M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

23 The Lord said to Moses,

² Say to the Israelites, The set feasts or appointed seasons of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, even My set feasts, are these:

³ Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation or assembly by summons. You shall do no work on that day; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

⁴ These are the set feasts or appointed seasons of the Lord, holy convocations you shall proclaim at their stated times:

⁵ On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover.

⁶ On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.^(A)

⁷ On the first day you shall have a holy “calling together;” you shall do no servile or laborious work on that day.

⁸ But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days; on the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall do no servile or laborious work on that day.

⁹ And the Lord said to Moses,

¹⁰ Tell the Israelites, When you have come into the land I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.

¹¹ And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, that you may be accepted; on the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it [before the Lord].

¹² You shall offer on the day when you wave the sheaf a male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord.

¹³ Its cereal offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a sweet, pleasing, and satisfying fragrance; and the drink offering of it [to be poured out] shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.

¹⁴ And you shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor green ears, until this same day when you have brought the offering of your God; it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your houses.

¹⁵ And you shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths; [seven full weeks] shall they be.

¹⁶ Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a cereal offering of new grain to the Lord.

¹⁷ You shall bring from your dwellings two loaves of bread to be waved, made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven, for firstfruits to the Lord.

¹⁸ And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs, a year old and without blemish, and one young bull and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their cereal offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire, of a sweet and satisfying fragrance to the Lord.

¹⁹ Then you shall sacrifice one he-goat for a sin offering and two he-lambs, a year old, for a sacrifice of peace offering.

²⁰ The priest shall wave the two lambs, together with the bread of the firstfruits, for a wave offering before the Lord. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.

²¹ You shall make proclamation the same day, summoning a holy assembly; you shall do no servile work that day. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

²² And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.

²³ And the Lord said to Moses,

²⁴ Say to the Israelites, On the first day of the seventh month [almost October], you shall observe a day of solemn [sabbatical] rest, a memorial day announced by blowing of trumpets, a holy [called] assembly.

²⁵ You shall do no servile work on it, but you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ And the Lord said to Moses,

²⁷ Also the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy [called] assembly, and you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting in penitence and humility] and present an offering made by fire to the Lord.

²⁸ And you shall do no work on this day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.

²⁹ For whoever is not afflicted [by fasting in penitence and humility] on this day shall be cut off from among his people [that he may not be included in the atonement made for them].

³⁰ And whoever does any work on that same day I will destroy from among his people.

³¹ You shall do no kind of work [on that day]. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³² It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting in penitence and humility]. On the ninth day of the month from evening to evening you shall keep your sabbath.

³³ And the Lord said to Moses,

³⁴ Say to the Israelites, The fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven days, is the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths to the Lord.

³⁵ On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work on that day.

³⁶ For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no laborious work on that day.

³⁷ These are the set feasts or appointed seasons of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a cereal offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day.

³⁸ This is in addition to the Sabbaths of the Lord and besides your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.

³⁹ Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month [nearly October], when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days, the first day and the eighth day each a Sabbath.

⁴⁰ And on the first day you shall take the fruit of pleasing trees [and make booths of them], branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

⁴¹ You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year, a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month.

⁴² You shall dwell in booths (shelters) for seven days: All native Israelites shall dwell in booths,

⁴³ That your generations may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

⁴⁴ Thus Moses declared to the Israelites the set or appointed feasts of the Lord.

Psalm 30

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the Temple. [A Psalm] of David.

¹ I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

² O Lord my God, I cried to You and You have healed me.

³ O Lord, You have brought my life up from Sheol (the place of the dead); You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit (the grave).

⁴ Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

⁵ For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime or in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.^(A)

⁶ As for me, in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

⁷ By Your favor, O Lord, You have established me as a strong mountain; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

⁸ I cried to You, O Lord, and to the Lord I made supplication.

⁹ What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (the grave)? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth and faithfulness to men?

¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, have mercy and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!

¹¹ You have turned my mourning into dancing for me; You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,

¹² To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

6 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavily upon men:

² A man to whom God has given riches, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he might desire, yet God does not give him the power or capacity to enjoy them [things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] consumes and enjoys them. This is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility); it is a sore affliction!^(A)

³ If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, but his life is not filled with good, and also he is given no burial [honors nor is laid to rest in the sepulcher of his fathers], I say that [he who had] an untimely birth [resulting in death] is better off than he,^(B)

⁴ For [the untimely one] comes in futility and goes into darkness, and in darkness his name is covered.

⁵ Moreover, he has not seen the sun nor had any knowledge, yet he [the stillborn child] has rest rather than he [who is aware of all that he has missed and all that he would not have had to suffer].

⁶ Even though he lives a thousand years twice over and yet has seen no good and experienced no enjoyment—do not all go to one place [the place of the dead]?

⁷ All the labor of man is for his mouth [for self-preservation and enjoyment], and yet his desire is not satisfied.^(C)

⁸ For what advantage has the wise man over the fool [being worldly-wise is not the secret to happiness]? What advantage has the poor man who has learned how to walk before the living [publicly, with men’s eyes upon him; being poor is not the secret to happiness either]?

⁹ Better is the sight of the eyes [the enjoyment of what is available to one] than the cravings of wandering desire. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it!

¹⁰ Whatever [man] is, he has been named that long ago, and it is known that it is man ^[a][Adam]; nor can he contend with Him who is mightier than he [whether God or death].

¹¹ Seeing that there are [all these and] many other things and words that increase the emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility [of living], what profit and what outcome is there for man?

¹² For who [^[b]limited to human wisdom] knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow [going through the motions but accomplishing nothing]? For who can tell a man what will happen [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun after he is gone?

2 So you, my son, be strong (strengthened inwardly) in the grace (spiritual blessing) that is [to be found only] in Christ Jesus.

² And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also.

³ Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴ No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.

⁵ And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down).

⁶ [It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits.

⁷ Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything.

⁸ Constantly keep in mind Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] risen from the dead, [as the prophesied King] descended from David, according to the good news (the Gospel) that I preach.^(A)

⁹ For that [Gospel] I am suffering affliction and even wearing chains like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained or imprisoned!

¹⁰ Therefore I [am ready to] persevere and stand my ground with patience and endure everything for the sake of the elect [God’s chosen], so that they too may obtain [the] salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with [the reward of] eternal glory.

¹¹ The saying is sure and worthy of confidence: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.

¹² If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny and disown and reject Him, He will also deny and disown and reject us.

¹³ If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.

¹⁴ Remind [the people] of these facts and [solemnly] charge them in the presence of the Lord to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good but upsets and undermines the faith of the hearers.

¹⁵ Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

¹⁶ But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

¹⁷ And their teaching [will devour; it] will eat its way like cancer or spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus,

¹⁸ Who have missed the mark and swerved from the truth by arguing that the resurrection has already taken place. They are undermining the faith of some.

¹⁹ But the firm foundation of (laid by) God stands, sure and unshaken, bearing this seal (inscription): The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names [himself by] the name of the Lord give up all iniquity and stand aloof from it.^(B)

²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also [utensils] of wood and earthenware, and some for honorable and noble [use] and some for menial and ignoble [use].

²¹ So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work.

²² Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness (all that is virtuous and good, right living, conformity to the will of God in thought, word, and deed); [and aim at and pursue] faith, love, [and] peace (harmony and concord with others) in fellowship with all [Christians], who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.

²³ But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels.

²⁴ And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.

²⁵ He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it],

²⁶ And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God’s] will.