M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
25 “Suppose two Israelites go to court to settle a dispute, and one is declared innocent and the other guilty. 2 If the guilty one is sentenced to be beaten, the judge is to make him lie face downward and have him whipped. The number of lashes will depend on the crime he has committed. 3 (A)He may be given as many as forty lashes, but no more; more than that would humiliate him publicly.
4 (B)“Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain.
Duty to a Dead Brother
5 (C)“If two brothers live on the same property and one of them dies, leaving no son, then his widow is not to be married to someone outside the family; it is the duty of the dead man's brother to marry her. 6 The first son that they have will be considered the son of the dead man, so that his family line will continue in Israel. 7 (D)But if the dead man's brother does not want to marry her, she is to go before the town leaders and say, ‘My husband's brother will not do his duty; he refuses to give his brother a descendant among the people of Israel.’ 8 Then the town leaders are to summon him and speak to him. If he still refuses to marry her, 9 his brother's widow is to go up to him in the presence of the town leaders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face, and say, ‘This is what happens to the man who refuses to give his brother a descendant.’ 10 His family will be known in Israel as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off.’
Other Laws
11 “If two men are having a fight and the wife of one tries to help her husband by grabbing hold of the other man's genitals, 12 show her no mercy; cut off her hand.
13-14 (E)“Do not cheat when you use weights and measures. 15 Use true and honest weights and measures, so that you may live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 The Lord hates people who cheat.
The Command to Kill the Amalekites
17 (F)“Remember what the Amalekites did to you as you were coming from Egypt. 18 They had no fear of God, and so they attacked you from the rear when you were tired and exhausted, and killed all who were straggling behind. 19 So then, when the Lord your God has given you the land and made you safe from all your enemies who live around you, be sure to kill all the Amalekites, so that no one will remember them any longer. Do not forget!
Someone Saved from Death Praises God
116 I love the Lord, because he hears me;
he listens to my prayers.
2 He listens to me
every time I call to him.
3 The danger of death was all around me;
the horrors of the grave closed in on me;
I was filled with fear and anxiety.
4 Then I called to the Lord,
“I beg you, Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is merciful and good;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects the helpless;
when I was in danger, he saved me.
7 Be confident, my heart,
because the Lord has been good to me.
8 The Lord saved me from death;
he stopped my tears
and kept me from defeat.
9 And so I walk in the presence of the Lord
in the world of the living.
10 (A)I kept on believing, even when I said,
“I am completely crushed,”
11 even when I was afraid and said,
“No one can be trusted.”
12 What can I offer the Lord
for all his goodness to me?
13 I will bring a wine offering to the Lord,
to thank him for saving me.
14 In the assembly of all his people
I will give him what I have promised.
15 How painful it is to the Lord
when one of his people dies!
16 I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did.
You have saved me from death.
17 I will give you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and offer my prayer to you.
18-19 In the assembly of all your people,
in the sanctuary of your Temple in Jerusalem,
I will give you what I have promised.
Praise the Lord!
God Will Rescue Jerusalem
52 (A)Jerusalem, be strong and great again!
Holy city of God, clothe yourself with splendor!
The heathen will never enter your gates again.
2 Shake yourself free, Jerusalem!
Rise from the dust and sit on your throne!
Undo the chains that bind you,
captive people of Zion!
3 The Sovereign Lord says to his people, “When you became slaves, no money was paid for you; in the same way nothing will be paid to set you free. 4 When you went to live in Egypt as foreigners, you did so of your own free will; Assyria, however, took you away by force and paid nothing for you. 5 (B)And now in Babylonia the same thing has happened: you are captives, and nothing was paid for you. Those who rule over you boast and brag and constantly show contempt for me. 6 In time to come you will acknowledge that I am God and that I have spoken to you.”
7 (C)How wonderful it is to see
a messenger coming across the mountains,
bringing good news, the news of peace!
He announces victory and says to Zion,
“Your God is king!”
8 Those who guard the city are shouting,
shouting together for joy.
They can see with their own eyes
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Break into shouts of joy,
you ruins of Jerusalem!
The Lord will rescue his city
and comfort his people.
10 The Lord will use his holy power;
he will save his people,
and all the world will see it.
11 (D)Be sure to leave Babylonia,
all you that carry the Temple equipment.
Touch no forbidden thing;[a]
keep yourselves holy and leave.
12 This time you will not have to leave in a hurry;
you will not be trying to escape.
The Lord your God will lead you
and protect you on every side.
The Suffering Servant
13 The Lord says,
“My servant will succeed in his task;
he will be highly honored.[b]
14 Many people were shocked when they saw him;
he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human.
15 (E)But now many nations will marvel at him,
and kings will be speechless with amazement.
They will see and understand
something they had never known.”
22 (A)The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 (B)and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. 3 (C)Nothing that is under God's curse will be found in the city.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 [a]They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 (D)There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.
The Coming of Jesus
6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are true and can be trusted. And the Lord God, who gives his Spirit to the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon.”
7 “Listen!” says Jesus. “I am coming soon! Happy are those who obey the prophetic words in this book!”
8 I, John, have heard and seen all these things. And when I finished hearing and seeing them, I fell down at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things, and I was about to worship him. 9 But he said to me, “Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!” 10 And he said to me, “Do not keep the prophetic words of this book a secret, because the time is near when all this will happen. 11 (E)Whoever is evil must go on doing evil, and whoever is filthy must go on being filthy; whoever is good must go on doing good, and whoever is holy must go on being holy.”
12 (F)“Listen!” says Jesus. “I am coming soon! I will bring my rewards with me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13 (G)I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 (H)Happy are those who wash their robes clean and so have the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life and to go through the gates into the city. 15 But outside the city are the perverts and those who practice magic, the immoral and the murderers, those who worship idols and those who are liars both in words and deeds.
16 (I)“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended from the family of David; I am the bright morning star.”
17 (J)The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”
Everyone who hears this must also say, “Come!”
Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it.
Conclusion
18 (K)I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if any add anything to them, God will add to their punishment the plagues described in this book. 19 And if any take anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from them their share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book.
20 He who gives his testimony to all this says, “Yes indeed! I am coming soon!”
So be it. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.[b]
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.