M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Exclusion from the Lord's People
23 “No man who has been castrated or whose penis has been cut off may be included among the Lord's people.
2 “No one born out of wedlock or any descendant of such a person, even in the tenth generation, may be included among the Lord's people.
3 (A)“No Ammonite or Moabite—or any of their descendants, even in the tenth generation—may be included among the Lord's people. 4 (B)They refused to provide you with food and water when you were on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor, from the city of Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 (C)But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead he turned the curse into a blessing, because he loved you. 6 As long as you are a nation, never do anything to help these nations or to make them prosperous.
7 “Do not despise the Edomites; they are your relatives. And do not despise the Egyptians; you once lived in their land. 8 From the third generation onward their descendants may be included among the Lord's people.
Keeping the Military Camp Clean
9 “When you are in camp in time of war, you are to avoid anything that would make you ritually unclean. 10 If a man becomes unclean because he has had a wet dream during the night, he is to go outside the camp and stay there. 11 Toward evening he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may come back into camp.
12 “You are to have a place outside the camp where you can go when you need to relieve yourselves. 13 Carry a stick as part of your equipment, so that when you have a bowel movement you can dig a hole and cover it up. 14 Keep your camp ritually clean, because the Lord your God is with you in your camp to protect you and to give you victory over your enemies. Do not do anything indecent that would cause the Lord to turn his back on you.
Various Laws
15 “If slaves run away from their owners and come to you for protection, do not send them back. 16 They may live in any of your towns that they choose, and you are not to treat them harshly.
17 (D)“No Israelite, man or woman, is to become a temple prostitute. 18 Also, no money earned in this way may be brought into the house of the Lord your God in fulfillment of a vow. The Lord hates temple prostitutes.
19 (E)“When you lend money or food or anything else to Israelites, do not charge them interest. 20 You may charge interest on what you lend to foreigners, but not on what you lend to Israelites. Obey this rule, and the Lord your God will bless everything you do in the land that you are going to occupy.
21 (F)“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not put off doing what you promised; the Lord will hold you to your vow, and it is a sin not to keep it. 22 It is no sin not to make a vow to the Lord, 23 but if you make one voluntarily, be sure that you keep it.
24 “When you walk along a path in someone else's vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but you must not carry any away in a container. 25 When you walk along a path in someone else's grainfield, you may eat all the grain you can pull off with your hands, but you must not cut any grain with a sickle.
The Happiness of a Good Person
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy is the person who honors the Lord,
who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.
2 The good man's children will be powerful in the land;
his descendants will be blessed.
3 His family will be wealthy and rich,
and he will be prosperous forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for good people,
for those who are merciful, kind, and just.
5 Happy is the person who is generous with his loans,
who runs his business honestly.
6 A good person will never fail;
he will always be remembered.
7 He is not afraid of receiving bad news;
his faith is strong, and he trusts in the Lord.
8 He is not worried or afraid;
he is certain to see his enemies defeated.
9 (A)He gives generously to the needy,
and his kindness never fails;
he will be powerful and respected.
10 The wicked see this and are angry;
they glare in hate and disappear;
their hopes are gone forever.
In Praise of the Lord's Goodness
113 Praise the Lord!
You servants of the Lord,
praise his name!
2 May his name be praised,
now and forever.
3 From the east to the west
praise the name of the Lord!
4 The Lord rules over all nations;
his glory is above the heavens.
5 There is no one like the Lord our God.
He lives in the heights above,
6 but he bends down
to see the heavens and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from their misery
8 and makes them companions of princes,
the princes of his people.
9 He honors the childless wife in her home;
he makes her happy by giving her children.
Praise the Lord!
50 (A)The Lord says,
“Do you think I sent my people away
like a man who divorces his wife?
Where, then, are the papers of divorce?
Do you think I sold you into captivity
like a man who sells his children as slaves?
No, you went away captive because of your sins;
you were sent away because of your crimes.
2 “Why did my people fail to respond
when I went to them to save them?
Why did they not answer when I called?
Am I too weak to save them?
I can dry up the sea with a command
and turn rivers into a desert,
so that the fish in them die for lack of water.
3 I can make the sky turn dark,
as if it were in mourning for the dead.”
The Obedience of the Lord's Servant
4 The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say,
so that I can strengthen the weary.
Every morning he makes me eager
to hear what he is going to teach me.
5 The Lord has given me understanding,
and I have not rebelled
or turned away from him.
6 (B)I bared my back to those who beat me.
I did not stop them when they insulted me,
when they pulled out the hairs of my beard
and spit in my face.
7 But their insults cannot hurt me
because the Sovereign Lord gives me help.
I brace myself to endure them.
I know that I will not be disgraced,
8 (C)for God is near,
and he will prove me innocent.
Does anyone dare bring charges against me?
Let us go to court together!
Let him bring his accusation!
9 The Sovereign Lord himself defends me—
who, then, can prove me guilty?
All my accusers will disappear;
they will vanish like moth-eaten cloth.
10 All of you that honor the Lord
and obey the words of his servant,
the path you walk may be dark indeed,
but trust in the Lord, rely on your God.
11 All of you that plot to destroy others
will be destroyed by your own plots.
The Lord himself will make this happen;
you will suffer a miserable fate.
The Thousand Years
20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain. 2 (A)He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent—that is, the Devil, or Satan—and chained him up for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the abyss, locked it, and sealed it, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that he must be set loose for a little while.
4 (B)Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image, nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead. 6 Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.
The Defeat of Satan
7 After the thousand years are over, Satan will be set loose from his prison, 8 (C)and he will go out to deceive the nations scattered over the whole world, that is, Gog and Magog. Satan will bring them all together for battle, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. 9 They spread out over the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the city that he loves. But fire came down from heaven and destroyed them. 10 Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Final Judgment
11 (D)Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sits on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence and were seen no more. 12 (E)And I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held. And all were judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire is the second death.) 15 Those who did not have their name written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.