M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
On Human Sacrifice and Immoralities
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel:
‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel (A)who gives any of his [a]offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; (B)the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his [b]offspring to Molech, (C)so as to defile My sanctuary and (D)to profane My holy name. 4 If the people of the land, however, [c]should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his [d]offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.
6 ‘As for the person who turns to [e](E)mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and (F)be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 (G)You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
9 ‘(H)If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.
10 ‘(I)If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 (J)If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 12 (K)If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed [f]incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 13 (L)If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them. 14 (M)If there is a man who [g]marries a woman and her mother, it is immorality; both he and they shall be burned with fire, so that there will be no immorality in your midst. 15 (N)If there is a man who lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death; you shall also kill the animal. 16 If there is a woman who approaches any animal to [h]mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.
17 ‘(O)If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. 18 (P)If there is a man who lies with a [i]menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has [j]exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 (Q)You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has made naked his [k]blood relative; they will bear their guilt. 20 (R)If there is a man who lies with his uncle’s wife he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. 21 (S)If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is [l]abhorrent; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.
22 ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to [m]live will not (T)spew you out. 23 Moreover, you shall not [n]follow (U)the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and (V)therefore I have abhorred them. 24 Hence I have said to you, “(W)You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has (X)separated you from the peoples. 25 (Y)You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make [o]yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything [p]that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. 26 Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I (Z)have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.
27 ‘Now a man or a woman (AA)who is a medium or a [q]spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.’”
Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I (A)lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You (B)I trust,
Do not let me (C)be ashamed;
Do not let my (D)enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, (E)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who (F)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 (G)Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in (H)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the (I)God of my salvation;
For You I (J)wait all the day.
6 (K)Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b](L)from of old.
7 Do not remember the (M)sins of my youth or my transgressions;
(N)According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your (O)goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 (P)Good and (Q)upright is the Lord;
Therefore He (R)instructs sinners in the way.
9 He (S)leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He (T)teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are (U)lovingkindness and truth
To (V)those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For (W)Your name’s sake, O Lord,
(X)Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who (Y)fears the Lord?
He will (Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will (AA)abide in [e]prosperity,
And his [f]descendants will (AB)inherit the [g]land.
14 The [h](AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[i]And He will (AD)make them know His covenant.
15 My (AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will [j](AF)pluck my feet out of the net.
16 (AG)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am (AH)lonely and afflicted.
17 [k]The (AI)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me (AJ)out of my distresses.
18 (AK)Look upon my affliction and my [l]trouble,
And (AL)forgive all my sins.
19 Look upon my enemies, for they (AM)are many,
And they (AN)hate me with violent hatred.
20 (AO)Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me (AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let (AQ)integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For (AR)I wait for You.
22 (AS)Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.
A Time for Everything
3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a (A)time for every [a]event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a (B)time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A (C)time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to (D)weep and a time to (E)laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to (F)dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to (G)be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to (H)hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 (I)What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the (J)task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man
11 He has (K)made everything [b]appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, [c]yet so that man (L)will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
12 I know that there is (M)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the (N)gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should [d](O)fear Him. 15 That (P)which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.
16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is (Q)wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said [e]to myself, “(R)God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a (S)time for every [f]matter and for every deed is there. 18 I said [g]to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but (T)beasts.” 19 (U)For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts [h]is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is [i]vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the (V)dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the (W)breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 22 I have seen that (X)nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see (Y)what will occur after him?
Honor Widows
5 (A)Do not sharply rebuke an (B)older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to (C)the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
3 Honor widows who are (D)widows indeed; 4 but if any widow has children or grandchildren, (E)they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to [a]make some return to their parents; for this is (F)acceptable in the sight of God. 5 Now she who is a (G)widow indeed and who has been left alone, (H)has fixed her hope on God and continues in (I)entreaties and prayers night and day. 6 But she who (J)gives herself to wanton pleasure is (K)dead even while she lives. 7 [b](L)Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has (M)denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 A widow is to be (N)put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been (O)the wife of one man, 10 having a reputation for (P)good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has (Q)shown hospitality to strangers, if she (R)has washed the [c]saints’ feet, if she has (S)assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel (T)sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, 12 thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous [d]pledge. 13 At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also (U)gossips and (V)busybodies, talking about (W)things not proper to mention. 14 Therefore, I want younger widows to get (X)married, bear children, (Y)keep house, and (Z)give the enemy no occasion for reproach; 15 for some (AA)have already turned aside to follow (AB)Satan. 16 If any woman who is a believer (AC)has dependent widows, she must (AD)assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are (AE)widows indeed.
Concerning Elders
17 (AF)The elders who (AG)rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who (AH)work hard [e]at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “(AI)You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “(AJ)The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 19 Do not receive an accusation against an (AK)elder except on the basis of (AL)two or three witnesses. 20 Those who continue in sin, (AM)rebuke in the presence of all, (AN)so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 (AO)I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 22 (AP)Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and [f]thereby share (AQ)responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself [g]free from sin.
23 No longer drink water exclusively, but (AR)use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
24 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins (AS)follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and (AT)those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.