M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Other Laws
19 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 “Speak to the whole community of Israel. Tell them, ‘Be holy, because I am holy. I am the Lord your God.
3 “ ‘All of you must have respect for your mother and father. You must always keep my Sabbath days. I am the Lord your God.
4 “ ‘Do not turn away from me to worship statues of gods. Do not make for yourselves metal statues of gods. I am the Lord your God.
5 “ ‘Suppose you sacrifice a friendship offering to me. Then do it in the right way. And I will accept it from you. 6 You must eat it on the same day you sacrifice it or on the next day. Anything left over until the third day must be burned up. 7 If you eat any of it on the third day, it is not pure. I will not accept it. 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible. They have misused what is holy to me. They will be separated from their people.
9 “ ‘Suppose you are harvesting your crops. Then do not harvest all the way to the edges of your field. And do not pick up the grain you missed. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time. Do not pick up the grapes that have fallen to the ground. Leave them for poor people and outsiders. I am the Lord your God.
11 “ ‘Do not steal.
“ ‘Do not tell lies.
“ ‘Do not cheat one another.
12 “ ‘Do not give your word in my name and then be a false witness. That would be treating the name of your God as if it were not holy. I am the Lord.
13 “ ‘Do not cheat your neighbor. Do not rob him.
“ ‘Do not hold back the pay of a hired worker until morning.
14 “ ‘Do not ask for bad things to happen to deaf people. Do not put anything in front of blind people that will make them trip. Instead, have respect for me. I am the Lord your God.
15 “ ‘Do not make something wrong appear to be right. Treat poor people and rich people in the same way. Do not favor one person over another. Instead, judge everyone fairly.
16 “ ‘Do not go around spreading lies among your people.
“ ‘Do not do anything that puts your neighbor’s life in danger. I am the Lord.
17 “ ‘Do not hate another Israelite in your heart. Correct your neighbor boldly when they do something wrong. Then you will not share their guilt.
18 “ ‘Do not try to get even. Do not hold anything against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.
19 “ ‘Obey my rules.
“ ‘Do not let different kinds of animals mate with each other.
“ ‘Do not mix two kinds of seeds and then plant them in your field.
“ ‘Do not wear clothes that are made out of two kinds of cloth.
20 “ ‘Suppose a man sleeps with a female slave. But she and another man have promised to get married to each other. And her freedom has not yet been paid for or given to her. Then she and the man who slept with her must be punished. But they must not be put to death, because she had not been set free. 21 The man must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting. It is for a guilt offering to me. 22 The priest must take the ram for the guilt offering. He must sacrifice it to pay for the man’s sin in my sight. Then his sin will be forgiven.
23 “ ‘When you enter the land, suppose you plant a fruit tree. Then do not eat its fruit for the first three years. The fruit is “unclean.” 24 In the fourth year all the fruit will be holy. Offer it as a way of showing praise to me. 25 But in the fifth year you can eat the fruit. Then you will gather more and more fruit. I am the Lord your God.
26 “ ‘Do not eat any meat that still has blood in it.
“ ‘Do not practice any kind of evil magic.
27 “ ‘Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head. Do not clip off the edges of your beard.
28 “ ‘Do not make cuts on your bodies when someone dies. Do not put marks on your skin. I am the Lord.
29 “ ‘Do not dishonor your daughter’s body by making a prostitute out of her. If you do, the Israelites will start going to prostitutes. The land will be filled with evil.
30 “ ‘You must always keep my Sabbath days. Have respect for my sacred tent. I am the Lord.
31 “ ‘Do not look for advice from people who get messages from those who have died. Do not go to people who talk to the spirits of the dead. If you do, they will make you “unclean.” I am the Lord your God.
32 “ ‘Stand up in order to show your respect for old people. Also have respect for me. I am the Lord your God.
33 “ ‘Suppose an outsider lives with you in your land. Then do not treat them badly. 34 Treat them as if they were one of your own people. Love them as you love yourself. Remember that all of you were outsiders in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 “ ‘Be honest when you measure lengths, weights or amounts. 36 Use honest scales and honest weights. Use honest dry measures. And use honest liquid measures. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt.
37 “ ‘Obey all my rules and laws. Follow them. I am the Lord.’ ”
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd. He gives me everything I need.
2 He lets me lie down in fields of green grass.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He gives me new strength.
He guides me in the right paths
for the honor of his name.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid.
You are with me.
Your shepherd’s rod and staff
comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
right in front of my enemies.
You pour oil on my head.
My cup runs over.
6 I am sure that your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life.
And I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
A psalm of David.
24 The earth belongs to the Lord. And so does everything in it.
The world belongs to him. And so do all those who live in it.
2 He set it firmly on the oceans.
He made it secure on the waters.
3 Who can go up to the temple on the mountain of the Lord?
Who can stand in his holy place?
