country,
but one who takes bribes causes its downfall.
5 Anyone who flatters his neighbor
is spreading a net to trip him up.
6 An evildoer is ensnared by his own sin,
but an upright man goes forward happily.
7 A righteous man has concern for the condition of the poor,
but an evildoer shows no interest in this matter.
8 Scoffers can set a city aflame,[a]
but wise men turn away wrath.
9 If a wise man argues with a fool,
he will get nowhere whether he rages or laughs.
10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless,[b]
but the upright show concern for him.
11 A fool gives free rein to his anger,
but a wise man bides his time and calms it.
12 If a ruler listens to the testimony of liars,
all of his officials will adopt evil ways.
13 A poor man and an oppressor have this in common:
the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.[c]
14 If a king zealously defends the rights of the poor,
his throne will stand firm forever.
15 The rod of correction[d] bestows wisdom,
but an unreprimanded youth will bring shame on his mother.
16 When the wicked are in power, sins increase,
but the righteous will witness their downfall.
17 If you correct your son,[e] he will give you peace of mind
and bring delight to your soul.
18 Without prophecy the people become uncontrollable,
but blessed are those who keep the law.[f]
19 Mere words do not suffice to control a servant;
even though he understands, he will not obey you.
20 Do you see someone who is too eager to speak?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
21 If you pamper a slave from his childhood,
in the end he will prove ungrateful.[g]
22 A bad-tempered man provokes quarrels,
and a hothead commits a host of offenses.
23 A man’s pride will bring him low,
but lowly souls will rise to honor.
24 The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy,
for he hears the curse[h] but refuses to answer.
25 The fear of others will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is secure.
26 Many seek the favor of a ruler,
but it is the Lord who administers justice.
27 A sinful man is abhorrent to the upright,
and one who leads a holy life is hated by the wicked.
Chapter 3
Request for Prayers. 1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, as it was with you. 2 Pray too that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not all have faith.
3 However, the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do all that we direct you to do. 5 May the Lord guide your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.
Christian Value of Work.[a] 6 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, brethren, we command you to keep your distance from any of the brethren who are living an idle existence and who disregard the tradition you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you should follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We did not ever accept food from anyone, but with toil and drudgery we worked night and day so that we would not burden any of you. 9 We did so, not because we have no right to accept such help, but to present ourselves as a model for you to imitate.
10 In fact, even when we were with you, we charged that anyone who was unwilling to work should not eat. 11 Now we have been told that some among you are living a life of idleness, not working but acting as busybodies. 12 We command and urge such people in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and earn their own living.
13 Brethren, never grow weary of doing what is right. 14 If anyone refuses to obey our instructions in this letter, take note of him and have nothing to do with him so that he may be put to shame. 15 However, do not treat him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Conclusion[b]
16 Final Prayer. May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17 Final Blessing. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. It is the distinguishing mark of every letter of mine. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
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