M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Laws on Immoral Relations
18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘(A)I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do [a]what is (B)done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do [b]what is (C)done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, [c]to live in accord with them; (D)I am the Lord your God. 5 So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, (E)by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.
6 ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative [d]of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord. 7 (F)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. 8 (G)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 (H)The nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for [e]their nakedness is yours. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, [f]born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 (I)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative. 14 (J)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife, she is your aunt. 15 (K)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 (L)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 (M)You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is [g]lewdness. 18 You shall not [h]marry a woman in addition to [i]her sister [j]as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.
19 ‘(N)Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her (O)menstrual impurity. 20 (P)You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. 21 You shall not give any of your offspring (Q)to [k]offer them to Molech, nor shall you (R)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. 22 (S)You shall not lie with a male as [l]one lies with a female; it is an abomination. 23 (T)Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to [m]mate with it; it is a perversion.
24 ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these (U)the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. 25 For the land has become defiled, (V)therefore I have brought its [n]punishment upon it, so the land (W)has spewed out its inhabitants. 26 But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you 27 (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); 28 so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. 29 For whoever does any of these abominations, [o]those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. 30 Thus you are to keep (X)My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; (Y)I am the Lord your God.’”
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the choir director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
[b](B)Far from my deliverance are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 O my God, I (D)cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
O You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)delivered them.
5 To You they cried out and were delivered;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a man,
A (K)reproach of men and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me [g](M)sneer at me;
They [h]separate with the lip, they (N)wag the head, saying,
8 “[i]Commit yourself to the Lord; (O)let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon You I was cast (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Be not far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)none to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (AB)my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, (AH)be not far off;
O You my help, (AI)hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
Let your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 [x](BH)Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
The Futility of All Endeavor
1 The words of the (A)Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
3 (C)What advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (D)earth [d]remains forever.
5 Also, (E)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [e]hastening to its place it rises there again.
6 [f](F)Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues [g]swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers [h]flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers [i]flow,
There they [j]flow again.
8 All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to tell it.
(G)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 (H)That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (I)no remembrance of [k]earlier things;
And also of the [l]later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come [m]later still.
The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the (J)Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I (K)set my [n]mind to seek and (L)explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [o]a grievous (M)task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [p](N)vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is (O)crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I [q]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased (P)wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my [r]mind has observed [s]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I (Q)set my [t]mind to know wisdom and to (R)know madness and folly; I realized that this also is (S)striving after wind. 18 Because (T)in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
Overseers and Deacons
3 (A)It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the (B)office of [a]overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 [b](C)An overseer, then, must be above reproach, (D)the husband of one wife, (E)temperate, prudent, respectable, (F)hospitable, (G)able to teach, 3 (H)not addicted to wine [c]or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, (I)free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who (J)manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of (K)the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become (L)conceited and fall into the (M)condemnation [d]incurred by the devil. 7 And he must (N)have a good reputation with (O)those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and (P)the snare of the devil.
8 (Q)Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not [e]double-tongued, [f](R)or addicted to much wine [g](S)or fond of sordid gain, 9 (T)but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 (U)These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11 [h]Women must likewise be dignified, (V)not malicious gossips, but (W)temperate, faithful in all things. 12 (X)Deacons must be (Y)husbands of only one wife, and [i](Z)good managers of their children and their own households. 13 For those who have served well as deacons (AA)obtain for themselves a [j]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but [k]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how [l]one ought to conduct himself in (AB)the household of God, which is the (AC)church of (AD)the living God, the (AE)pillar and support of the truth. 16 By common confession, great is (AF)the mystery of godliness:
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