4 Anyone who has clean hands and a pure heart.
Anyone who does not trust in the statue of a god.
Anyone who doesn’t use the name of that god when he makes a promise.
5 People like that will receive the Lord’s blessing.
When God their Savior hands down his sentence, it will be in their favor.
6 The people who look to God are like that.
God of Jacob, they look to you.
7 Open wide, you gates.
Open up, you ancient doors.
Then the King of glory will come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, who is strong and mighty.
The Lord, who is mighty in battle.
9 Open wide, you gates.
Open wide, you ancient doors.
Then the King of glory will come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord who rules over all.
He is the King of glory.
Pleasure Is Meaningless
2 I said to myself, “Come on. I’ll try out pleasure. I want to find out if it is good.” But it also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “And what can pleasure do for me?” 3 I tried cheering myself up by drinking wine. I even tried living in a foolish way. But wisdom was still guiding my mind. I wanted to see what was good for people to do on earth during their short lives.
4 So I started some large projects. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks. I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made lakes to water groves of healthy trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves. And I had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem ever had before. 8 I stored up silver and gold for myself. I gathered up the treasures of kings and their kingdoms. I got some male and female singers. I also got many women for myself. Women delight the hearts of men. 9 I became far more important than anyone in Jerusalem had ever been before. And in spite of everything, I didn’t lose my wisdom.
10 I gave myself everything my eyes wanted.
There wasn’t any pleasure that I refused to give myself.
I took delight in everything I did.
And that was what I got for all my work.
11 But then I looked over everything my hands had done.
I saw what I had worked so hard to get.
And nothing had any meaning.
It was like chasing the wind.
Nothing was gained on this earth.
Wisdom and Foolish Pleasure Are Meaningless
12 I decided to think about wisdom.
I also thought about foolish pleasure.
What more can a new king do?
Can he do anything more than others have already done?
13 I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The eyes of a wise person see things clearly.
A person who is foolish lives in darkness.
But I finally realized that death catches up
with both of them.
15 Then I said to myself,
“What happens to a foolish person will catch up with me too.
So what do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
“That doesn’t have any meaning either.”
16 Like a foolish person, a wise person won’t be remembered very long.
The days have already come when both of them have been forgotten.
Like a person who is foolish,
a wise person must die too!
Work Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life. That’s because the work done on this earth made me sad. None of it has any meaning. It’s like chasing the wind. 18 I hated everything I had worked for on earth. I’ll have to leave all of it to someone who lives after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Either way, they’ll take over everything on earth I’ve worked so hard for. That doesn’t have any meaning either. 20 So I began to lose hope because of all my hard work on this earth. 21 A person might use wisdom, knowledge and skill to do their work. But then they have to leave everything they own to someone who hasn’t worked for it. That doesn’t have any meaning either. In fact, it isn’t fair. 22 What do people get for all their hard work on earth? What do they get for all their worries? 23 As long as they live, their work is nothing but pain and sorrow. Even at night their minds can’t rest. That doesn’t have any meaning either.
24 A person can’t do anything better than eat, drink and be satisfied with their work. I’m finally seeing that those things also come from the hand of God. 25 Without his help, who can eat or find pleasure? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness to the person who pleases him. But to a sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth. Then the sinner must hand it over to the one who pleases God. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.
4 The Holy Spirit clearly says that in the last days some people will leave the faith. They will follow spirits that will fool them. They will believe things that demons will teach them. 2 Teachings like those come from liars who pretend to be what they are not. Their sense of what is right and wrong has been destroyed. It’s as though it has been burned with a hot iron. 3 They do not allow people to get married. They order them not to eat certain foods. But God created those foods. So people who believe and know the truth should receive them and give thanks for them. 4 Everything God created is good. You shouldn’t turn anything down. Instead, you should thank God for it. 5 The word of God and prayer make it holy.
6 Point out these things to the brothers and sisters. Then you will serve Christ Jesus well. You will show that you’ve grown in the truths of the faith. You will show that you’ve been trained by the good teaching you’ve obeyed. 7 Don’t have anything to do with godless stories and silly tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 Training the body has some value. But being godly has value in every way. It promises help for the life you are now living and the life to come. 9 This is the truth you can trust and accept completely. 10 This is why we work and try so hard. It’s because we have put our hope in the living God. He is the Savior of all people. Most of all, he is the Savior of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure. 13 Until I come, spend your time reading Scripture out loud to one another. Spend your time preaching and teaching. 14 Don’t fail to use the gift the Holy Spirit gave you. He gave it to you through a prophecy from God. It was given when the elders placed their hands on you.
15 Keep on doing these things. Give them your complete attention. Then everyone will see how you are coming along. 16 Be careful of how you live and what you believe. Never give up. Then you will save yourself and those who hear you.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.